Music Review: Ernest Thompson and Ray Porcell

The duo have two new albums

He’s famous as the Academy Award-winning writer of the screen adaptation of his own world-famous stage play, “On Golden Pond,” but Ernest Thompson of New Hampton courts his muse wherever he finds her. While he’s been creating feature-length movies and plays, he’s also been scripting hundreds of stories that are best viewed on the tender screen of the heart and project their images with nothing more than lyrics, music and a voice. 

In scores for his films and plays, Thompson has collaborated with legends like Carly Simon and Cape Breton fiddler Natalie MacMaster, but he enlisted the local voice and worldly musical imagination of singer/songwriter Ray Porcell to help him with his latest batch of story songs. These appear on two CDs: “Where I’m Supposed to Be” and “The Journey Goes On.”

Both recordings resound with New Hampshire locations and are packed with passionate characters, plot twists, sentiment and irony. Thompson’s imagery is illuminated by Porcell’s musical craftsmanship and rooted in the granitic soil of his voice. You can’t listen to the sad, sweet reflections of a song like “Brontë Brook” without your world dilating to make a home for other restless souls.

The CDs are available to listen to and buy online at ernestthompson.us, and Thompson and company have made a touching video of “Brontë Brook” using local actors and talent. You can find it on YouTube here.