Here's a topic for discussion for you, our awesome readers, as we head toward the weekend.
We're getting close to about a quarter-century or more since the box set entered the CD era. (Bruce Springsteen's Live 1975/85 and Bob Dylan's Biograph would be among the first great examples of such anthologies.) Lately, we've started to see a strange pattern of artists who received great early box sets getting revisited yet again in new sets. The next few months will see boxes devoted to Derek and The Dominoes' Layla (anthologized as its own anniversary set in 1991 and Clapton's Crossroads box in 1988) and the works of Robert Johnson (whose Complete Recordings was an early, darling box in 1990). That upcoming Phil Spector box in June also has echoes of the classic Back to Mono set.
It's easy (and perhaps common) to grouse about the recycling of material from the major labels, but I'd rather take the conversation in another direction. If you had to pick, say, up to five definitive box sets of the CD era, what would you pick? They could be from the early days of the format, they could be from the past few years - no matter. I'm interested in seeing everyone's opinions. What makes them definitive to you?
Sound off in the comments! Looking very forward to seeing what everyone has to say.
Release Round-Up: Week of September 20
The Weekend Stream: August 10, 2024
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Bob Dylan, "The Complete Budokan 1978"
I'm no box set expert but the collossal Girls Aloud box (http://www.discogs.com/Girls-Aloud-The-Singles-Box-Set/release/1843434) from 2009 that collected every one of their singles - including every remix and B-side from all formats - is the most impressive set that I own, and if there was any justice it would set the trend for further box sets from modern pop acts. Amazing liner notes, great reproduction of the artwork, and most importantly a ridiculously huge amount of hard-to-find tracks.
I know back at the end of the 80s, the box sets that blew my mind - and wrecked my wallet - were the entire series of "Complete on Mercury" sets by Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan, Helen Merrill, Clifford Brown et al. Their concept, putting everything all in one place for study, is still ideal to me. Mosaic and Bear Family have perfected it beyond these initial releases concepts, but they keep an active place in my heart 'cos they were the first(s). And, of course, 'cos the music cannot ever be bettered. =)
Indeed, Marty! My favorite box sets are almost always "complete" ones, at least when my wallet permits! Wouldn't it be nice if every beloved artist was rewarded with the Bear Family treatment. Of other labels' work, Reprise's Complete Frank Sinatra is a set that should be owned by every music lover. (Reprise/Rhino's FS IN HOLLYWOOD is a phenomenal set, too, and one that conquered any number of licensing obstacles in order to present its material with true integrity.) 🙂
There are just so many remarkable box sets of every shape and size that it's hard to narrow them down. Of label boxes, Rhino U.K.'s FOREVER CHANGING Elektra box set (the large version, not the cut-down one) hasn't been bettered. Of various-artists compilations, Rhino's original NUGGETS may still be my gold standard, with its "sequels" not far behind at all.
THE LOOK OF LOVE: THE BURT BACHARACH COLLECTION (Rhino, again) had a significant impact; the box was truly a major part of the re-evaluation and revitalization of Bacharach's career that continues to this day. Listening to the sometimes-maligned Sammy Davis Jr.'s career on Rhino's YES, I CAN! has a similarly galvanizing effect.
Of single album boxes, THE PET SOUNDS SESSIONS (Capitol) was a wonder to behold, and more recently, Legacy's DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN showed how a box set can still be creative and cutting-edge.
I'm asking myself, how can I leave out RCA's original Elvis decade boxes? Rhino's HAVE A NICE DECADE set with its shag carpet (and its follow-ups dedicated to the 1980s and 1990s)? And there's BIOGRAPH (Columbia), the set that arguably started it all.
There are simply too many wonderful boxes to choose from, but I remain confident and optimistic that the best may still be yet to come, as long as labels are willing and able to come up with new and different ways to introduce old music to new generations. Let's raise a glass to that, shall we?
Ugh. Tell me about it. They released The Complete (Rahsaan) Roland Kirk, and that's still the only place to get some of that stuff. Been looking for it ever since.
Also, Fantasy released a bunch of Complete Prestige and/or Riverside Recordings boxes. I'm still grumbling about the otherwise-unavailability of the Debut Records discography of Charles Mingus.
The second Dylan I ever bought was Biograph (after Greatest Hits) because it seemed comprehensive what made it especially good was the liner notes by Cameron Crowe.
I also like Nick Drake's Fruit Tree which I bought because I read a review that said you could buy the albums individually but you were going to end up getting them all in the end so you might as well buy the box set.
I really like David Sylvian's Weatherbox, again because of the 'completeness' but also because of the beautifully printed jewel boxes that gave it the feeling of a comprehensive work of art.
Other than that my favourites are also 'complete' sets, e.g. Kate Bush (This Woman's Work), Talking Heads (DualDisc Brick), Yoko Ono (Onobox), The Zombies (Zombie Heaven), Jellyfish (Fan Club), The Beatles (Mono Box). I also like the overview Rhino sets from the sixties (Beg, Scream, Shout and Nugget) and their 70s, 80s, 90s Pop Culture sets.
First of all I just want to thank you for writing and maintaining such an entertaining & informative blog.
Regarding box sets...my favorite one, and I had to buy everysingle one is the Motown year-by-year single collection. Everyone of these are excellent in presentation, history, and photographs of the artists who make up "The Sound of Young America".
Since I go to used record stores, sometime I run into, and will buy "promo" box sets of songwriters, featuring different artist singing the songwriters songs and of course these are collector items plus are excellent in song selection. Among the box sets I have are a 3 cd set of Carole Sager-Bayer songs, Diane Warren 4 cd selection, a rare Bacharach / David selection, and a few more.
Unfortunately, on a lot of Box Sets, cuts left off albums & alternate takes, were left off for a reason.... they weren't that good. The following Box Sets,
I think, avoided that pitfall:
Crosby,Stills & Nash
Beach Boys Thirty Years
Little Feat HotCakes
Spirit Time Circle
The Byrds
I still would like to see a definitive Lovin' Spoonful (mono mixes & out takes) and Ry Cooder
Dylan's Biograph and Springsteen's Live 75-85 box have to be considered amongst the great box sets ever. No doubt. I'd also put Dylan's first entry in the Bootleg Series (which was a true box set) on the list too. Likewise, the Allman Brothers Band's box set Dreams is fabulous (and the perfect primer for anyone interested in the ABB).
Clapton's Crossroads is one of the great box sets too, although I'd knock it down half a star only because it peters out a bit at the end (EC's music was just too poppy in the mid-late 80s).
The first Zeppelin set (from 1990) wasn't bad, although far too many great songs were left off. At least "Hey Hey What Can I Do" was finally released on CD. The old Byrds box set from around the time is a gem.
One box set I'd like to get, but I think it's out of print and I can never find it anywhere used, is the Los Lobos box set (Mas Y Mas). One of the truly great, underrated bands, and the box appears to be loaded with all kinds of rare treats.
A couple more I meant to add:
Stevie Ray's "SRV" box, and Jeff Beck's Beckology too.
Then there's Billy Joel's My Lives box... Really good in places, but oh-so-frustrating in others. Releasing a box of (mostly) rare and previously unreleased stuff was a great idea, but too many great rarities were left off, while a fair amount of unnecessary stuff was included.
While I love the idea that I can own the Beatles' entire original canon (pretty much the Holy Grail of music) in a single box set, and of course the mono box is excellent as well. But my favorite box set ever would have to be the much shorter but almost entirely previously unreleased John Lennon Anthology. Save for his first two albums, I think the production on Lennon's later solo work was detrimental to the excellent music within. The JL Anthology has sparser takes, demos, live versions, etc., 90% of which blow the released versions out of the water. If you gave me the choice between Anthology and the Signature Box, I'd pick the former any day.
Dylan--"Biograph" and "The Bootleg Series Vols. 1-3"
Elvis--"The Complete 50's Masters"
Pete Townshend--"The Lifehouse Chronicles"
Alice Cooper--"The Life And Crimes Of Alice Cooper"
The pinnacle of extravagant box sets has to be Miles Davis' "The Genius of Miles Davis." a box set of..... box sets. All 8 metal-spined box sets, many out print, collected together in a velvet-lined trumpet case with mouthpiece, t-shirt, and art print. The initial $1200 price was staggering, but it can be had for far less if you are patient.
Frank Sinatra's "Concepts" collects all of his Capitol concept albums together in one collection. If you like what you hear, you can always go for the Reprise "Complete Reprise Studio" recording to help complete the picture of an artist loosing relevance and declining from his peak.
Pink Floyd's "Total Eclipse" Yep, it's a bootleg, but it's still the best overview of what Floyd was capable of between studio albums. During the heyday of grey-market releases in the early 90s, several other excellent bootleg box sets came out and many still haven't been beaten by legitimate releases due to the artist's refusal to air their dirty laundry. Look for Neil Young's "Rock 'n' Roll Cowboy" for what Archives could have been.
I second the recommendation for "Concepts," Jeff, although I've longed for a Capitol box with alternate takes, outtakes, singles; in other words, a Capitol-era version of the Reprise box. But "The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings" has much on it that's incredibly choice, too; I do believe that the pre-"retirement" Reprise LPs are every bit as essential as the hallowed Capitol albums. Gee, come to think of it, "The Voice" collecting FS' complete Columbia recordings is pretty incredible and essential, too!
I'd forgotten about "The Voice." Sinatra's got some pretty incredible box sets; the three already mentioned, the Hollywood set, even the recent live sets. As we move into the download era, I don't think we'll ever see collections of such quality again; fantastic music, detailed and incisive liner notes, and gorgeous packaging.
1. Back to Mono - Despite the grumbling about mono vs. stereo, you cannot deny the incredible music featured on this collection.
2. Atlantic Records: The Time Capsule (Limited Edition) - It's not always easy to compile a label's history within one set, but I love what Atlantic did with this one.
3. Petula Clark - the Ultimate Collection - this is the most unique box set in my collection, featuring Pet's German, Italian and Spanish recordings.
4. Girls Aloud Singles Box Set - I know I lose credibility for picking a set from this group, but I don't think I have ever seen a better collection of singles in one set. The compilers put fans first and came up with a winning collection.
I agree the Bacharach collection reaffirmed his status in the music industry (and as a writer), and I also think the recent Chic collection will be one I will be listening to many years from now.
Is there a limit to the number of boxed sets we can name?
Bear Family deserves an award for the wealth of detail and effort put into their collections. Those by Julia Lee, Nellie Lutcher, Lesley Gore, Brenda Lee and Eartha Kitt are treasure troves.
Hip-O Select is another label devoted to producing high quality sets and The Complete Motown Singles is better than anything else in my collection.
Others I regularly visit are Rhino's Academy Award Winning Songs and a wonderful set compiled from the MGM musicals, That's Entertainment, which comprises full-length versions of songs from the That's Entertainment films plus others (some edited out of the original source films) which are new to CD.
Must also add that The Second Disc is an essential place to visit.
Thanks, Eric!
I'm thrilled to be seeing so many readers cite the Motown Singles Collections -- they really do occupy a place of honor on my shelf, as they're in a class all their own.
And those two Rhino box sets are great choices! The That's Entertainment! box -- both Version 1 & Version 2 -- really is a treasure trove which I too revisit often. I still lament today that the Turner Classic Movies/Rhino reissue line came to a halt. And wouldn't an updated Academy Award Winning Songs be worthwhile?
Here's a few of my favorite box sets over the years;
1. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band-"Live 1975-1985"
2. Various Artists-"Nuggets"
3. Various Artists-"The Complete Motown Singles (Vols. 1 through 7)"
4. The Temptations-"Emperors Of Soul"
5. Led Zeppelin-"Led Zeppelin"
6. Roxy Music-"The Thrill Of It All"
7. The Supremes-"The Supremes"
8. Smokey Robinson & the Miracles-"The 35th Anniversary Collection"
9. Phil Spector (Various Artists)-"Back To Mono"
10. Various Artists-"Atlantic Rhythm & Blues 1947-1974"
11. Various Artists-"The Stax Story"
12. Various Artists-"Hi Times-The Hi Records R&B Years"
13. James Brown-"Star Time"
14. Four Tops-"Fourever"
15. Aretha Frenklin-"Queen Of Soul-The Atlantic Years"
16. The Police-"Message In A Box-The Complete Recordings"
17. Steely Dan-"Citizen Steely Dan"
18. Bruce Springsteen-"The Promise-The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story"
19. Chuck Berry-"The Chess Box"
20. Various Artists-"Loud Fast And Out Of Control-The Wild Sounds Of 50's Rock & Roll"
21. Otis Redding-"Otis! The Definitive Otis Redding"
22. Stevie Wonder-"At The Close Of A Century"
23. Roy Orbison-"The Soul Of Rock & Roll"
24. Ray Charles-"The Birth Of Soul-The Atlantic R&B Recordings"
25. Marvin Gaye-"The Master 1961-1984"
So many box sets...
First I must cite the classics. The first ones I owned:
Bruce Springsteen - Live 1975-1985
I had the big box on tape and updated to one of the smaller CD reissues. Miss that bigger book though.
Rod Stewart - Storyteller
I grew up with the late 70's-80's Rod and this comp showed me how much more there was to him. Although now I realize it could use some more Faces.
Eric Clapton - Crossroads
Like Storyteller, a great set that gives a novice a perfect overview of the artists carreer to that point.
My biggest complaint about "complete" sets is that if I'm that big a fan, I probably own most of the albums already. But here are some favorites that I own:
The Police - Message In A Box
I only wish that they did track-by-track notes for every song, not just the b-sides.
Steely Dan - Citizen Steely Dan
Could have used better liner notes, but they're my favorite band.
Genesis - the SACD remasters
Just because I love surround sound.
Some other well assembled sets:
Tom Petty - Playback
50% previously released, 50% rare and unreleased. The perfect balance.
Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run/Billy Joel - The Stranger
A classic album, some live material and a DVD documentary. Great stuff.
Various - Oh What A Feeling/Oh What A Feeling 2
4 disc collections of Canadian pop (from the Guess Who to Barenaked Ladies) to commemorate the 25th and 30th anniversaries of the Juno awards. Not only are they chock full of great music, they were sold for less than $30!
And what I think are the best examples of what a box set can/should be:
Elivs - The Complete/Essential Masters series
Gives a thorough overview of his career, excellent essays and discography information and they came out in installments so they didn't have to be a budget buster.
The Bruce "Born To Run" box and the Billy "The Stranger" are both really cool, although I have to knock the Stranger box down a notch for not giving us the full Carnegie Hall concert. At the very least, they probably could've cut Billy singing "Happy Birthday" to a roadie and given us one more song.
I'd like to add Bruce's recent "Darkness" box set to the list, but I'm waiting until at least this year's holiday season, in the hopes the price will go down.
1. Back To Mono (Various Artists) Phil Spector
2. Buddy Holly: Not Fade Away The Complete Studio Recordings And More
3. Elton John: To Be Continued
4. Atlantic Rhythm & Blues 1947-1974 (Various Artists)
5. The Beach Boys: The Pet Sounds Sessions
6. Ramones: Weird Tales Of The Ramones
7. Lenny Bruce: Let The Buyer Beware
8. The Brill Building Sound (Various Artists)
9. Cameo-Parkway 1957-1967 (Various Artists)
10. The Beatles: In Mono
The only reason I didn't put the Beatles Stereo Box set in my top ten is that there was really nothing new brought to the table with it. I was tempted to also add MCA's 1979 LP only box, The Complete Buddy Holly, just for it's historic significance and overall greatness. Truly a box set ahead of it's time. (I'm proud to own a pristine vinyl copy and it is the crown jewel of my music collection. The Elton John Box has since become a bit outdated, but at the time of it's release in 1990, it was spectacular. The Brill Building Sound Box is great fun. It's currently out of print, but if you can track one down, it's worth getting. The Cameo-Parkway Box has great music, but the packaging was really shoddy and cheap. The Ramones Box is very complete and is packaged VERY well (duh, Rhino). The Atlantic R & B Set, again fantastic music and a great box set. The Pet Sounds Box... Sheer heaven. Breathtaking. Very well done. I love box sets. I hope, with the current state of the music business, that the box set doesn't go away.
impossible to decide on a real Top5, but some that I enjoyed a lot:
Yazoo - In Your Room
The Cure - Join The Dots
Joy Division - Heart And Soul
The Police - Message In A Box
Siouxsie & The Banshees - At The BBC
Like a lot of the folks who have left comments here, I presume, CD and LP box sets are the cornerstone of my collection. There aren’t a lot of things better for a real music freak than a top-notch box set, something that not only entertains, but also really gives you insight into an artist or genre. If I walk away from a fresh box knowing something new, either from reading the notes or hearing some music I wasn't familiar with, than I really feel like I got my money's worth.
I can't begin to figure out which boxes are really the most important, though I am sure the Clapton Crossroads and Springsteen Live ’75 to ’85 collections are the ones that set the model for the box set explosion of the late 80s – something that has waned from time-to-time, but has never really completely subsided.
And all the different shapes that big anthologies can take make it very hard to draft a short list of essential box sets. How do you compare a collection that contains an entire discography (say, the Zeppelin mini-LP set) to something like The Cure’s B-side box? And what about those sets that fete a single album, like the great DVD/CD set that looks at The Court of The Crimson King from every angle? It’s hard to say what a ‘box set’ really is anymore, other than something you need to find more room for.
But career overviews are where all of this started, and the collection that I think is an ideal model for a box set is Cash: The Legend.
First off, it’s fat with tracks – over a hundred on four discs. That’s as it should be, considering that Johnny always seemed to record for the length of a 45, whether the song was a single or not. Plus, you’ve got over 80 minutes capacity on a CD, and a skip button on the remote. Might as well take advantage of it.
But Legend also deserves big points on most every other level. The liner notes are not just good, they’re downright thrilling. The choice of Cash biographer Patrick Carr, who knew JR well, was a much smarter one than picking from the usual crowd of rock writers. The art design that fleshes out the booklet is nearly perfect, downright cool in fact, and surely reflects a lot of tough, careful design work. The discography has enough detail to keep any Johnny fanatic busy and fascinated.
Legend is a thematic box, meaning that every disc has a particular premise to tie that CD’s songs together. This is a smart way to play it. It allows the compiler the license to avoid some obvious choices if they wish (because they may not fit any of the chosen themes), but it doesn’t force them to scrounge the nooks and crannies of a discography, trying to meet a quota for rarities. Another thing about the song choices: They’re balanced enough to bring in fans from both ends of Johnny’s career, from those who first heard his Sun singles on late-night southern AM radio, to the alt-country listeners who fell for the work of his Rick Rubin years. And that sort of ‘lost’ period in the middle, when Nashville couldn’t find a place for him except on the mantle, isn’t ignored. Along the way, across the course of each disc, you can hear the ‘boom’ in the great man’s voice slowly sizzle away to the creamy, plaintive call he offered up during his final years.
Finally, the most important aspect of any set, to me, is the sound. Vic Anesini’s remastering work here is fantastic. Maybe for the first time, the drum sound on a Johnny Cash anthology has a sense of snap. The levels are never pushed to the wall, assuring that a fair sense of dynamics is always there.
So many times, a four-disc retrospective, taking your last $50 for the month, can leave you regretful. We’ve all picked up sets that were just careless playlists of hits, dull rarities, and album cuts apparently chosen with a dartboard. And when a set like Cash: The Legend arrives, not all that long after the artist’s death, the word ‘exploitive’ often comes to mind.
But that wasn’t the case with Legend. For once, a posthumous set that truly deserved a Grammy actually got one, and the dearly departed being examined wasn’t subjugated to poor taste. Anyone who wants a full picture of Big John R Cash, The Main In Black With A Voice You Can’t Hold Back, needs to find room on the shelf for this gem.
Thanks for your time.
My five picks go to boxed sets that expand on single albums:
The Monkees - The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees
The Monkees - Head
Derek & The Dominos - The Layla Sessions [20th Anniversary Edition]
Bruce Springsteen - The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story
The Cult - Love [Omnibus Edition]
We can only pick five?! 😛
Prince: The Hits / The B-Sides
Not sure if it "counts" as a box set (no lavish packaging, and it's "only" three discs), but this does a stellar job of rounding up some of the greatest pop music ever made (plus, in the case of the B-Sides, many tracks that are both awesome AND hard to find), while helping you avoid having to wade through his lesser material.
Whatever: The '90s Pop Culture Box
Had to include one of Rhino's decade sets. Very hard to leave behind "Like, Omigod!" which is a nearly perfect capsule of the '80s. But I'm going with the '90s set. The extremely scattered setlist initially turned me off, but now I find it a benefit.
David Bowie: Sound + Vision
Not the standard "greatest hits" approach. More like an alternative timeline of Bowie's career, with lots of album tracks, live cuts, etc. Peters out a bit toward the end, but hey, that's what happened to Bowie by the early '90s. :-/
Left Of The Dial: Dispatches From The '80s Underground
A great snapshot of the "other" '80s, with several tracks that are just as impressive as anything by Michael or Madonna.
Revolutions In Sound
Massive 10-disc history of Warner Bros' 50th anniversary. The Atlantic Time Capsule comes close, but this is the best label overview I've encountered (or maybe Warner's just the best label, period). Stunning mix of hits and (relative) obscurities, covering pretty much every genre since the '50s.
But...no Prince?!
(And if I were a rulebreaker, I'd also have to mention James Brown: Star Time, Stevie Wonder: At The Close Of A Century, The Disco Box, Bruce Springsteen: Tracks, and What It Is: Funky Soul & Rare Grooves 67-77)
Jeez. How did I manage to forget Neil Young's Archives Vol. 1? The ultimate single-artist overview, and a new world of possibilities for box sets.
Most box sets disappoint - especially those that come àfter instead of before, cf. the recent Fela and Rubble cd boxes - but these didn't:
v/a Atlantic R&B (7x2lp)
v/a Nuggets (4cd)
Nick Drake (Hannibal vinyl)
Lyres (New Rose vinyl)
… and more recently :
Syl Johnson (Numero Group 4cd + 7lp)
John Martyn (Island 4cd)
… et j'en passe but it's not all that important …
And of course Donovan's A gift from a flower to a garden, but does that count? Also, I'm in two minds about a lot of the Miles Davis boxes and the John Coltrane Heavyweight champion box: great to see so much takes compiled, rightly so, but sad to see favourite albums split over two discs, e.g. "Coltrane plays the blues". Most box sets disappoint by their impractical format too, cf. the recent Gainsbourg box.
Ceterum censeo you should provide the basics about a disc in a separate space in each review: label, cat. no., length, packaging specifics, url …