"The Old Kit Bag" is his best studio album since "Rumor and Sigh" (not including the somewhat autobiographical "Mock Tudor" which was almost a live-in-the-studio effort). Richard Thompson's guitar playing is even more incandescent than usual, and the songs are uniformly strong both lyrically and musically -- a nice mix of rockers and semi-acoustic ballads but leaning towards a more hard-edged sound.
One of my favorites is 'A Love You Can't Survive' that is by turns tongue-in-cheek (a "peace volunteer" who kills a man in a street fight in Brazzaville, spends 5 years in prison, then after release becomes a wealthy drug kingpin) and elegantly poignant (he never again sees his lover he promised to reunite with in New Orleans); the whole song set to a melody that climbs from a gentle beginning to a burning crescendo of pain, loss, and longing.
Danny Thompson -- the incredible upright bass player formerly with Pentangle -- shines throughout, and the silver-voiced Judith Owens provides heavenly back-up vocals. Her duet with Thompson on the lilting "Word Unspoken, Sight Unseen" is marvelous.
Unfortunately, the 5.1 is a weak ambient mix. It's not even close to the fine, active surround mix created for the "Rumor and Sigh" DVD-A. There's good use of the rear speakers for the occasional guitar flourish (mandolin on "Outside Of The Inside") and some percussion, but overall it's a wasted opportunity for an adventurous surround experience.
10+ for the music; 5 for the surround mix.