Richard Thompson is the sort of musician who invites superlatives. He’s one of the best singer-songwriters and one of the best guitarists of the past 50 years. With a career that has spanned four decades, Thompson has amassed a discography that is among the deepest of any artist currently recording, and a hardcore following that makes up in loyalty what it may lack in sheer numbers.
With the entire recording industry in turmoil and transition brought on by the possibilities (or the threat) of the internet, Thompson parted ways with Capitol, his label for better than a decade. While Thompson and his management ponder the future shape of his recording career, Capitol has taken the opportunity to release a “best-of” collection.
Action Packed — The Best of the Capitol Years hits some of the high points of his Capitol albums from 1988 to 1999: Amnesia, Rumor and Sigh, Mirror Blue, You? Me? Us? and Mock Tudor, as well as the film soundtrack to a lightweight Australian movie, Sweet Talker.
Every fan has several favorite tracks from each of Thompson’s recordings, and the selection here is sure to disappoint some. All in all, Capitol and Thompson have stuck with the more mainstream of his songs from the ’90s: There’s no “Psycho Street,” no “God Loves a Drunk,” no “Hope You Like the New Me.” All the sure-fire “hits” are here, of course, including his most requested songs, the ballads “1952 Vincent Black LIghtning” and “Beeswing.” Thompson’s only blip on the MTV radar, 1991’s “I Feel So Good,” is also included, of course.
Mildly surprising are the inclusion of another ballad, the ultra-dark “King of Bohemia” and the sonically arresting “Uninhabited Man.” “Walking the Long Miles Home” seems a lightweight choice from Mock Tudor, rather than “Crawl Back,” which was pushed as the album’s single.
The CD finishes with three previously unreleased tracks: a duet with son Teddy Thompson on “Persuasion” and two that landed on the cutting-room floor during the final sequencing of Mock Tudor, “Mr. Rebound” and “Fully Qualified Man.” (Both were included in the limited vinyl release of the album.)
“Persuasion” started its life as an instrumental track on Sweet Talker, and had lyrics added by Australian Tim Finn. It’s a lovely, pop-leaning ballad, and this version is sonically beautiful, but a bit slow and melodramatic compared with the exquisite live version on the 1998 “authorized bootleg” Celtschmertz. Thompson generously gives most of the song to Teddy, who is in particularly strong voice here.
Both the remaining tracks are fairly undistinguished works compared with the strong songs that precede them, and both seem to mostly revisit themes and characters better developed in other songs in this collection and elsewhere. “Mr. Rebound” does have a nifty Kinks-like guitar break, and “Fully Qualified Man” an arresting stop-start rhythm.
Action Packed has some of the strengths and weaknesses shared by most “best-of” packages. It does raise the argument for a remixing and mastering of Thompson’s entire back catalog, complete with some of those elusive, rare and alternate tracks. For the optimist, this CD is a good introduction to the more accessible works of this often enigmatic artist; for the cynic, it’s nothing more than a repackaging job, a last-ditch attempt by Capitol to wring a few more dollars out of a musician the label perhaps failed to promote to his full potential while he was still with them.
(Capitol, 2001)
