"As a member of the British folk music community that produced Fairport Convention, Linda Thompson clearly has great respect for the musical traditions of the United Kingdom, but this album is a look into the past one might not expect from her. Thompson has a soft spot for the songs of the golden age of British music hall, a form of variety entertainment not unlike American vaudeville that was popular from roughly 1850 to the end of World War I ... Anyone expecting Linda Thompson to lend her remarkable voice to a collection of new and vintage folk songs may be a bit puzzled by My Mother Doesn't Know I'm on the Stage, but anyone who appreciates a good song sung well, regardless of vintage, should find something to love in this set".