Let me be the first to say that it is rare that I’m overly impressed by someone going off on a long guitar solo during a rock song. It usually ends up being indulgent and rarely serves the song. On the contrary, it’s often just a way to prop up a sub-par tune.

With that disclaimer out of the way, I can honestly say that there were moments when I listened to Richard Thompson’s new album Dream Attic when I found myself slack-jawed in awe at what this man was doing with those six strings. This is what a guitar hero is supposed to sound like.

It helps that Thompson had the novel idea to record these 13 new original songs live in front of an audience. You’ll only notice the crowd applauding at the end of the songs or after one of Thompson’s breathtaking runs, but the live setting gives the bandleader and his band an excuse to explore every nook and cranny of this material and to produce a powerful noise without the aid of touch-ups or studio trickery.

It also helps that Thompson, as songwriter, provides the proper framework for all of the instrumental exploration. Whether the song is a jaunty rocker like “Haul Me Up,” giving Thompson a chance to show off his rapid fingers, or a sprawling ballad like “Stumble On,” in which he delivers subtle commentary at the end of every line, the playing always synchs up with the song.

It sounds simple, but it’s a rare quality these days, and a quality that makes even the lesser songs here sparkle.

Thompson has assembled a crack band to do his bidding, and he lets them each get their share of the spotlight, even though most every song is anchored by a solo somewhere along the line. It’s not your usual rock instrumentation however, as saxophone, violin, and pipes give off the Celtic flavor that fans have come to expect from the former leader of Fairport Convention.

For example, “Among The Gorse, Among The Grey” is a sad folk parable that sounds as if it could have been recorded hundreds of years ago, while “Demons In Her Dancing Shoes” is the rare rock song that can cause involuntary step-dancing among its listeners. These genre exercises aren’t the standouts, but they’re done well enough that they don’t descend to novelty level.

Thompson’s winningly snide sense of humor gets its due here as well. Opener “The Money Shuffle” takes aim at scheming money men who take advantage of unsuspecting regular folk, while the hilariously on-point “Here Comes Geordie” will likely leave certain Hollywood stars with ears burning due to its depiction of narcissistic and brainless do-gooding: "Good old Geordie righteous as can be/Chopped down the forest just to save a tree.”

The songwriter’s longtime interest in the underbelly of society is reprised as well.

“Sidney Wells” features a typically blistering solo in the service of a tale of a working-class murder, while the fantastic “Crime Scene” is even better, a meditation on brooding violence that builds from quiet contemplation to a maelstrom of fury, both lyrically and musically. Thompson’s underrated singing shines on the latter song, as he voices the impotent frustration of those left in the aftermath of a violent crime: “I can’t aim my rage at fate/Where’s the face to pin the hate?”

There are standouts almost too numerous to mention here, and it all winds up with Thompson’s axe-wielding piece de resistance on the closer “If Love Whispers Your Name.” He takes off in the second half of this long song on an anguished tear that goes on for several minutes, endlessly varied with each new bar but always eloquently expressing the song’s theme of a man who frittered love away once and can only hope that it comes back again.

When it, and Dream Attic, is all over, you’ll likely stand up and applaud in conjunction with the crowd on the disc. This album is not a rock journeyman churning out product; it is the work of a virtuoso inspired and at the top of his game.

Make sure to listen to it while sitting above some soft surface, so you won’t get too hurt when your chin hits the ground.

Adobe Flash Required for flash player. "Sidney Wells"

Adobe Flash Required for flash player. "Among the Gorse, Among the Grey"

Adobe Flash Required for flash player. "If Love Whispers Your Name"