Live At The BBC (NTSC) [Box set]

Stretching from 1973 to 2009, this box is considerably more ambitious than the previous BBC boxed sets for Sandy Denny and Fairport Convention. I apologise in advance for the long review but if you order it right now it may have arrived by the time you finish reading. And you won't regret it. (Ordering, that is, I can't make any promises about the reading part.)

PACKAGING

This is again deluxe packaging on the lines of earlier sets in the series, with the decent booklet "bound" into the centre of a book-style set. The discs are not held by the same plastic trays, however, and I don't care for the very fiddly new system, that involves depressing tabs to remove each disc. There is no detailed personnel information in the booklet, which is an oversight, but the presentation is nevertheless good.

THE DVD

Many fans will head straight to the DVD: eighty minutes of reasonably high-quality video stamped with the BBC's occasionally odd fashions for performance footage. Speaking of odd fashions, it must have been cold under those studio lights, since Richard and Linda begin in 1975 with a brace of songs in woolly hats: a slightly uncertain "Jet Plane in a Rocking Chair" followed by a superb performance of "A House Needs A Home".

Seven songs from 1981 include Linda's lovely performance of Denny's "I'm a Dreamer" and a very nice "Shoot Out The Lights". An excellent "Dargai" is played alone rather than as the endpoint of "Dimming of the Day", although fans of that song will not be disappointed by the version here, in a distinctive arrangement with accordion and banjo. "Pavanne" from a Jake Thackray programme confirms the initial conclusion that this is a great set for fans of Linda's voice.

Disappointingly, the songs from 1985, though broadcast by the BBC, constitute footage from the concert commercially released as Across a Crowded Room, which many fans of Thompson will own already. It's very good footage, but not complete and not new, so only valuable if you don't have it. Fans of Thompson's hats will not want to miss the one he wears on the climactic performance of "She Twists The Knife Again".

Overall, the DVD is a definite plus of the set, with sound quality and a quality of performance that means that it is included for more than curiosity value.

THE CDS

At nearly four hours, the audio tracks here - almost all apparently new to CD - offer an enormous haul of new material.

For the first few tracks, audible tape hiss is an acceptable sound defect that cannot blight a lively performance of "I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight" with a live brass band, nor a strong, accordionless "Hokey Pokey". "A Heart Needs A Home" with a piano is one of several intriguing arrangements that follow. An extensive live set from 1982, right at the end of Linda's time with Richard, shows her voice touchingly ragged on "Withered and Died". A more conventional "Dimming of the Day", accompanied solely by guitar, will be a treat to many despite the fact that the source tape is not the best. We say goodbye to Linda at the end of the first CD.

Disc 2 takes up the story in 1985 with an Andy Kershaw session full of unexpected pop appeal. Next we are in an extended live set from 1986 whose highlights include a beautiful take on "Jennie" and an especially firey "Fire In The Engine Room", before ducking back to the Andy Kershaw session for ten solo tracks. These acoustic versions are well recorded and quite a treat: they include a performance of "When The Spell Is Broken" that contrasts enormously with the band version at the start of the disc. If you haven't heard the solo guitar version of "Shoot Out The Lights", be ready to be amazed. The solo session ends with "The End of the Rainbow": a moving end to a set of performances that is pretty much essential listening.

Disc 3 flashes forward to the new century but carries over the solo acoustic guitar vibe. I found this the most intriguing part of the set, because there were several songs here that I did not know in acoustic versions: "Gethsemane", "Outside of the Inside", "Did She Jump Or Was She Pushed?", "One Door Opens", "Dad's Gonna Kill Me". There is a comparative rarity too in the non-album track "Kidzz". The penultimate session on the boxed set features solo performances of songs from 1000 Years of Popular Music including the beautiful "A-Hunting the Wren", which to the best of my knowledge has not been previously released. "Time's Gonna Break You" was a new Thompson original to me, and a typical example of his pet genre: "songs of menace and resentment". The set concludes, aptly, with the Fairport anthem "Meet on the Ledge", providing a point of return for this weighty post-Fairport retrospective.

The absence of band from these later sessions will disappoint those primarily drawn by Thompson's reputation as a great electric guitarist, but collectors will be pleased at getting so many versions that vary from album versions. I have skated over the issue of duplication; certainly several of these songs appear in multiple guises, but there is probably enough variation in them to head off complaints. Listeners looking for a representative collection will nevertheless be shocked at many of the omissions: no "Beeswing" or "1952 Vincent Black Lightning", for example. Long-term fans will not be troubled that this set does not even attempt to be a "best of".

Despite the narrowness of its focus upon a limited number of appearances and configurations, however, this is an absolutely stellar addition to Thompson's discography that is absolutely essential for fans of his work with Linda, his 1980s output and his solo acoustic work. A landmark boxed set.

Being a life-long RT fan I pretty much expected this collection to be something special. I already own the BBC Fairport boxed set, the quality of which is outstanding both in terms of the music and the product itself. This set repeats that standard. Basically the set consists of 3 well-filled CDs (61 tracks) and a 19 track DVD. The discs are housed in the format of a hardback book. The 38 page book itself contains background info' about the Thompson's BBC recordings, as well as photos and tracklistings. Even if you have all of Thompson's albums prior to this release it is still worth investing in as virtually all of the material here is previously unreleased. I also believe Thompson to be one of a handful of great musicians who actually performs better 'live' than he does in the studio. Most of the performances here differ greatly from their original studio incarnations, whilst some others were never previously recorded at all. Highly recommended.

61 tracks (over three CDs) of pure delight from Richard (and Linda) Thompson one of the world's best and unique guitarists and songwriters, that's what this box brings as well as a 19 Track DVD of BBC recordings mainly from the `Old Grey Whistle Test', what is great about this set is that in my opinion these `live' performances represent the very best of Richard Thompson, quite often the spontaneity is lost from the studio albums, Live RT has always been a top performer, and it shows in every way in this set. This set is also thoughtfully annotated and comes with a pretty extensive 38 page book, and each disc is held (overlapping) in a `digi slot' similar to the Fairport Convention BBC box.
Sure the sound quality is at times not studio standard but always 100% performance, and given the way the BBC have in the past treated their legacy this set is one of the strongest and most consistent in terms of sound quality that there has been. Too difficult to pick out highlights but the track listing is shown on Amazon so you can pick almost any of the tracks.
Casual RT fans should lap this up there is enough throughout the set to enjoy, and this compliments the studio albums well. If it could give this set 6 stars I would.