Continuing his policy, begun with the Live at Crawley album, of releasing high quality alternatives to bootlegs, Richard Thompson released this album in 1996. The album was recorded during his 1994 tour of America.
The 1994 tour marked the debut of a new look, smaller live band for Thompson with multi-instrumentalist Pete Zorn and the rhythm section of Dave Mattacks and Danny Thompson (no relation) providing the backing. The 1994 band was the blueprint for future touring Thompson bands.
Two letter words is highly regarded by Thompson fans. It includes eight tracks from the then newly released Mirror Blue, and thus serves as an interesting contrast with the original album's controversial production.
Two Letter Words was initially released under a deal with Capitol Records, Thompson's label at the time, which permitted him to supplement his income with albums not recorded in the studio provided that they were not made available in retail outlets and were pressed in limited quantities. In 2009 it was re-released as a digital download available via Thompson's website. As of August 2020, it is still available from this source, and can be found on a variety of download and streaming services.