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Posted: Dec 23 2008 10:50 pm

Back when CDs were still relevant, bands used to put out box sets. What are your favorite and least favorite box sets from the good old days?

Here are mine...

Favorite: The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper. This 4 disc set was everything a box set should be: the perfect mix of singles and rarities accompanied by a nice booklet.

Least Favorite - Pink Floyd: Shine On. Who the fuck was this box set designed for? It's 7 studio albums (Saucerful of Secrets, Meddle, DSOTM, WYWH, Animals, The Wall, AMLOR) combined with a half-assed compilation of early material thrown together with a little bit of new art. It's too expensive for casual fans and there's nothing worthwhile in it for hardcore fans. There is exactly ONE song in the box set that wasn't previously legally available to fans, "Candy And Currant Bun". In the glory days of bootlegs, Pink Floyd was one of the most bootlegged bands out there. They have a treasure trove of demos, live tracks, and unreleased songs that have appeared on bootlegs, and in bootleg box sets, and for Columbia to put out this half-assed bullshit is completely insulting. They should be fucking ashamed of themselves.

Posted: Dec 23 2008 11:05 pm

The best box set I ever purchased was the Paul Simon Studio compilation. It has demo tracks and alternate takes of songs. It's great and if you're into Paul Simon I highly recommend it. I think his music is kind of an acquired taste, though.

The worst [I own] is the Led Zeppelin box set. It's not because the albums aren't great, but it's like Syd said, there's no extra material...it's just the albums. I already had them on LP, but...they're on LPs. If you don't already have the CDs, it's great. I'd actually like to hear what a one-hour drum solo on acid sounds like.

The worst set out there is probably Celin Dion or something...I just don't own that.

Posted: Dec 23 2008 11:09 pm

It's almost the exact same with the Weird Al Box Set (Permenent Record). It's the same stuff from all the albums minus 1 song that was briefly exclusive to the box set. ("Headline News", which was later included on Weird Al's Greatest Hits Vol 2.)

Best box set, Samhain.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_Set_(Samhain)

Posted: Dec 24 2008 12:58 am

I never bought any Box sets, too expensive. I really wanted that Iron Maiden box set that came with the B-Sides, the ring, the family tree, and the shot glass. I just ended up getting the B-Sides CD off eBay though.

Posted: Dec 24 2008 02:48 am

I bought the Smashing Pumpkins' "Aeroplane Flies High" box set; contains five EPs with a ton of B-Sides. It cost me $60. At first I didn't think it would be quite worth it (so why did I buy it?), but I quickly realized that Smashing Pumpkins is like Pearl Jam in that their b-sides are just as good, if not better, than their album tracks & singles.

Posted: Dec 24 2008 07:00 am

My broither has that Smashing Pumpkins box set. It's fucking awesome. I love the random covers of Alice Cooper and The Cars. Supposedly when Billy formed Zwan, they did a cover of Iron Maiden's "Number of The Beast", which I've been wanting to hear for a while.

Posted: Dec 24 2008 04:47 pm

Cannibal Corpse's Ten Year Killing Spree Box set was Kinda cool. But the recent Centuries Of Torment 4 hour long Documentary from the garage days to present pretty much blows Killing Spree out of the Water.

Joined: Sep 17 2007 Location: The Opium Trail Posts: 3475

Milhouse wrote:

The worst [I own] is the Led Zeppelin box set. It's not because the albums aren't great, but it's like Syd said, there's no extra material...it's just the albums. I already had them on LP, but...they're on LPs. If you don't already have the CDs, it's great. I'd actually like to hear what a one-hour drum solo on acid sounds like.

The worst set out there is probably Celin Dion or something...I just don't own that.

I like to call that the lazy Led Zeppelin box set. It has 95% of all their material without having to by any studio albums.

MOGHARR wrote:

I never bought any Box sets, too expensive. I really wanted that Iron Maiden box set that came with the B-Sides, the ring, the family tree, and the shot glass. I just ended up getting the B-Sides CD off eBay though.

Except that box set also has Beast Over Hammersmith, their best live album ever, plus a compliation of random live shows which also includes motherfucking Seventh Son of A Seventh Son!

Posted: Dec 24 2008 07:09 pm

Anyone else considering picking up the George Carlin All my stuff Box Set? Confused

Posted: Dec 26 2008 12:40 pm

The only box set I own is the Creedene Clearwater Revival boxset that I got for Christmas. Obviously, I haven't had time to listen to it, but it contains everything they ever did, plus live material, and pre-Creedence songs by the various bands Fogerty was in, plus a gigantic booklet. It was a damn good gift. The Dude approves.
Also, I borrowed the Live Shit: Binge and Purge box set by Metallica from my friend, that is a damn good find. Even if they didn't have Cliff at that point, it's still among my favorite Metallica recordings. Metallica were always better (and faster) live, and it really shows. I just wish they'd played more songs instead of spending 20 minutes masturbating the bass/guitar and 15 minutes of Seek and Destroy. Oh well.

Posted: Dec 26 2008 02:47 pm

The best box set I have ever seen was the Motorhead box set Stone Deaf Forever. It does have every Motorhead song, which is cool, but I know diehard fans have all of that, but it also includes some of Lemmy's Hawkwind material. Also, some of the first albums can be harder to find.