Walking on a Wire: 1968-2009 [Box]

Performer: Richard Thompson
Artist: CWS Manchester Band
Engineer: David Vanderheyden; Ed Haber
Producer: Danny Thompson; Fairport Convention; Henry Kaiser; Joe Boyd; John Chelew; Mitchell Froom; Peter Filleul; Richard Thompson; Rob Schnapf; Simon Tassano; Tchad Blake; Terry Lickona; Tom Rothrock; David McLees (Compilation); Richard Thompson (Compilation)
Distributor: n/a

Notes: Personnel: Richard Thompson (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar, electric guitar, dulcimer, hammer dulcimer, autoharp, hurdy-gurdy, mandocello, mandolin, whistle, accordion, piano, harmonium, organ, synthesizer, Theremin, background vocals); Teddy Thompson (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, dulcimer, background vocals); Sandy Denny (vocals, acoustic guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar, piano, organ); Pete Zorn (vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin, saxophone, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, percussion, background vocals); Judy Dyble (vocals, autoharp, recorder, piano); Dave Swarbrick (vocals, mandolin, fiddle, viola); Dave Pegg (vocals, mandolin, bass guitar); Timi Donald (vocals, drums, percussion); Ian MacDonald (vocals, Jew's harp); Christine Collister, Judith Owen, Ashley Hutchings (vocals, background vocals); Linda Peter, Pat Donaldson (vocals); James O'Rourke (guitar, piano); Tchad Blake (guitar); Sue Harris (hammer dulcimer, oboe); Sidonie Goossens (harp); Mitchell Froom (electric harp, piano, celesta, organ, Hammond b-3 organ, portative organ, regal, chamberlin, keyboards, Theremin); Martin Lamble (violin, fiddle, drums, washboard, tabla, percussion); Joe Buck, Peter Knight, Sid Page (violin); Aly Bain (fiddle, double bass); Chuck Fleming, Nic Jones, Sue Draheim, Tom McConville (fiddle); Danielle DeGruttola, Suzie Katayama (cello); Ian Whiteman (flute, shakuhachi, piano, electric piano, harmonium, organ); Peter Filleul (flute, keyboards, background vocals); Peter Zorn (whistle, percussion, background vocals); Dolores Keane (whistle); Alan Dunn (accordion); Philip Pickett (shawm, recorder, soprano recorder, curtal, symphony); Phil Pickett (shawm); Dylan Fowler (oboe); Paul Dunmall (saxophone, tenor saxophone); Tony Roberts (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Larry Hall , Stephen Corbett (cornet); Randall Aldcroft, Jeff Cole, Stephen Barnett, Mark Cutts, Les Benedict (trombone); Phil Goodwin (tuba); Dave Mattacks (harmonium, keyboards, drums, bodhran, hi-hat, percussion); Neil Larsen, Pete Wingfield (keyboards); Danny Thompson (acoustic bass, double bass, upright bass); Damon Smith (acoustic bass); Jerry Scheff (double bass, electric bass); Atom Ellis, Taras Prodaniuk (electric bass); Michael Jerome (drums, percussion, background vocals); Jim Keltner, Andy Newmark (drums); Alex Acu�a, Chris Karan (percussion); Clive Gregson, Phil Barnes, Dave Burland, Glenn Tilbrook, Ian Matthews, John Hiatt, Julian Littman, Julie Covington, Kate McGarrigle, Maddy Prior, Martin Carthy, Peta Webb, Anna McGarrigle, The Watersons, Trevor Lucas, Bill Caddick, Olive Simpson, Nicole Tibbels, Marc Ellington, Kingsley Abbott, Heather Brady, Dave Brady (background vocals). Audio Mixer: Simon Tassano. Audio Remasterer: Bob Fisher . Liner Note Author: Richard Thompson. Editor: Simon Tassano. Photographers: Greg Allen; Richard Thompson; Bill Gill. Richard Thompson has never had a for-real hit record (at least not in America) over the course of a career that's spanned five decades, but there are few musicians who are better respected by their peers or have a more devoted fan base, and not without reason -- he's a fine singer, a superb, inventive guitarist, and a truly masterful songwriter. This may explain why Thompson, a man who could best be described as a "cult figure," is being honored with his third multi-disc box set. WALKING ON A WIRE: 1968-2009 is a four-disc set that offers a carefully edited and intelligently compiled chronological summary of Thompson's recorded repertoire, from his early recordings with Fairport Convention to his 2007 solo album, SWEET WARRIOR. It's hard to imagine anyone who appreciates music that speaks honestly to the heart and soul not falling in love with this.

Rolling Stone (p.80) - 4.5 stars out of 5 -- "[An] excellent 71-track primer, which also shows the U.K. vet as a world-class songwriter." Spin (p.91) - "Thompson's foghorn baritone gives his songs a medieval gravitas, and the beginning with Fairport's 'Meet on the Ledge,' he has wrestled with the nostalgia and melancholy of adulthood in frank, darkly funny lyrics." Billboard (p.33) - "WALKING ON A WIRE makes for an expansive introduction to an ambitious artist." Q (Magazine) (p.123) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t's expertly selected to showcase his extraordinary way with a song." Pitchfork (Website) - "1991's 'Read About Love' is as vivacious and catchy as any other power-pop song of its era....The set is the closest thing Thompson's got to the career-spanning greatest-hits album he deserves..." Record Collector (magazine) (p.90) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "Lyrically, Thompson's articulacy and intelligence knows no bounds....Richard Thompson is many men, and you'll find them all across these 71 tracks."

Richard Thompson started his career in the late 1960s as Fairport Convention's precocious guitar whiz. His subsequent solo career bears echoes of Fairport's folk-rock sound, but with a much darker, more deliciously twisted sensibility. Thompson is equally skilled as composer and guitarist, as borne out by his much-lauded recordings both with his then-wife Linda and on his own.

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