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Richard Thompson
Being a true fan of Richard Thompson (I have referred to him as my favorite musician/artist/songwriter/performer/guitarist), it is difficult to have anything but unabashed praise for anything that attempts to cull his best work. The only real problem, then, with Action Packed, is its limitation in scope. As the sub-title states, this album is intended to represent the best of his years while on Capitol Records, a period that runs from 1988 through 1999 and encompasses only five albums. This is a small window for reflection, especially for an artist whose history has been so long and varied. As such, Action Packed is more of a sampler package than anything quite so grand and comprehensive as what a ‘Best Of’ collection would normally suggest.
The five albums that Richard Thompson released for Capitol in the past decade were all good. In my opinion, all of them are worthy of attention. To this end, Action Packed takes on the responsibility of compiling these records and representing them for what they are, hopefully in a way that might attract buyers to Thompson’s catalog of work. The thing of it is (as is true of any collection, really) that too many great songs are overlooked, while some that aren’t find their way in. “Turning of the Tide,” “1952 Vincent Black Lightning”, “Razor Dance” and “Cold Kisses” all serve the album’s purpose well. “Uninhabited Man” and “I Can’t Wake Up to Save My Life” are both fine songs, but lack the impact that any neophyte would hope for, thus potentially giving the impression that Thompson’s catalog might not run as deep as it does.
Songs that I believe would have better suited the purpose of the album’s compiler include “Reckless Kind,” “Can’t Win” and “Easy There, Steady Now,” all of which capture Thompson’s searing wit and, in the case of “Can’t Win,” his genius at musical expression. This collection actually has more appeal to Thompson fanatics, since it includes three rare tracks, including “Persuasion,” a moving and melodic composition written by Thompson with Neil Finn (Crowded House) and performed as a duet with his son, Teddy. Otherwise, if you are interested in finding a place to familiarize yourself with Richard Thompson, I’d suggest that you buy one of the studio efforts that this collection attempts to represent (Try Mock Tudor or Amnesia if you want to hear his best work on Capitol). It conveys the man’s abilities just as well, and chances are that you’ll like it enough to buy all of the others anyway.
Grade: 
 
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