During gift-giving season in the digital age, boxed sets are absurdly anachronistic -- and more essential than ever. Sure, it's ridiculous to lust after doorstop-sized consumer goods when the sounds therein could easily fit on a flash drive the size of your fingernail. But then what are you going to give the music lovers in your life who need to hold a tangible treasure come the holidays?
Boxes cater to obsessives, and there's always more in the vaults. This year, there are a number of sets in which a single classic album has been padded with extras to fill a box, including the Michael Jackson "Bad" set reviewed here, as well as sets dedicated to "The Velvet Underground & Nico" and The Beach Boys' "Smile."
The concomitant trend is to compile absolutely everything an artist recorded for a label in one foreboding package.
The 63-CD Johnny Cash set and 22-pound Beatles vinyl box lead that list, but there are also exhaustive new reissues dedicated to Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and jazz guitar pioneer Charlie Christian, not to mention a career-spanning 10-CD set dedicated to the King of the Blues called "Ladies and Gentlemen ... B.B. King."
But enough with the intro, bring on the boxes!
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Pop:
THE BEATLES "Stereo Vinyl Box Set" (Capitol, 4 stars)
Returning to the Beatles catalog is one of the great pop music pleasures. This release of all the remastered albums on 180-gram LPs -- the original 12 British albums, the U.S.-only "Magical Mystery Tour," and two "Past Masters" rarities sets -- is the latest excuse for EMI to take the Fab Four back to the bank, and for aficionados to reconsider what their favorite Beatles album is. (This week, I'm leaning toward "Help!") The remastered pressings sound great and a 300-page color book is included. The mixes are in stereo. If you demand mono, you'll have to wait: That box comes next year. (14 LPs, $399)
--Dan DeLuca
ELVIS PRESLEY "Prince From Another Planet" (RCA Legacy, 3 { stars)
This three-disc set documents what were -- hard to believe -- the King's only concert performances in New York City. And Elvis, who had yet to begin his sad fade, was really on for these crisp 1972 shows at Madison Square Garden: He rocks with conviction and soars majestically on the ballads. The DVD includes grainy, 8mm fan-shot footage that shows the superstar in all his blue-jumpsuited glory. (2 CDs, 1 DVD, $26.15)
--Nick Cristiano
MICHAEL JACKSON "Bad 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition" (Epic/ Legacy, 3 stars)
Revisionist critics argue that the 1987 album "Bad" -- not the 1979 breakthrough "Off the Wall" or 1982 juggernaut "Thriller" -- is the best of Michael Jackson's Quincy Jones-produced solo masterworks. I'm not buying it, but from the wickedly swinging "The Way You Make Me Feel" to the time-tested "Man in the Mirror," "Bad" is very good. This package grows into a box with an outtakes disc noteworthy for the funk workout "Song Groove (A/K/A Abortion Papers)" and the combative "The Price Of Fame," plus a concert disc and DVD. (3 CDs, 1 DVD, $34.99)
--D.D.
"Cooler Than Ice: Arctic Records & The Rise of Philly Soul" (Jamie, 3 stars)
The Sound of Philadelphia story is usually told through Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's Philadelphia International soul label. Another chapter is added on "Cooler Than Ice" (to be released Dec. 11), which gathers every single from 1964 to 1967 on the Arctic label founded by WDAS program director Jimmy Bishop. Arctic's biggest hit was with teenage phenom Barbara Mason's "Yes, I'm Ready" in 1965. The label was a proving ground for a number of artists, including Daryl Hall (known as Daryl Hohl when he was with the Temptones, who have four charming faux-Motown tunes here). Gamble struts his stuff in style as a singer with his bands the Romeos and Floaters. Essential for Philly Soul completists. (6 CDs, 6 vinyl 45s, $149.98)
