Box Set Mania
Box sets incite a fervor in those of us who are driven to record collecting: they get us on
the aesthetic tip (because they just look so nice on our shelves), they get us on the fanboy
tip (because they always include things that we've been hunting down for years), and they
get us on the consumer aspect (because it feels so damn good to drop $50 on the complete
recordings on some band and invest in something so huge).
When I get the backing of some record company and maybe some good
graphic designers, I will personally oversee the (in my mind) much-needed releases of the
following:
- The Rough Trade Box - modeled after the JazzActuel box, this box set will cover the amazing
Rough Trade label over the course of 3 CDs. We'll stick to earlier stuff, and document
post-punk from one of the most important labels ever. Most of this stuff is available now
(and the Lilliput complete recordings are coming out on Kill Rock Stars soon) but there's a
bunch of stuff that isn't, and a great collection it would make.
- Camper Van Beethoven - a nice five or six CD box of Camper Van Beethoven's complete
recordings. There's a lot of people who don't recognize the greatness of this band (and
even more who have never heard them). You can omit the newest CD (see fakejazz.com review) since
it's brand new and not really from the period when they were together.
- Wire - throw on everything from before they initially broke up (including the amazing
Document and Eyewitness) and scrape out the rarities and live tracks. A lot of this stuff
has surfaced already on Behind the Curtain but that's just about impossible to find now. I
know there are more live tapes floating around and probably some video footage that could be
included on enhanced CD's.
- The Fall - a good Fall box is needed, methinks, sampling perhaps the best tracks over their
20+ year career. The Fall are quite daunting to get into, as they have so many albums, and
their fans say that all of them are worthwhile.
- The AACM box - sort of like a localized JazzActuel box, focusing on the Chicago Association
for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. This can probably focus on the late 60's the
most but can veer into later stuff.
So, if anyone wants to actually go through and create these box sets, I wholeheartedly
encourage it. Don't forget to send me a complimentary copy, care of fakejazz. In my next column
I'll rave about the genius of the early 80's Athens new wave band Pylon whose collected
works can fit on a 90 minute tape (so no box set for them, though a nice double CD would be
pretty cool). Enjoy your records, kids!
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