SD's 10 Favorite Box Sets

Hey kids, a few days ago I waxed poetic about the beauty of the box set. On Friday, that story, plus three dynamite essays about what we're missing in iPod Nation, hits newsstands. In celebration of this most excellent package, I've been asked to list my fave box sets. So last night, Kid Lulu, who looooves dismantling those suckers, and her Old Man went into my CD-strewn office and played some tunes.

Here's a few of my (and Lulu's) faves...

10. The Legend: Johnny Cash (Columbia)
9. Warner Bros.: 75 Years of Film Music (Warner Bros.)
8. The Brit Box: UK Indie, Shoegaze and Brit-Pop Gems of the Last Millennium (Rhino)
7. El Cancionera Mas y Mas: Los Lobos (Warner Bros.)
6. Jersey Beat: The Music of Frankie Valli & the 4 Seasons (Rhino)
5. Rockin' Bones: 1950s Punk & Rockabilly (Rhino)
4. The Music of Disney: A Legacy in Song (Walt Disney)
3. Can You Dig It? The '70s Soul Experience (Rhino)
2. Ray Charles Pure Genius: The Complete Atlantic Recordings (1952-1959) (Atlantic)
1. Biograph: Bob Dylan (Columbia)

Comments

[Tonka]

What, no Led Zep "Complete Studio Recordings?"

[Sean Daly]

Alas, I don't own that one. Is that the "garage" format, with the little swinging door?

[Sean Daly]

I'd also be lying if I didn't say I spent great chunks of my early 20s listening to Jimmy Buffett's "Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads."

[jane]

Simply for its comprehensive content, I rather like the set that accompanies Ken Burns' Jazz. I've got many of the tracks on other discs or mp3s, but it's cool to have all the "greats" in one place.

In the same vein, the set for Scorsese's Blues series is another really good encompassing compilation.

Oh -- Wynton Marsalis Live at the Village Vanguard= sublime. And while I don't have it myself (yet...), I've given the Sinatra in Vegas set as a gift and it's received rave reviews from my pals.

Jazz Geeks Rule!

[Tonianne]

The Complete Verve Remixed Deluxe
Four Women: Nina Simone Philips Recording
Coltrane: The Classic Quartet: Complete Impulse Studio Recordings
Hotel Costes: The Collectors Box

[Guy]

Where's Springsteen's Tracks?

Seriously, the inclusion of "Janey Don't You Lose Heart" alone makes it Top 10-worthy.

[Douglas Arthur]

Hey Sean,

Checking in again from the SIT80s blog...strangely I feel like I am cheating. Anyway I absolutely love this topic because I love everything that comes with physical Cds! I have quite a few box sets and love the packaging and extras.

I have not one but two King Crimson boxes. Frame By Frame and The Great Deceiver. Both are 4 discs and both come with mammoth scrapbook liner notes compiled by band leader Robert Fripp. Both feature great graphics and great music of course. Frame By Frame features 3 discs of remastered studio tracks and 1 disc of previously unreleased live tracks. The Great Deceiver is host to 4 discs of awesome live shows featuring the mid 70s version of the band with Fripp, John Wetton, Bill Bruford, and David Cross (no, not THAT David Cross)great stuff made even better by the context of the booklet with reviews and diary musings from Fripp. Like you said, you don't get that from a download. I also own Eno Box I and Eno Box II. Box I I purchased as an import for $110 in the early 90s because it was unreleased here in the US ...of course it was finally released here's few years later for much much less. When I got my first CD player back in 89 I also received the David Bowie Sound +Vision box which was pretty cool.

For a little while after iTunes opened for business I was all about the downloads, but I quickly felt like I was missing something, so I have gone back to purchasing physical CDs whenever I can. I learned a lot about music and discovered a lot of other bands by reading liner notes as a kid and in college. Most kids today are deprived of that visceral experience, and quite frankly it sucks.

[John Hays]

Good stuff. You need to check out Message In A Box: The Complete Recordings of The Police!

[jane]

*hangs head in shame*

Cannot believe that I of all people forgot to mention Message in a Box. Bad fan! Bad fan!

Highly recommended, natch.

[Tonianne]

Ugh. I was kicking myself yesterday when I forgot Stevie Nicks' "Enchanted" and Donald Fagen's "Nightfly Trilogy."

And damn if I too forgot "Message in a Box."

Because a girl can never have enough Sting.

[jane]

Actually, a girl can never have enough Stewart Copeland.

But that's just me.

[Gene]

Even if you have all of Springsteen's individual albums, the 6LP/3CD box of Live from the 70's to 90's is the best observation on the progression of his music through that time frame.

[Felicia]

Thanks for the list so far the only two box sets I have are Stevie Wonder and The Police. Both are awesome!

[dreaming]

if i got all my box sets for free like you, id love them, too.
but actually, the packaging takes up too much room and you hate to throw it away at the same time.

[silas.beach@verizon.net]

LOVE THAT BOB,my friends say I am his bigest fan I tell them , you just don`t get it, you have no idea, it`s not always about a pretty voice, you got to go deep,it`s not for everybody I feel bad that some have to mis out on the best words ever put together,
Silas Beach

[KJW]

The Disc Four Dilemma:
My favorite box set, for purely "box set" reasons, is Rod Stewart "Storyteller" because it is Exhibit 1 in how he went from awesome bluesy rocker to cheesy-popper. "Storyteller" is the cautionary tale of an artist who lost the muse.
Discs 1 and 2 are packed with stand-out, top-shelf performances. Disc 3 contiues the trend but by the end of it, goes off the deep-end and by Disc 4 we've got "Love Touch" and synthesizers galore.
You can almost hear Stewart watching the clock in the recording studio anticipating attending his next fashion show.

A decent measure of how great the artist is: Can they adequately fill disc four up on the box set (without resorting to the classic "live" material or alternate takes)? Few can. Stewart can't.