KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:
Richard Thompson has been making music for almost half a century. He played with the folk band Fairport Convention. Many know his voice from his collaborations with his former wife Linda.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WALL OF DEATH")
RICHARD THOMPSON: (Singing) Let me ride on the Wall of Death one more time.
MCEVERS: For the past few decades, Thompson's been a solo artist. His new album, titled "Still," was produced by Wilco frontman and producer, Jeff Tweedy. Our reviewer, Meredith Ochs, says it's a good match.
MEREDITH OCHS, BYLINE: Having released an astonishing 40-plus albums, Richard Thompson made an inspired choice to work with Jeff Tweedy on his new one. The big, natural sound of Tweedy's loft studio lends itself perfectly to Thompson's unique blend of British folk, Celtic and Americana.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BEATNIK WALKING")
THOMPSON: (Singing) Take the path down to the mill. I'm going to get my fill. I'm going to eat till the pump runs dry.
OCHS: Jeff Tweedy's subtle sonic influence is felt in the keyboards and arrangements similar to the way he evolved the sound of his own band, Wilco. And he brought in background singers from his current eponymous project. Their voices suggest Thompson's earlier work, but they also meld perfectly with the new material.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SHE NEVER COULD RESIST A WINDING ROAD")
THOMPSON: (Singing) She never could resist a winding road. She never could resist a winding road. Maybe just around the bend, a (unintelligible) are not the end. She never could resist a winding road.
OCHS: Richard Thompson is an extraordinary guitar player and songwriter, but a big part of his magic is the way he integrates the two.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PONY IN THE STABLE")
THOMPSON: (Singing) Forgive me if I sneer. You used to be a Cleopatra. You don't like to hear the stuff you dish come right back at you - same old, same old facts and lies and compromises.
OCHS: Few artists can do this as well as Thompson. His solos are pageantry, a fireworks display of notes and rich tones coxed out of his instrument. All this dazzling technical skill never comes off as flashy. It absolutely serves the song.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ALL BUTTONED UP")
THOMPSON: (Singing) You know she's all buttoned up, no place to go. Well...
OCHS: At the end of his new album, Richard Thompson sort of breaks the fourth wall with a first-person story about how his guitar heroes shaped his own playing, mimicking Les Paul and the gypsy jazz of Django Reinhardt.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GUITAR HEROES")
THOMPSON: (Singing) Well, my teacher says they're going to kick me out of school 'cause I'm nothing but a bebop twang-head and rock 'n' roll fool. If I don't do my homework, I've got to go. They can't teach me what I've got to know. How do I make my guitar sound like Les Paul?
OCHS: This song is such a departure from the rest that it sounds more like a hidden track. But considering that Thompson once made a live album covering 1,000 years of music, this exercise doesn't sound strange at all. It's also a great conclusion to a great album because Thompson belongs in the pantheon of pickers right alongside all of these guys.
MCEVERS: Richard Thompson's new album is called "Still." Our reviewer, Meredith Ochs, is a talk-show host and DJ at SiriusXM Radio. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.