My first box set was Soft Machine’s Triple Echo, which may be the first, historically, with rare studio and live tracks rounding out a career overview to that point (already long in ’77!), together with a nice book. It set the form and the standard for all subsequent box sets, of which I bought quite a few. The advent of the CD made the concept more attractive, less cumbersome, and a regular feature of most acts’ back catalogue. Demos were expected, maybe interviews, anything that could be marketed as new, with the added value of remasters. And the bloat factor came in like gangbusters. Six discs, eight … there seems to be no limit.
But all of these lavish and satisfying collections stayed on the shelf. The act of owning them became enough in itself. What was the point of going to all the trouble of opening the box, choosing which disc you wanted to hear, and ejecting it after thirty minutes or so? When the alternative was simply to play an album, it all seemed too much hassle.
These days, I have no physical recordings at all, so the idea of a box set is redundant (as it is if you listen to streamed music from an internet). I may miss – slightly, no, not really – the package itself, the book, the notes, but listening to an album is still the base unit of my musical enjoyment (except for rare car trips, when I put the iPod on shuffle).
Do you get full value from your box sets? Do they replace original albums in terms of playability? Do you think owning hundreds of demos is a good thing in anything more than an archival sense? Do remasters significantly increase your pleasure and appreciation? In short, are your box sets repaying themselves in repeat listens, or simply looking good and satisfying on the shelf?
The Byrds, 1990. Made me cry. It did. Still does. You don’t understand? With great respect, fuck off.
Peace and love š
I ‘ad that ‘an all (and the Byrds have had more posts than any other band on my blog). The box set makes you cry? What are you, Moose or Mouse?
Waaahhhhhh!
It’s okay to cry, Moose. Go ahead. Let it all out. Here – have a Kleenex – big blow! Big blow! Tha-a-at’s it! No – you can keep it. Feel better? Want a hug, big guy? Yeah! All better now? Could you just – move your hand – take your hand off – SECURITY!
Better still, have a box of Kleenex…
You’re no fun any more.
Those days are long gone, Moose, and you need to let them go. Was it all a mistake? Who’s to say? Who’s to judge? We were young, and I was beautiful. You had your needs, and in that moment, that Aldi car park became the playground of forbidden passion – a bosky bower for an ancient rite! Perhaps it was “wrong” – can heartbreak ever be right? But whatever it was, let it be, MoussĆØ! Let it burn in your memory like a bright light in the darkness! I forgive you.
The bright light in the darkness was bring held by PCSO Steve “Ninja” Taylor, who I think needs to do a diversity course.
*lulzies!*
You’ve imagined that scenario far too forensically…a bit of projection going on, methinks.
That’s just “Ninja’s” torch.
I bought The Byrds 1990 box set too. Like all early box sets it was 2 CDs high, and had a nice booklet the same size which contained some comments by Tom Petty. It cost around 40 quid, but I was happy to shell out for the 4 new tracks recorded by the reconvened remaining Byrds (McGuinn, Crosby and Hillman). I even bought the second box set (There Is A Season) which arguably had a better selection of songs. I must have played both of them at least twice, and much prefer to play the original albums, but wouldnāt part with them.
Iām with you on the blubbing too. I was in the front row at one of McGuinnās solo concerts in the UK a few years ago, and found myself overwhelmed by the proximity of greatness.
I’d never heard any of the music before beyond the original Greatest Hits and, er, Dolphin Smile on The Rock Machine Turns You On. Danny Kelly’s OTT review in the NME persuaded me (he gave it “Infinite tens” as I recall )
Waaaaahhhhhh wahhhhhhh (etc)
First box is extremely flawed because (as usual) Gene Clark is under represented. The 2nd box puts that right, mroe or less.
I really like them. superdeluxeedition is my second go-to site after here. But I’m pretty choosy in what I’ll pick up. Demos don’t interest me particularly; I’d be happy to stream those. But outtakes and b-sides on vinyl (for an act with good form in this area) are a selling point for me. Similarly, text-based hardcover books I do return to (less so photo-based books and ‘art cards’). U2’s Joshua Tree has a well-recorded live set when they were very much on-form, the contemporary b-sides I used to have taped on cassette and would treat as a stand-alone album so having that on wax was a drawcard, the original LP was flat a sonic pancake so a remaster was called for. The Beatles’ White Album’s Esher Demos also stands up as an album as of itself, as does the Sessions LP accompanying Abbey Road. I decided against Prince’s Sign o the Times 4Lp because the extra gear was all 7″ edits; a selection of the better Vault stuff would have been a shoo-in for me. I do love the large formats and sympathetic packaging (less so the marbles and tea-coasters and replica backstage passes) but replay value is the decider for me.
Thank you for your thoughtful reply!
Dylan bootleg series Vol 1-3 may not be my first set but most impact. Such a treasure trove of unreleased but sill very good songs, alternate versions that while good demonstrated that he usually chose the right one.
The series has continued to impress.
I have a dilemma of storing in box which of necessity is in a separate shelving section or take out CDs and put them in the shelf With their brethren. I have gone with the latter.
A shout out to the Muddy Waters CHESS box set and although v expensive, the Mosaic jazz remaster series. Superb.
I have a few boxes sets of vinyls. The 5 record Springsteen live set. Alas I find the sound a bit to dense on that.
The Island folk set Electric Muse gets an airing occasionally and you canāt beat a booklet with pages of LP proportions to tell a story.
Anybody would think we’re a bunch of old geezers discussing the same old topics time and time again.
Have I ever told you that 97.34% of box sets are rarely if ever played more than twice and that 99% of the remaining 2.66% are played by blokes what post on here? I think I have.
You omitted to mention that 96.25% of all box sets are bought by old blokes who post on here in the first place.
The scene: a dingy pub snug. Lodestone Of Wrongness and some other blerks are staring at pints of flat beer.
Blerk 1: Weather’s a bugger.
LoW: I think you’ll find we talked about that already. Day before yesterday, if memory serves.
Blerk 1: Remember that Burt bloke?
LoW: No
Blerk 1: Me neither. Still, eh? Eh?
LoW: Weather’s a bugger.
Nothing to be done.
I like a nice box set, me. But the lines between a box set and an expanded edition have become blurred in recent years, and Iām a sucker for expanded editions even if the rare unreleased bonus tracks never get played more than once (sometimes not even once). Iāve bought all the REM expanded editions in full knowledge that Iām getting an extra CD of shite and a pointless poster, but such is the lure of the box set. Best box sets of all? The aforementioned Byrds box sets above, and Springsteenās Tracks. Iāve also shelled out for all the Dylan bootleg series apart from the God one and often play them as an alternative history of Dylan.
@Boneshaker, bad move -the “God one” is the best.
No it`s not and I`m right.
Tell Tale Signs, Another Self Portrait and Bootleg Series Vol 1-3 are better than the `God` one which is good but not gooder the aforementioned 3. A shout out for Zimmie`s first box Biograph which is very good therefore much better than the `God` one which is only good,
@Baron-Harkonnen – possibly a topic for another thread but my argument is as follows. Tell Tale Signs is excellent and has some unheard songs, Another Self Portrait is an eye opener for the singing especially however the God one does far better justice to a lot of the songs than the versions on the studio releases.
Biograph is his best box @Baron-Harkonnen but I am sure you will disagree.
Rather pleasingly, and going completely against industry norm, the Esher Demos appeared in their entirety on the 3CD release (Ā£15) two years ago. I expected them to be buried deep in the expensive edition.
My rules? If it’s bigger than the size of a single CD, don’t buy it – none of the recent activity around the Kinks’ back catalogue eclipses the 2CD versions (Ā£5 each), 3CD for Village Green (Ā£12 or so), of 10/15 years ago. Their back catalogue (the 60s) doesn’t take up much more space than Lewisohn’s huge Beatles’ book.
Also, anything over Ā£20 can take a running one. It’s a buyer’s market now.
One exception to the rule – I do have the Stax/Volt 59-68 45s Box Set – and have played it pretty steadily over the years ā¦ now reminded of it, that’s a significant chunk of November 2020 sorted.
Something of a sucker (never a more appropriate word!) for box sets myself.
Like most people, I end up playing artists’ sets all the way through once or twice at most. And let’s face it, it’s a bit of a chore digging out that Richard Thompson version of Tear Stained Letter recorded live in Sunderland from the long RT box that came out a few years ago.
Far more likely to get dusted off and played round these parts most often are the label (Motown/Stax/Immediate) or genre (Nuggets, etc) collections.
Best – and most immersive – of the bunch for me is this exquisitely compiled and packaged four disc set from, I think 2008.
More of a book set than a box set but it’s impossible not to dip into while you listen
Ever since I hankered after that Byrds box, never getting around to it as it was too dear for my then limited pockets, I have held a prejudice against the conceit of a box set. It was the Gram original vocals, overdubbed by McGuinn I lusted after. My pockets are now deeper, but I never got around to it, having acquired the songs needed anyway, on rereleases later down the line and the like, as single discs, rarely doubles. And so it goes. The rare tacked on tracks, dropped in to entice, all eventually appear somehow and somewhere, without all the cost of duplication of the majority other material. And I donāt necessarily mean on the Eel, either: happy to pay but at a more, to me, value for money meaning. None of the, as the Sage of Pouzolles states, ropey old unplayed dross of dodgy demos and leaky live performance.
I have no idea what this thread is about. Who buys sets of boxes?
I do however sometimes indulge in boxed sets of albums. I have a few choice vinyl ones – the three Lee Perry triple sets on Trojan, the Jimi 5 LP live-on-the-radio one that was withdrawn after a week or two once the estate got wind of it, and some equally dodgy jazz ones by Billie and ‘Trane. The first Dylan Bootleg set. Oh, and the first Sandy one on Hannibal and the FZ Joe’s Garage set and a couple of others I can’t recall.
I have quite a lot of CD based boxed sets; even the massive set of sets from Henry Cow and the enormo boxes Beyond Description and Golden Road (I can read their titles from here) from the Dead.
As others who collect sets of boxes have remarked, I am not too fussed about demos or ridiculous 7″ edits of album tracks that went out as a single in Paraguay or somewhere. I want to hear tracks that didn’t quite make the cut onto the limited time frame of an LP record, tracks that were only ever on a single anyway, and technically decent (usually soundboards or pre-FM masters) top-of-their-game concert recordings. Some of the stuff I see put out on boxed sets is shamefully barrel-scraped dross!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_set
Fake News.
Everyone knows wiki is faked by lefty lawyers and do-gooders on a daily basis.
Someone here should “box” your ears, you pedant, you!
Boxed sets of ears.
Love box sets – unreleased songs, demos, alternate versions, live stuff – bring ’em on, Particular favourite at the moment is Springsteen’s epic Tracks set, but if it’s a band I like generally speaking I’m in – Tull, Floyd, Yes, got ‘them all!
āMorning Cheshire. @Bargepole here. Your mission should you choose to accept, is to review the forthcoming release of Crimsoās boxset of the 1969 recordings.ā
āWhatās that then, a remaster of the original, a live recording and a CD of outtakes?ā
āBit more than that. 20 CDs. Youāll love it. Anyway thanks for offering.ā
ā20 fecking CDs!!!! Iām a key worker. I still have a job to go to. Couldnāt you ask someone whoās furloughed ā¦ā
āDonāt give me that key worker malarkey. Driving round the countryside in an empty metal box when the Mancs and Scousers arenāt even supposed to be socialising doesnāt make you a superhero. Anyway, furloughās coming to an endā
āor retired or something?ā
āNo, Chesh. Youāre our man for the task. You live on your own and your nearest neighbours are cows. Perfect for repeated interminable renditions of 21st Century Schizoid Man. Anyway, you need shaking out of your Anglo folk comfort zone.ā
āWhā¦ How do you know all that?ā
āThe mods have been, shall we say, āhelpfulā. Weāve also āhad a wordā with the powers-that-be and youāve been put in Tier 2, so youāve got nothing else on. It has been noted that youāve been rather slack lately on the OP front. Poking jibes at Kaisfatdad for multiple YouTube clips is all very well, but we need to see some commitment.ā
āBut ā¦.ā
āYou know your beloved Landrover that you thought was still in the workshop. Well, it does look very nice now, but it would be a shame, wouldnāt it?ā
Click
But seriously…..hats off to our feline friend for going above and beyond the call of duty by taking on this Herculean task in terms of both time and patience! You’re exempt from reviews duty for the rest of the year š
First box set – the purple vinyl ELO set of Eldorado, Face The Music and The Light Shines On.
I am absolutely on for owning boxed sets of albums (Thin Lizzy, ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynryd, Steely Dan) and those Original Album Classicss series. Lots of replay value here. ‘Action, Direction, reaction’ is a brilliant albums plus b-sides plus rarities set.
But pretty minimal interest in demos, alternative versions, live concert series.
Spotify was born for being able to listen to the one album of unreleased material and B-sides that accompanies a 6-CD reissue.
Also the coolest box set ever I still maintain is the CBS classics vinyl of Einstein On The Beach.
I think my first box set was a Buddy Holly one containing 6LPs which came out around 1980, which was possibly the first of its kind being an attempt to collect everything in one release. I did then get a couple of the Readers Digest sets – an Elvis one and another of early rock n roll which had a side each of people like Roy Orbison, Buddy, The Everlys, Billy Fury et al – played that a lot! As above, the Byrds box was probably my first CD set and, again, it got played an awful lot – the later Byrds set is actually better as it doesnāt ignore Gene Clark, but at the time this first one pretty much set the standard.
I still love a box set and probably have far too many – I even plumped for the de luxe Lennon set recently….just cos itās a really nice thing!
Strangely, I was in box set mode last night and played the 4 CD The Last Waltz set and a couple of discs from the Fairport BBC box.
Streaming is fine, and my recently purchased Bluesound streamer is bloody brilliant….but the box sets still call me….
Yeah, the first three discs of the Fairport BBC box are ACES.
Disc 4 doesn’t get too many plays, though. The audio quality is so poor it sounds like they’re singing at the bottom of the sea.
I think, from memory, that Disc 4 is made up of home type recordings as its called āoff airā..? Nice to have, but not a great listen.
Let’s be clear. ‘Original Album Classics’ and ‘Original Album Series’ surely don’t count as boxed sets? The ‘box’ in question has a side missing for God’s sake. It is a five-faced thin slip case of little note in both of those marketing ploys. I’ve got dozens of those things, sometimes aquired in Fopp for a tenner just to get the one album within that’s otherwise only available secondhand from the Russian Federation though the dodgers for the GDP of a small African economy.
Good point well made! (Unlike your earlier one). A slip case is not a box. Similarly, a book with discs inserted into pockets or clicked into trays inside the covers is not a box. Taking this further, I would maintain that PiL’s Metal Box isn’t a box, either. It’s a can, tin, or cannister.
Blimey, this getting very analytical….its called a metal box…. but it aināt a box..? What materials does a box need to be to be, yer know, an actual āboxā? And how many sides..?? Does size matter…or cost? The whole basis of my life is now in question and I canāt cope….
I refer you to my outside counsel, Vulpes Vulpes Q.C. (Quality Control)
The PIL cover/packaging was manufactured by the Metal Box company though
But the container that holds the records is exactly like the can(nisters) they store film reels in. Nobody in his right mind calls them boxes.
They also made something similar for Status Quo.
Surely a cylinder is 3-sided box? Top, bottom, and one (continuous) side.
A hat box is still a box.
Five if you include outside & inside.
I am very dull.
You’re right, it’s definitely “hat box” and they are definitely round. You can also get round chocolate boxes. But they’re not made out of metal, see. They would be tins else. Like biscuit tins. They can be round. You don’t get a “box of biscuits.”
Apparently Jah Wobble pointed out this discrepancy during a band meeting to discuss the album and was shouted down. He left the band not long after.
He collects boxed sets too.
The big Jess Roden set from a couple of years back is interesting – a 12 inch by 12 inch illustrated book with the CDs inserted into pockets within the covers. It is a thing of great wonder and has given much joy.
I’ve never considered it a boxed set though – it’s a career spanning retrospective release that doesn’t deserve to be so easily categorised.
A career spanning retrospective of Jess … Roden?
*wanders outside, raising despairing hands to the heavens*
Yes, the āOriginal Album Classicsā and āOriginal Album Seriesā in a slipcase certainly don’t count as a ‘box(ed) set’. This is partly because they’re extremely cheap. The whole cachet of having lashed out a huge amount of money on a box of CDs with a lavishly illustrated book is completely absent.
Having said that, I can highly recommend the first Al Stewart Original Album Series, which consists of Year Of The Cat, Time Passages, Love Chronicles, Zero She Flies and Bedsitter Images. This is a slipcase-set where I’ve played EVERY ONE of the five CDs A LOT (there’s normally at least one CD in a box that get’s neglected because it’s a bit of a stinker).
The 30-CD Fela Kuti box is my top pick. The 12-CD Magma “Kƶhnzert ZĆ¼nd” box of live recordings was probably a bit OTT, but it does look nice on the shelf.
Aah yeah the Fela collection. Fraser Lewry put me onto an amazon sale via the word blog , came in at a bit over a dollar a disc.
Bargain.
How far through that Fela feller’s box set are you?
I play them regularly. So been through them a few times.
The mountain too high and too steep to climb is the Dylan 66 live set. So many sets in the same order sounding veeeery similar.
Hello Cleveland!
I confess I have never listened to them all….frankly, I canāt face a divorce at my time of life.
Albert Ayler – Holy Ghost Rare and Unreleased 1962-1970 boxset.
Tempted but didn’t get it on release in 2004, now going for Ā£825 for a brand new copy on Amazon!
I believe Vulpes Vulpes has that Albert Ayler Holy Ghost box(ed) set.
He does. He keeps it in a hermetically sealed tin.
Given that the value of artist collectibles is going to fall off a cliff 10 or 20 years from now (as happened with Elvis not so long ago) can’t really see the point in buying a set from someone you love only to never open or play it. (Not having a go at VV, btw)
Luckily, HP is joshing. I quite agree there’s little point in acquiring music if you never listen to it.
There is in fact a distinctly Albert Ayler shaped gap in my music collection. I might get the 4CD set with 8 early LPs on it just to see what the guy’s music sounds like; a tenner I’m prepared to venture (after checking via other *cough* sources of course).
Oooooh dear. Oh nooooooo, and thrice no.
Good job I checked in at the eel market. Not my cup of parp at all.
Hideous skronking does not float my boat. Shan’t even be investing in the 4CD set I’m afraid.
If I did have that Holy Ghost thing in a hermetically sealed box, I’d be leaving it there, unplayed, unheard, unworried by the light of day, and selling it promptly for a pittance, box and all.
Tin. Hermetically-sealed tin.
I’ve had to speak to somebody else about this (Mr B probably) and now you. Adverbial compounds do not require a hyphen. We need to conserve the world’s dwindling resources of the little buggers.
As for your original questions about box(ed) sets, the answer in each case is no. Hope this helps.
(*Sniggers*)
Without the absent first person pronoun, “Hope this helps” is an imperative; the reader is told to hope (that “this” helps). Is this what you meant, Mike? Could you clarify your tossed–off word salad? What does “this” signify?
Cripple fight!
Well readers, what do we think? Can a three-word sentence be a ‘word salad’? I think not.
It could be a Heston Blumenthal piece of salad minimalism, especially if the words were caramelised with an oxy-acetyline torch before serving.
Or an anagram. Like ” A sword lad”. Or “Draw as old”.
Mike, sorry for the confusion! I was referring to your entire comment as tossed-off word salad, not just the last three word sentence, which is like the stem of a spring onion without the bulb amongst the wilted leaves. I hope this helps!
Hmmm yeah. Box sets are a conundrum for me, and seem to be at the heart of an almost existential crisis. I do buy these, and enjoy them, to a point (especially the King Crimson ones) – but then sometimes I find myself just thinking “why?”
I suspect that in my case I’m (re-)investing in music as a way of protecting my identity as I get older. The rock era made us all think that our identity is tied up in the music we hold dear. This leads me to question things: do I need to keep listening to the same music? Do I even need to listen to music at all? I’ve noticed myself doing other things too – getting back into vinyl, searching for the best headphones, etc.
The postive impact of this introspection being that I am more inclined to try and find something new to listen to these days, or even more likely to just play my guitar instead.
I think we’ve crossed the Rubicon of boxset/collectors’ lunacy with the recent release of Bowie’s ‘Brilliant Live Adventures’ box. Just the box mind, no ‘set’ as yet. And of course, they sold out in minutes, and are being ransomed on eBay for Ā£Stupid.
Naturally, I adore a good boxed set. They bring large font and visually pleasing artwork to the CD listening experience, which everyone knows is top quality, enduring and beautifully consistent even on relatively cheap kit. I especially enjoy them when there is a sound upgrade but I’m not too fussed about demos, preferring singles and B sides, just as most others on The Afterword. There are very few artists whose outtakes are worth more than a cursory glance, Bob Dylan and Miles Davis being the most obvious examples. Certain record labels cry out for the boxed set, such as Stax, Trojan, Motown and Phil Spector.
Top five:
1. Miles Davis – The Complete On The Corner Sessions
2. Aretha Franklin – The Complete Amazing Grace
3. Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971
4. The Beatles In Mono
5. Stax ’68: A Memphis Story
6. Louis Armstrong Hot Fives And Hot Sevens
7. The Beach Boys – The Smile Sessions
8. John Coltrane – The Complete Live At The Village Vanguard Masters
9. Prince – Sign ‘O’ The Times Superdeluxe Edition
10. Bob Dylan – The Complete Basemant Tapes
11. Lee Perry – Arkology
12. The Beatles – The Beatles 50th Anniversary SuperDeluxe Edition
13. Niles Rodgers Presents: The Chic Organization Volume One
14. Little Feat – Rad Gumbo: The Complete Warner Brothers Albums
15. Bob Dylan – Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3
16. The Complete Works Of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti
17. Miles Davis – The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions
18 The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band 50th Anniversary Edition
19. Nina Simone – The Complete RCA Albums
20. The Rolling Stones In Mono
21. Roxy Music – The Complete Studio Recordings 1972-1982
22. Trojan 50 Box Set
23. David Bowie – Loving The Alien
24. Phil Spector – Back To Mono
25. Earth, Wind & Fire – The Columbia Masters
Oops! Did I say five? There are so many!
I’ve just done the math. You have listened to those 25 boxes at least six times. In addition you have reviewed 453 separate albums on here and commented on another 16123. Each and every one minimum six times. You also claim to have a very responsible daytime job.
You don’t have sex much, do you?
There is a good reason why Hejira is the third best album ever made.
š
TouchƩ
ThreechĆØ
I have a ridiculous amount (both vinyl and CDs) and have begun to sell some of them e.g. Roxy Music SDE, am still buying others though. Help!
Hardly ever open them to be honest.
Dai, this is the best comment in the thread.
You guys are going to love this: The Pink Floyd Delicate Sound of Thunder Unboxing video has just dropped this evening! Yes! The Unexpurgated Unboxing! Be among the first to drool at packaging being slowly slipped aside to reveal…more packaging! It’s Sleeve Tease! Prepare to blow a load! Of money! On stuff you already have and was a bit shit in the first place!
Are branded underpants included? A DSOT whoopee cushion?
(DSOT is no DSOTM)
Why squander your hard-earned cash on this stuff, when you could squander it much more productively on Hos, crack and automatic weapons?
Huge fan of box sets- got loads of them but many fall into the category of played once now sitting there looking pretty. My personal favourites are the Nils Lofgren box and the Wilco set Kicking television. Some are disappointing and some are just beyond consideration despite being a fan of the box. Today there was an announcement of a 35 cd set of John Mayall – who the bloody hell has the energy to listen to that?
Recently I bought a box of Roberta Flacks album First take. It comprised the vinyl of the album, the cd of the album and 1 cd of rarities. The box is pretty special and the sound is wonderful but overpriced? Most definitely. Is it essential? Possibly not. Do I need it? Not really but that’s not the pointt
Not being narky/pedantic but if most of your boxes are only played once what is the point?
I may not have 25 favourite boxes like Riggs but I have half a dozen or so I would class as essential. However, even these beauties are only very occasionally dipped into and given that 98.34% of what I want to listen to is now available to stream I ask again , what is the point? And please don’t tell me it’s worth fifty quid for a beautiful booklet and details of where/when/why each track was recorded.
Itās worth fifty quid for a beautiful booklet and details of where/when/why each track was recorded. Apparently.
You are absolutely right – there is no logic to it whatsoever. I never professed that there was and to be quite honest I am aware that I have some kind of box set illness where I buy stuff I dont really need. I thought there were at least some fellow sufferers on here.For example have ordered the complete box of Bob Marley albums out in December – I probably only need half of the 11 but at Ā£32 it was too good to avoid
Not all of the box sets I own only get played once – the Beatles, Stones, Fela Kuti and Nils sets get played regularly so too the Neil Young. However buying that Yes set was a mistake !!!
The details of where/when/why each track was recorded is the best bit.
I am very dull.
I find dullness strangely … exciting.
Kicking Television isn’t what I would call a “box set”, it is in a box but just a live album on vinyl. A brilliant live album
2020 has been the year I rediscovered my CD collection, and my box sets sit on top of the shelves like tombstones for another era. Almost all of mine are from the 1990s ‘golden age’ and almost all have been extensively listened to over the years. There are classic Rhino compilations like the Surf Box, DooWop Box and the first couple of Nuggets boxes, as well as numerous single artists sets, such as the first Byrds box, Clapton’s Crossroads (1&2), Dylan’s Biograph, Miles’ Plugged Nickel, the purple Hendrix box.
Many of these are deeply nostalgic for me, and recall a phase in my life before kids when I had the time to invest in immersing myself in new music. I was listening to the surf box this week, and was instantly transported back to hot, humid nights in Townsville, living in an old house with big verandas and wooden floors, working 90 hours per week as a vet, my life for a couple of months soundtracked by dripping reverb and twanging guitars.
Box sets back then were about providing an overview of an artist, era or genre. The modern ‘single album’ boxes full of out-takes, alternate mixes and the like do not interest me at all, and seem to be a deeply cynical move by record companies to extract a tithe from uber fans and completists. It is no surprise they only get listened to once or twice.
I do love a boxset. And they will get at least one listen all the way through.
Not sure why, but I own two different Stiff Records boxes with about 75% crossover of tracks.
I also own an Iron Maiden CD Box Set – and already have the albums on both Vinyl and CD But they are both “nice things” to have.
There was a point when the box set was the only place to get previously unreleased stuff – Who Maximum R&B and Jam Direction, Reaction, Creation had a few otherwise unavailable tracks at the time of release – a positive boon to OCD completists (ie me).
These tracks have subsequently been made available on Deluxe Re-Issues rendering the point of the original box set somewhat redundant.
I’m still buying Box Sets – and I blame Cherry Red for emptying my wallet on a bi-monthly basis.
They’re just to hard to resist
The first box sets I was aware of were the ones my Father purchased from Readers Digest, titles such as Carnival of Hit’s, Your Favourite Memories, The Sensational 70’s, this last one bemuses me as his opinion of music released after 1960 was that it “utter crap” although The Pouges were a honourable exception to that decree.
My first box sets where bought in France, classical music, each containing 3 albums of work by an individual composer and cost about the same for a single album back home.
Probably the first ‘proper’ box set as it’s defined today was Alice Cooper’s Life and Crimes, 4 CD’s including demo’s, unreleased, rare stuff plus a book, Alice also is responsible for my biggest outlay on a box, Old School 1964 – 1974, 4 Cd’s, 1 DVD, 1 7″ 1 LP a hardback book plus other odds and ends, packaged in desk, a mere(mere!) Ā£163…. it is a thing of beauty.
Another notable mention is Onec records series of Pizza box releases which as the name suggests came in decorated pizza boxes, there would be a lathe cut record and other odds and ends, a true box set.
Yes, my Ravel and Debussy (vinyl) box sets soundtracked a good chunk of my younger life.
In my gaze to my left, I can count just 10. Some are VA (including Nuggets) so they are just fine. The Police was just a convenient way of getting all the albums in one place. Crimson’s The Great Deceiver – well, we’ll come back to that. Whisper it soft within these walls, but the XTC and Richard Thompson sets are barely touched, nor the Carthy or the Waterson-Carthy. But Boxful of Treasures by Sandy Denny is wonderful and is turned to regularly, late of an evening.
My first boxed set was Boxed and, like the Police, was a great way of bringing the first three Oldfield albums under one roof, while some of the fourth disc is excellent.
I have a feeling there may be some Joni box sets appearing there soon.
What I’m still not getting is how you listen to boxy sets – how you choose which part of which disc to listen to. If I get the urge to listen to an album, for whatever reason, I cue it up and generally listen all the way through, giving it as much focused attention as is desirable. You can’t listen to a boxy set like this, unless you live in a raw sun-blasted desert, like Junior Wells, or a cardie, like Tigger. You have to decide which disc, or maybe part of a disc, you’re going to listen to. “Hmm – the outtakes from that album I never really got into today, I think.” Or “Hmm – those demos of the legendary unreleased album will give me a fascinating insight into the creative process”. Or “Hey – I don’t think I’ve heard those BBC sessions yet! Oboy!”
Why-Oh-WhyĀ© would you move that thought into action? Why not just play an album, or a greatest hits, and move on? FFS?
Or… akin to the streaming v box remarks above, donāt those who buy CD boxes -Iād imagine a large wodge of the Afterhive – do what I do, which is import all the tracks to their computerās music library anyway?
Once on board, there is no longer any distinction between a CD from oneās eye-level alphabetised album shelf and oneās āspecialā big box display shelf – if you never opt for disc 5 of Kajagoogoo: The Complete Recorded Works itās because you know itās a load of old hooey which you purchased in error. At a distractingly-packaged premium.
Comments like “unless you live in a raw sun-blasted desert, like Junior Wells, or a cardie, like Tigger” are why you should never leave us again, HP
You mean, comments like that, right? Not actually that? I’ll try to come up with some.
Dinner parties with you must barely get through the hors d’oeuvres.
Oh come on, be doesn’t fart that much.
Dinner parties, eh? Who still has those? Me, I have neither hosted nor been present at one since my second marriage, way back when. They’re mainly a wife thing, aren’t they? Not being sexist, making an observation. No man I ever knew could get excited – or even mildly interested – in arranging or attending one. Your standard blerk-type husband is happier at his own hearthside, relaxing in his underwear and slippers with a pizza in his lap while he squints at a CD booklet, his wife eyeing him ruefully. That’s been my experience. Could someone speak up for the ladies? Gar?
Itās hard to join a thread so far underway and still feel that one can contribute.
Me, personally, Iām not a collector. My wife is though. The house is full of clutter. 40 year old Virgin type of clutter. Dell map books that are apparently worth coin. Elvis Barbie Dolls. I could go on. I barely get a closet or a drawer to myself.
I stream all my music and I gladly pay the monthly fee.
I think the first box set I owned was Keith Jarrett’s “Solo Concerts” on vinyl which I played to death. I still think it’s remarkable, even though Jarrett has released umpteen albums since then (mid-seventies), and actually his latest – Budapest, recorded in 2016 – has some really beautiful music.
My first CD box sets were a 4CD Aretha Franklin Best Of, which we played a lot, it was my kids’ intro to Aretha, a Henry Mancini set, and XTC’s Coat Of Many Cupboards (hardly played since I got it in the late 90s).
The last one I bought was The Kinks’ Village Green which I dutifully sat down and listened to once. But, absurdly, off Apple Music. But I did open the package and read the booklet and admire the other bits and pieces.
After that I haven’t actually bought any more, not even The Beatles or Zappa ones. I just stream them. I might get Hot Rats one day for the booklet though.
I love the idea of box sets, and the look of them, but practically, I’m actually going to take the CDs out and put them in the player, because I can stream them
And I forgot to mention the greatest of them all – Andy Partridgeās āFuzzy Warblesā. What a brilliant box! And itās not on Apple Music. I did listen to all the CDs, and imported them onto my computer, as one did back then
@Mousey – no concerns about inferior sound streaming v real mccoy?
@Junior-Wells – absolutely. Sadly our house is not set up for the best way to listen to records. A long story.
Funny, I had heard that musicians don’t buy albums and now I’m getting the impression they have crap sound setups too.
I guess it is all in the making of it for you lot.
I think box sets work well with artists who have vast but erratic back catalogues. Elvis Presley might be a good example. His Essential Masters box sets that round up his 50s, 60s, and 70s output with discrete 5-disc sets offer perfect overviews, and often help to clarify or redefine a career narrative. Elvis Live in Vegas is another set that I play fairly regularly for a concentrated hit of showbiz Elvis.
I’ve got a few box sets sitting on my shelves. I don’t like the variety of sizes. I’ve got a Nina Simone one that comes in a flimsy box book thing that is one CD high and three CDs deep. It sits next to a bulky Jefferson Airplane one that is three CDs high and one deep. That is next to an almost LP sized Ronnie Lane one. As a DIY enthusiast, this kind of thing annoys me. How do you design a shelf for such a motley collection of artefacts? Aesthetics are important, and this is where Klaus Schulze and Pete Namlook’s 15 CD Dark Side of The Moog triple box set comes in. I love this set and play it a lot. And the three neat, identically sized boxes look superb lined up on the shelf, forming an image of the moon from their spines. It’s always beckoning me to a long holiday inside my head.
Oh yes! Loads of great Elvis boxed sets.
Like I said, I’ve had a shelf load of these things at one time, and I did enjoy the possession thing more than the listening. They can be very beautifully made objects. But they can be enormous disappointments. Two of my favourite bands – Steely Dan and Buffalo Springfield – released the biggest pieces of overpriced crap that I bought anyway, and felt bitter about. Charly box sets had the build quality of cereal boxes.
Your ‘box set’ of Corsair Tinned Chicken is secured. But perhaps this is one instance where the download version holds more appeal than the physical product. Less mess all round.
Citizen Steely Dan? None of your bells and whistles and Annandale souvenir coasters with that lot.
… and they split the albums up, the evil twats. And didn’t include the first single, or live stuff of note, and the book made Sniffin’ Glue look like Vogue. Grrr.
But it did have “Here At The Western World” didn’t it? Possibly their best song evs, and worth the price of the whole box.
Hmm. I think American Lovers is their best. As sung by Thomas Jefferson Kaye on First Grade. It may be unique in their canon for being totally heartfelt, emotional, and unironic, which may be why they didn’t cover it themselves.
Absolutely agree re American Lovers, it’s a wonderful, wonderful track. Dusty Springfield sings background vocals and Walt is on bass.
There’s another Becker – Fagen song on that album (“Jones”) which Ritchie Furay and Timmy Schmidt make into a jaunty Poco track! Walt’s on bass again but it’s most un-Dan-like.
Surf And/Or Die is another song where Walt drops the oblique smartness to devastating effect.
The only two box sets Iāve really got my moneyās worth from are Good Vibrations 30 years of the Beach Boys and Citizen Steely Dan.
Yes, the albums get split up but 70 mins of Dan each time-Iām happy!
(I bought the Lennon 4cd set from Cheapo Cheapo back in the day. Ringing up to check it was in stock āDo you need it?ā āWell, Iād quite like it, but need…ā)
All the talk when the CD was first being marketed was about what it sounded like, but the product wasn’t called a “sound” disc, it was called a “compact” disc, and, even though I resisted until 1997 to buy a CD player, it always seemed to me that its smaller size was its most powerful selling point.
The size of the CD is due to the average Japanese business man’s suit. Sony wanted that a CD would fit into the inside pocket of a standard business suit. True story.
You can also drill holes in them and spread jam on them and they play just fine š
Which reminds me, I need a bigger letter box. About 13″ wide should do it.
Wow, you must eat a lot jam.
fentonsteve, he eat a lot jam.
I said exactly this to a guy on one of my rounds a couple of weeks ago. He’s always ordering vinyl but I’ve never asked him what.
My postman is also a music lover. In happier times, I’d slip open my package and show him my latest 12 incher.
Nowadays the postman knocks once, leaves a deposit on the doorstep, and runs away.
Good lord.
I had thought I don’t really go for the box set thing: what’s the point, life’s too short, all the best stuff was on regular releases, and so on. But now I actually think on it, I do have some (as you can see I get them as handy greatest collections or hit compilations):
The Dance Decade 1973-1983 – 10 vinyl disco biscuits
PIL – Metal Box
Motown Chartbusters “150 Hits Of Soul” – 9 “platters” again vinly
and
Guilty – Randy Newman, and Tougher Than Tough A History of Reggae.
The Randy Newman box is superb.
My latest box set arrived today.
Even better as there are no cds to ignore and never play, because it has not a one.
Should of been in a film can, innit.
not sure when film cans started. Winnitt
Having researched the internet extensively for maybe a minute or more, Melies film stock was kept (and played through projectors) on small reels. I can’t find any contemporary film cans, so maybe they came in later, when movies got longer.
It is right that some box sets should exist (and be on my shelf) simply because they are things of great beauty.
“Voices of Mississippi” is one such and “Down in Jamaica – 40 Years of VP Records” is another.
I have an attraction to box sets as a way of tidying up the library, so to speak. Pere Ubuās ā Data Panic in the Year Zeroā is especially good for fans: every release they did in their first run, a live album, and a CD of Cleveland-related punk acts, especially Pete Laughner.
Unfortunately, the Pink Floyd Early Years was the biggest CD investment I have ever made, and I carted it across the country from the record shop, but there were still flaws with it: I have cheapo Japanese bootlegs with better selections.
The stuff from Grapefruit/Cherry Red is superb. 3 CDs for around Ā£20. Remarkable research and superb notes.
I’ve been buying 3 at a time before they sell out. This week “Bubblerock Is Here To Stay! The British Pop Explosion 1970-73”, “All The Young Droogs: 60 Juvenile Delinquent Wrecks, RockāNāGlam (And A Flavour Of Bubblegum)” and “A Slight Disturbance In My Mind ā The British Proto-Psychedelic Sounds of 1966”.
Just ordered a 36-disc John Mayall box ā which might give you an indication how I think about box sets.
/www.jpc.de/flv/063/0636551914055_1.mp4