Richard Thompson manages all of his usual superhuman feats on

Rumor and Sigh. Rippled, vibrant guitar lines that sound like they’re

coming from four guitars? Check. Lyrics that expose the delicate

quirks of human behavior in witty, truthful manners? Here. Engaging

vocals that arrive as if they are sung only to you, the words doubling

as whispered thoughts in your own head? Yep. But Rumor and Sigh

goes further by featuring astute, lively production and well-planned

arrangements that turn the 1991 album into the most cohesive and

accessible effort of Thompson’s storied career. Casual fans will likely

even recognize the Mitchell Froom-produced release includes the

incomparable “1952 Vincent Black Lightning,” a motorcycle-based

tale of desire, love, and death rightly recognized by TIME magazine

as one of its All TIME 100 songs. The singer-songwriter’s knack for

accentuating biting contrast pervades Rumor and Sigh in the same

manner his band shades his every move with narrative skill.

Mastered from the original master tapes, Mobile Fidelity’s RTIpressed

180g 2LP set and SACD breathe with an effervescent

openness that makes the music emerge with a livelier sheen,

standout dynamics, and unstoppable energy. The reissues are

strictly limited to 3000 and 2000 numbered copies, respectively.

They make it immediately evident Rumor and Sigh endures as a very

special album—a cohesive, varied, and fun set spiked with some

of Thompson’s finest compositions and unbridled exoticism. You

could plug in a guitar amplifier right next to you, connect a Fender,

and strum. Yet you still wouldn’t have the depth, intimacy, and detail

afforded by these audiophile editions.