On the surface,
you? me? us? appears to be a major statement from
Richard Thompson. Spread out over two discs, the budget-priced album features 19 tracks, separated into an electric ("Voltage Enhanced") disc and an acoustic ("Nude") disc, which each runs around 40 minutes; "Razor Dance" and "Hide It Away" appear on both discs. Despite its appearance,
you? me? us? isn't one of
Thompson's major works. What sinks the album isn't the songs -- as always,
Thompson has written a handful of gems -- but
Mitchell Froom's production.
Froom's gauzy, pseudo-experimental approach masks the songs in an impenetrable haze, which neither
Thompson's guitar nor his voice can cut through. There is no texture to the album's sound -- it is mushy and colorless, which cuts away at the heart of
Thompson's direct, emotional songs. If the songs on
you? me? us? were given the simple, direct production they deserve, it would have been a completely different, more compelling experience. As it stands, it's a wildly uneven and unengaging listen, like the great majority of the
Froom-produced
Richard Thompson records. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine