Sunnyvista
| Sunnyvista | ||||
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| Studio album by Richard and Linda Thompson | ||||
| Released | October 1979 | |||
| Recorded | 1979 at Olympic Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Folk rock | |||
| Length | 48:56 | |||
| Label | Chrysalis | |||
| Producer | Richard Thompson, John Wood | |||
| Richard and Linda Thompson chronology | ||||
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| Allmusic |    |
Sunnyvista, released in October 1979, is the fifth album by Richard and Linda Thompson.
After the artistic mismatch of the previous year's comeback album (First Light), the Thompsons made greater use on this album of backing musicians with whom they had previously worked.
Sunnyvista is a curate's egg of an album in terms of its mood. Stylistically it covers wide ground and includes some of Richard Thompson's most overtly rocking songs - possibly reflecting pressure from the record label to deliver a commercially successful album.
There are more secular songs on this album than on its immediate predecessor. "You're Going to Need Somebody" and "Why Do You Turn Your Back?" are the most explicitly religious tracks. The former is a joyous affirmation of divine mercy and is notable for John Kirkpatrick's accordion playing. The latter has an unusual and long verse structure which allows for a particularly effective build and release of tension.
"Saturday Rolling Around" is a homage to cajun music, a genre that Richard Thompson had long admired and which he had previously experimented with on Fairport Convention's Unhalfbricking album. This too is a joyous and upbeat song. Elsewhere the mood is more spiteful, especially in the opening "Civilisation" with its sarcastic lyrics and in the heavy-handed satire of the title track which takes a tilt at a community which is superficially happy but also controlled and uniform. Whether this is a reference to late 70s Britain, or to the commune that the Thompsons had recently left, is not clear. The song is principally a tango, with slower lyrical interludes.
Thompson tries his hand at funk on "Justice In The Streets" and at hard rock on "Living on Borrowed Time". "Traces of My Love" is a tender song of longing and lyrically is in the ancient sufic tradition of expressing love for the divine in secular terms. "Sisters" is a mournful yet soulful ballad, with harmony backing by the McGarrigles. Although initially a reminiscence for lost youth, the song develops a bitter undercurrent of jealous betrayal.
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