There's a pair you'd never expect to see in the same title. A few bits of news around the way regarding a few box sets coming up. First up, Time-Life has got a really large box set of Hank Williams material coming out. The Complete Mother's Best Recordings...Plus! is a 16-disc box set (including a DVD) of all Williams legendary, surviving recordings for Nashville radio station WSM (where he had his own show sponsored by Mother's Best Flour).
These 72 acetates were recorded through 1951, two years before Williams died at just 29 years old, and famously rescued from a garbage bin in the 1970s and unreleased until 2008 and 2009, after years of legal wrangling between Williams' estate and both PolyGram (owner of MGM Records, Williams' label in life) and Legacy Entertainment (not the label, but a company which acquired the tapes). Time-Life did several box sets of some of the tracks, but this set will encompass all of that material.
Also, Hip-O has planned an August 3 release date for Living It Up, a four-disc box set by British pop act Level 42. The set includes two discs of all the band's single A-sides, another disc of mostly-unreleased rarities and a set of brand-new, acoustic recordings of the band's best-loved tunes.
After the jump, take a look at the cover art and track listing, straight from the band's official Web site.Level 42, Living It Up (Hip-O)
Disc 1: Singles, Part I
- Sandstorm (12" B-side - Elite DAZZ-4, 1980)
- Love Meeting Love (single A-side - Elite DAZZ-5, 1980)
- (Flying on the) Wings of Love (single A-side - Polydor POSP 200, 1980)
- Love Games (Full Length Version) (12" A-side - Polydor POSPX 234, 1981)
- Turn It On (single A-side - Polydor POSP 286, 1981)
- Starchild (single A-side - Polydor POSP 343, 1981)
- Are You Hearing (What I Hear)? (single A-side - Polydor POSP 396, 1981)
- Weave Your Spell (single A-side - Polydor POSP 500, 1982)
- The Chinese Way (single A-side - Polydor POSP 538, 1982)
- Out of Sight, Out of Mind (single A-side - Polydor POSP 570, 1983)
- The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up) (single A-side - Polydor POSP 622, 1983)
- Micro Kid (single A-side - Polydor POSP 643, 1983)
- Hot Water (single A-side - Polydor POSP 697, 1983)
- The Chant Has Begun (single A-side - Polydor POSP 710, 1984)
- Kansas City Milkman (Live) (U.S. 10" promo A-side - Polydor WEBR 4320, 1986)
- Something About You (single A-side - Polydor POSP 759, 1984)
Disc 2: Singles, Part II
- Leaving Me Now (single A-side - Polydor POSP 776, 1985)
- World Machine (Remix) (U.S. 12" A-side - Polydor 827 487-1, 1985)
- Lessons in Love (single A-side - Polydor POSP 790, 1986)
- Running in the Family (single A-side - Polydor POSP 842, 1986)
- To Be with You Again (single A-side - Polydor POSP 855, 1987)
- It's Over (single A-side - Polydor POSP 900, 1987)
- Children Say (single A-side - Polydor POSP 911, 1987)
- Heaven in My Hands (single A-side - Polydor PO 14, 1988)
- Take a Look (single A-side - Polydor PO 24, 1988)
- Tracie (single A-side - Polydor PO 34, 1989)
- Take Care of Yourself (single A-side - Polydor PO 58, 1989)
- Guaranteed (single A-side - RCA PB 44745, 1991)
- Overtime (single A-side - RCA PB 44997, 1991)
- My Father's Shoes (single A-side - RCA PB 45271, 1992)
- Forever Now (single A-side - RCA 74321 19027 2, 1994)
- All Over You (single A-side - RCA 74321 20565 2, 1994)
- Love in a Peaceful World (single A-side - RCA 74321 22032 2, 1994)
- The Way Back Home (single A-side - W14/Universal LEVELDJ2, 2006)
Disc 3: Rarities
- Spirit Groove *
- Brazil 99 *
- Dave Allen at Large *
- Follow Me (from A Physical Presence EP - Polydor POSP 746, 1985) **
- Coup d'Etat (version) (B-side to "Something About You" - Polydor POSP 759, 1984) **
- Take Care 0f Yourself (Demo) *
- Untitled 1990 (Demo) *
- The Ape (Demo) *
- She Can't Help Herself (Demo) *
- Dive Into the Sun (Tom Belton Mix) *
- Love Meeting Love/Kansas City Milkman (Live) *
- Paris 91 Medley (Bass Jam/Mr Pink/Love Games/Sunshine of Your Love/The Chinese Way) (Live) *
Disc 4: Level 42 Acoustic 2010 *
- Lessons in Love
- Something About You
- Children Say
- It's Over
- Take a Look
- Starchild
- All I Need
- Guaranteed
- Overtime
- Seven Days
* previously unreleased ** previously unreleased on CD
Marty says
Isn't it Bear Family that's doing that huge Hank Williams box?
Mike Duquette says
You're right! Odd that the Wall Street Journal should give credit to Time-Life instead. Very strange. I wouldn't expect a newspaper, least of all the WSJ, to report on an indie label's release as such, nor would I expect any cross-licensing of that material after the struggle to get it out to the public in the first place.