Sunnyvista covers wide ground stylistically and includes some of Richard Thompson's most overtly rocking songs – possibly reflecting pressure from the record label to deliver a commercially successful album. There are more secular songs on this album than on its immediate predecessor. "You're Going to Need Somebody" and "Why Do You Turn Your Back?" are the most explicitly religious tracks. The former is a joyous affirmation of
divine mercy and is notable for
John Kirkpatrick's accordion playing. The latter has an unusual and long verse structure which allows for a particularly effective build and release of tension. "Saturday Rolling Around" is a homage to
cajun music, a genre that Richard Thompson had long admired and which he had previously experimented with on
Fairport Convention's
Unhalfbricking (1969) album. This too is a joyous and upbeat song. Elsewhere the mood is more spiteful, especially in the opening "Civilisation" with its sarcastic lyrics and in the heavy-handed satire of the title track which takes a tilt at a community which is superficially happy but also controlled and uniform. Whether this is a reference to late 70s Britain, or to the commune that the Thompsons had recently left, is not clear. The song is principally a
tango, with slower lyrical interludes. Thompson tries his hand at
funk on "Justice In the Streets" and at
hard rock on "Living on Borrowed Time". "Traces of My Love" is a tender song of longing and lyrically is in the ancient
sufic tradition of expressing love for the divine in secular terms. "Sisters" is a mournful yet soulful ballad, with harmony backing by the
McGarrigles. Linda Thompson, in the liner notes for her 1996 compilation
Dreams Fly Away, has revealed that it was not written about sisters but about two real women she knew who were "wives" in a Muslim polygamous relationship and were estranged: "You have to be a very big person to make that work. This guy was a creep". (The two actual women were subsequently reconciled.) "Lonely Hearts" has backing vocals from
Gerry Rafferty. A digitally re-mixed version of the song appears on
Dreams Fly Away. "Georgie on a Spree", included on some CD reissues of the album as a bonus track, is a re-make of a song originally included on the 1975
Hokey Pokey album. It had been chosen as the theme tune for the
BBC television drama
Kiss the Girls and Make Them Cry and the new version was issued as a single. ==Cover==