UPDATE 9/24: Just days prior to the U.S. release date of Richard and Linda Thompson's box set Hard Luck Stories (1972-1982), it became known that some copies of the collection were plagued by playback issues and difficulty ripping the discs to one's personal computer. The Second Disc immediately reached out for comment, and today, Universal Music has addressed the situation with an official statement. We're sharing that statement (which is also available at uDiscovermusic.com, the label's online storefront) here:
A message from the record label: "We are aware of issues affecting some CDs in a small number of the Richard & Linda Thompson 8CD boxed set, 'Hard Luck Stories 1972-1982'. Having spoken to the manufacturer, it appears likely that these were caused during the hand-packing process. If you have been affected please email infoumc@umusic.com, including proof of purchase, and we will send you a download code for the full contents of the package. If you request them, we will also arrange to send replacement discs to you. Please note, this box set is now sold out. If you return your box to the store you purchased from it will only be possible to get a refund."
If you have already purchased the box set, please reach out now to infoumc@umusic.com to arrange for your download code and/or replacement discs. If you've been on the fence, note that Universal states that the set is "sold out," and no additional quantities of the box will be manufactured. However, copies are still available at uDiscover (with or without an exclusive lithograph) as well as many retailers. You can purchase with confidence that, if your copy is one affected by the issues, you will be entitled to replacement discs if requested.
ORIGINAL POST: 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
- Sweet Little Rock N' Roller (Alternate Version) - The Bunch *
- The Loco-Motion - The Bunch
- My Girl In The Month Of May - The Bunch
- When Will I Be Loved (Duet with Sandy Denny) - The Bunch
- Amazon Queen - Richard Thomspon *
- Shaky Nancy - Richard Thompson
- The Angels Took My Racehorse Away - Richard Thompson
- Embroidered Butterflies - Brian Patten
- After Frost - Brian Patten
- Sometimes It Happens (Demo)
- Restless Boy (Demo)
- The World Is a Beautiful Place
- Shady Lies (Live At London University College - 10/25/1972)
- 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
- When I Get To The Border
- The Calvary Cross
- Withered and Died
- I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight
- Down Where The Drunkards Roll
- We Sing Hallelujah
- Has He Got a Friend For Me
- The Little Beggar Girl
- The End Of The Rainbow
- The Great Valerio
- Mother & Son *
- Down Where The Drunkards Roll (Take 1) *
- The End Of The Rainbow (Linda Vocal Version) *
- A Heart Needs a Home (Demo) *
- 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
- Hokey Pokey (The Ice Cream Song)
- I'll Regret It All In The Morning
- Smiffy's Glass Eye
- The Egypt Room
- Never Again
- Georgie On a Spree
- Old Man Inside a Young Man
- The Sun Never Shines On The Poor
- A Heart Needs a Home
- Mole In a Hole
- Hokey Pokey (Live On Marc Time - 1975) *
- 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
- Streets Of Paradise
- For Shame Of Doing Wrong
- The Poor Boy Is Taken Away
- Night Comes In
- Jet Plane In a Rocking Chair
- Beat The Retreat
- Hard Luck Stories
- Dimming Of The Day/Dargai
- Wanted Man *
- Last Chance *
- Dimming Of The Day (Demo) *
- Things You Gave Me (Live At Oxford Polytechnic - 11/27/1975)
- It'll Be Me (Live At Oxford Polytechnic - 11/27/1975)
- 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
- Dargai
- Never Again
- Dark End Of The Street
- Beat The Retreat
- The Sun Never Shines On The Poor
- If I Were a Woman and You Were a Man
- The Madness Of Love
- Night Comes In
- A Bird In God's Garden
- The King Of Love
- 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
- Restless Highway
- Sweet Surrender
- Don't Let a Thief Steal Into Your Heart
- The Choice Wife
- Died For Love
- Strange Affair
- Layla
- Pavanne
- House Of Cards
- First Light
- Strange Affair (Demo) *
- Drunk (Demo) *
- The Dust Of Your Road (Demo) *
- Layla (Demo) *
- Died For Love (Demo) *
- 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
- Civilisation
- Borrowed Time
- Saturday Rolling Around
- You're Going To Need Somebody
- Why Do You Turn Your Back?
- Sunnyvista
- Lonely Hearts
- Sisters
- Justice In The Streets
- Traces Of My Love
- Georgie On a Spree
- Lucky In Life (Demo) *
- Speechless Child (Demo)
- Traces Of My Love (Demo)
- For Shame Of Doing Wrong (Demo)
- The Wrong Heartbeat (Gerry Rafferty Version)
- 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
- Don't Renege On Our Love
- Walking On a Wire
- Man In Need
- Just The Motion
- Shoot Out The Lights
- Back Street Slide
- Did She Jump Or Was She Pushed?
- Wall Of Death
- Living In Luxury
- The Wrong Heartbeat (Shoot Out The Lights Version) *
- I'm a Dreamer (Gerry Rafferty Session - 1996 Remix)
- Walking On a Wire (Gerry Rafferty Session - 1996 Remix)
- Pavanne (Live At 2nd Story, Bloomington IN - 5/29/1982) *
- 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)
Philip John Birtwistle says
I've emailed and am hoping that if that any replacement discs sent out are from a new batch.
Brian Stanley says
If i’d know this was a limited pressing i wouldn’t have waited for X-mas. Bummer.
Joe Marchese says
It's still available from most retailers; I just wouldn't wait TOO long for it. 🙂
Valter Maggioni says
Is the problem with the U. S. packages only or is it worldwide?
Philip John Birtwistle says
World wide.
Fred Schenck says
I received my copy yesterday--in need of replacement discs (and a download would be nice to play through a flash drive). Emailed Universal, but I have yet to hear back. I remain hopeful!
Robert Lett says
Does anyone know exactly which discs to check for playback issues (I don’t care about burning or copies) or do we have to listen to the entire set before knowing whether to request replacement discs? Mine just arrived not sure when I’ll be able to get thru the whole box but would like to know if mine is OK.
Valter Maggioni says
I had to listen all the discs of my copy of the box set once and only few tracks had problems.
So I repeat the listening of these tracks once again and then they play well, except for one.
I think that my CD player is part of the problem because is not brand new,but I need further investigations.
The only track that I am not to be able to listen until the end because the disc is worn(in my opinion) is "When will I be loved", track 4 of disc 1.
Robert Lett says
Half way through and so far no issues with playback. People have complained about scratched CDs but none are fine. My box does have a small cut of some sort through the back of the box which kind of drives me nuts. No playback issues yet tho. Someone on Amazon mentioned they had a couple wrong songs for the bonus tracks on disc 6 but mine are the correct tracks. Wondering if they shipped mine after corrections. Feel lucky in that regard at least. It’s a pretty set. (Kind of same package design as the big Bobbie Gentry box.)
Robert Lett says
“Mine are fine” (CDs) typo, sorry
Robert Lett says
Mine played fine all the way through playback wise. I would like to find a replacement outer case if anyone ended up with one through this return business, as mine was slightly damaged. Hit me up if anyone has an extra to trade or sell. I would just return it but it's out of print plus afraid of the disc issues.
Andrew B. says
Has anyone else not received a reply from Universal after emailing them about this? I emailed over a week ago about receiving replacement discs and haven't heard back. Not sure if this is typical.
Tonio says
I have received one of the last copies to the box set today (lucky to have it), but unfortunately there are also problems with some of the discs. As the box was brand new and sealed and all the cd's are mint, it seems to be a mastering problem.
I cross my fingers, because I have yet to check the other discs and send my mail to Universal.
Have they answered your mail yet?
Tonio says
Or rather, a pressing problem.
Sally Bowles says
Has anyone actually received replacement discs? I received an email two months ago indicating they woud be sent out on November 15, but as the new year approaches I've received nothing.
Philip John Birtwistle says
Not sure where you're based, but mine landed in England about four weeks ago. A thread in the Steve Hoffman forum reveals many people are still without though.
Tonio says
Nothing here. Not even answer to my three e-mails. A lot of bad experiences with some companies lately. Like all good manners have been thrown out the window...
Brian Prager says
This is just madness, isn't it? Why produce only one run... of grossly defective discs? There is obviously demand for the set; so why was it pre-determined that the set was to be taken out of print before a single round of competently pressed discs has been released?
We would like to obtain this, now! Not all of Richard and Linda's listeners could possibly have known of the release, the release date, and the extremely limited nature of the release. We understand the "luxury goods" mentality that underlies planning in advance for an object to become rare as quickly as possible. But this hardly seems sensible with easilly reproducible digital media. We're talking about music here; not diamonds.
I find this shameful to be honest.
Howard says
I have the u.s. box from Amazon, ordered Jan. 2021, no playback problems, all ripped to my hard drive o.k. But the cd drive had to work hard to rip these discs. The same thing happened with another Universal box set, the Imagine ultimate collection in 2018. CD drive would stall and restart while ripping numerous times, which is odd for brand new discs in 2 separate box sets. I don’t believe these are faulty batches of discs, I believe they are deliberately manufactured this way. They play perfectly well in any CD players except computer disc drives.