Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Creamtastic Holiday Guide: Please Your Friends and Fam With These Swingin' Sets; Box Sets, That Is
Posted by D Patrick Rodgers on Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 12:24 PM
Anyone who picked up this past week's dead-tree edition knows that it was our annual holiday guide--our all-encompassing reference book for what to get those omnipresent jerks in your life known as friends and family. My colleagues came up with some fantastic ideas, from local custom-made musical gear to slews of booze and gifts for Jews. My contribution, however, was a brief list of some of the best new box sets out there, and it features perfect gift ideas for your mouth-breathing cousin Ron (Jesus Lizard), your sans-marbles hippie Uncle Jack (Woodstock) and even sweet old Gramma (Sinatra). Have a look at the list, complete with concise descriptions, after the jump.
Big Star: Keep an Eye on the Sky (Rhino)
Due to a lack of commercial success, an early breakup and the premature death of co-principal songwriter Chris Bell, Big Star's original catalog remains sadly limited. Keep an Eye on the Sky remedies the legacy of these forebears of modern power-pop with dozens of unreleased demos and alternate mixes, a live disc featuring performances from a 1973 show at Lafayette's Music Room in Memphis and a booklet with in-depth liner notes and rarely seen photos.
Pixies: Minotaur (Artist in Residence)
You might find it improbable that the catalog of one of the greatest indie-rock acts of all time could be improved upon, but, by God, Artist in Residence has done it. All five of the Boston-based college rockers' studio albums have been remastered in this collection, which also features a DVD of Frank Black (Francis) & Co.'s 1991 show at Brixton Academy in London, a 54-page book and brand-new artwork from long-time Pixies album artist Vaughan Oliver.
The Jesus Lizard: Pure, Head, Goat, Liar, Down (Touch and Go)
Criminally underappreciated (and brutally abrasive) noise-rock quartet The Jesus Lizard mounted a highly anticipated reunion just this year, so what better way to mark their reemergence than by reissuing their entire catalog? Legendary indie-rock producer Steve Albini and original engineer Bob Weston remastered each of JL's releases--making this the ideal present for the obsessive, basement-dwelling connoisseur of all-things-caustic in your life. True, this may not technically be a box set--think of it as a build-your-own--but all four discs and the Pure EP on vinyl are available for combining.
The Beatles: The Beatles Stereo Box Set (Apple, EMI)
This one's a no-brainer: If you've got the coin to buy The Beatles Stereo Box Set--and the benevolence to not just keep it for yourself--it makes, well, pretty much the best present ever. For anyone. It's a 16-disc set featuring stereo remasters of every record the Fab Four ever made, plus a DVD compiling several mini-documentaries on each record.
Various Artists: Woodstock: 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur's Farm (Rhino)
For the aging hippie looking to spur on those acid flashbacks--or for the groovy peacenik youngster born just a few decades too late--this six-disc 40th anniversary Woodstock retrospective features performances from nearly every artist present at the legendary festival (with a conspicuously absent The Band) along with a detailed liner essay by rock historian Bud Scoppa.
Frank Sinatra: New York (Reprise)
And for the listener who has no interest in that confounded rock 'n' roll, try this brand-new collection of live performances from Old Blue Eyes. New York features four discs and a DVD of live performances that span 25 years cherry-picked from Carnegie Hall to Madison Square Garden and the United Nations. This one is brimming with monologues, medleys and magnetism, but just be sure Gramma knows how to work the CD player before you tuck this one under her tree.
I'm afraid I did, however, leave out one essential box set from my holiday guide list, and Adam Gold was kind enough to point that out for me. Unforgettable European industrial metal sextet Rammstein just released their latest record Liebe Ist Für Alle Da. (That's German for "Lube is for your ass," and no, I'm not making that up.) The set comes with a steel case, handcuffs, lubricant and--yes, seriously--six pink dildos that "reflect the size" of each member's member. If you don't believe us, read here. Or better yet, just scroll down. NSFW. Thanks a lot, Gold, for informing me of this essential purchase. I guess you could say that, had I included this one in my holiday guide list, it would have been for the freaky, S&M-leaning German exchange student your parents recently took in.
Comments (12)
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Honorable Mention: The recently released AC/DC box set that is housed in a functional guitar amp. What a stupid waste of $200. http://www.acdcbacktracks.com
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You know, MonoPuff, in retrospect, I'd say it probably wouldn't have been a bad idea for us to include both. I just picked the stereo set because (and correct me if I'm wrong) the mono set doesn't appear to have any bonus features. While many purists might argue that mono is the way the albums were intended to be heard, the stereo set just seemed to have more new additions (short docs, new art, etc). The stereo set also appears to be generally less expensive in all of the places I can find it, oddly enough.
Zach: I hadn't heard about the Miles set before writing this. That one looks badass, but it also appears to be far more expensive than any of the above. Not sure I love anybody enough to drop four notes on them for Christmas. That one's more of a gift-to-yourself type of purchase, no?
Lance: Stupid? Perhaps. But will loads of people buy it? Probably. Also, where's my coffee?
I vote for the mono box. it actually has the only previously unreleased music out of both sets: original mono mixes of the 4 "new" yellow sub songs which were prepared for an EP release but never issued. the mono mix of the yellow sub album was just a "fold-down" mix. there's also a fascinating booklet unique to the mono box. and, arguably, just getting the mono versions of sgt pepper, white album, revolver and rubber soul are the best "bonus features" ever! the mono mix for sgt pepper is so fresh and revealing. it makes the stereo mix seem unfinished. and those documentaries on the stereo CDs are pretty disappointing if you've ever watched the anthology series on DVD. and yes, we have a few mono boxes still available at Grimey's.
Patrick,
The Miles boxset is very very expensive and yes it would be a gift for myself thing, but isn't it pretty??
If you are up late, Bob Parlocha on 89.5 has been playing some of the lesser known takes from the collection, and they put me right into my jazz trance.
On a further silly Miles Davis note, look up the Miles Davis Ear Buds. You read that right.
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