Name: Hard Luck Stories (1972 - 1982) by Richard Thompson, Linda Thompson
Brand: Richard Thompson
SKU: 602508821707
Price: 9.9 USD
Availability: OnlineOnly
Rating: 5 (651 reviews)

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Volume 1

Volume 2

Volume 3

Volume 4

Volume 5

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1

Dargai

03:33

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2

Never Again

03:07

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03:07

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3

Dark End Of The Street

04:19

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04:19

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4

Beat The Retreat

06:24

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5

The Sun Never Shines On The Poor

03:48

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6

If I Were A Woman And You Were A Man

02:54

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I'm A Dreamer

04:09

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Walking On A Wire

05:12

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He was a strikingly talented guitarist and songwriter, she was a brilliant singer, and on paper it seemed like a marriage made in British folk heaven. Anyone with the most cursory knowledge of Richard & Linda Thompson's relationship knows that's not how things worked out, yet few troublesome marriages resulted in as dazzling a body of work as the Thompsons created during their decade together. Richard's dour yet beautiful melodies and lyrics that found room for both gloomy introspection and sharp wit rarely found a better interpreter than Linda, she never worked with anyone who consistently gave her stronger material or more impressive instrumental accompaniment, and the yin and yang of their collaboration brought out the very best in one another. Richard and Linda have made splendid music as solo artists, but their best LPs as a pair -- especially 1974's I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight, 1975's Pour Down Like Silver, and 1982's Shoot Out the Lights -- are career-defining masterpieces ranking with the finest electric folk of the '70s and '80s. As celebrated as their work has been, the 2020 box set Hard Luck Stories 1972-1982 is the first comprehensive effort to chronicle the entirety of their work together.
The set includes their six studio albums in full -- Bright Lights Tonight, Hokey Pokey, Pour Down Like Silver, First Light, Sunnyvista, and Shoot Out the Lights -- with each featuring bonus material, as well as highlights of their work together prior to Bright Lights, and a full disc of live performances. Listened to in full, Hard Luck Stories is more than the sum of its very impressive parts. During this period, Richard's songwriting gained worlds of skill and confidence, maturing from playful eccentricity to songs of faith that waver between desperation and devotion, to the final regretful end of the partnership. Linda was a tremendously talented vocalist from the very start, and this set shows her technique and emotional range only improved with time, with the later recordings filled with a hard-won confidence and nuance. Devoted fans will find plenty of gems among the 30 previously unreleased tracks; a few have been bootlegged but never with this clarity (especially the January 1977 concert at London's Theatre Royal), and the alternate take of "The End of the Rainbow" with Linda on lead vocals is just one of the revelatory unheard moments. While improved mastering is something one expects from a box set, in this case the recordings really do sound noticeably clearer and better detailed, especially First Light, which remains the weakest of the Richard & Linda albums but is far easier to appreciate in refurbished form. Rocky marriages sometimes produce remarkable kids, and in addition to their flesh-and-blood offspring, Hard Luck Stories is evidence Richard & Linda Thompson's union was more than worthwhile. However things ended, they created something truly special, and this is as consistently excellent and rewarding as any box set of the past decade. ~ Mark Deming

Volume 1

1. Sweet Little Rock 'n' Roller

by The Bunch

Primary Artist: The Bunch; Main Performer
Background Vocals: Linda Peters
Sandy Denny; Performer
Bass Guitar: Pat Donaldson; Performer
Drums: Gerry Conway; Performer
Guitar: Richard Thompson; Performer
Performer: Roger Bell
Linda Peters
Tony Cox
Sandy Denny
Richard Thompson
Gerry Conway
Pat Donaldson
Mike Rosen; Performer
Piano: Tony Cox; Performer
Saxophone: Roger Bell; Performer
Trumpet: Mike Rosen; Performer
Vocals: Richard Thompson; Performer
Composer: Chuck Berry; Composer
Lyricist: Chuck Berry; Composer
Engineer: Richard Digby Smith; Production
Mixing: Andrew Batt; Production
Producer: Trevor Lucas; Production
Studio Personnel: Andrew Batt
Richard Digby Smith; Production

2. The Locomotion

by The Bunch

Primary Artist: The Bunch; Main Performer
Background Vocals: Pat Donaldson
Richard Thompson
Sandy Denny
Linda Peters; Performer
Baritone Saxophone: Roger Bell; Performer
Bass Guitar: Pat Donaldson; Performer
Drums: Gerry Conway
Dave Mattacks; Performer
Guitar: Richard Thompson; Performer
Performer: Gerry Conway
Pat Donaldson
Ian Whiteman
Roger Bell
Dave Mattacks
Linda Peters
Richard Thompson
Sandy Denny; Performer
Piano: Ian Whiteman; Performer
Vocals: Linda Peters; Performer
Composer: Gerald Goffin
Carole King; Composer
Lyricist: Carole King
Gerald Goffin; Composer
Engineer: Richard Digby Smith; Production
Producer: Trevor Lucas; Production
Studio Personnel: Richard Digby Smith; Production

3. My Girl In The Month Of May

by The Bunch

Background Vocals: Pat Donaldson
Richard Thompson
Sandy Denny
Linda Peters; Performer
Primary Artist: The Bunch; Main Performer
Bass Guitar: Pat Donaldson; Performer
Drums: Gerry Conway; Performer
Guitar: Richard Thompson; Performer
Performer: Tony Cox
Richard Thompson
Pat Donaldson
Linda Peters
Sandy Denny
Gerry Conway; Performer
Piano: Tony Cox; Performer
Vocals: Richard Thompson; Performer
Composer: Dion Dimucci
Dion; Composer
Lyricist: Dion Dimucci; Composer
Engineer: Richard Digby Smith; Production
Producer: Trevor Lucas; Production
Studio Personnel: Richard Digby Smith; Production

4. When Will I Be Loved

by The Bunch

12-string Acoustic Guitar: Trevor Lucas; Performer
Primary Artist: The Bunch; Main Performer
Background Vocals: Linda Peters; Performer
Guitar: Richard Thompson; Performer
Performer: Linda Peters
Trevor Lucas
Sandy Denny
Richard Thompson; Performer
Vocals: Sandy Denny; Performer
Composer: Everly; Composer
Engineer: Richard Digby Smith; Production
Mixing: Andrew Batt; Production
Producer: Trevor Lucas; Production
Studio Personnel: Richard Digby Smith
Andrew Batt; Production

5. Amazon Queen (Crash The Party)

by Richard Thompson

Bass Guitar: Pat Donaldson; Performer
Primary Artist: Richard Thompson; Main Performer
Drums: Timi Donald; Performer
Guitar: Richard Thompson; Performer
Performer: Richard Thompson
Pat Donaldson
Tony Cox
Timi Donald; Performer
Piano: Tony Cox; Performer
Vocals: Richard Thompson; Performer
Composer: Richard Thompson; Composer
Lyricist: Richard Thompson; Composer
Engineer: John Wood; Production
Mixing: Andrew Batt; Production
Producer: Richard Thompson
John Wood; Production
Studio Personnel: John Wood
Andrew Batt; Production

6. Shaky Nancy

by Richard Thompson

Primary Artist: Richard Thompson; Main Performer
Background Vocals: Sandy Denny
Timi Donald
Ashley Hutchings
Pat Donaldson
Linda Thompson; Performer
Bass Guitar: Pat Donaldson; Performer
Drums: Timi Donald; Performer
Guitar: Richard Thompson; Performer
Harmonium: Richard Thompson; Performer
Performer: Ashley Hutchings
Sandy Denny
Linda Thompson
Timi Donald
Pat Donaldson
Tony Cox
Richard Thompson; Performer
Piano: Tony Cox; Performer
Vocals: Richard Thompson; Performer
Whistle: Richard Thompson; Performer
Composer: Richard Thompson; Composer
Lyricist: Richard Thompson; Composer
Engineer: John Wood; Production
Mixing: Andrew Batt; Production
Producer: John Wood
Richard Thompson; Production
Studio Personnel: John Wood
Andrew Batt; Production

7. The Angels Took My Race Horse Away

by Richard Thompson

Accordion: John Kirkpatrick; Performer
Primary Artist: Richard Thompson; Main Performer
Background Vocals: Sandy Denny
Linda Thompson; Performer
Bass Guitar: Pat Donaldson; Performer
Drums: Timi Donald; Performer
Fiddle: Barry Dransfield; Performer
Guitar: Richard Thompson; Performer
Performer: Timi Donald
Richard Thompson
Linda Thompson
Pat Donaldson
John Kirkpatrick
Barry Dransfield
Sandy Denny; Performer
Vocals: Richard Thompson; Performer
Composer: Richard Thompson; Composer
Lyricist: Richard Thompson; Composer
Engineer: John Wood; Production
Mixing: Andrew Batt; Production
Producer: John Wood
Richard Thompson; Production
Studio Personnel: John Wood
Andrew Batt; Production

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Hard Luck Stories (1972 - 1982)

Product information

Release options

Volume 1

Volume 2

Volume 3

Volume 4

Volume 5

Volume 6

Volume 7

Volume 8

Volume 1

1. Sweet Little Rock 'n' Roller

2. The Locomotion

3. My Girl In The Month Of May

4. When Will I Be Loved

5. Amazon Queen (Crash The Party)

6. Shaky Nancy

7. The Angels Took My Race Horse Away

8. Restless Boy

9. The World Is A Wonderful Place

10. Shady Lies

11. Napoleon's Dream

Volume 2

1. When I Get To The Border

2. The Calvary Cross

3. Withered And Died

4. I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight

5. Down Where The Drunkards Roll

6. We Sing Hallelujah

7. Has He Got A Friend For Me

8. The Little Beggar Girl

9. The End Of The Rainbow

10. The Great Valerio

11. Mother & Son

12. Down Where The Drunkards Roll

13. The End Of The Rainbow

14. A Heart Needs A Home

15. The Great Valerio

Volume 3

1. Hokey Pokey

2. I'll Regret It All In The Morning

3. Simiffy's Glass Eye

4. The Egypt Room

5. Never Again

6. Georgie On A Spree

7. Old Man Inside A Young Man

8. The Sun Never Shines On The Poor

9. A Heart Needs A Home

10. Mole In A Hole

11. Hokey Pokey

12. A Heart Needs A Home

Volume 4

1. Streets Of Paradise

2. For Shame Of Doing Wrong

3. The Poor Boy Is Taken Away

4. Night Comes In

5. Jet Plane In A Rocking Chair

6. Beat The Retreat

7. Hard Luck Stories

8. Dimming Of The Day / Dargai

9. Wanted Man

10. Last Chance

11. Dimming Of The Day

12. Things You Gave Me

13. It'll Be Me

14. The Calvary Cross

Volume 5

1. Dargai

2. Never Again

3. Dark End Of The Street

4. Beat The Retreat

5. The Sun Never Shines On The Poor

6. If I Were A Woman And You Were A Man

Volume 6

1. Restless Highways

2. Sweet Surrender

3. Don't Let A Thief Steal Into Your Heart

4. The Choice Wife