Beastie Boys Deluxe LP Box Sets

Gotta love the Beastie Boys. They have been releasing deluxe remastered versions of their albums. First was Paul's Boutique, but it was just a standard vinyl version. For Check Your Head, they made a 4LP boxset that featured the following:

* 4 pieces of 180 gram Vinyl featuring the deluxe remastered album and the 4 original 12" singles (36 tracks total)

* 8 panel gatefold package with foil cover inlay, packaged in a fabric-wrapped, black foil-stamped hardcover "coffee table book" case

* Limited to 2,000 sales

Now for Ill Communication (available for pre-order at the Beasties website, Check Your Head is still available too), they've done a 3LP boxset which features:

* 3 pieces of 180 gram Vinyl featuring the deluxe remastered album and 12 bonus tracks and rarities (32 tracks total)

* 6 panel gatefold package, lenticular cover, and hardcover "coffee table book" case

* Limited to only 1,500 sales

* Ships by 8/31/09

Speaking of the Beasties, if you were unable to get one of the Anthology 4LP box sets (numbered to 6000 copies) that was released in 2000, the official site still has some available for a very reasonable $85.

Next up on the Deluxe Vinyl releases for the Beasties is Hello Nasty. Look for that around Dec/Jan hopefully. This will make a very nice set if you are able to acquire all of them.

War Child Limited Edition 15x7" Box Set

Released earlier this year, was this awesome charity album. I knew of the CD version, but didn't know about the box set version until I saw it on Ebay. Luckily the War Child shop still had some available (for $90) and the cool thing about this box set is that it features not only the cover version, but the original version on the b-side of each 7". So for instance, you get Hot Chip's cover of Transmission, and then on the b-side, you get Joy Division's original. This set, which was supposedly limited to just 5000 copies, also features a bonus 7" which is Estelle's cover of Stevie Wonder's Superstition. This is a very cool boxset and a great idea that I hope is copied for other charity compliations.

Tracklisting is as follows:

Beck (Bob Dylan: Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat)
Scissor Sisters (Roxy Music: Do The Strand)
Lily Allen (The Clash: Straight To Hell)
Duffy (Paul McCartney: Live And Let Die)
Elbow (U2: Running To Stand Still)
TV On The Radio (David Bowie: Heroes)
Hot Chip (Joy Division: Transmission)
The Kooks (The Kinks: Victoria)
Estelle (Stevie Wonder: Superstition)
Rufus Wainwright (Brian Wilson: Wonderful/ Song For Children)
Peaches (Iggy Pop: Search And Destroy)
The Hold Steady (Bruce Springsteen: Atlantic City)
The Like (Elvis Costello: You Belong To Me)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs (The Ramones: Sheena Is A Punk Rocker)
Franz Ferdinand (Blondie: Call Me)

Estelle Superstition (no b-side of Stevie Wonder's original)

Stone Roses 20th Anniversary Deluxe Collectors Edition

For those who grew up with Alternative Music in the early 90's, this was one of the cassettes you had in your collection. The Stone Roses "I Wanna Be Adored" is one of the great anthems of the decade. To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of this influential album, the Stone Roses are releasing this deluxe version. The deluxe version features the following:

• Fully remastered version of the UK album plus the full-length version of "Fool's Gold" as a bonus track
• A second CD that delivers a complete set of remastered B-sides and non-album A-sides for the band’s Silvertone singles, including such favorites as ‘Mersey Paradise’, ‘Elephant Stone’, ‘Fools Gold’, ‘What The World Is Waiting For’ and ‘One Love’.
• The Lost Demos CD with previously unreleased bonus track “Pearl Bastard”
• Three heavyweight vinyl LPs that also collate the all music material across 6 sides.
• Blackpool Live DVD which includes six promo videos
• 48-page softcover book containing unseen images, new band interviews, interviews with John Leckie and high-profile fans including Noel Gallagher and Peter Hook.
• Six 12x12” John Squire art prints taken from the UK singles: I Wanna Be Adored / She Bangs The Drums / Elephant Stone / Fool’s Gold / One Love / I Am The Resurrection
• And a collectible lemon-shaped USB which includes all audio content including “Pearl Bastard,” John Leckie’s personal home video “Up at the Sawmill: The Making of ‘Fool’s Gold’” along with the six promo videos made for the album, five previously unheard backwards tracks, digital booklet, ringtones and wallpaper

You can pre-order this set, since it doesn't come out until August 10th, at the US Stone Roses store here. Note that the price in the US is $120 + shipping. Which beats the Amazon UK price through the official store of 80 pounds which is equivalent to $131.45 + shipping.

Get it before it is out. A very limited quanity will be produced.

Beck--Odelay and The Information DELUXE Sets

Another cool set of items released in 2009 were these 2 sets for Beck. First up, you have the awesome The Information Deluxe. The first time only vinyl, and made beautifully by Artist in Residence. This set features the following:

The Deluxe Edition of Beck's - The Information released for the first time on vinyl. This set contains 4-12" LP's pressed on 180 gram virgin vinyl and 1-10" LP pressed on 140 gram virgin vinyl (5 LP's total). Also included are 10 sticker sheets which have been re-sized exclusively for this release, and a 24-color fine art pen set. This set is housed in a beautifully hand-crafted clamshell box, which is individually numbered. Limited to 3,000 units worldwide.

Then there is the Odelay 10th Anniversary Set. Released on the Original Recordings Group (ORG) label, this set features the following:

• Deluxe Edition, 10th Anniversary Quad Gatefold Packaging
• Includes Poly Album Slip Case with Sticker
• Numbered, Limited Edition of Only 3,000 Copies
• Exact Reproduction of Beck's Special Deluxe Cover Artwork
• Purple embossed pen-like ink reproduction Cover Artwork
• Includes High Quality Full-Color Booklet
• 32 Tracks
• Includes B-Sides, Remixes, & Previously Unreleased Tracks
• Premium HQ-180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl Pressing
• Mastered by Bernie Grundman

Mine is #2448/3000.

Also of note, was the Deluxe issue of Beck's One Foot in the Grave. Also on Audiophile heavyweight 180g vinyl, this 2LP set features several unreleased bonus tracks and makes a nice set to go along with this (not pictured, but I do have it).

Animal Collective Animal Crack Box 3LP Set

Another great item released this year (Year of the Box Set? Maybe). This is the Animal Collective Box Set. Catsup Plate Records Release sold through Fusetron and limited to just 1000 copies.

Here is the blurb about the boxset:

After almost three years of planning Catsup Plate is proud to announce the release of Animal Crack Box, a three LP collection of Animal Collective recordings spanning the years 2000 through 2003. These songs were recorded live, at practice sessions and in other non-studio environs and most have never been released in any form whatsoever. And those that have been release sound so markedly different that long-time fans will not be disappointed.

Throughout their career, Animal Collective has existed at the crossroads of uncompromising experimentalism, classic song structure and ecstatic expressionism -- a crossroads that this set further underscores. The songs veer from the early percussion/feedback wailings to the Campfire Songs style acoustica to wall of sound forest children vocal chanting. The sonics are rough in places as these were originally recorded more for reference than for an actual release, but the power of the songs and the band's uncompromising intensity are apparent all the way through. Fans of the band's recent work may be surprised by the cacophony at times, but peel away the layers of sound and the essential compositional and performative brilliance is staring you in the face.

Each record jacket is silkscreened in four overprinted colors and housed in a super sturdy four overprinted color silkscreened outer slipcase held together by a two color silkscreened "obi" strip. This thing is a 12 x 12 brick. The recording selections were overseen by Animal Collective themselves, who poured over hundreds of hours of tapes to come up with this tracklisting. The Hieronymus-Bosch-meets-the-early-Looney-Tunes-work-of-Max-Fleischer illustrations were drawn by Jon Vermilyea and the whole package was art directed and designed by Rob Carmichael.

This is a single edition of 1000 copies, with no digital or CD version planned.

Nada Surf 94-08 LP Boxset

Here is the very nice Nada Surf boxset. Released on Barsuk Records last year, this boxset features the following:

• All five full-length studio LPs including Elektra debut high/low (available on vinyl exclusively in this box set), the proximity effect, let go, the weight is a gift, and lucky.
• Repressing of the band's long out-of-print debut 7" single the plan/telescope.
• 24-page full-color 12"x12" booklet which includes lyrics for all of the LPs, exclusive photos and tour poster reproductions.
• Single-use full-album MP3 download codes for the proximity effect, let go, the weight is a gift, and lucky. PLUS a very special bonus download folder with 16 b-sides and rarities!!!
• Box set is numbered and strictly limited to 1000 copies worldwide (as you can see mine was number 385).

Very nice set for a very underrated band, in my opinion.

Pearl Jam Ten Collectors Boxset

Attached, you can see the pictures of the Pearl Jam boxset. I did end up getting mine at Best Buy, since their 1st week price was cheaper than the TenClub's. What does this boxset contain:

COLLECTOR'S EDITION BOX SET (2 CDs plus DVD, 4 LPs and Cassette):
CD 1: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered (original mix)
CD 2: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered and remixed by Brendan O'Brien, plus six bonus tracks:"Brother," "Just a Girl," "State of Love and Trust," "Breath and a Scream," "2,000 Mile Blues",and "Evil Little Goat."
DVD of Pearl Jam's previously unreleased 1992 MTV Unplugged performance including never before seen bonus performance of "Oceans" with 5.1 surround sound audio remix.
LP 1: original Ten tracklisting remastered for vinyl
LP 2: original Ten tracklisting remastered for vinyl and remixed by Brendan O'Brien
LP 3 & 4: Drop in the Park - Live at Magnuson Park in Seattle on September 20, 1992 (audio mixed by Brendan O'Brien) "Even Flow," "Once," "State Of Love And Trust," "Why Go," "Deep,", "Jeremy," "Black," "Alive," "Garden," "Porch"
Cassette: replica of original "Momma-Son" Pearl Jam demo cassette featuring "Alive," "Once" and "Footsteps"
Package also includes an Eddie Vedder-style composition notebook filled with replica personal notes, images and mementos from the collections of Eddie Vedder and Jeff Ament, a vellum envelope with replicated era-specific ephemera from Pearl Jam's early work and a two-sided print commemorating the Drop in the Park concert.

LIMITED TO JUST 10,000 COPIES WORLDWIDE. But a very nice set.

Deluxe Vinyl Boxsets

This is one thing that I really love. The boxset. A collection of LPs together that usually haven't been together before.

Recent Deluxe Box Sets have included:

1) Pet Shop Boys Yes Limited to just 300 copies and sold out immediately. The pre-sale for it in the UK was $300 UK Pounds (approx $495 USD)

2) Oasis Vinyl Box Set (14LP box) that features all of their albums, remastered and on 180g vinyl. Limited to just 1500 copies and numbered (the pressing amount is a rumor, as nobody has been able to confirm this). The pre-order for it was through the Oasis website and sold out immediately. I missed out on the pre-order and now most places want to charge me about $110+ to ship it to the US. Crap.

3) Warchild Heroes 7" boxset. Released in the UK and limited to just 5000 copies, the cool thing about this is that it took the covers from the CD and then on the b-side of each 7" vinyl single included the original track from the original artist. So for instance, you have Elbow covering U2's Running to Stand Still on the A side and on the B side you have the original U2 version. Sweet. I post a pic or 2 of this soon.

4) Animal Collective Animal Crack Box. Released in the US through Fusetron and made in a 1 time pressing of only 1000 copies, this thing sold out ASAP. I was lucky to get one through Fusetron and found another in a store. But these things were going mad crazy on Ebay. Felt sorry for those that paid like $600 for one of these....ugh. I'll post a pic of mine soon.

5) Beastie Boys Check Your Head Deluxe 4LP boxset (2000 copies only). A very nice package and set that you'll see pictures of soon, as I own this.

6) Beastie Boys Ill Communication Deluxe 3LP boxset (1500 copies only). Pre-order item that doesn't come out until next month, but I have already ordered. :) Supposedly the next set to be given the deluxe treatment by the Beasties is Hello Nasty.

7) Pearl Jam Ten 10th Anniversary 4LP/2CD/1DVD/1 Cassette Deluxe Boxset. 10,000 copies were made an all of them sold (according to a recent article in Rolling Stone). I ended up getting my box at Best Buy because they had the price cheaper than Amazon and Pearl Jam's own store for fanclub members.

8) Stone Roses 20th Anniversary boxset. Available for Pre-Order now and likely to be highly collectible. It features 3CD/3LP/DVD/ 2GB USB and is a very nice set.

9) Warp 20 box set. Celebrating 20 years of the pioneering Warp label, this box is amazing.

10) Atlantic Records the Time Capsule 16LP numbered limited edition box. Scheduled to be released in November, this box will be the ultimate box. Over 160 tracks featuring artists as diverse as Stone Temple Pilots to AC/DC to Beach Boys, all in one incredible box set. Supposedly the pre-order price is around $250. Yikes.

11) Pixies Minotaur. Yep, Artist in Residence is at it again. A mega deluxe boxset featuring all of the Pixies albums on vinyl, cd, etc. in a giant coffee table sized book. $500 for the thing. Ouch. And not to mention that this is probably the 5th different incarnation of Pixies vinyl releases.

12) Ween 1996-2000. Recently annouced by Aural Exploits, this limited boxset (1000 copies, each numbered) features 3 early Ween classics. Will be very sought after in 5 years, I'm sure.

13) Green Day 21st Century Breakdown. Warner Bros did a limited (3000 only) 3x10" set with an exclusive art book for the album. Pretty sweet.

That's it for now. I am sure I have missed some boxsets, so if you have any to add, shoot me an e-mail. I am sure this post will be a work in progress.

Welcome

If you are here....then you are a fan of vinyl.

Whether it is COLORED, Limited, Numbered, 7", 10", 12", singles, EPs, LPs, Box Sets, 180g, 200g, 45rpm, 33rpm, etc.

I'll be updating recent releases that I have purchased, along with other things that I think are cool that are upcoming, with the links to pre-order them (if applicable).

SC