"An eight-disc box set tells the complete story of the talented yet star-crossed UK folk-rock duo, tying up loose ends and illuminating areas previously shrouded in darkness"

"Album of the week" - "This eight-CD box set includes 31 previously unreleased tracks, not to mention every twist and turn of this most compelling of double acts ... Box sets often exist merely to evacuate the wallets of the faithful. Here, though, over eight CDs (or a big download) is the story of one of the most intriguing partnerships in British music: the silvery folk-rock duo Richard and Linda Thompson. It is a tale worth retelling - and shelling out for"

"Reissue of the month" - "Hard Luck Stories attempts to catalogue, across eight CDs, the fragile decade the Thompsons spent together and all that they created in that tumultuous time. Inside there's one masterpiece and three very fine records, all rematered. There are also two albums disowned by their creators and reissued here for the first time in almost 30 years, along with demos and live tracks"