Watching the Dark [Box]

Performer: Richard Thompson
Artist: Linda Thompson; Sandy Denny; Shawn Colvin; Gerry Rafferty; John Hiatt; Glenn Tilbrook; Fred Frith; Henry Kaiser
Distributor: Ryko Distribution

Notes: WATCHING THE DARK contains 3 CDs with 23 live, rare and unreleased tracks spanning the years 1969-1992. Also included is a 24-page booklet with photos, a complete biography and a selected discography. Personnel includes: Richard Thompson (vocals, electric, acoustic & 12-string guitars, banjo, mandolin, mandocello, hammered & electric dulcimers, hurdy-gurdy, oud, Fender Rhodes, harmonium, Clavinet, bass); Clive Gregson (guitars, organ, background vocals); Simon Nicol (guitars, dulcimer, autoharp, piano); John Kirkpatrick (accordions, concertinas, background vocals); John Sherman, Alan Dunn (piano, accordion); Betsy Cook (piano, keyboards, background vocals); Mitchell Froom (keyboards, Hammond B-3 organ, harmonium); Neil Larson, Pete Wingfield (keyboards); Phil Pickett (shawm, hurdy-gurdy); Danny Thompson (acoustic bass); Dave Pegg, Pat Donaldson (bass, background vocals); Jerry Scheff, Ashley Hutchings, Willie Weeks, Ruari McFarlane, Bruce Lynch (bass); John French (drums, vocals); Timi Donald (drums, percussion); Dave Mattacks, Kenny Aronoff, Jim Keltner, Andy Newmark, Mickey Curry, Gerry Conway (drums). Producers include: Joe Boyd, Mitchell Froom, Henry Kaiser, Richard Thompson, John Wood. Compilation producer: Edward Haber. Includes liner notes by Greil Marcus, Joe Boyd and Leslie Berman. Multi-disc box-sets usually fall into two categories -- they're either overstuffed "Greatest Hits" compilations, or packed with enough rarities to ensure loyal fans will part with their money. Since Richard Thompson's career hasn't sent him perilously close to worldwide stardom, the triple-disc anthology Watching the Dark was created with the latter market in mind, and if it falls short of being the perfect overview of Thompson's wildly varied career, it's a superb set that manages the not-inconsiderable feat of drawing an accurate picture of the height and breadth of Thompson's body of work, and offers enough buried treasures to leave jaded fans chuckling with glee. Sequenced thematically rather than chronologically, Watching the Dark covers Thompson's favorite themes well enough -- there's enough spiritual mystery, mortal heartbreak, and British traditionalism to satisfy nearly anyone -- and while the first priority appears to be Thompson the songwriter, Thompson the musician is documented with a similar degree of devotion. Watching The Dark gives relatively short shrift to Thompson's work with Fairport Convention and his experimental collaborations, but as an overview of his solo work (both with and without former wife and frequent collaborator Linda Thompson), it's remarkably thorough, and packed with fascinating and illuminating rarities. There are copious concert recordings, fascinating studio outtakes, and a handful of otherwise unavailable songs, along with an intelligently chosen selection of highlights from the first 25 years of his career in music. The sheer bulk of Watching the Dark (over three and a half hours of music) makes this a difficult introduction to Richard Thompson's work, but anyone with more than a passing familiarity with his music will be dazzled by it -- few box sets honor their subject with as much intelligence and depth as Watching the Dark. ~ Mark Deming This three-disc set contains too many rarities and flouts chronology too blatantly to function as a simple best-of. Rather, it's an eclectic overview that dips deep enough into the archives to appeal to the hardcore fans that make up most of Thompson's audience while featuring enough classics to operate as a de facto "Greatest Hits" for those unfamiliar with the unjustly hitless guitarist/singer/songwriter. Previously unreleased live cuts display Thompson's unrivaled way with his axe ("Can't Win," "Calvary Cross"). Fans of Thompson's folkier side will delight at never-before heard traditional tunes like "Bogie's Bonnie Belle" and "Poor Wee Jockey Clarke." There are even some previously unheard Fairport tracks for those who've been in on Thompson's special gift from the very beginning. If you love Thompson, you must own this.

Entertainment Weekly (5/7/93, p.56) - "...from a few stately Fairport tunes to feedback-throbbing numbers like `Shoot Out The Lights' to an almost astounding exhibit of tender ballads, folk instrumentals, and careening guitar attacks..." - Rating: A- Melody Maker (6/12/93, p.31) - "...If you want one single moment that will single-handedly justify selling a kidney in order to purchase WATCHING THE DARK, try the majestic mourn of `When The Spell Is Broken'...." Musician (7/93, p.89) - "Thompson chronicles the often harsh, usually private side of life with a vigilance few other rock writers can sustain...the mordant grace, black humor and stinging solos that have continually given Thompson zealots proof their man is one of rock's most piercing artistes..." Village Voice (3/1/94, p.5) - Ranked #5 in the Village Voice's list of the 10 Best Reissues Of 1993. NME (Magazine) (5/1/93, p.34) - 8 - Excellent - "...From the landmark genre-crashing with Fairport Convention via avant garde experimentation to the seriously at-home-in-LA credentials of his most recent solo work, WATCHING unearths some real glories..."

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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