Richard Thompson might be a cult artist, but he's one hardworking cult artist. Let someone like Alex Chilton cop that mercurial, I'll-play-when-I-feel-like-it stance. In contrast, British folk-rocker Thompson tours and records practically nonstop, plus he keeps his Web site, richardthompson-music.com, humming with choice (if pricey) live and archival releases. But nothing quite compares to the new RT: The Life and Music of Richard Thompson (Free Read). Very, very little of RT's five CDs (plus its mail-order sixth, available via voucher to the first 5,000) can be found anywhere else.

The box is weighed toward acoustic (often solo) live renditions, sometimes with less-than-pristine audio quality. Fortunately, Thompson is a fierce acoustic guitarist (we'll get to his electric playing). Sans studio gloss, "I Feel So Good" and "I Misunderstood" only gain intensity. On the other hand, by the fifth (or sixth) disc, you might find your patience for button accordion, fiddle, mandolin and the like at a breaking point. This is where you maybe put some other music on for a bit.

Come back to RT an hour or two later, and you'll remember how much ground Thompson covers. Filling "The End of the Rainbow" and "Genesis Hall" with a dread that seems to stretch back for ages, he can stare down any goth. To witness the restrained power of his work with former wife Linda, cue up the live version of "Walking on a Wire," recorded as their marriage was falling apart. But Thompson's a consummate entertainer too, like when he got inside "Oops! I Did It Again." (It's actually not all that jarring an idea; the song tells a very similar story to "I Misunderstood.") Sometimes he can just make time stand still, most clearly on an absolutely sublime version of Nick Drake's "Time Has Told Me," recorded with Hawaiian guitarist Raymond Kane.

And then, oh, there's that electric guitar. Thompson's unflagging energy and innate sense of dynamics makes each guitar solo sound like a song inside the song. Although disc three is ostensibly dedicated to his most memorable "extended workouts," it's the live version of "Shoot Out the Lights" on disc one that features the most compelling soloing of the box. That he still finds such endeavors worth pursuing means he risks becoming a relic. The best moments of RT prove it's always been worth it.

If you want to see the bright lights tonight, go to undertherock.blogspot.com.