Richard Thompson – Henry The Human Fly

Just picked this up and it's amazing. So much so that I want to buy a cleaner copy. Any recos on the best sounding release?

Definitely a wonderful weird one, up there with On the Beach and Marvin Gaye's Here My Dear. Sad that even back in the days of great--that is pre-program director/pre-uber commercial FM radio--this record didn't get picked by many radio jocks. Timeless, funny, sorrowful, and tunes galore.

Though lacking the gloomy grandeur of 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴—the greatest Brit-folk statement of its time—Thompson’s termitic (dipterous?) debut proves to be almost as satisfying. Side one opens strong with a chilling rocker that suggests Wire by way of Ravi Shankar: Thompson intones, “Live in fear” as his guitar dances raga-like across an eerily futuristic soundscape. Other highlights include the rousing “The Angels Took My Racehorse Away” (Elephant 6 and Television in utero), “Shaky Nancy” (with its gorgeous sax solo and Dylanisms), and the Sturm und Drang of “Painted Ladies” (which anticipates his magnum opus “The Calvary Cross”). At his best, Thompson gives the same edge to English folk that Lou Reed gave to doo-wop and rock and roll; though Thompson’s vision, devoid of easy sex and cheap fixes, is considerably bleaker.