Box set bonanza: killer Christmas gifts for fans of Thin Lizzy, UFO, the Allman Brothers, Tom Petty, and Elton John
Box sets are still a thing. Here's five primo gift choices for those stubborn old rock fans on your list who refuse to go digital and don't like music unless they can hold it in their hands.
Thin Lizzy Rock Legends A super-deluxe box set featuring 99 Thin Lizzy tracks, 74 of them previously unreleased. The six-CD, one-DVD package was compiled from a collection of newly discovered tapes and boasts numerous demos, radio sessions, live recordings, and rare single edits. The set also includes the hour-long BBC documentary Bad Reputation, tour programs bound into a hard-backed book, Phil Lynott’s poetry, and four prints by Lizzy cover artist Jim Fitzpatrick. $189.99 at amazon.ca.
UFO Strangers in the Night UFO was one of those bands from the seventies that should have been huge, so here's good news for those diehard fans still clinging to their worn-out vinyl copies of Phenomenon. Strangers in the Night, the live album from 1979 that was chock full of Michael Schenker's stellar guitar wipeouts, has been reissued as an eight-CD deluxe edition. The original double disc was compiled from recordings made at six shows on a 1978 American tour, and the new box set includes all six complete concerts for the first time. That means no less than seven versions of "Rock Bottom", mofos. $79.21 at amazon.ca.
Tom Petty Wildflowers & All the Rest As if Tom Petty's 1994 Wildflowers album wasn't good enough in the first place--and with tunes like "You Don't Know How it Feels" and "It's Good to Be King", we reckon it was--then hardcore Petty fans can revel in this seven-LP deluxe edition (also available in other formats). It includes a plethora of unreleased alternative versions and demos of the original's songs, as well as live tracks recorded by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from 1995 to 2017. Who else misses Tom real bad? $246.47 at amazon.ca.
The Allman Brothers Trouble No More: 50th Anniversary Collection Anyone else who's ever thrilled to the band's progressive, southern-fried blend of blues, jazz, R&B, and country stylings--driven by the scintillating slide guitar of Duane Allman--may want to consider shelling out for this deluxe vinyl box-set. The 10-LP collection--also available as five CDs or digitally—features 61 Allman Brothers Band studio recordings, live performances, and rarities, and includes seven previously unreleased tracks. $419.99 at amazon.ca.
Elton John Jewel Box If you think you've heard everything Elton John ever recorded, think again. Jewel Box is an eight-disc box that delves deep into his archive, boasting a vast array of rarities, demos, alternative mixes, and B-sides. Of its 148 songs, spanning the years 1965 through 2019, no less than 60 are previously unreleased. That dude is prolific AF. $150.22 at amazon.ca.
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