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Some of my favourite box sets are

Marvin Gaye : The Master

James Brown - Star Time

Sonny Rollins - Original Album Classics

Otis Redding - Original Album Series

This could be pretty cool…

https://www.discogs.com/release/2314688 ... -Exposures

ZZ Top – The Complete Studio Albums 1970-1990
(the LP mixes on CD make the CD mixes sound like garbage)

The Band: A Musical History

Does it count as a box set if it's a book with 5 CDs in it?

JHorner wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 6:02 pm ZZ Top – The Complete Studio Albums 1970-1990
(the LP mixes on CD make the CD mixes sound like garbage)

That would be worth hunting down. The cd mixes are terrible, no dynamic’s compared to the vinyl mastering. I’ve found a few album digitizations and they’re way better especially the first few albums.

sty wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 8:50 pm

JHorner wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 6:02 pm ZZ Top – The Complete Studio Albums 1970-1990
(the LP mixes on CD make the CD mixes sound like garbage)

That would be worth hunting down. The cd mixes are terrible, no dynamic’s compared to the vinyl mastering. I’ve found a few album digitizations and they’re way better especially the first few albums.

For a while, discountcds couldn't keep them in stock, no one in nz had any, but they have a couple right now.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketplace ... 3919268012

My two favourite ones are a Hendrix box set (4 CD's and a massive 'booklet') and a SRV one (3 CD's + a DVD with around 40mins of unreleased tracks from Austin City Limits 1989 and a decent sized booklet). Bought both of them in the late 90's while I was doing a road trip around the States

Yeah both those are brilliant. Bought when I’d buy tons of CDs every month. No idea where I got the money!!

Love the velvet cover on the Hendrix one

Muddy Waters : on LP. Brilliant.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Derek and the Dominoes
Allman Brothers Band

are all good.

The Band : A Musical History is very good. I don't have it but got it out of the library. Will buy it if I see it.

I think my favorite box sets are the recent box set of the first four Marillion albums.

I’ve got the vinyl sets and the cd sets.

A really strong remaster of the original, a collection of b sides and other great stuff and an unheard live show. All on 4 vinyl discs with a lovely glossy booklet with plenty of words and pictures.

The CDs have similar music, plus a dvd of an interview, videos, and a surround mix of the album. Etc.

I got mine from the Fish site so they’re all signed by The Big Man himself.

They’re very good and everything is worth listening to repeatedly.

JHorner wrote: ↑Tue Dec 27, 2022 6:04 pm The Band: A Musical History

Does it count as a box set if it's a book with 5 CDs in it?

The Last Waltz is brilliant. “The Night They Drove Ol’ Dixie Down” is my favourite

sty wrote: ↑Wed Dec 28, 2022 8:17 am I think my favorite box sets are the recent box set of the first four Marillion albums.

I’ve got the vinyl sets and the cd sets.

A really strong remaster of the original, a collection of b sides and other great stuff and an unheard live show. All on 4 vinyl discs with a lovely glossy booklet with plenty of words and pictures.

The CDs have similar music, plus a dvd of an interview, videos, and a surround mix of the album. Etc.

I got mine from the Fish site so they’re all signed by The Big Man himself.

They’re very good and everything is worth listening to repeatedly.

I’m going to sit down and properly listen to Marillion. I’ve never really bothered thinking it was possibly like Rush

Started with Kayleigh and Cannibal Surf Girl

Liked the homage to Brian Wilson

There's kind of two big eras for Marillion,

1) With Fish
2) With Steve Hogarth

I'm a massive Fish era fan and less obsessive about the other stuff, but I do listen to it.

I'm not fanatical about this, so what I say here could be considered heresy, but I'll go with it.

There are four studio albums in the Fish Era.

Misplace Childhood was the 3rd, and is by far their most successful album (Kayleigh is off this), it's a concept album and one of my favourite albums ever. Very musical, very clever lyrics etc. I probably suggest anybody to start here if they liked Kayleigh.

Clutching At Straws was the 4th (and final Fish era studio album). I feel it's got snappier songs on it and some would argue it's a better album really that Misplaced Childhood, I'm tempted to agree. Well worth listening to, another concept album I believe.

Script for a Jesters Tear is the debut album and some of the early influences (Genesis, etc.) are possibly a bit more obvious but the songs are still great especially the title track.

Fugazi rounds it all out as the 2nd album. The start of the more shorter songs focus and some of their first breakthrough songs like He Knows You Know.

They were a very hard working band with a huge following before the made their original albums., so there are some songs that aren't on the first albums but are equally worth diving into. I think most of these can happily be found on The B-Sides Themselves.

You really need to give Grendel a go, watch the live video on youtube if you can stomach it, a rambling epic song with some hooky tunes in it. Based on the poem/story of Grendel which is the Beowolfe story told from the perspective of the Monster.

Also Forgotten Sons is great, again the youtube video live from the early days is with digging into. Deals with the Northern Irish wars/troops/troubles etc.

They were a great live act, do for the great early days stuff there is a four show box set The Early Stages official bootleg collection which has four landmark shows spread before/during and just after the broke and got a deal - I love all these shows.

For a round up of the FIsh era the excellent Thieving Magpie La Gazza Ladra) or Live form Loreley are great.


That might help you choose where to dive in.

Fish writes very well crafted lyrics, more poems and chooses his words way to cleverly for me but I appreciate it, combine that with the amazing musicianship and composing skills of the remaining band members and they were a potent force when working together. I like Fish's solo stuff but in general it's not as strong as when he was writing as part of a team of equals hungry to break through.

Steve Rothery is my all time favourite guitarist and undoubtedly my biggest influence, I’ve been lucky enough to see them a number of times live back when I was in the UK. Their shows are simply incredible, the music combined with the visuals is often enough to bring fans to tears

I got into them when Fish was in the band, but Seasons End was one of the first albums I bought on cassette and since then I’ve always been in the Hogarth camp. For me I think their latest album is one of their strongest musical statements, but it would be a flip of a coin between that or Brave… both are masterpieces in their own right