Amazon.com Back in the '80s and '90s, Richard Thompson could be depended upon to release a well-crafted collection of Celtic-influenced folk-rock every few years. But when he left Capitol after 1999's Mock Tudor, Thompson headed off on side projects, all of typically high quality, but not the solo albums his established cult expected. Those fans can now rejoice, because on Sweet Warrior Thompson roars back with his first electric set of originals since 2003, and it's a winner. As the disc's title implies, he revisits the familiar territory of love as a battlefield in these 14 originals. The concept is emphasized by a liner photo of the singer/songwriter in army gear and camouflage flanked by two beautiful women planting kisses on either cheek. Supported by longtime backing cohorts, the guitarist adds to his six-string talents with occasional mandolin, autoharp, accordion, and even organ, all used as icing on a cake of tunes that further refine his established style. Perhaps the most startling song is the viciously anti-war "Dad's Going to Kill Me," about a soldier stationed in Baghdad (the "Dad" of the title), wondering if he will survive another day. "Guns are the Tongues" finds Thompson telling the tragic tale of a young man enticed by a woman's charms ending up as a suicide-bombing terrorist. Thompson's dramatic guitar solos are kept on low boil, occasionally bubbling up but never hogging the spotlight. They are, along with his distinctive vocals, actors in a play of characteristically classy tunes that will thrill Thompson's fans, who have been waiting for just such a set of literate and challenging music from a musician who never delivers less. --Hal Horowitz Review "'Sweet Warrior' restores all the possibilities of his electric guitars, from steely architectural underpinnings to solos that can be as compassionate or biting as his words. Even when Mr. Thompson uses his caustic wit for laughs, the songs on 'Sweet Warrior' hold a tension and vehemence that make their bitterness linger." -- Jon Pareles, NY Times, 5/28/07"As emotionally complex as his songs are, Thompson's guitar work is even more so, by turns sharp and tender, subtle and direct."- -- Brian Mansfield, USA Today, 5/29/07"Lyrics that careen between pain and pleasure, snappy pop choruses and poignant ballads both Celtic and American, all in a friendly voice that says everything is hilarious and devastating at the same time."- -- Steve Knopper, Washington Post, 5/29/07"Richard Thompson on acoustic guitar is a treat. On electric guitar, he's sublime.., playing with understated flash that straddles the transatlantic divide to embrace Celtic soul and rootsy Americana, with bits of jazz and Jamaica... thrown into the mix." -- -Gary Graff, Billboard 5/25/07"The latest superb album in Thompson's four-decade recording career... This is Thompson in top form."- -- Steve Wine, Associated Press, 5/25/07