Richard & Linda Thompson: Hard Luck Stories (1972-1982) [8CD Box Set; 11th September 2020]

Fun news recently leaked out. Details are currently scarce but this is what little we know so far.

Over on the Fairport Convention forum Talkawhile, member davidmjs posted:

Fairport Chatter

Have people been keeping up with the fun and games on Linda T's FB page?

She's just leaked info (2 weeks before it was supposed to be announced) of a R< box set - 8 remastered albums plus loads of rare stuff. Put together by Andrew Batt.

I haven’t seen Linda’s original FB post yet but later in the thread @AndyB confirmed the news with:

Andrew here, producer of said Richard and Linda boxset. Naughty Linda let the cat out of the bag! announcement in a week or two, but I can confirm that both First Light and Sunnyvista are on it; I managed to locate the master reels and mastered from them.
best

Considering the great work Andy has done with previous Fairport Convention & Sandy Denny collections, not to mention the acclaimed Bobbie Gentry boxed set, I’ve got every reason to believe this should be SPECTACULAR.

Let the speculation and updates commence!

 

It’s INCREDIBLY exciting the long lost Sunnyvista and First Light masters were finally located. Could those often overlooked albums be in for a re-evaluation?

 

The “8 remastered albums” bit (assuming it’s accurate) is very intriguing, as their studio output consists of 6 albums (one of which I believe falls under the Warner label and would not necessarily be included on a Universal collection, though it’s certainly possible):

Bright Lights
Hokey Pokey
Pour Down Like Silver
First Light
Sunnyvista
Shout out The Lights

There is also the In Concert November 1975 CD that came out in 2007 that might be included. Otherwise, what else could be part of that figure?

Henry The Human Fly? Strict Tempo? Both are solo albums that fall into the period but aren’t credited as Linda albums (though she does provide some backing vocals on Henry).

 

i'm in

 

I am looking forward to this -- mostly for the "elusive" Chrysalis albums! From the little bits I've heard from those albums, they seem to be more "pop-rock" than the Island albums (which I rather like, personally).

 

Sunnyvista has always been a favorite of mine. Even if I don't love every song, it's got a few classics on it. I hope they don't crush this with compression.

 

Shoot Out The Lights Deluxe had a second disc of live 1982 recordings.

 

The mastering on producer Andy Batt’s recent Bobbie Gentry set was widely praised. I suspect the sonics on this set are in good hands.

 

linda was supposed to take part in Richard's Woodstock guitar camp this year. it's been postponed until next year. hopefully she will still be involved. I had tickets to see him at levon helm studios following the camp where I was hoping for a reunion. that's also been put off until next year but tickets will be honored.

I will be curious as to the previously unreleased material in this new set more than the remastered old stuff.

 

Good catch, though it might be worth noting that set was on Rhino Handmade. I believe this is a Universal product, so I don’t know if it would necessarily be available for inclusion.

 

I look forward to the unreleased material also -- provided it's not just concert performances (I am NOT a fan of "live" recordings)...

 

There are a few BBC sessions I guess they will be included

 

i'm also hoping they keep a better eye on this rather than the bbc collection which has lots of speed problems that apparently no one gave a closer listen.

 

I also had tickets to both nights at LHS. Waiting for next year! Wondering if this will be worth diving into for the rarities as I already have the Richard and Linda discography many times over.

 

This is stunning news - simply wonderful (this and a Joni box set all in the same year)

Sunnyvista and First Light are amazing albums that so deserve to be out there.

As for unreleased stuff - well if Richards allowing those two to come out at last - maybe the Gerry Rafferty version of Shoot Out The Lights will get a full release.

There's a specific Richard & Linda BBC box set already so I would hope they keep away from that.

There is of course material they were both involved in for The Bunch.

 

I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight.

 

You will enjoy - Linda absolutely shines on these albums - and possibly outshines Richard ( is this why he was never keen on them?)

 

That could be amazing. Richard has authorized a few of the tracks over the years, so it’ll be fun to see if he’s finally comfortable with it being released in its entirety.

Aside from the Rafferty album, one other potential treasure trove is the cache of “Madness of Love” songs he played live for a brief period but never released. As far as I know, he never attempted them in a formal studio but perhaps there are some demos? If not, there are certainly live recordings.

 

Out of print and not available cheaply on the secondary market, last time I checked.

 

My biggest pipe dreams would be some live material from the Islamic tour or the 1982 US tour but I'm not going to hold my breath on that one.

 

Well if you haven't got that set I hope its included for you -Linda singing The Little Beggar Girl from 1973 is a beauty (although the recording/tape quality is a tad rough)

 

To my mimnd the Doom & Gloom version is so great that a studio take would be a letdown.

 

As Doom & Gloom From The Tomb has never made it to CD, it certainly would be justified to include that same version here.

 

Oh that makes me soooo want to hear them even more! I am all for anything that showcases how awesome Linda is!

And interestingly, I see "First Light" includes "Don't Let A Thief Steal Into Your Heart" which I only know from the Pointer Sisters rock album "Priority".

 

Has anyone seen the original Facebook post on Linda’s page? I’ve tried to find it but FB can be awkward to search (or I’m just bad at it) and it’s certainly possible she’s since deleted the comment. I’d love to see the original wording.