A CD box set makes a perfect holiday gift

REVIEWS

updated 5:16 p.m. ET Dec. 19, 2005

Whether you want to explore the depths of Donavan or revel in the genius of Ray Charles, there's a box set out there for you. And these make excellent holiday gifts as well. Is there a Billy Joel fan in your life? How about someone who just can't get enough of the Talking Heads? From Jelly Roll Morton to ’60s girl groups, it seems that almost everyone has a box set these days. So why not indulge yourself.

Ray Charles, “Pure Genius — The Complete Atlantic Recordings (1952-1959)”
In a better world, the music industry would spend less time endlessly repackaging material decades old and more time cultivating young Ray Charles-type talent. It must be out there, right?

Then again, someone of Charles’ caliber might find it impossible to break into the business today, because record labels and radio stations wouldn’t know how to categorize and market such a genre-busting, multidimensional performer.

“Pure Genius” requires eight discs to capture the range of Charles’ skill as a singer, pianist, saxophonist, writer, arranger and producer. Charles was still only in his 20s in the 1950s when he pioneered soul music, played dazzling jazz, sang the blues like few before or since and swung even on the most hoary tunes (“My Bonnie,” “Swanee River Rock”). By the end of the decade, he was branching out into country, too (“I’m Moving On”).

Rather than push for hits, Atlantic Records allowed Charles to follow his marvelous musical muse. “Our only job was to turn on the lights for him,” co-producer Jerry Wexler said. “And as a friend pointed out, we didn’t even have to do that.”

The 164-track collection includes a disc of demos and rehearsal outtakes — at one point, Charles coaches saxman David “Fathead” Newman on how to play a specific note — and a DVD featuring a previously unreleased performance by Charles’ group at the 1960 Newport Jazz Festival. Also included is an 80-page hardcover book with exhaustive liner notes.

A lot of the material duplicates Rhino’s 1991 boxed set of ’50s recordings, but that three-CD package focused on R&B tunes. This more comprehensive collection reflects Charles’ refusal to acknowledge musical boundaries — and makes one wish the industry had room for such a performer today.
—Steven Wine

Billy Joel, “My Lives”
Fans of Billy Joel may believe they already have the complete set of his works: Maybe they have his entire album collection, or at least their favorite albums and his “Greatest Hits” collections. But, no. There’s more.

“My Lives” is a sweeping five-disc (four CD, one concert DVD) assembly of music spanning Joel’s four-decade career — from his bar-band days with The Lost Souls in the 1960s to the classic works he has embraced in recent years.

There is plenty here to excite listeners familiar with Joel, such as previously unreleased demos and alternate versions of his popular songs (you’ll trip over your tongue trying to sing along to this “Piano Man). There’s a good sampling of live performances of some of his well-known songs, especially his early hits and compositions that never hit it big on Top 40 radio (there’s no “Uptown Girl” or “Just the Way You Are” here, thank you). Instead, we’re treated to beloved pieces such as “Zanzibar,” “Goodnight Saigon,” “Los Angelenos” and yes, “New York State of Mind.”

There also is the chance to hear Joel performing some of his favorite non-Joel songs like “Shout,” “When You Wish Upon a Star,” and “All Shook Up.”

Billy Joel is one of those artists who will define our times. His voice reflects the everyman existence of our day. Though many of us may think we know him, this box set is a superb collection that enables us to know him, and ourselves, on a deeper, more personal level.
—Michelle Morgante

The Band, “A Musical History”
Belying its name, The Band consisted of five unique individual musicians.

Together they created an unparalleled sound that seemed to rise from the deepest roots of Americana even though all but one of their members was Canadian.

Appropriately, the box set chronicling their career is titled “A Musical Journey.” That’s exactly what it is.

Over five discs, assembled by primary songwriter and lead guitarist Robbie Robertson, the set tracks The Band’s career backing Ronnie Hawkins, through famous turns with Bob Dylan, and then their own career ending with the famous Last Waltz concert in 1976.

A sixth disc provides about 45 minutes worth of rare studio and concert footage, including a 1976 appearance on Saturday Night Live just a month before the Last Waltz. The accompanying book is just that — 111 pages of richly illustrated, detailed text about the group and the music contained within.

More than a third of the 102 songs — 37 — are previously unreleased. Of the rest, there certainly are many repeats for any fan who bought all the originals and reissues through the years. But the inclusion of the “new” music, combined with the well-picked original tracks, makes for an absorbing and intoxicating listen.

An early take of “Twilight,” clocking in at just 3:25, is almost worth the price of the entire box by itself. Robertson never sounded more vulnerable, or beautiful, in this hauntingly sparse and spine-tingling take of him alone at a piano.

It’s individual moments like that, combined with the raw power of the band working together, that really shine in “A Musical Journey.” There’s Levon Helm’s rockabilly rasp, Rick Danko’s galloping bass and infectious warble, Robertson’s distinctive guitar, Garth Hudson’s church-music-on-acid organ playing and Manuel’s eerie falsetto.

Listening to The Band is even more inspiring in these days when so much of what passes as music is concocted in the studio by performers who often times can’t carry a note, let alone write anything as meaningful or long-standing as the songs Robertson and company produced.
—Scott Bauer

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