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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 9, 2024 12:51:35 GMT -5
And speaking of Earl Scruggs and the banjo, quite a coincidence as I had already planned this selection for today: #6 Flatt and Scruggs - 1959-1963
Flatt and Scruggs is just "music comfort food" for me, after hearing the live Carnegie Hall recording for the first time over 20 years ago I quickly made my way back to their earlier material including when they were with Bill Monroe. And while Scruggs' banjo is the biggest draw for me, that is no knock on Lester and what he brought to the duo, they were a great team. Box sets are really helpful here simply because of all the albums that are out of print (though now this one is as well). My biggest debate was the range of years on this one versus the 1948-1959 collection which is wonderful as well, so much so that I was tempted to cheat and post both as a package deal. But I'll stick to one for today, and I gave a slight nod to this 5 disc later set because it has Foggy Mountain Banjo material on it which I personally enjoy just a tad above the Foggy Mountain Jamboree content you get on the earlier set. Plus you get the Carnegie Hall material on the later set, and it was just a really strong period overall. Both have essential content though in my opinion. Nice call. I'd love to have both of those boxed sets. I'll cop that I get a little burnt out on bluegrass pretty quickly. But Flatt & Scruggs were so formative to both bluegrass and country music in general that this is music you just gotta have. Carrying on with my Top 10 favourite box sets... #6 - Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys by The Beach Boys (1993)  I outed myself as a bit of a Beach Boys obsessive in the favourite albums of 1964 discussion, so it's probably no surprise that I've chosen a box set by the group for this run down. This 5x CD set has a whopping 142 tracks on it, including a very generous selection of previously unreleased demos and outtakes, including over 30 minutes of music from the legendary unreleased album SMiLE. This "lost" album was Brian Wilson's 1966/67 magnum opus and the first official release of some of the material intended for it was a major selling point for this box set among Beach Boys fans. It was certainly the main reason why I purchased the set. Discs 1–4 chart the band's entire career from 1961 through to 1989 in chronological order. The first 3 discs are mostly great, with all the band's big hits and stand-out album tracks making an appearance, along with plenty of rarities for the hardcore fan. And of course, the SMiLE material on disc 2 is essential – I absolutely cannot be objective about that at all: this is some of the greatest music I've ever heard in my life. Unfortunately, things get decidedly patchier on disc 4, as the band's music from the mid-70s to the late '80s makes an appearance. The fifth disc is comprised entirely of studio session tracks, demos, complete vocal/instrumental tracks, and rare live performances from the '60s. If you're not into the Beach Boys or only have a passing interesting their hits, this set is almost certainly overkill. But if, like me, you are a big fan of their '60s and early '70s output, then this set is a must. Here's an early mini-masterpiece from the pen of Brian Wilson, the achingly sensitive "In My Room"… And here's "Wonderful", a gorgeous slice of baroque pop from the SMiLE sessions… As I've mentioned I'm not a big fan of The Beach Boys. They don't offend me, but I definitely won't go out of my way to listen to them. I won't knock the pick though, it's completely valid. |
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Aug 9, 2024 15:12:42 GMT -5
#6 - The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965 - Miles Davis
 I really like Miles Davies, but I'm definitely more into his cool jazz period in the 50s and early 60s. I've not heard of this box set, but I bet that it's got some great music on it. It's interesting what you were saying about listening to live jazz being an entirely different experience than listening to studio jazz recordings. I'm not sure I own any live jazz recordings; I think all my jazz albums are studio sessions. Maybe I should dabble in a few live sets. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2024 17:01:04 GMT -5
#6 - The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965 - Miles Davis That's a dream lineup, I don't know why I don't have this. I need to rectify that. I like your comments on listening to live versus studio jazz as well, so true. |
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Aug 9, 2024 19:19:07 GMT -5
I've seen the phrase "plugged nickel" twice today -- once in this thread and later on in Amazing Spider-Man #11. So, I Googled it. Turns out the phrase "not worth a plugged nickle" means something is worthless (I'm sure you yanks all know this already). It originates from the practice of taking out the centre of a nickel and plugging the with a less valuable metal. Thus rendered the coin no longer legal tender if discovered, so worthless.
In Britain we have the similar idiom, "not worth a brass farthing".
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Post by tartanphantom on Aug 10, 2024 9:39:32 GMT -5
I've seen the phrase "plugged nickel" twice today -- once in this thread and later on in Amazing Spider-Man #11. So, I Googled it. Turns out the phrase "not worth a plugged nickle" means something is worthless (I'm sure you yanks all know this already). It originates from the practice of taking out the centre of a nickel and plugging the with a less valuable metal. This rendered the coin no longer legal tender if discovered, so worthless. In Britain we have the similar idiom, "not worth a brass farthing".
I prefer the more succinctly descriptive British idiom for the same meaning-- "It's $hi+e".
And on the other end of the spectrum, for something that is top-level of its class, "That box set is the DB's", which completely flies under the radar of most people outside of the UK. For those who don't know, "DB's" is a reference to male canine undercarriage, if you will.
And I will add that so far, all of the box sets posted by Slam_Bradley , Confessor , and @supercat have definitely fallen under the latter descriptive. I've been enjoying this quite a bit from the sidelines. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2024 11:52:02 GMT -5
Today's selection: #5 Herbie Hancock - The Complete Blue Note 60's Sessions
 I can actually hang with a number of later eras of Herbie (other than some of the 80's "Rockit era" material), but man, his classic Blue Note 60's recordings really are something special. And you get a ton of the good stuff with this 6-disc collection that collects the full albums where he's the leader, plus 11 alternate takes, plus 5 more tracks where he was a sideman but composed/performed. I'm in fact listening to "Cantaloupe Island" as I type this, and I'd love to come up with more of a write-up here, but all I can say is (at least to my tastes) this is just flat out great jazz with some seminal recordings. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 10, 2024 15:04:32 GMT -5
 #5 - The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings - Louis Armstrong
Originally released in 2000, this 4-CD set collects the recordings that Louis Armstrong did during the Hot Five and Hot Seven era along with some attendant releases that were absolutely formative in the evolution of jazz. This is music that's been around the block and then a number of times. But having it all in one place and having it sound as good as it ever has (probably the best it's sounded since the tracks were laid down) makes this a must have. These are unquestionably among the most important jazz sessions ever. Maybe the most important because Armstrong did as much as anyone to codify the jazz soloist as an improviser. The set also includes some nice extras including a Johnny Dodds session that's important. Ultimately, if you're a jazz fan you have to have these sessions in some form. Having them all in one reasonably priced box (at least at the time it was released), with excellent sound is the best way to do it. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 10, 2024 16:41:26 GMT -5
Today's selection: #5 Herbie Hancock - The Complete Blue Note 60's Sessions
I can actually hang with a number of later eras of Herbie (other than some of the 80's "Rockit era" material), but man, his classic Blue Note 60's recordings really are something special. And you get a ton of the good stuff with this 6-disc collection that collects the full albums where he's the leader, plus 11 alternate takes, plus 5 more tracks where he was a sideman but composed/performed. I'm in fact listening to "Cantaloupe Island" as I type this, and I'd love to come up with more of a write-up here, but all I can say is (at least to my tastes) this is just flat out great jazz with some seminal recordings. Solid choice. I'm a pretty big fan of Hancock. And this is an excellent era for his work. |
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Aug 10, 2024 18:10:40 GMT -5
Today's selection: #5 Herbie Hancock - The Complete Blue Note 60's Sessions
Nice pick. I actually bought Hancock's Maiden Voyage album this week, as a result of you turning me on to it, though it hasn't been delivered yet. #5 - The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings - Louis Armstrong
I'm only just beginning my exploration of Louis Armstrong's work, but I'll bear your advice on these sessions in mind. |
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Aug 10, 2024 19:07:39 GMT -5
A little late today, but carrying on with my top 10 favourite box sets... #5 - Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings by The Police (1993)  When this 4-disc box set was released in 1993 the Police had been defunct for 7 years, so I guess the band were due a reappraisal. Gathering all five of the band's albums together, along with every non-album single, all their B-sides, and other stray tracks that appeared on soundtracks or charity albums, the idea here is that this is the band's complete works. Actually, as it turns out, there are about a dozen remixes, live tracks, and foreign language versions of their hits missing, but by and large, this is everything the band released in Britain and America between 1977 and 1986. There are no rare outtakes or early demos though; the purpose of this box is to provide a handy one-stop shop for the Police's entire recorded output. Myself, I loved the Police as a kid (and still do!) and, prior to picking this up, I had all their albums on cassette. So, when this CD box set came out it was a must have. All the band's big hits are here, of course, along with classic albums like Reggatta de Blanc, Ghost in the Machine, and Synchronicity. Not that everything here is amazing, mind you: at least one of the band's albums is kinda patchy and roughly half of the B-sides are somewhat forgettable too. But when it's good, this set is excellent, with very good remastered sound. Frankly, I just love the exhaustive completeness of the set, and the booklet includes often humorous song notes from all three ex-bandmembers. Here's the video for "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" from 1981… And here's the atmospheric "Walking on the Moon" from 1979, with its killer bassline… |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2024 21:44:56 GMT -5
#5 - The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings - Louis Armstrong This is a nice pick, I feel like I do need more Armstrong in my collection. This set looks great. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2024 21:54:22 GMT -5
A little late today, but carrying on with my top 10 favourite box sets... #5 - Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings by The Police (1993) Hah, I was planning on posting this one! Yeah, a great set, I moved from cassettes as well to this. Nothing more I can add to your excellent summary, the Police are an old (and still) favorite for me as well. I'm actually going to post something different since you covered this nicely, though reflecting a little further on this set has influenced my choice for tomorrow. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2024 5:46:47 GMT -5
Going to post today's choice early since I'll be tied up for most of the day. Picking back up from my prior post and building on Confessor's selection, the Police were a band that was actually a big part of the times I was living through versus an older artist/group that I discovered along the way. And while their first 2 albums were technically in the late 70's, they are very much an "80's" group and somehow capture the mood of that decade/era as I experienced it with their presence on radio and MTV. Which made me think of a different type of box set for today, one that simply covers a "greatest of" the 80's itself. To preface, I have been buying 80's hits CD's for a long time, they are often a cheap way to get all these songs I grew up with but never had the interest to go explore more from the individual artists (unlike the Police where the hits led to the full albums). And I've accumulated quite a few because it usually starts with a specific song I remember and then trying to find a collection that has it, plus enough other material that makes it worth it (and avoiding too much duplication with other ones I have which has been increasingly difficult as they've stacked up over time). I have never felt the need to buy say a Frankie Goes to Hollywood album, but I'll still sing along with "Relax" any time I hear it, so many catchy songs from the decade I literally grew up in (the 80's span my earlier elementary school days through a good amount of high school). So another factor for me with collections is the songs I actually remember. I've seen some really large sets (like 10 discs or so) that have a lot of deeper cuts, and I guess that's fine if you want to go exploring, but I feel like I could just take an afternoon on YouTube and do the same. I just want my MTV darn it! So with that lengthy preface, this neat set has a lot of really classic songs in my mind coming in at 3 discs of 80's mainstream goodness: #4 I Want My 80's Box! I'll list the tracks below since I think that will tell the whole story on what kind of collection this is. One thing I also like is that it tries to follow a basic timeline with earlier 80's on the first disc progressing to later material on the last one. Personally I feel like it flows a little nicer that way. And again, the overall selections are great I think with a little bit of qualification of the late 80's towards the second half of the 3rd disc. While stuff like the Tiffany and Whitesnake tracks are technically valid as they were big hits, I feel like there could have been other choices that fit the vibe of this collection much better. INXS, Bangles, B-52's, heck, solo Belinda Carlisle at that point and so many others come to mind. But that's basically a nit, overall (to my tastes) it's chock full of 80's awesome. So I'm going to squeeze into my parachute pants that seem to have shrunk over the years, turn off the VCR blinking 12:00 (I can always finish the Breakfast Club later), and pop these into my Denon CD player: Disc: 1
1 Video Killed The Radio Star - The Buggles 2 Do You Really Want To Hurt Me? - Culture Club 3 Steppin' Out - Joe Jackson 4 867-5309 / Jenny - Tommy Tutone 5 Rapture - Blondie 6 You Dropped A Bomb On Me - Gap Band 7 Let It Whip - Dazz Band 8 Harden My Heart - Quarterflash 9 Poison Arrow - ABC 10 The Heat Of The Moment - Asia 11 Mickey - Toni Basil 12 Celebration - Kool & The Gang 13 Tempted - Squeeze 14 Tainted Love - Soft Cell Disc: 2
1 Love Is A Battlefield - Pat Benatar 2 Cuts Like A Knife - Bryan Adams 3 Sweet Dreams - Eurythmics 4 Take On Me - A-Ha 5 Relax - Frankie Goes To Hollywood 6 One Thing Leads To Another - The Fixx 7 In A Big Country - Big Country 8 Come On Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners 9 Our House - Madness 10 Weird Science - Oingo Boingo 11 Suddenly Last Summer - The Motels 12 Sister Christian - Night Ranger 13 Hold Me Now - Thompson Twins 14 Missing You - John Waite Disc: 3
1 Everybody Wants To Rule The World - Tears For Fears 2 Sledgehammer - Peter Gabriel 3 She Drives Me Crazy - Fine Young Cannibals 4 Everybody Have Fun Tonight - Wang Chung 5 Walk This Way - Run DMC 6 Addicted To Love - Robert Palmer 7 Looking For A New Love - Jody Watley 8 Oh Yeah - Yello 9 Luka - Suzanne Vega 10 Lady In Red - Chris De Burgh 11 I Think We're Alone Now - Tiffany 12 Here I Go Again - Whitesnake 13 My Prerogative - Bobby Brown 14 Higher Love - Steve Winwood |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 11, 2024 17:04:38 GMT -5
#4 - The Chess Box - Chuck Berry
 So, when I said that I could have almost filled a list with Miles Davis boxes...I could also have realistically put six "Chess Boxes" on the list. So I decided to only go with one. My apologies to Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Bo Diddly and Etta James. But it had to be Chuck Berry. Like Merle Haggard, he's a family tradition. For most people, The Great Twenty-Eight is probably sufficient Chuck Berry. But for me, there's no such thing as enough Chuck Berry. He was the quintessential rock & roller. Over three discs and 71 tracks this set gives us all of Berry's hit singles along with a number of album tracks, B-sides, and lesser known singles. If there's a criticism it's probably that this was very early in the Boxed Set era (1988) and some of the very early singles sound a little bit too clean for folk used to hearing the noise from un-remastered singles. But that's a very small quibble. This is an essential set for anyone who loves rock & roll...as opposed to rock.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 11, 2024 17:12:42 GMT -5
A little late today, but carrying on with my top 10 favourite box sets... #5 - Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings by The Police (1993) Going to post today's choice early since I'll be tied up for most of the day. #4 I Want My 80's Box!I'm behind (it's been a couple of day...oy), but luckily I can address these two together. I try to fight against nostalgia. I don't necessarily succeed, but I try. That said, I have next to zero nostalgia for 80s popular music. I know every one of those songs on Supercat's entry. And I have very close to zero interest in ever hearing them again. Which isn't a condemnation of the music, just where I'm at in life. And I honestly never had any real interest in The Police. I mean it's not that I feel about them like I do The Eagles, but I'd be fine with never hearing The Police again. But good for them for being here. |
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