JULY 2011...WORKS
Verlon Thompson spins stories with a novelist’s eye (“Caddo County”) and a poet’s ingenuity (“The Get to You Waltz”). Thirty years on, the celebrated songwriter’s Works spotlights a troubadour in peak form (“El Toro,” “Adalee”). Thompson’s seamless new collection delivers Technicolor dreamscapes as wildly cinematic (“The Guitar”) as they are sharply crafted (“Gone But Not Forgotten”). Dress William Faulkner with faded jeans and a pawnshop six-string and the idea takes shape (“Oklahomagain,” “The Ballad of Stringbean and Estelle”). “Verlon sparkles as a songwriter,” says legendary tunesmith Guy Clark. “He’s inspiring.” Not to mention singular.
Thompson’s lyrics strike pages with thunderclap potency. “The windows were open and the curtains were blowing/I’m sorry I ever looked in,” the Oklahoma native sings unsentimentally on “Dinnerbell.” “I jumped off the porch and I ran back down the hill/To where that little footbridge goes over the stream/I watched that folded up note and those fresh flowers float/Away with the rest of my dreams.” Few frame heartache as vividly. Fewer still follow with such wholly satisfying resolution (“Mike and Betty’s Daughter”).
Interpret the title Works as you wish. Contents suggest the literate implications. “Even the love songs are story-oriented,” Thompson explains. “I’ve found that I’ve started leaning more that way in my live show, which I’ve heard people refer to as a travelogue. I start with the ‘The Show We Call the Business,’ which is about coming to Nashville, and then I take them back to Oklahoma where it all started with ‘Oklahomagain,’ ‘Caddo County’ and ‘Dinnerbell’ and bring them back to the present day with these other songs. It’s my experiences. They’re not all personal experiences, but mostly.”
Thompson’s back story already has achieved significant heights. Consider the staggering number of bold names who have covered his material: Randy Travis (“Don’t Take Your Love Away from Me”), Kenny Rogers (“If I Were You”), Barbara Mandrell (“You Know What I’m Not Talking About”), The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (“Dancing to the Beat of a Broken Heart”), Sam Bush (“The Ballad of Stringbean and Estelle”) and Trisha Yearwood (“You Say You Will”) begin the list. Add Jimmy Buffett and Alan Jackson (“Boats to Build”), Suzy Bogguss (“Cross My Broken Heart”), Anne Murray (“I Know Too Much”), the Del McCoury Band (“Backslidin’ Blues”) and Keith Whitley (“Lucky Dog”) and we still barely scratch the surface.
Notably, country superstars Dierks Bentley, Jamey Johnson and Miranda Lambert’s trio version of Thompson’s “Bad Angel” earned a Grammy nomination last year (Best Country Collaboration with Vocals). “It’s such a fun track,” Bentley says.
A humble craftsman at core, the simple hat tip fulfills Thompson’s creative aim. “Having a song covered is what I live for, but it doesn’t have to be a star,” he says. “There’s a couple guys in Bloomington, Illinois, called Austin Found, and they do a lot of Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt and practically my whole catalog. It just flatters me to no end. I think about when I first started out and the songs that I chose and why I chose them. I think, man, these guys are putting me on that level. They’re spending time dissecting chords and learning lyrics. It’s the ultimate compliment.”
By the way, Clark’s important here: More than two decades ago, the Dean of Texas songwriting enlisted Thompson as his touring partner (as well as frequent co-writer). Eyes immediately opened. “Guy changed my musical life,” Thompson says. “I’d been struggling with my Capitol Records deal, and it was such a letdown. Guy said, ‘Man, come out on the road with me and I’ll show you. You don’t need a band and a big bus and payroll. All you need is some great songs. You go out there with great songs, there are people who will gather in these little rooms all over the world, and they’ll keep you going.”
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