I think the career spanning box sets were aimed at people replacing their vinyl collection without having to buy everything again.This was the main sort of box set for about 10-12 years after Biograph. Then they became aimed more at the super fans.Although there were things like the 1990 Layla box specialisation became more of a thing around the time of Tracks and John Lennon Anthology. Then they started getting bigger and bigger.Once 4 discs was generally as far as they would go.Size and price are still increasing.Back in the late ‘90s I looked at Pete Townshend’s Lifehouse Chronicles and thought what a ridiculous extravagance it was (bought Lifehouse Elements instead).Now I would jump on it in a second and probably will be with the Who’s Next box.
Yep. The classic box set is a way to get people to buy five CDs when there's probably only two or three CDs worth of stuff they want/need, depending on which of the above categories they fit into.
For me it’s usually including non-musical things to the set. I enjoy reading the book that usually is included, but what on earth was that little book of sheep in the Paul McCartney Ram boxed set doing there?
The first Byrds box set had some questionable choices: 1. All but one of Gene Clark's fine original songs from their first album were passed over in favor of the Dylan/Seeger covers arranged by Roger McGuinn 2. Clark's "Set You Free This Time" (which was a single a-side and a standout on the second album) was also omitted 3. Gene Parsons' "Gunga Din" (which most fans consider a highlight of the later Byrds' output) was omitted. Given the fact that Roger McGuinn was involved in track selection, and was not on good terms with either Clark or Parsons at the time, speculation centered on whether these choices were made for reasons other than aesthetics.
The criticism of the VU box misses the point completely. The idea there was to present the band's story as the band wanted it to be heard -- hence the inclusion of the "closet mix" of the 3rd album, the long version of "Sweet Jane," and the exclusion of anything post-Lou. It's a VU 'director's cut.' It was never intended to replace the albums themselves, as evidenced by the fact that the Valentin mix of the 3rd album was reissued separately & simultaneously.
Because for all my life and most of the life of rock n roll we fell in love with a recording of "Sweet Jane" and it was NOT that recording. Include that version as a bonus, sure. Glad it exist. But pretending THE version of one of the most epochal rock songs for a generation doesn't deserve to live anymore in a definitive box set---insanity.
That sucks. I assume that disc won't rip correctly either. I picked up the BB box last year when the metal spine sets were re-released, though they all seem to be new old stock. I have no complaints about the material presented in the box or the packaging, aside from needing to be careful in general. The worst scratch job I've had on a new box set was the Zappa Hot Rats Sessions. Every disc looked like it was scratched on purpose. Fortunately, I managed to return it, and the replacement was perfect.
Can Lou live obsessives identify when (I presume he must have...?) he started performing the song with that bridge? (Not counting the version as per 69 live he was doing BEFORE the recording came out? In my judgement that bridge works amazingly when the song is being done as per 69 live. It feels like an awkward drop in within the version as recorded and released.
Too much filler, too much of the time. I keep trading down to smaller, more concise compilations. Three CDs is my maximum. I'm usually happy with one, well-thought out CD. Maybe two.
The original release of "Sweet Jane" was in 1970. The long version came out in 1997. So 27 years later. 24 years ago. The long version has now been the standard version almost as long as the original version was the standard version Mind you, the short version has never been out of print.
How about the garbage packaging for the Beatles two Capitol boxes not to mention the lack of a Vol. 3.
Talking Heads Brick: they could have put more bonus outtakes and such and not leave it for an ITunes purchase. How could they exclude the SIT version of The Lady Don’t Mind?
As above, I get annoyed with mixed media. Cripes, nowadays we're often offered three formats: CD, LP and either DVD or Blu-ray. I draw the line at forced LPs, because I don't own a turntable and because the package becomes unwieldy and hard to store in my CD-only collection. If you had told me twenty years ago I'd skip box sets dedicated to TUSK and DON'T TELL A SOUL, I wouldn't have believed you.
I remember finding the 20 Years Of Jethro Tull set a bit baffling when it came out, as some of the albums were only represented by odd acoustic tracks ("Cheap Day Return"?) and several of the classics were included in 80's live versions. Some of the unreleased tracks were cool though.