Though they’ve been separated personally and professionally for almost four decades, Richard and Linda Thompson are still recognized as one of the most significant musical duos of their generation. Fairport Convention co-founder Richard first teamed with Linda as a member of folk-rock group The Bunch, releasing one album in 1972; in October of that year, they became husband and wife. From a purely musical standpoint, the marriage of guitarist-songwriter Richard to vocalist Linda was a completely felicitous one. Between 1974 and 1982, the Thompsons released six studio albums on the Island, Chrysalis, and Hannibal labels. Now, all of those LPs have been collected along with two discs’ worth of bonus material on a new box set from UMC (U.K.).

Out now in the U.K. and available tomorrow – Friday, September 18, in the U.S. – Hard Luck Stories (1972-1982) promises to be the definitive chronicle of a decade of music from Richard and Linda Thompson featuring a total of 113 songs including 30 previously unreleased tracks. The box has been curated by Richard and Linda, and compiled and mastered by Andrew Batt (Bobbie Gentry’s The Girl from Chickasaw County, The Delta Sweete: Deluxe Edition).  It follows the reissue earlier this year of the Thompsons’ first three albums for Island Records in new 180-gram vinyl editions.

The box set contains expanded editions (with B-sides, demos, rarities, non-album singles, and more) of the following albums:

• I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight (1974)
• Hokey Pokey (1974)
• Pour Down Like Silver (1975)
• First Light (1978)
• Sunnyvista (1979); and
• Shoot Out the Lights (1982)

In addition, the box premieres two new collections. Sometimes It Happens – The Early Years brings together 14 rarities including two previously unreleased cuts. This disc features tracks from The Bunch (“The Loco-Motion,” “My Girl the Month of May,” and an unissued alternate of “Sweet Little Rock and Roller”), Linda’s solo demos and her appearances on albums by Richard and Brian Patten, a demo of “When Will I Be Loved” with Linda and Sandy Denny, a pair of live tracks from 1972-1973, and the previously unheard “Amazon Queen.” The second bonus disc, The Madness of Love – Live, has nine unreleased tracks and two new remixes. Six tracks are from the duo’s Queen Elizabeth Hall performance of April 25, 1975, with a further five from Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on May 1, 1977.

Hard Luck Stories promises to be a lavish collection, boasting a 72-page hardcover book with previously unpublished photographs from Gered Mankowitz, Keith Morris, and Penny Smith, as well as images from the artists’ archives. Liner notes have been penned by Patrick Humphries (author of Richard Thompson: The Biography) and Mick Houghton (author of I’ve Always Kept a Unicorn, a biography of the late Sandy Denny). Both authors spoke to Richard and Linda in preparation for writing their notes.

The Thompsons’ groundbreaking albums are not only cornerstones of the folk-rock genre but remain as powerful today as when originally released. Hard Luck Stories (1972-1982) celebrates both of their ever-resonant voices and places their formidable body of work in context. It’s due from UMC stateside on Friday.  You’ll find pre-order links and the full track listing below.  Note that there have been reports of difficulty ripping some of the CDs in the box as well as playback issues.  We’ve reached out for comment and will update this story accordingly once received.

Richard & Linda Thompson, Hard Luck Stories 1972-1982 (Island/UMC, 2020) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

* previously unreleased

Disc 1: Sometimes It Happens – The Early Years

1. Sweet Little Rock N’ Roller (Alternate Version) – The Bunch *
2. The Loco-Motion – The Bunch
3. My Girl In The Month Of May – The Bunch
4. When Will I Be Loved (Duet with Sandy Denny) – The Bunch
5. Amazon Queen – Richard Thomspon *
6. Shaky Nancy – Richard Thompson
7. The Angels Took My Racehorse Away – Richard Thompson
8. Embroidered Butterflies – Brian Patten
9. After Frost – Brian Patten
10. Sometimes It Happens (Demo)
11. Restless Boy (Demo)
12. The World Is a Beautiful Place
13. Shady Lies (Live At London University College – 10/25/1972)
14. Napoleon’s Dream (Live At The Memphis Folk Club, Guildford Hotel, Leeds – January 1973)

Tracks 2-4 from The Bunch (Island, 1972)
Tracks 6-7 from Richard Thompson (Island, 1972)
Tracks 8-9 from Vanishing Trick (Tangent, 1976)
Track 10 from Dreams Fly Away (A History Of Linda Thompson) (Hannibal, 1996)
Tracks 11-12 from Give Me a Sad Song (Fledg’ling, 2001)

Disc 2: I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight and bonus tracks

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 (Take 1) *
13. The End Of The Rainbow (Linda Vocal Version) *
14. A Heart Needs a Home (Demo) *
15. The Great Valerio (Live At The Rainbow Theatre, London – 3/16/1975)

Tracks 1-10 released as I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight (Island, 1974)
Track 15 from Dreams Fly Away (A History Of Linda Thompson) (Hannibal, 1996)

Disc 3: Hokey Pokey and bonus tracks

1. Hokey Pokey (The Ice Cream Song)
2. I’ll Regret It All In The Morning
3. Smiffy’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 (Live On Marc Time – 1975) *
12. A Heart Needs a Home (Alternate 1976 Version)

Tracks 1-10 released as Hokey Pokey (Island, 1975)
Track 12 from (Guitar, Vocal) A Collection Of Unreleased and Rare Material 1967-1976 (Island, 1976)

Disc 4: Pour Down Like Silver and bonus tracks

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 (Demo) *
12. Things You Gave Me (Live At Oxford Polytechnic – 11/27/1975)
13. It’ll Be Me (Live At Oxford Polytechnic – 11/27/1975)
14. Calvary Cross (Live At Oxford Polytechnic – 11/27/1975)

Tracks 1-8 released as Pour Down Like Silver (Island, 1976)
Track 12 from …In Concert, November 1975 (Island/Universal, 2007)
Tracks 13-14 from (Guitar, Vocal) A Collection Of Unreleased and Rare Material 1967-1976 (Island, 1976)

Disc 5: The Madness Of Love – Live

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
7. The Madness Of Love
8. Night Comes In
9. A Bird In God’s Garden
10. The King Of Love
11. Layla

Tracks 1-5 recorded live at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London – 4/25/1975. Track 3 from (Guitar, Vocal) A Collection Of Unreleased and Rare Material 1967-1976 (Island, 1976). Track 4 from expanded edition of Pour Down Like Silver (Island, 2004)
Tracks 6-11 recorded live at The Theatre Royal, London – 5/1/1977

Disc 6: First Light and bonus tracks

1. Restless Highway
2. Sweet Surrender
3. Don’t Let a Thief Steal Into Your Heart
4. The Choice Wife
5. Died For Love
6. Strange Affair
7. Layla
8. Pavanne
9. House Of Cards
10. First Light
11. Strange Affair (Demo) *
12. Drunk (Demo) *
13. The Dust Of Your Road (Demo) *
14. Layla (Demo) *
15. Died For Love (Demo) *
16. First Light (Demo)

Tracks 1-10 released as First Light (Chrysalis, 1978)
Track 16 from Doom and Gloom From The Tomb (Flypaper, 1985)

Disc 7: Sunnyvista and bonus tracks

1. Civilisation
2. Borrowed Time
3. Saturday Rolling Around
4. You’re Going To Need Somebody
5. Why Do You Turn Your Back?
6. Sunnyvista
7. Lonely Hearts
8. Sisters
9. Justice In The Streets
10. Traces Of My Love
11. Georgie On a Spree
12. Lucky In Life (Demo) *
13. Speechless Child (Demo)
14. Traces Of My Love (Demo)
15. For Shame Of Doing Wrong (Demo)
16. The Wrong Heartbeat (Gerry Rafferty Version)
17. Back Street Slide (Gerry Rafferty Version – 1996 Remix)

Tracks 1-10 released as Sunnyvista (Chrysalis, 1979)
Track 11 from “Civilisation” single (Chrysalis, 1979)
Tracks 13-14 from Doom and Gloom From The Tomb (Flypaper, 1985)
Tracks 15-16 from Watching The Dark – The History Of Richard Thompson (Hannibal, 1993)
Track 17 from Dreams Fly Away (A History Of Linda Thompson) (Hannibal, 1996)

Disc 8: Shoot Out The Lights and bonus tracks

1. Don’t Renege On Our Love
2. Walking On a Wire
3. Man In Need
4. Just The Motion
5. Shoot Out The Lights
6. Back Street Slide
7. Did She Jump Or Was She Pushed?
8. Wall Of Death
9. Living In Luxury
10. The Wrong Heartbeat (Shoot Out The Lights Version) *
11. I’m a Dreamer (Gerry Rafferty Session – 1996 Remix)
12. Walking On a Wire (Gerry Rafferty Session – 1996 Remix)
13. Pavanne (Live At 2nd Story, Bloomington IN – 5/29/1982) *
14. High School Confidential (Live At 2nd Story, Bloomington IN – 5/29/1982) *

Tracks 1-8 released as Shoot Out The Lights (Hannibal, 1982)
Track 9 from “Don’t Renege On Our Love” single (Hannibal, 1982)
Tracks 11-12 from Dreams Fly Away (A History Of Linda Thompson) (Hannibal, 1996)