Teddy Thompson

For Teddy Thompson fans, the 2007 release of Upfront & Down Low was

something of a tease. It wasn't that it was an album of country

covers; it was that the lone original track Thompson decided to

include, "Down Low," was as splendid as anything included on 2006's

Separate Ways. Thankfully, a new LP of originals is imminent, which

has Thompson out on a quick West Coast run, with Rosie Thomas in tow.

The gifted son of British folk legends Richard and Linda Thompson

who's played a prominent role in both of his parents' recent careers,

whether as songwriter or live player, Thompson is perhaps the most

criminally underrated of a second-generation soloist class headed by

his buddy Rufus Wainwright, with whom he's shared many a stage. For

the soundtrack of the Leonard Cohen documentary, I'm Your Man, it is

Thompson's live rendition of the Canadian master's "Tonight Will Be

Fine," not Wainwright's "Chelsea Hotel" (although that cover is

wonderful as well), that stood out as the compilation's finest track.

When you consider that U2, Beth Orton, Nick Cave, Antony, Jarvis

Cocker, and Martha Wainwright also sang on that soundtrack, that's

high praise. With Rosie Thomas. MIKE SEELY

Tue., March 25, 7:30 p.m., 2008