Richard Thompson — Walking On A Wire: 1968-2009

Richard Thompson's music career has gone through three phases in its more than 40-year span: with Fairport Convention; with now ex-wife Linda; and as a solo artist.

I prefer the solo work, but I'm still pleased that all the eras are proportionately represented on this four-disc box set that includes songs from every album the master songwriter and guitarist has released.

Fairport Convention were a folk-rock act with traditional British influences, but collection-opener "Time Will Show The Wiser" shows they were at least as adept at psych-folk as Pink Floyd in their respective early days. Thompson stayed with the group for five albums, represented here by five songs, until he departed in 1971 after deciding the material he was writing was no longer right for the band.

Thompson began collaborating with former session singer Linda Peters on 1974's I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight, which has been hailed by some critics as one of the best albums ever and is represented here by six songs — most notably the brass band-inclusive title track and the Celtic-influenced "When I Get To The Border."

The couple made four more studio albums together before recording the landmark Shoot Out The Lights, which included the signature title track, the ever-popular "Wall Of Death" and "Man In Need," where Thompson's guitar virtuosity shines brightly. The on-stage tension present on their North American tour in support of the album, after their marriage had collapsed, has become legendary.

While Thompson had released a few solo works during this period, the third part of his career really begins with 1983's Hand Of Kindness, which included "Tear Stained Letter." Although Thompson is the farthest thing from a dance music artist, just try and stay still to this bitter rocker.

The rest of the '80s included three more studio albums that spawned the likes of "I Ain't Going To Drag My Feet No More," the should-have-been rock 'n' roll classic "Little Blue Number," the up-tempo Celtic folk-rocker "Valerie," the mature and melodic "Turning Of The Tide" and the beautiful acoustic ballad, "Waltzing's For Dreamers."

The '90s began with the Grammy Award-nominated Rumor And Sigh, which included the hook-laden "Read About Love," "I Feel So Good," and what has probably become Thompson's most requested concert song, "1952 Vincent Black Lightning." The ballad "Beeswing," acoustic-based "MGB-GT" and the charging "I Can't Wake Up To Save My Life" were the highlights of 1994's Mirror Blue.

The Industry concept album about the British industrial revolution with non-related bassist Danny Thompson often gets overlooked in the catalogue, but the 1997 disc shows the artist's rocking and lighter sides respectively with "Big Chimney" and "Lotteryland." The decade ended with Mock Tudor, which included the somewhat autobiographical "Cooksferry Queen" and "Hard On Me," which is represented here in a muscular live version.

A chugging acoustic cover of The Who's "A Legal Matter" was one of the highlights of 2003's wide-ranging 1000 Years Of Popular Music collection of songs that aren't among the more than 400 that Thompson has written. The Old Kit Bag came out the same year and featured the sombre "Gethsemane." Things end with three tracks from 2007's Sweet Warrior, including the angry "I'll Never Give It Up" and the Iraq war-based "Dad's Gonna Kill Me."

As with all collections that cover such a broad range of material, you can always think of songs you wish were included (in my case with this one it's "Don't Sit On My Jimmy Shands").

But Walking On A Wire is a valuable resource to give casual Thompson fans an overview of his legacy to this point, and to fill in gaps for more serious followers who maybe can't afford every record. By packaging the four CDs with a 60-page booklet full of insights and colour photos, Shout! Factory has created another valuable product.