So 2016 ended not with a bang but a tech fuck up – and one last death. So here is the start of a podcast riddled with so much dub reggae sound effects that it had to be remounted in 2017. Its supposed to be our 2nd regular Beatles podcast but there’s an AWFUL lot of Pink Floyd in it
The Flowers In The Dirt-y Robbing Bugger Super Deluxe Edition: just what is going on and we’ll just get the 2 CD edition and shout ya-boo-sucks!
Dr J tries to avoid the cross examination of legal eagle StevenC over his plans to buy the upcoming Fleetwood Mac – Tango In The NIght SDE by disappearing
We ask what’s in the shoe box, is there a car and do we REALLY need it.
What’s the best box set – should you go large or go home – all or nothing.
And Dr J gets to crowbar Jeff Lynne into the conversation again.
Same Shit, Different Year
RIP Clyde The Cat
LIstened to this podcast earlier today & thoroughly enjoyed it.
Generally speaking, box sets are out of my price range, & to be honest, I am not sure I would ever listen to any box set from beginning to end. Perhaps if a fully comprehensive Beatles box set ever hit the street I might be tempted but even then the price would almost certainly mean a thanks, but no thanks from me.
Yes, I do realise & accept that I am showing civilian tendencies here…
I am not a wealthy man but I recently splashed on* the Fela Kuti box set. A fair bit cheaper (but seemingly identical to the Black one) Red Box version.
Not particularly cheap but excellent VFM if Fela is to your liking.
As already stated elsewhere, expanded single-album boxes just ain’t my thing.
*Hurr…
I may well get the 5-album Traffic set that A*a*o* keep reminding me about. Works out at just under 2 quid an album, which ain’t bad.
Rubbish packaging but I already have them all as mp3s and also “Traffic” on scratchy vinyl. Would be nice just to be able to rip them to .flac and ditch those middling-bitrate .mp3s.
Similar early-Fairport and Sandy Denny album sets also available.
Another fan of back catalogue box sets here as opposed to expanded “Super Deluxe” versions of a single album. Outtakes, demos and the like don’t hold a lot of interest for me; endless repetition of the same songs with subtle variations would drive me bananas.
Like Mike H I bought the Fela red box, and am well over halfway through the 50-odd albums (2 per disc as a rule) and enjoying every minute. Am a bit further on with the Isleys’ house brick, which is quite the revelation.
I also love mixed artist box sets of labels, e.g. the Atlantic albums one from a few years ago, and the big P.I.R. compilation. I think the attraction is just getting lost in a particular world, albeit a discrete and manageable one.
Also not a fan of the expanded single album (But the XTC ones are amazing) The single label ones are usually good quality and value, the Elektra Forever Changes 5 cd is a top choice.
It’s interesting that the Beach Boys Good Vibrations Box Set is mentioned. I remember picking that up at Tower Records I think, for a reduced price on a weekend in London many years ago and excitedly staring at it and poring over the sleeve notes on the train home. I’d only heard a greatest hits, Pet Sounds and I think Surfs Up by that point so this was such a treasure trove. It was indeed a fantastic primer – my first proper exposure to the SMiLE and the rest of the 70s stuff. There was just enough there to give you a feel for what you should investigate further, some oddities and rarities and ultimately it was a great listen and set me off on a fantastic voyage through their back catalogue. I’d argue it’s still a fantastic crash course for anyone who wants to delve beyond the obvious stuff.
Of course, if they released that now – the #firstworldproblems whinge-fest that is SuperDeluxeEdition.com would be apoplectic with rage – (in fact has there ever been a box set that someone on SDE hasn’t had some hissy fit over the ommision of a 7″ radio edit or a 2 second fade that was different to the original PWL remix of whatever)
I guess the Box Set market is probably veering more toward giving you everything in one box (a la Pink Floyd) rather than an impulse buy/Xmas gift – so the bar has been raised particularly by yr Man Zimmerman I suppose.
I think the original idea of CD boxsets was to release a career spanning set on the new format, so that you could pick up most of what you need in one go without buying everything again that you already had on vinyl or cassette.
Top ‘cast again people.
Yep enjoyed that!
Thank you. Brutal edit
Was v good, cheers chaps.
I can’t believe I said “objet d’art” – what a ponce.
It sounded like you pronounced the second ‘t’. Did I mishear or is this an Irish thing?
**hangs head in shame**
No I edited that off to make @DrJ sound like a ponce
In Dublin an Objet DART is a delightful curio (an artificial leg, a semicircle of nail clippings, a Lucozade bottle half filled with piss perhaps) placed on the empty seat of a suburban train for the art lover to chance upon as they might turn a corner in a gallery to find a hitherto undiscovered room full of wonders..