Amnesia - Richard Thompson

Advantages: Songs well up to standard
Disadvantages: Unadventurous instrumentation

...This double album, one half electric ('voltage enhanced') and one half acoustic ('nude'), is a return to the more downbeat, brooding mood that characterised "Shoot Out The Lights", the last album Richard made with his soon to be ex-wife Linda 14 years earlier. The songs are as good as you'd expect from one of our most underrated geniuses, like the slightly reggaeish "Razor Dance" (which he obviously loved so much as he does a different version on both discs), and the rockabilly "Am I Wasting My Time On You". Of the more sombre songs, the chilling "The Ghost Of You Walks" and the introspective "Burns Night" come out the best, and lyrically "Woods of Darney", a song about a soldier's love affair in France during World War I, is a gem. Musically, though, I found this album a little disappointing. While I can't fault the songs, I... Read review

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Advantages: Great range of seeds
Disadvantages: None

...Thompson and Morgan's catalogue (online and print) is interesting and filled with wonderful seeds you can grow. My wife is not keen on buying plants that have already been started. "Where is the fun in that?" she muses. "Don't people know the true joy of growing from seed?" It has to be said that she has a good point and that the Thompson and Morgan website certainly helps her to fulfil her ambition of not buying ready started plants, buy providing a truly magnificent range of seeds that you can plant and thus grow yourself, from scratch. The web site is easy to navigate and has simple, easy to read and easy to understand instructions for even the Internet virgin. There's a cheery introduction by Michael Perry, the specialist project manager, which contains a promise that if you are not satisfied, then Thompson and Morgan will... Read review

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Advantages: Some great singles
Disadvantages: Some of the lyrics are a tad downbeat

...Looking on Ciao I was rather surprised to find no-one had done a review of these amazing 80's artists so as an 80's child and a very big fan indeed I felt it was my duty to write a review so here it comes. Formed originally in 1977 with a massive 11 members the Thompson Twins (who of course took their name from the bumbling detectives out of artist Herge's Tintin comics) released 3 albums before really breaking big in both the UK & the USA. Into The Gap was their 4th release but the 1st with the "classic" 3 person line-up of Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie and Joe Leeway. Bailey wrote words and music, Leeway provided percussion (and some backing vocals) and Currie played xylophone and provided backing vocals. On this album all 3 members of the band are given writing credits but Bailey wrote pretty much everything on his own. So whats... Read review

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