Search - Richard Thompson :: Life and Music of Richard Thompson

Love it or leave it

Michael L. Knapp | Placerville, CA United States | 10/23/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is gonna be short. Wonderful Box Set. If you love Richard, buy it. Must have for fans. If you don't like him, don't buy it. If you don't know him but want to, see him live first. Not many people could go on after a stellar performance by a group that had T-Bone Burnett, Elvis Costello & Emmylou Harris (Like a couple of weeks ago at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass fest in SF) and not only hold his own (solo, no less) but surpass."

All The Wind Can Carry

K. H. Orton | New York, NY USA | 01/03/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Look, I'm no Richard Thompson obsessive, I'm not an audiophile & I'm not a fan of box sets. All that aside, this is essential listening for Thompson admirers & fanatics alike. Where the "Watching The Dark" collection was designed for popular consumption---this one is for the fans.



If you have a tin ear & an attention span lasting longer than 30 seconds, you can't help but notice Richard Thompson is one of the finest and most versatile guitarists Rock ever produced. As a songwriter, he's up there with the idiosyncratic likes of Dylan, Tom Waits & Townes Van Zandt.



True, the book weighs more than the music & is written by a Fairport Convention devotee who has a tendency towards the trivial and pedantic. One gets the sense of an overexcited academic, who's note cards are out of order. Even the interview with Thompson is fairly unrevealing. Thompson mischeiviously pulls the carpet from under with the quote: "To give a definite explaination would spoil the fun". But you're not buying this for the book.



The music speaks for itself. The box is a generous trove of unreleased rarities both studio & live. There's also a free write in disc of others covering Thompson. Making it 6 discs in all.



Highlights certainly include, "Crazy Man Micheal", "Meet Me On The Ledge" & "Sloth"---all of which show their strenghts outside of Fairport Convention's musical anachronisms. Live versions of classics like "Calvary Cross", "Shoot Out The Lights" & "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" never disappoint. On the contrary, they go to show how jaw droppingly solid the songs are. Not to mention the performer.



But its the near out of print, live & lost material that will leave long time fans reeling. I'm talking about things like, "Ghosts In The Wind" & "Drowned Dog Black Night". Stunning workouts & guaranteed to raise the hair on your neck. On the flip side, the initmate acoustic rarities, "Josef Locke" & "Mrs. Rita" would only enhance any Thompson release.



As I said, I am not an audiophile. I wouldn't let sound quality stand in my way of enjoying the many pleasures of Robert Johnson or Charley Patton, not to mention the Harry Smith Folk Anthology. So yes, the sound quality is less than stellar on Thompson's home demos & ferocious but murky live recordings like, "Put It There Pal". But overall, the folks at Free Reed did a great job of dusting out the nooks & crannies.



In terms of the unreleased studio material, "Bad News Is All The Wind Can Carry" is as beautifully bleak as it gets. The fragment, "In Over Your Head" captures Thompson at his most vulnerable & questioning. Revealing to say the least. That's not to say that stuff like "Dragging The River", "Alexander Graham Bell" & "My Daddy Is A Mummy" aren't great infectious fun.



As for the covers disc highlighting Thompson's "1000 Years In Popluar Music"--- the likes of "Substitute" & "Tempted" are always welcome. Both are just as, if not more heartfelt than the originals. The conviction of his version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" serves only to mock his sarcastic stab at Britney Spears',"Oops! I Did It Again".



Great as Page, Beck, Hendrix, Clapton & Richards are---none have proved themselves to be as consistantly strong as Thompson in the songwriting department. The double threat Thompson so consitantly weilds often sets him apart.



Despite long standing critical acclaim, his low key personality, twisted sense of humor, and willingness to go to the "dark place" may have hampered him in terms of popular consumption. But Thompson's weathered through it all with his integrity intact. True, he always looked more like your High School History professor than a Byronic anti-hero. But perhaps, its Thompson's stubborn sense of "Englishness" that's kept him from American superstardom. Its something he makes no apology for & has never tried to bury. He has always remained loyal to his roots but has always dared venture far beyond the genre known as "Folk". So, look beyond the whims of fashion and find the unpretenious grit so many strive for. Its all here waiting for you.



"

Don't hesitate if you are a fan of Fairport to recent

J. Forst | Farmington Hills, Michigan United States | 05/03/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I give this box 5 stars due to the labor of love that was poured into it like Silver (sorry, couldn't resist). my personal thoughts: I'm a big fan of the RT era from '90 up till now. I got about 2 solid cd's worth of must have songs from this box. Hearing the older stuff certainly turned me on to some stuff i was unaware of but at the same time the fairport years and even most stuff w/ Linda's vox I can't stand.

Since I'm a die-hard collector in general, this box did a great job of exploring all avenues of RT. There are some typos in the booklet and the "up-selling" the label tries to do within the RT booklet of their own back catalogue is a bit fishy. Otherwise this is a great find and my copy even has the mail-away only cd you got the voucher for in first pressings. Book is very detailed but the graphics on the cd covers & in the book look like this was done at home on a matrix ink printer.

The mesmerizing music that comes out of this box is well worth the minor hassles though. If you are a devotee to RT then grab this up! He is only the best singer/guitarist/songwriter that has ever lived! The different genres, styles and moods you get on this cd is almost overwhelming."