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Watching The Dark: The History of Richard Thompson

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Richard Thompson is without a doubt THE most underrated guitarist/songwriter on either side of the Atlantic. He's been called the "thinking man's guitar hero," and I wouldn't dare gainsay that. From his seminal work with Fairport Convention (listen to his shimmering guitar work on "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?"), to his excellent albums with former wife Linda (Shoot Out the Lights is a "breakup" album on a par with Dylan's Blood On the Tracks), to his magnificent solo work of the last twenty years (Rumor & Sigh, You? Me? Us?, Mock Tudor), Thompson has rarely, if ever, failed to deliver, or to meet his own high standards of excellence. As evidence I direct you to Watching the Dark, the best, most satisfying box set I've ever bought, better even than Dylan's Biograph. Here are just a few of the great songs on this intelligent compilation:

* "Can't Win" -- a grim classic which predates the alt-rock whining of the last decade, and surpasses it in every way; the live version here contains the greatest guitar solo I've ever heard.

* "Tear-Stained Letter" -- Thompson's hysterical take on his own divorce, with another great solo and memorable lines like "She danced on my heart like Arthur Murray,/The skies ain't ever gonna mend in a hurry."

* "Al Boully's In Heaven" -- a slinky, jazzy tune that is one of Thompson's most underrated.

* "From Galway To Graceland" -- a touching yet unnerving song, based on real-life events, that addresses celebrity obsession in a way unlike any you'll ever see.

* "Waltzing's For Dreamer's" -- Thompson is a wizard with 3/4 time, as both "Galway To Graceland" and this exquisite heartbreaker prove.

* "The Dimming Of the Day" -- one of Linda Thompson's most heartfelt vocals, and one of her former husband's best songs.

* "Two Left Feet" -- Thompson's impish humor is again on display here, which proves that, Al Yankovic notwithstanding, rock music and polka beats DO mix!

* "Borrowed Time" -- How this song missed getting on the radio is a mystery to me.

* "A Sailor's Life" -- An amazing song from the Fairport Convention era, featuring the lovely vocals of the late, sorely lamented Sandy Dennis (best known to rock fans for her guest-vocal stint on Led Zeppelin's "The Battle of Evermore").

* And last but definitely not least, "Bird In God's Garden/Lost and Found" -- a song translated from an ancient Sanskrit poem, turned by Thompson into something enigmatic, heartfelt, chilling, and altogether astonishing. This song alone makes Watching the Dark worth its purchase price. It is one of the most perfect pieces of music I've ever heard in my life, and one of the few songs from the rock era that has any kind of real emotional context behind it.

I could mention other songs -- "Cavalry Cross," "Beat the Retreat," the scarifying "Shoot Out the Lights," the double-entendre-rich "Hokey Pokey," "Now Be Thankful," and about a dozen others, that make this compilation worth owning. I could also mention those mysteriously left out -- like "1952 Vincent Black Lightning," to this day Thompson's most touching folk ballad; "Psycho Street," one of the most unusual things he's ever done (to say the least!); and "Limey's Lament," an obscure song I first encountered on the Fairport Chronicles album. It's the best book-of-lists song I've heard since Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and REM's "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)," -- "Lament" is a hilarious song that has Thompson's lyrical fngerprints all over it. How it missed getting onto Watching the Dark I'll never know.

If you're interested in Thompson at all, you'll be led from this to his other excellent work, such as the Mirror Blue album, or I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight. You'll also understand what I said at the beginnging of this review -- that Thompson is THE most underrated guitarist/songwriter working today. Unjustly so, too, when compared with his contemporaries. Clapton, for all his not-inconsiderable talents, just can't measure up; Page and Beck are pretenders to the throne at best; even the great Pete Townshed can't hold a plectrum to RT's amazing talents. How do I know? I've played Watching the Dark for fans of these other guitar-hero types, and each and every person has been not just impressed, but astonished. "How come I've never heard of this guy?" more than one has asked of me. So, now you've heard of him. Give him a try, and I guarantee you'll be more than satisfied.

This is required listening for all Rock Guitar/Songwriting 101 students. This three-disc set covers all the bases from Thompson's tenure with Fairport Convention to his partnership with his then wife Linda through his solo years. The 47 tracks hit most of the key album tracks like "A Sailor's Life" from Unhalfbricking, "Calvary Cross" from I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight, and "Wall of Death" from Shoot Out the Lights. The list gets too long to mention them all.

While Thompson can be upbeat at times (songs like "Hokey Pokey" and "Two Left Feet" come to mind), his strength is in his songs that probe the painful side of relationships with songs like "From Galway to Graceland" and "Small Town Romance" which can leave you emotionally drained.

Unlike most box set treatments, this collection doesn't merely rehash the album tracks that die-hard Thompson fans will already have in their collections. Nearly half of these songs are either hard-to-find cuts or previously unreleased songs and/or performances. [Personal complaint: Why was "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" from Rumor and Sigh omitted from this collection?]

This is a lot of Richard Thompson to absorb all at once for the unitiated, but it's well worth the effort (and the price!).

Whether you're a Richard Thompson fan, or thinking about becoming one, or just enjoy GREAT music, this three-disk set is absolutely essential. It presents an exciting and engaging look at a consummate musician whose biting wit and odd perspective on life is legendary. Whether it's the quiet, reflective BEAT THE RETREAT, WALTZING'S FOR DREAMERS or WHEN THE SPELL IS BROKEN, or the apocalyptic, sturm und drang live versions of CALVARY CROSS and SHOOT OUT THE LIGHTS, this set delivers bigtime. There are enough unreleased tracks and alternate versions to keep WATCHING THE DARK from becoming redundant, even after you have bought the rest of his discs. The hypnotic, jangly, hudy-gurdy-driven POOR WEE JOCKEY CLARKE is a particular treat. There has been some criticism that the non-chronological order of the three disks makes little sense. However, if you throw a handful of diamonds, rubies, silver and gold into a bag and shake them up, you still have a bag full of treasures. Thompson's songs have their own logic that transcends mere calendars. Buy WATCHING THE DARK; you'll own your own little collection of gems.

Richard Thompson is respected both as a talented songwriter and guitar player. This retrospective boxed set allows one to see the depth ability and also get an excellent overview of his career from Fairport Convention through his partnering with ex-wife Linda and, finally, as a solo performer.

While a good proportion of this music has been previously released in some form, there are plenty of rare(meaning new to cd) and unreleased tracks. The most interesting material is the unreleased Gerry Rafferty sessions with songs that later turned up on HAND OF KINDNESS, SHOOT OUT THE LIGHTS and ACROSS A CROWDED ROOM. The arrangements, while not radically different, are less stark, but nonetheless moving. Linda Thompson, one of folk-rock's underrated singers, appears on a number of tracks from their brief career together.

The live tracks are of particular note both because of their rarity and the intensity of the performances. "Can't Win" gains an added depth in a live format. Also, some of the previously unavailable tracks from this collection makes one wonder how many unreleased Richard Thompson classics are out there. "Crash the party" would have fit well on any of Richard's albums.

The coordinators of this compilation have created a compilation that would be of interest to both the new and old fans alike. The selection represents a strong overview of Thompson's best material, although the sequencing is rather odd( it does, however, bright a new depth to some of the material and allow it to regain its freshness). I would have preferred to have the music in chronological order so that the more casual fan could trace the growth of Thompson throughout the three four phases of his career(Fairport Convention, Richard & Linda, Post Linda and, finally, Solo artist).

Highly recommended.

Basically I'm an anarchist. So the comments about the strange order of these songs of others don't really apply for me. I'd hit the random button anyway.

The fact is that there are a lot of fabulous songs on this box set. And the chosen live performances on here are incredibly good. They bring back a lot of great memories of seeing Richard Thompson live.

Richard Thompson is a treasure. If you want one grouping that encapsulates just how good he is, this one does it. He plays guitar like no one else. He writes songs that make the heart ache and the brain fire a billion synapses. Over the years he's learned how to sing decently as well.

He will never be a star. But he's proof that if you're talented enough, you can make a decent, if not great living, writing and performing intelligent pop music. And you can do it for a long, long time. In the world of pop music, he's as good as it gets. Add 30 points to the IQs of Dave Mathews, Damien Rice, or John Mayer and maybe they'd write as smart. But they wouldn't write with as much heart.

Richard Thompson is one of those people who is known primarily by hardcore music lovers and discriminating musicians. However, the world at large would do well to listen to his songs. He uncovers things through his lyrics and incredible guitar playing that cannot be captured in any other way except through his particular musical style. It's difficult to put one's finger on what makes Thompson so special. I personally think it's his ability to write about the darker side of life and still, somehow, find hope in it. By embracing one's shadow, one becomes whole, and that, perhaps is what makes Thompson's music so aurally, intellectually, and even spiritually satisfying. This collection is by no means Thompson's "best," because a lot of stellar material has been left off of this collection, and a lot of equally stellar material has been recorded since Watching the Dark's initial release, but it's a wonderful cross-section of the man's incredible output over the years. Truly, Richard Thompson is one of the finest musicians we have among us, as this collection amply demonstrates.

This 3 CD set covers Richard Thompson recording career through 1969 until 1992. A mixture of early Fairport Convention, his work with his former wife Linda and solo recordings. Many tracks have not been previously released, most of them live-recordings or alternate versions.

Obviously a 3 CD-set will give a pretty good overview of this period of his career, but some might find it a little confusing that there is no strict chronology in the tracklisting. But musically I think it works very well.

The earliest tracks are Fairport Convention recordings; one from "Unhalfbricking", a fine alternate version of "A Sailor's Life" and the catchy 1970 single "Now Be Thankful".

In 1972 Thompson released his first solo album "Henry the Human Fly", which unfortunately did not sell very well. A shame as the album ranks with the very best of his albums; this the 3 tracks from the album here clearly document.

Most of my favourite Thompson recordings come from the period when he worked with his wife Linda. The duo released 6 albums during 1974-82, all of which are represented here; even the two hard to find Chrysalis albums "First Light" and "Sunny Vista". These two albums are often considered their weakest, but a song like "Strange Affair" is simply moving. Great to have the song here.

Thompson's later solo albums vary quite a lot in style and approach, but his strong influence by traditional British folk shines through on most songs.

With a 52 pages booklet with liner notes from Greil Marcus, a fine biography by Leslie Berman and detailed information about each track, this makes a great introduction to one of Britain's finest guitarists and songwriters of at least three decades.

Richard Thompson writes as sublimely as he plays. His themes are generally tragic, yet the intensity of his narratives, the sharpness of his wit, and the beauty of his solos are transcendent and uplifting. He'll hurt you with "Withered and Died" in one moment and heal you with "Dimming of the Day" in the next. This album captures the breadth and depth of his work in a variety of settings, from solo acoustic ballads to studio duets with wife Linda to live jams. Full of delightful and moving surprises, it's the collection that turned me into a full-blown RT fanatic.

If "Watching the Dark" is your first purchase of his music, you'll want to go on and pick up later CDs like "Old Kit Bag" and "Mock Tudor," classics like "Rumour and Sigh," "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight," and "Shoot Out the Lights," and early performances with Fairport Convention. But this set is a fine place to start, with selected tracks from all of these periods. And if you're an old fan like me, you'll want it for the numerous live rarities it contains: scorching guitar pyrotechnics on "Can't Win," "Tear-Stained Letter," and "Shoot Out the Lights," and searingly intimate songs like "From Galway to Graceland," "Al Bowlly's in Heaven," and "Calvary Cross."

The three CDs hold a total of 47 live and studio tracks comprising 3 hours and 47 minutes of music recorded between 1969 and 1992. About half the cuts -- 23 of them -- are rare or previously unreleased. A 56-page booklet includes an introduction by Greil Marcus, a biography by Leslie Berman, and many interesting photos. There are more recent compilations of Thompson's work, including the definitive anthology "Walking on a Wire: 1968-2009," but "Watching the Dark" has stood the test of time. Entertainment Weekly called it "a full and fulfilling portrait of the artist" while Newsweek praised it for "superbly showcasing a distinguished career."

Don't get me wrong--this is a collection of brilliant, timeless music. But the sequencing makes the individual discs virtually unlistenable...definitely a set that will require use of your CD player's programming button.

I'm a longtime RT fan and already had all the rest of the albums, so I bought it for the live tracks and rarities--and it has each in abundance. But listening to it straight through at least once, I couldn't help thinking that the illogical, jumbled chronological order would be off-putting to newcomers. While a straight chronological approach (start with Fairport, move on to Richard & Linda, finish with the solo stuff) might be unimaginative, it would have made sense. The argument that Richard's work has been fully formed from day one (as noted in Greil Marcus's liner notes) doesn't really justify this hodge-podge approach.

One last gripe: What a poor, poor representation of Fairport Convention (only three tracks): And why on earth "Now Be Thankful," with its painfully bad singing? Why not "Sloth"? "Tale in Hard Time"? Or many others? At least it has "Genesis Hall" but Fairport diehards (which I am not, incidentally) will be disappointed.

Highlights: The live versions of "Calvary Cross," "Shoot Out the Lights," and "When The Spell is Broken." It's also interesting to hear the rejected (by RT) tracks from the Gerry Rafferty-produced pre-"Shoot Out the Lights" sessions. Then there's the brilliant guitar solos on the otherwise rather weak (subpar bands) live versions of "Can't Win" and "Tear-Stained Letter" It's almost tragic to hear the band on the latter plodding dully along while Richard goes into outer space and back on guitar.

If I'm too critical of this mammoth and important set, it's only at the thought of what it *could* have been. Beginners to the Thompsons are better off starting with the individual LPs like "Pour Down Like Silver," "Shoot Out the Lights," and "Hand of Kindness."

I hate to say it, but I may be the only RT (+ LT) fan who do not like this box set too much. I can enjoy a few live versions, or RT having fun with experimental tracks such as Bird in God's garden (a French, Frith, Kaiser & Thompson collaboration). I love, too, the booklet - it's well done and very informative - a wonderful document to his contribution. But on the whole, this box set does not really work. First of all, the sequencing is very weird, not to say dumb. Whoever did it probably wanted to be original, but he didn't think of the listener. It's almost impossible to listen to the tracks one after another .. which is a shame, since there are great songs here, but they are not at their best advantage. The main reason for that is that they are mixed up with much weaker tracks. In fact, many of what I now consider as his less shining efforts are included here. For instance, the Fairport material isn't so great (though I suspect the problem comes more from the vocals than from the music itself, especially on Now be thankful). Anyway, it's a pity since the band did come up with good songs at the time. Saddly enough, too, there isn't much material from Rumor and sigh & Amnesia - how come songs like The turning of the tide or I misunderstood have escaped such a retrospective ? What's more, there are plenty of songs from 1983-1985 .. and I usually don't think much of his work from this period - it's far too desolate to my taste and something is sorely missing ( Linda's voice, I think).
I'm afraid the focus for Watching the Dark was more on the rarity of the tracks than on their quality ... and rarity isn't necessarily the best criterion to judge a song !
Having said that, WTD isn't a bad release, of course. It's just that it could have been much better.
I wouldn't recommend it to people who 've never heard a single RT track. They'll be much better with the end of the rainbow : an introduction .. (for his work with Linda) or Action Packed (for his solo work). Those two compilations are 100 % great.