My offering:
Miles Davis – The Complete On The Corner Sessions. It covers the period 1972-1975 and material recorded for On The Corner, Big Fun and Get Up With It. There is over six hours of music, three of which had never been released before. Only The Molester, a mix of Black Satin issued as a single, is missing. There are over two dozen musicians, reflecting how experimental Miles was at this point in his career. Unlike it’s predecessor, The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions, there are fewer takes of the same track. I’ve owned it for nearly twenty years and I am still to fully drink it all in.
“The Molester”? 🤢
https://www.discogs.com/release/2934677-Miles-Davis-Molester
As a committed Milesian, I do sometimes think that you could lose yourself in all the studio and live sets, basically for ever.
Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot SDE
I would also go with Wilco – Yankee Foxtrot Hotel or
Prince Sign O the times or The Waterboys Fishermans Box.
Are we talking purely in terms of content here?
Surely presentation/packaging and sleeve notes
would also be major factors.
Off the top of my head, I’d go for Dylan’s Biograph – the
Daddy of all box sets ( his first Bootleg Series box was equally
Groundbreaking.
The Love is the Song We Sing box on SF in the 60s is truly a thing
Of wonder,too.
I normally dislike the type of box sets that Biograph represents (the mix of greatest hits and rarities) but it works really well. When I bought it, I owned his most famous albums, and what Biograph did was give you the best songs from albums that you maybe didn’t fancy forking out for (Every Grain of Sand, I Believe in You, Senor, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door) among all the hits and rarities. So it was a good deal in that regard. It tells the story very well I think. (It also teaches you to be wary of his live albums by including a terrible track from Before the Flood).
And a brilliant live track from Liverpool 66 IIRC
My vote goes to the following boxes/SDEs, mostly based on the amount of top-quality content:
Ultravox – Lament
Jethro Tull – Broadsword and the Beast
Fish – Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors
Pink Floyd – Shine On, or The Later Years
Hawkwind – The Dust of Time, Space Ritual Live, Days of the Underground… (they/Cherry Red do put out good box sets)
I also like the Lichterland box from Unheilig because it includes a Christmas-themed candle. No Pink Floyd-style marbles or scarf for them. A candle!
While I’ve not bought any, the Tull boxes look magnificent.
Given the amount of TLC with which they’ve been assembled,
they are also incredibly good value for money
Thirded.
Fourthed. They are fab.
Fifthed !
Ditto the XTC boxes, same format as TMT.
Huh? Who is »TMT«?
And »same format«? – King Crimson released a couple of set in the same format as the XTX sets (they’re not really »boxes«, but regular CD-size digipacs in a slipcase).
It’s a Twangism: The Mighty Tull.
And, yes, I meant the BD+DVD sets, not the 174*-disc Red sessions Crimson box.
(*) think of a number and they’ve probably done it.
And what the heck is a „BD+DVD“ set – or is that another abbreviation from the boy‘s club to scare away civillians…?
Blu-ray Disc = BD apparently
Yes, exactly.
I don’t know why it isn’t BR, or even BRD, either. They didn’t ask me, sadly.
Crikey Captain!
A “Lament” boxset…what on earth is on that?
It’s 7 CDs and 1 DVD packed with remixes old and new (from Moby, Steven “Ubiquitous” Wilson, etc.), extended versions, and all the rest – everything you could want from the Lament-era ‘vox. Good mixes of DWTIME, Love’s Great Adventure, a gig from the Set Movements tour …
All of their deluxe boxes have been well done and good value, but the Lament box is the pick of the bunch. Rage in Eden is their best album, but this box is simply packed with good stuff.
https://ultravox.tmstor.es/
Thank you! I’m not a huge Ultravox fan at all though they had some cracking singles. I will say that Vienna, the album, is an absolute belter. Especially if you avoid the hit single though it’s just a victim of its own success.
Blondie – Against the Odds.
I would have said Talking Heads – Brick, but Warner’s choice of the ill-fated DualDisc format limited each disc to 60 minutes, so the bonus content was frustratingly lightweight.
How about…
Keith Jarrett at the Blue Note – The Complete Recordings.
or
Keith Jarrett Sun Bear Concerts – Solo Piano.
or
Fela – The Complete Works of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.
or
George Szell – The Cleveland Orchestra – The Complete Columbia Album Collection.
Ahh, the Szell box – you might be on to something there, Mr P.
It’s pretty stunning as one big box of standard repertoire. The Beethoven alone makes it a worthwhile purchase and that’s just scratching the surface.
Also John Coltrane Complete 1961 Village Vanguard. The finest music known to man.
The recent Nick Drake release is a case in point why I’m not in the market for box sets.
1. It’s £110 for 4 CDs… even £60 for 4 CDs seems far too much.
2. I’m interested in the stuff that would have been heard at the time and even then I couldn’t tell you the last time I listened to the original 69 album.
3. I don’t like flab! That’s why I don’t like Fat Boy J.
Not sure it even counts but the only ‘box set’ (more of a bigger CD package) I’ve bought in the last decade was The Yardbirds at the BBC. All broadcast at the time, all with very specific broadcast dates and, much as I love their run of 45s, it’s probably the best way to listen to this particular group.
The CDs work out at about £9 each.
I paid £54 (Amazon France preorder) is that OK? I’ve found if you really want something* you need to keep a check on these things.
*I am referring to physical music items of course.
The box set I play the most is The Moody Blues Timeless Flight. It’s far from perfect but I love it.
There are many more and a lot of what I have in mind have been mentioned already and I reckon will be mentioned in posts to come.
The one I have played the most frequently all the way through, and therefore my nomination for The Best Box Set Ever:
The Upsetter Box Set (PERRY 1)
The ones I most often dip into, in no particular order:
Little Feat – Rad Gumbo: The Complete Warner Bros. Years 1971-1990 (CDs)
Family – Old Songs New Songs. The Definitive Box Set (CDs)
Shirley Collins – within sound (CDs)
Sandy Denny – A Boxful Of Treasures (CDs)
John Martyn – The Island Years (CDs)
Robert Palmer – The Island Records Years (CDs)
Jess Roden – Hidden Masters: The Jess Roden Anthology (CDs)
Focus – 50 Years Anthology (CDs)
Various – back to the old school – ADVENTURES ON THE WHEELS OF STEEL (CDs)
Nick Drake – Fruit Tree (4 LPs)
Bob Dylan – The Bootleg Series Volumes 1 – 3 [Rare & Unreleased] 1961-1991 (5 LPs)
Jimi Hendrix – Live & Unreleased The Radio Show (5 LPs)
Agreed, that Lee Perry set is ace.
I bought the John Martyn set as Flac downloads from Qobuz for a fiver, so I don’t have the box.
The Jess Roden – Hidden Masters is superb.
The Chris Wood set from Hidden Masters – Evening Blue – is also excellent.
A few from my collection:
Bruce Springsteen – The Ties that Bind
The Life and Times of Richard Thompson
Lloyd Cole – In New York
Graham Parker – These Dreams Will Never Sleep
Anthology Of American Folk Music
Based on the ones I listen to – Dylan Bootleg series all of them but especially Tell Tale Signs.
The Fela box set though there is no real packaging or notes to speak of and the Lee Perry box set.
I’ve got all those Miles Davis sets and far too much noodling. After all this is what made Teo Macero so important.
Interesting. Normally, I hate noodling but love On The Corner.
I enjoy The Cellar Door Sessions almost as much. It’s a series of live sets building up to the live tracks used on Live Evil. Miles hones the band over the first four discs, then McLaughlin turns up for discs 5 & 6 and everything falls into place.
Cellar door – that’s a different kettle of fish.
I’m surprised to see The Life and Music of Richard Thompson in this list
When it came out Mark Ellen was quite rough on it and I thought justifiably so. To my eyes, the presentation is ugly, the booklet seems not to have been proofread and my feeling at the time was that there are too many inessential or low-fi (or both) tracks on the CDs. As a result, it’s a while since I listened to any of the CDs. I’m going to go back and try again this afternoon but in the meantime, how about Watching The Dark? It’s over 30 years old and only has 3 discs but I reckon it’s a brilliant compilation of his work up to then. And Hard Luck Stories (1972–1982) is quite superb. Many of the unreleased tracks are very good indeed. If Gerry Rafferty ever visits this site I’m sure he’ll add his agreement.
Very true on the Life Of box. I rarely play it. All that sound board stuff. WTD is superb though and my steady recommendation for people wanting to get to know our best songwriter and guitarist.
I tried the Life Of CDs and, good as some of the performances are, I ended up spending ages listening to WTD instead. The Life Of box might have been really good if reduced to 2 or, at most, 3 discs but the lack of quality control spoils it for me. The replica Vincent motorcycles catalogue is nice though.
I enjoyed Strict Tempo.
When RT brought his book out there was an online Q &A I asked if he’d consider bringing out another instrumental album, he replied if I’d like to fund it.
I’m seeing him next month I may just suggest it to him again.
Agree Watching the Dark is the best Richard Thompson box – the life and music of Richard Thompson is quite ooor in comparison.
Surely the correct answer is Bob Dylan: The Complete Album Collection Vol. One?
Well the SACD limited edition reissue box set is what I listen to most. A bargain on the dodgers at less than 10 bucks per disc. Not the fill catalogue but plenty. All in proper cases.
I have an SACD player and the sound is stunning.
Depends. Just taking all albums an artist make and putting them in a box isn’t particularly imaginative especially if nothing changes in mastering or mixing
Lloyd Cole – Cleaning Out The Ashtrays. A 4cd collection of rarities, b sides and some unreleased stuff. I listen to that more than the actual CDs he was putting out during that period.
The most thrilling box set I own is the Soft Cell vinyl 12” singles box covering Memorabilia to What! – a substantial purchase at the time (1983 I think) and a wonderful run of 6 singles. Each 12” version was considerably more satisfying than the single version. Exceptional b-sides too.
Three worth mentioning are:
Henry Cow’s ‘Cow Box Redux’, comprising 17 CDs plus three comprehensive booklets. Admittedly it won’t set any party alight, but all the known recordings of Henry Cow can be found there. It still sells for a remarkable £85 from ReR Megacorp.
‘Love From the Planet Gong’. This has twelve CDs and a quad mix. There are four studio albums superbly remastered (with extra tracks) but the real bonuses are the concert recordings. There are four concerts spread over seven discs and they are all excellent (although the Bataclan concert has lost a few minutes as a result of injudicious studio handling in the past).
Van Der Graaf Generator’s ‘Charisma Years’. First and foremost is the excellent remastering of eight studio albums (with radio shows attached), which has brought the albums alive. Then there are the remixed versions of four of the albums, plus a two-disc previously unreleased concert recording from 1976 and a sole disc from the 1975 Rimini concert. All the other extras that box sets seem obliged to provide are there too.
Are you me? Spooky!
I have the Cow’s box ‘The Studio Volumes 1 – 5’ and it is a splendid thing.
I have all three of the sets mentioned by Munster – and, indeed, these are the boxes which I have played most consistently.
If we’re including compilations like “Watching the Dark” under this heading, then I’ll mention “Triple Echo” – a superb Soft Machine triple LP and booklet package, for many years the only non-bootleg way to hear the Top Gear recording of Moon in June (now available on CD, of course).
seconded!
The one box set which gets fairly regular revisits is The Slade Box. 1969 to 73 is covered by disc one, and then there is a slow decline (and the slight rise) over the next three discs, but hey … it’s Slade.
Iron Maiden First Ten Years packed 20 12″ singles into a box – a new release over 10 weeks, and the you had to send the tokens in to get the box.
This year will be 44 years recording, and 50 years of existence
The Jam – Direction Reaction Creation
Basically the whole catalogue in a box. I thought the archives had been cleared, but a cover of Waterloo Sunset was uncovered and then tacked on to the Sound Affects re-issue
Special mention for Little Richard’s Specialty releases. 4 cds
Yay!
I’m not a great buyer of box sets but here’s a few that are guaranteed a regular play:
Joni Mitchell – Archives Vol 3
The Byrds – There is a Season
John Mellencamp – On the Rural Route
Cowboy Junkies – The Nomad Series
All of the Joni ones are marvellous.
@Boneshsjer I really want that John Mellencamp but it is bloody expensive.
Might search again.
Pink Floyd “The Early Years” was the most expensive box set I bought when I was flushed and to be totally honest it’s too much material that was already available bootlegs.
Pere Ubu’s “Datapanik in the Year Zero” box set from before Youtube era has stood the test of time, and the 70s albums were harder to track down then.
That Early Years set is an embarrassment of riches, I would say, especially if you don’t ‘do’ bootlegs.
Pencilsqueezer (above) has already mentioned one of my favourite boxes, namely Keith Jarrett’s “At the Blue Note” 6CD set.
I’d also add Sandy Denny’s “The Notes and the Words” as one of my absolute favourites.
Also mentioned in dispatches:
Gordon Lightfoot – Songbook (Gord’s 88 best songs, crammed onto 4CDs. Marvellous)
Townes van Zandt – Texas Troubadour (seven perfect studio albums in a row)
The Waterboys – Fisherman’s Box (one of the very few boxed sets where I thought “They should’ve charged MORE for this!”)
Louis Armstrong – Hot Fives and Sevens
Penguin Café Orchestra – A History
Richard and Linda Thompson – Hard Luck Stories
Fairport Convention – Live at the BBC
Joni Mitchell – Archives Vol. 3
Louis Armstrong! How easy is it to forget.
I forgot about that too but I forget about a lot of things tbh.
What a blunder-filled world
Arf!
An up for Satchmo too. What a great set
I agree that the Wilco YHT box is superb, as is the recent A Ghost is Born one. Lots of good quality unheard stuff and telling a story of an album.
My favourite box sets include the Robert Fripp Exposures set, and King Crimson Heaven and Hell. Both of these contain staggering amounts of high quality live stuff… and in the case of Fripp, studio tracks that I’ve never heard of before. I suppose they are an acquired taste, but I seem to have acquired it.
As mentioned above the XTC / Jethro Tull / King Crimson “boxset on a Blu Ray” sets are the best, containing a wealth of material, high quality audio all on one relativity cheap and accessible disc that doesn’t take up masses of space. And yes, I know the Tull ones are generally DVD, but the concept is the same.
I generally buy most of my music as downloads these days and generally these offer the same material as the big box at a fraction of the price (and often with better quality audio). The ones that annoy me are those like the Fleetwood Mac ones – if you wanted the surround mix you had to buy the big box, but that only contained CD quality audio for half the content , whereas the download was in full high resolution.
I will focus on vinyl box sets that offer more than just albums you can buy individually for less money.
My list includes
When Slade Ruled the World
Motorhead 1979
Talking Heads 77
Kinks Muswell Hillbillies
Supergrass The Strange Ones
I don’t think either have been mentioned yet
The complete stax/volt singles 59-68
The complete stax/volt singles 68-71
18 discs of absolutely incredible music
Absolutely!
Oh, duh..! Yes. These are the winners.
Are they, though?
Winner, winner Chicken Dinner.
A late but worthy entrant –
Atlantic Rythm and Blues 1947-74. 7 CDs and not a duff track between them…
Yeah, that’s brilliant as well Doc
Ditto
Back to Black 1900 to 1999, 100 years of black music 10cd box set isn’t too shabby either