Richard And Linda Thompson: Sunnyvista (Chrysalis)

THIS THOMPSONS package tour is a fine irony. Its visuals signal a break from the couple's traditional melancholy, replacing it with a sarcastic, partially threatening, jollity; its subject matter is a trip around urban alienation – a radical departure for the Thompsons, if not for rock in general. And rock is the musical context in which you judge the Thompsons' output these days.