Pump Up the Volumes: Boxed sets fit almost any music fan’s taste

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, Dec. 5, 2002 | 8:34 a.m.

OK, who wants socks in their stockings and who wants music?

If the latter sounds like your idea of the perfect holiday gift, then you already know there's nothing quite like pulling back the wrapping paper and discovering a CD boxed set.

From Bruce Springsteen's three-disc "Live 1975-85" to Led Zeppelin's self-titled four-disc set to Miles Davis' recent string of Columbia jazz boxes, multidisc collections have been among the top holiday music purchases for more than 15 years.

So get out your pens and shopping lists it's time to take stock of some of the many boxed sets offered in 2002.

Rock and pop

The Band "The Last Waltz"

Rhino Records gives The Band's 1976 farewell concert (and film soundtrack) lavish treatment, doubling this album from its original two discs to four with previously unreleased live material and rehearsals.

Despite guest appearances by Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Muddy Waters, Neil Young and others, the show stops just short of legendary status. It makes for ideal driving music, though, and should please most classic-rock enthusiasts.

Cost: $50-$55.

Beat Happening "Crashing Through"

This fiercely independent Olympia, Wash., trio helped jump-start indie rock's 1990s "lo-fi" movement in the 1980s. "Crashing Through," released on leader Calvin Johnson's own K Records label, collects the band's five out-of-print albums, along with a disc of rarities, a live EP and a thick color booklet.

A strange brew of undeniably catchy hooks mixed with anti-musicianship and strident do-it-yourself studio techniques, Beat Happening's music may appeal to pop fans with an adventurous spirit.

Shop online for this one.

Cost: $60-$70.

Camper Van Beethoven "Cigarettes and Carrot Juice: The Santa Cruz Years"

Before David Lowery created Cracker, he fronted this Southern California outfit from 1983-1990, specializing in jangley pop and countrified folk.

This five-disc set on spinART records revives four long out-of-print albums, including the band's first three releases, and marks the debut of a previously unreleased live CD, "Greatest Hits Played Faster."

Cost: $30-$35.

Bob Dylan "The Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Live 1975"

This two-disc live album may not technically qualify as a boxed set, but it's so good we had to include it. Culled from 1975's celebrated Rolling Thunder Revue tour, the 22 tracks give listeners a taste of Dylan's often-overlooked live prowess. The set also includes a two-track mini-DVD and a 56-page booklet showcasing a stellar collection of photos, along with detailed liner notes by Larry "Ratso" Sloman, who authored a book about the '75 tour. Cost: $20-$25.

The Flaming Lips -- "Finally the Punk Rockers Are Taking Acid": This three-disc set and its companion piece, the two-disc "The Day They Shot a Hole in the Jesus Egg" cover the Oklahoma alterna-rockers' early years, from 1983-91. Tracks range from heavy, up-tempo rockers to artsy, experimental numbers.

Fleshed out with out-of-print material and previously unreleased bonus tracks, both Lips' sets also present amusing first-hand recollections from unconventional frontman Wayne Coyne. Cost: Punk Rockers $30-$33, Jesus Egg $15-$18.

Grand Funk Railroad -- "Trunk of Funk": Produced in a limited-edition run of 10,000, this set simply amounts to a fancy way of displaying the Flint, Mich., 1970s hard rock band's newly remastered CDs.

The durable mini-trunk casing comes with the first four albums and, for those in need of still more Grand Funk, slots for the eight remaining reissues. But without so much as a booklet to tie it all together, "Trunk of Funk" comes off simply as a snazzy looker designed to seem incomplete. Cost: $55-$60.

Phish -- Live Phish volumes 13-16: The Halloween shows: Actually four separate four-disc sets, these concerts feature the veteran jam band putting on its annual Halloween "costume" by covering one of rock music's most classic albums.

The band tried on The Beatles' White Album (1994), The Who's "Quadrophenia" (1995), the Talking Heads' "Remain in Light" (1996) and the Velvet Underground's "Loaded" (1998), with the latter taking place at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Each show also features two full sets of original Phish music, with the Vegas concert supplemented with material from the previous night's T&M show. Phish diehards will want all four, but any volume could also serve as an introduction to the Vermont quartet for fans of one of the covered albums. Cost: $25-$30 apiece.

Yes -- "In a Word (1969-)": Coming just 11 years after the band's four-disc boxed set, "Yesyears," this Rhino Records five-disc set is a puzzler. Don't most serious fans of the prog-rock outfit already own the first collection, rendering this one -- ripe with track overlaps -- essentially useless?

Yes newcomers, meanwhile, won't need five discs worth of material for an introduction to the band. And with a 55-song tracklisting, how can "In a Word" not include 1972 classic "And You and I?" Cost: $60-$65.

Also available: Bjork -- "Family Tree," The Carpenters -- "The Essential Collection (1965-1997)," Nat King Cole -- "Nat King Cole" (reissue), The Fall -- "Totally Wired," The Grateful Dead -- "Steppin' Out With the Grateful Dead," Iron Maiden -- "Eddie's Archive," Roxy Music -- "The Thrill of it All" (reissue), XTC -- "Coat of Many Cupboards."

Jazz

Charlie Christian -- "The Genius of the Electric Guitar": Our pick as the year's top boxed set, this four-disc collection covers the tragically short career of Christian, one of the founding fathers of electric jazz guitar.

Packaged beautifully in a sturdy retro-style box, the Columbia/Legacy release assembles 98 tracks from Christian's two-year stint with Benny Goodman's combos from 1939 through 1941.

Dutifully remastered, the music should appeal to fans of early swing music, as well as anyone who enjoys such later jazz guitar greats as Wes Montgomery, Grant Green or George Benson. Sadly, this music is the total legacy of Christian, who died from tuberculosis in 1942 at age 25. Cost: $40-$45.

John Coltrane -- "Legacy": This four-disc set will serve as a tasty introduction to the saxophone heavyweight, collecting Coltrane's work for multiple labels, including Atlantic, Prestige, Columbia and Impulse!, for which he recorded most of his great material late in life.

Presented thematically, rather than chronologically, the four CDs leave no doubt about Coltrane's prowess both as sideman (see disc one's pairing with Thelonious Monk on "Trinkle Tinkle") and as bandleader. The fourth disc, devoted to live material, showcases his legendary improvisational style. Cost: $40-45.

Miles Davis -- "The Complete Miles Davis at Montreux 1973-1991": The granddaddy of 2002 boxes, Columbia/Legacy's massive 20-disc set collects all of the legendary trumpeter's appearances at the Montreux Jazz Festival, most of which came between 1984 to '86 and 1988 to '91.

Having not heard all of this music, it's difficult to judge the quality of those performances, though most critics consider the 1980s to be Davis' least noteworthy period. Hardcore fans, for whom this set is intended, likely won't care. Beautifully packaged and lovingly assembled, this is the ultimate gift for Miles enthusiasts. Cost: $190-$225.

Grant Green -- "Retrospective 1961-66": Best known these days for his funky 1970s recordings, Green actually began his career as a groundbreaking jazz guitarist. This four-disc set on Blue Note Records samples from the years 1961 to '66, showcasing the emotive musician playing alongside such jazz luminaries as Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Art Blakey.

The tracks are smartly chosen, with the first two discs focusing on pairings with such organ greats as Larry Young, Jimmy Smith and Lou Donaldson, the third disc emphasizing his small group material and the fourth dedicated to his work with horn players. Cost: $50-$60.

Herbie Hancock -- "Herbie Hancock Box": This four-disc collection easily takes the year's award for most problematic boxed set. The packaging -- a hard-plastic cube with notches carved out to suspend the discs in midair -- is cumbersome, ugly and hard to open and close. And the CDs themselves are plain silver on both sides, making it difficult to determine which side goes up in your stereo.

The trouble also extends to the music itself. Spanning the years 1973 to 1988, the compilation includes some of Hancock's most successful funk workouts from classic mid-70s albums like "Headhunters and "Sextant." Unfortunately, those numbers are interspersed with less-than-stellar work from the late '70s and '80s, with only one unreleased track among the 34.

Hancock's personally penned liner notes aren't enough to make this worth bothering with. Cost: $60-$65.

Frank Sinatra -- "Frank Sinatra in Hollywood (1940- 1964)": If you have a Rat Pack devotee on your shopping list, get out your checkbook for this one. Reprise Records' mammoth six-disc set compiles all of Sinatra's film and television work, from his 1940 appearance in "Las Vegas Nights" through his 1964 stint in "Robin and the 7 Hoods."

Songs, along with promotional spots, are presented chronologically, providing listeners with a sweeping look at some of the Chairman's most productive years. Durable black packaging, a thorough 120-page bound book and disc fronts presenting six faces of Sinatra help the collection earn high marks for functionality and style. Cost: $105-$120.

Also available: Bill Evans -- "Consecration: The Final Recordings Part 2," John McLaughlin -- "Remember Shakti," Charlie Parker -- "Complete Savoy and Dial Studio Sessions."

Others

Enya -- "Only Time: The Collection": After unseating Kenny Loggins as the world's foremost film soundtrack contributor, what was left for new age phenom Enya but to assemble her most memorable tracks?

If you can stomach the velvety purple casing, the four discs inside this Reprise set -- along with the vocalist's personal musings on its tracks -- are sure to satisfy her legion of followers. Whether anyone actually needs 300 minutes of Enya may be debatable, but there's no denying the appeal of tracks like "Orinoco Flow" and "Book of Days." Even if you haven't seen the movies. Cost: $45-$55.

Dwight Yoakam -- "Reprise Please Baby: The Warner Bros. Years": A light year for country music boxes was highlighted by this four-disc pack from Rhino Records, a collection voted 2002's best box by Amazon.com customers.

In addition to Yoakam's own original honky-tonk material, the set also features covers of a variety of artists, including the Clash, Cheap Trick and ZZ Top. An entire disc of unreleased tracks and a booklet filled with essays and comments from a variety of country music greats makes this a worthwhile buy for fans of the genre. Cost: $48-$55.

Various Artists -- "Freedom: Songs From the Heart of America": Where else but on such a tribute could you hear Peter, Paul & Mary, Willie Nelson and Duke Ellington on the same CD? This three-disc set takes listeners through all genres and eras of American music, from Kate Smith's "God Bless America" to Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A Changin'."

Most of the tracks are essential to any serious music collection, but this anthology begs a simple question: Other than on July 4, when would anyone choose to cue up a 67-track blast of patriotism like this? Due out Tuesday. Cost: $35-40.

Also available: Percy Faith -- "The Complete Vol. 1," Percy Faith -- "The Complete Vol. 2," Peggy Lee -- "Singles Collection."

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