HispanicBusiness

--D.D.

"Reggae Golden Jubilee: Origins of Jamaican Music" (VP Records, 3 { stars)

Before Edward Seaga was prime minister of Jamaica in the 1980s, he owned a record company. Seaga, now 82, spent his retirement compiling this 100-song set, timed to the 50th anniversary of Jamaican independence. Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, and Burning Spear show up, but the set's real value is in how Seaga pieces together a cultural history as styles changed from ska to rock steady to dancehall. Included are crucial tracks like Junior Murvin's "Police and Thieves" alongside obscurities like Pluto Shervington's "Ram Goat Liver." (4 CDs, $59.98)

--D.D.

THE ROLLING STONES "Charlie is my Darling" (ABKCO, 3 { stars)

Never mind "Crossfire Hurricane," the career-spanning HBO documentary. "Charlie is my Darling" is the archival Stones find of the season. Unavailable for decades, Peter Whitehead's film captures Mick and the boys on a two-date tour of Ireland in 1965. The box includes a live CD and LP from the band at its primal best. (2 CDs, 1 DVD, 1 Blu-ray, and 1 LP, $71.99; or one DVD, $22.99)

--D.D.

"Surf-Age Nuggets: Trash & Twang Instrumentals, 1959-1966" (Rock Beat, 3 { stars)

This is a delightful box of instrumentals by mostly obscure -- though Dick Dale does turn up -- crazy-about-reverb surf-rock bands of the '60s, with names like the Fugitives, Countdowns, and Newport Nomads. Chris Isaak and Tom Petty guitarist Mike Campbell pen the liner notes. "This music is thrilling to play," the latter writes. To listen to, too. (4 CDs, $58.99)

--D.D.

HEART "Strange Euphoria" (Epic Legacy, 3 { stars)

Seattle's Wilson sisters started their alluringly melodic metal act with the notion of creating a female Led Zeppelin, with Nancy's glass-shattering howls replacing Zep's chest-thumping machismo. From their 1976 debut to this box's finale (Zep covers, an Amazon exclusive) they've stayed that course, electrically and acoustically (save for their hair rawk/ power ballad '80s) with guts and grace. (3 CDs/1 DVD, $49.98; exclusive Amazon.com edition has 4 CDs/1 DVD, $34.99)

--A.D. Amorosi

BILL WITHERS "The Complete Sussex and Columbia Albums" (Columbia/ Legacy, 3 stars)

It's a Bill Withers world: The folk-soul singer was the subject of the 2009 documentary "Still Bill" and his influence is apparent on rising genre-blenders like Michael Kiwanuka and Lianne La Havas. This set, with liner notes by Michael Eric Dyson, gathers the "Lean On Me" and "Ain't No Sunshine" singer's best work from the '70s. (9 CDs, $74.98)

--D.D.

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Country/ roots:

JOHNNY CASH "The Complete Columbia Album Collection" (Columbia/ Legacy, 4 stars)

This mammoth 63-CD set presents the music that defines Johnny Cash's monumental legacy, and you can't help but be awed by the breadth and power of his work. A hitmaker not afraid to go against the grain, lover of the old (the Carter Family) and champion of the new (Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson), electric live performer, songwriter, gospel singer, folklorist -- Cash is always true to himself. The albums are packaged in reproductions of their original covers, so you see liner notes such as these (from Cash's superb 1971 "Man in Black"): "I'm always changing, always will be changing. ... I'm still being born. You haven't seen the complete me yet." (63 CDs, $255.99)