New Mexico Magazine, the state magazine for New Mexico

Music

Vivian Thompson, Hot Water

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Genre:Americana

Story by Emily Drabanski

It’s no wonder that Vivian Thompson’s Hot Water won the 2008 New Mexico Music Award for Best CD of the Year. To showcase Thompson’s extraordinary songwriting abilities in this polished recording, she and producer Greg Martin selected the best of the many songs she’s written in her 30 years in Taos. The
singer-guitarist is a favorite with Taoseños, who have heard her at Eske’s Brew Pub (106 Des Georges Lane).

About a dozen musicians appear on Hot Water, giving it a diversity of musical styles that often defy categorization. It’s rare that you’ll hear a CD that includes a mandolin, violin, trumpets, dobro, and a Hammond organ. And Thompson’s extraordinary vocal range lets her move easily from slow, soulful ballads (“My Imagination,” “Something So Beautiful”) to a rockin’ wail (“Rescue”).

The lyrics of “Gold”—which itself won a Best Award in the Western category—play on the perennial quest for gold. Thompson and Adrienne Braswell harmonize on the chorus: “Sometimes it’s hard to find the kind of gold you need / There’s gold in the meadow and there’s gold in the aspen tree / There’s gold in the morning sun / You can even find it in someone.” The album’s title track is a devilish ditty with a tropical, “Margaritaville” style, as Thompson sings, “Oh no, don’t want to do what I oughta / But if I don’t go now I’m gonna end up in hot water.”

Thompson is at her best when she delivers her edgy lyrics with heartbreaking honesty, as in “Thinking About Her,” “I Found a Picture,” “Flounder (Three Wishes),” and “Have a Beautiful Day.” Her “Rinconada” is already getting a lot of airplay in Taos while “You Are My Shining Star” and others could easily command the national airwaves.

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