Now that we`re full throttle into the compact-disc and ”classic rock”
era, and now that Christmas is only a few weeks away, can an onslaught of multi-CD boxed-set retrospectives of major (and not so major) rock and pop artists be far behind?
Of course not.
But before dropping $20 to $90 on a set of CDs, remember that bigger is not necessarily better. To avoid buying an inferior collection, the consumer should ask these questions:
– Were the CDs transferred from original master tapes?
– Who supervised the assembly of the material? The original artist? A respected musicologist such as Polygram`s Bill Levenson or MCA`s Andy McKaie? Or a disgruntled record company trying to cash in on a former artist`s legacy? – Does the package put the artist`s career in context with essays and liner notes including session dates and personnel?
– Does the box simply repackage the artists` best-known songs or does it present a wealth of new or rare material?
– Could the artist`s career have been better-and more economically-presente d on fewer CDs?
With those questions in mind, here`s a rundown of the season`s top pop in a box:
The Byrds (Columbia, Legacy) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)(STAR): This four-CD set opens with a revolutionary sound: the glistening 12-string chords of Roger McGuinn on ”Mr. Tambourine Man.”
In combining those ringing riffs with Bob Dylan`s classic folk melody, the Byrds created a style that can still be heard today in the records of Tom Petty and R.E.M., among others.
McGuinn played a major role in assembling these 90 songs, which primarily span the Byrds` heyday of 1965-71, and though he was the group`s leader and primary singer, the musicians that came through the Byrds` revolving door constantly expanded his musical vision.
David Crosby`s harmony vocals, Gene Clark`s melodious songwriting, the contrapuntal bass lines of Chris Hillman, the country fatalism of Gram Parsons, the stinging guitar lines of Clarence White-all pushed and pulled the Byrds through various phases: pop, folk, acid rock, country.
In addition to the great and near-great singles and album tracks, there are a handful of brilliant, previously unheard tracks. The best among them include Parsons` lead vocal on the Louvin Brothers` ”The Christian Life” and Crosby`s ”Triad,” which never made it on a Byrds record-perhaps because of its risque subject matter-but was later picked up by the Jefferson Airplane and became something of an underground classic in the free-love `60s.
The four 1990 reunion recordings are a joy, especially the reading of
”He Was a Friend of Mine,” in which McGuinn and Crosby blend their voices like twins while Hillman soars above them. It brings the collection full circle, an indispensable chronicle of one of America`s greatest bands.
Led Zeppelin (Atlantic) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)(STAR): Four CDs assembled and sequenced by Led Zep guitarist Jimmy Page, this collection may shame Atlantic into upgrading the sound of the inferior individual CDs.
Though a few key tracks are omitted-notably ”The Lemon Song,” ”Living Loving Maid” and ”Good Times Bad Times”-this 54-song compilation, and the accompanying essays and liner notes, offers powerful testimony to this band`s legacy as the most sensual and soulful of heavy-metal bands.
Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings (Columbia) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
(STAR) : Johnson was to the blues what Charlie Parker was to jazz, an artist blessed with prodigious technique and imagination whose haunted vision would influence all who came after him. Johnson`s recordings, collected here for the first time with stunning sonic clarity, are foreboding and intense, marking the transition of the black diaspora from the farm to the cities.
The Marvin Gaye Collection (Motown) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) 1/2: Gaye`s legacy has been crassly repackaged in innumerable ways-there are at least 14 compilations on Motown alone. But this is easily the best of the bunch.
Its four CDs are divided into hits, duets, rarities, and ballads. The first two categories present some of Gaye`s finest music-from ”I Heard it Through the Grapevine” to his collaboration with Tammi Terrell on ”You`re All I Need to Get By”-but it`s the last two that are the real treasures.
The ”Rare, Live and Unreleased” set is notable for its inclusion of Gaye`s smoldering ”Star Spangled Banner” at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game.
”The Balladeer” presents seven songs from Gaye`s legendary, unreleased
”Vulnerable” album, in which Gaye orchestrates his voice over the haunting arrangements of Bobby Scott.
Gaye`s inner dialogue makes for some of the most soul-searching music of the pop era. For ”Why Did I Choose You,” he sings in a mid-range voice that recalls the cool, precise diction of his hero, Nat King Cole, then harmonizes with himself in a tortured, pleading falsetto.
This music is diminished only slightly by the shoddy packaging: Once again, Motown offers not a clue about who the side men were on these historic sessions, and the cover art looks to be a leftover from the `60s.
The Chess Box, Bo Diddley (MCA) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) 1/2: Ellas McDaniel was a guitar wild man. His sonic experiments went well beyond the ”Bo Diddley beat” for which he is best known and extended into the use of tremolo and feedback. His songs, full of craft and wit and rooted in the ecstatic gospel tradition in which he was reared, are timeless. This two-CD set is a must for any collector.
To Be Continued . . . , Elton John (MCA) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR): The Liberace of pop during his heyday in the `70s, John loved florid costumes and rococo arrangements, but he loved American pop-from R&B to surf music-even more.
His early records mark the imprint of his heroes, from his Ray Charles-like inflections on ”Levon” to his pounding Professor Longhair-inspired piano lines on ”Honky Cat.”
Bernie Taupin`s lyrics were sometimes maudlin, but at their best-as in
”Rocket Man,” the glam-rock parody ”Bennie and the Jets,” the John Lennon tribute ”Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny),” and the pop masterpeice
”Philadelphia Freedom”-they were engaging and fun.
This collection could have been easily pared to three from four CDs: Much of John`s work from the last decade is forgettable. But his performances of
”Candle in the Wind” and ”Don`t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” from a 1986 concert are this collection`s most naked and powerful moments.
The show came during the low point of John`s career, his voice reduced to a hoarse cry at its loudest, a slur and a lisp in the softer passages. Yet there`s a fasincating power here all the same, a tragic courage reminiscent of some of Elvis Presley`s better latter-day performances.
The Legendary Roy Orbison (CBS Special Products) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR): Had this four-CD collection been assembled with any special care, it would have surely merited four stars.
Orbison was not only one of rock`s truly magnificent voices but his best music-”Running Scared,” ”Only the Lonely,” ”Crying,” ”Blue Bayou” and the atypically aggressive ”Oh, Pretty Woman”-was a marvel of taut narrative concision illuminated by brilliant arrangements.
The hushed introduction and bolero beat of ”Running Scared,” for example, defied pop convention, setting the tone for this tale of paranoia. When Orbison finished off the song with a long, held note of triumph, it was like a trumpet blast from heaven.
But despite a solid essay on Orbison`s life, the packaging is notably skimpy on essential details such as recording dates and musicians. Also, by omitting the music that Orbison made in the last months of his life-with the Traveling Wilburys and on his ”Mystery Girl” solo album-this compilation can hardly claim to be definitive.
