Idolator

While going through my parents house I found a whole bunch of box sets from Xmas' past:

Lou Reed
Roy Orbison
Pink Floyd
Aerosmith

I really loved those...

I think part of it is that the necessity of a good box set is largely determined by previous distribution errors. If there was no convenient way to get a bunch of non-album singles by a band, then a box set solved the problem. Also, a number of bands (the Faces and CCR come to mind) have great box sets, but they largely function as a way to get all of their material, without having to buy a bunch of individual discs that span about twenty-five minutes in length. It's sort of an economic righting of previous industry fuckups, so a newer band, whose material has been on CD all along, has a hard time producing enough new content for die-hards to justify that sort of release.

Problem with box sets in general -- and I speak as someone whose first purchase along those lines was the Eric Clapton one in 1988 (what was I thinking!) -- is that they never fully lent themselves to casual listening. There are some stellar exceptions, of course -- I could listen to James Brown's Star Time all day (and have), and multi-artist/label/theme compilations, when done with an eye to good sequencing and presentation, work far more effectively than most single-artist releases.

About the only set put out in recent years I've dug out on a regular basis was the Cure's own rarities comp.

The last one I got was The Brit Box, which--even though I knew a good chunk of the songs anyway in various forms from albums, worn-to-death mixtapes, and (yes) mp3s. I like having them all organized together, mixed with songs I didn't know before, and in a package that lights up.

Before that I would have gotten One Kiss Can Lead To Another, but my roommate already had it and I didn't want to get a reputation for being a two-hatbox home.

Rhino's Left of the Dial. Good stuff.

Last one I bought was the Otis Redding box set. Amazing.

@whoneedslight: Yeah, I got that one too, even though I already had a crapload of the songs in other formats. Totally worth it as I ended up being exposed to some bands I'd never heard of before (thanks for nothing 80s KROQ) and eventually bought individual cds from a few of those bands. Great stuff. I've always thought about getting the punk rock one too.

The other elephant in the room is the exhausting of pretty much every Boomer-era act that could support a box set. I'm not saying my Gen-X-era music isn't worthy of a box (and in the rare case of a Nirvana, obviously it sells); but like everything else in the industry, one Led Zeppelin box pays for a couple of Atlantic Rhythm & Blues collections, the revenue from the former allowing the archival department to do a nice job with the latter, sales be damned.

In short, unless we start going to Pearl Jam or, I dunno, Weezer, who's left in the canon needing a box? It's rare that I make these sorts of rockist, Boomer-hegemony arguments, but there's no getting around the relative sales numbers of '60s-'70s acts' boxes versus the more recent stuff.

All that said, I'd buy a Madonna box -- if she could get Warner (post-Live Nation) to agree to make it right, and she was willing to admit she's old enough to merit one.

The punk one's good! I got it at a yard sale, though.

"Madonna's Box" would be a good name. It could be shaped like a vagina.

And Metallica thought THEIR bonus stencil was scary.

The box set is a staple of my Christmas list. The past few years have brought me the Pretenders, Rhino's Rockin' Bones, the Brit Box, The Faces, The Band (probably the nicest box set I own).

I also love my Nuggets sets (which reminds me, I still have to get the San Francisco comp)

Agree that there probably aren't that many bands still requiring the box set treatment, but I'm sure there are certain scenes/styles/movements etc. that would benefit from the boxed set treatment. I'd love a comprehensive power pop set for example.

@Chris Molanphy: For Gen-X stuff, I think the obvious answer would be label boxes as opposed to individual acts. Who wouldn't buy a Sub-Pop or SST or K or Kill Rock Stars box? And going further back, where's the Rough Trade or the Postcard box (if there is one, please let me know)? The problem with all of those is a lot of the bands who released stuff on them didn't actually have contracts, so rights issues would be a mess, but boy would it be worth the trouble.

I'm gonna buy that Yaz(oo) box set.

@The Illiterate:

Good point. Of the labels you mentioned, SST's legal knots with former bands would probably make the issuing of a box set just short of miraculous.

@Chris N.: "Madonna's Box - Now With 25% Less Cabbage Odor!"

Anyone have any details on the forthcoming Nina Simone box mentioned in the article?

I think part of the problem may be that there really aren't many major artists left who haven't gotten their boxed set yet. I heard a rumor many years ago of a Sly & the Family Stone box with a bunch of previously unheard things (like a ten-minute "Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin"); beyond that, who's left? The Beatles?

(And Chris, you're absolutely right about Madonna. Of course, I wrote the comment above a whole bunch of comments ago, I just took a while to post it...)

@Chris Molanphy: There is no career-spanning Kinks box, though I believe Ray Davies has been promising one for years now.

There are already more box sets I want than I'll ever find the time, money or storage space for. So I can't complain about this, as long as the record stores that still exist keep them on the shelves and mark down the price tag a little further every year.

@Mike P.: And of course there's Neil, who's probably been promising one for even longer.

@Penny Royalty: The Sly box that finally came out just collects all the individual reissues, which did have bonus tracks. I was so overjoyed to finally have decently-mastered copies of those CDs that my resentment over the lack of a REAL box set kinda faded.

And yes, a non-"Anthology" Beatles box (or several) would seem to be a home-run. Right?

I also have all of the Depeche Mode box sets, which I really like. (Why yes, I do need 8 different versions of Strangelove.) But I've also been known to declare that DM is the greatest band of all time, so my opinion can't exactly be considered unbiased.

@How do I say this ... THROWDINI!: No, you're correct. Or close to it.

There are a few box sets that have had material I'm interested in, but mixed with a lot I don't need. If I already have every Roxy Music album, why try to sell me a boxed set with selections from those albums (not the whole albums, so I still have to keep the ones I already have) and one CD of rarities? The casual greatest hits types won't buy an expensive box set and don't care about the rarities; the people who do care about the rarities have 75% of what's in the set already. The Echo and the Bunnymen box set was a similar mixed bag, and I think The Jam's set also skipped a lot of album tracks. Even the Joy Division Heart & Soul set, which at least had the full versions of Unknown Pleasures and Closer, left out the live stuff from Still and didn't include the early stuff on the Warsaw semi-legit release. And the New Order box set was just a really random mix of stuff.

Still, I'm curious about the JAMC set.

Still waiting on you, Neil...

The Faces set that was released a few years ago gets my vote for the greatest of all time. Just perfect.

@Penny Royalty: The Smiths, but it will take a very very long time for digital elves to scrub Mike Joyce out of every track . . . .

@Mike P.: When I interviewed Ray a few months ago (*cough*ostentatious namedrop*cough*) he said he was working on a Kinks box. He mentioned a few specific things it's set to include (the original "Come Dancing" demo springs to mind), so it sounds like it's moving along.

I've only bought one non-compilation box set in my life ("Peel Slowly and See"). I keep wanting to buy Brick (Talking Heads), but I've already got three of the albums, and I've heard that the last two are seriously diminishing returns.

Box sets have kind of gone the way of live albums. Everyone's tossing one out all the time so it sort of degrades their specialness first place. These days, many box sets are subsequently available as individual discs and CDs are being released with bonus tracks too. Thus, people can buy these alternate forms and not see the need for a pricey box set. I'm a big fan of Sony BMG's "Legacy Edition" sets, which typically include an original album plus a second disc of extras. Having said that, there are definitely some great box sets out there. I tip my hat to Rhino for their carefully crafted releases.

Rhino's "What It Is! Funky Soul And Rare Grooves (1967-1977)" is rather amazing.

@Chris N.: But if you are in the EU, about 85% of that stuff appeared on a series of WEA compilations in the early 2000s.

As to the question at hand, I have to agree with the lack of many worth subjects. The Smiths would be useful, if for no other reason than their discography is a mess. The Beatles would sell, but with the Anthology releases, you essentially have a box set's worth (and what's beyond the Anthology series is really dipping into obsessive fanboy territory.) The Kinks? Sure, but would it sell?

I also think there's kind of a glut of the things out there from artists that probably don't need one and there's this fine line between glorified hits collection and something for the hardcore fans that I think very few sets get right. Of course, the other side is the complete sets and in this day and age unless you are pricing them to move, I think that's an idea past it's time.

I think the future of the box set is going to be something like the Complete U2 deal they used to have in the iTunes music store where you got everything, including B-sides and rarities and then some plus a digital booklet but cheaper than that. If the music companies were smart (big if there) they'd do like the magazine and comics publishers where you can buy a digital archive of Rolling Stone or Spiderman for less than $50.

Well a friend of mine is doing the art for a new Brain Wilson box (not sure if it's a box set, or just schmancy packaging for an individual disc) on Capitol, so there's there...

Does even a serious rock fan need a 4-disc box of Jesus And Mary Chain's B-Sides And Rarities? Sheesh.....

@Captain Wrong: It would be nice to see a comprehensive Kinks box, That I will grant you.

@baconfat: Neil Young has been promising this longer than Axl has been promising Chinese Democracy.

REM have also been hinting that they'll put out a box set of rarities for close to 10 years now, and since the extra discs on the special edition greatest hits were both a little chintzy, I have to think they're saving stuff up.

Most people have been burned by box sets which either try to provide all the hits and more, resulting in a box full of stuff they already own, or try to put out 5 hours worth of stuff that was already rejected for release once. The big clunky box itself is emblematic of the brick & mortar model, and just as outmoded.