TOP 5 - BOX SETS by Enrico Spinelli.
Anyone who knows me knows that I can't resist box sets: not only are they often very beautiful and rich but they are above all comfortable, this is because they allow you to recover all or most of the discography of a group in a single solution, which is very convenient especially if we talk about full-bodied discographies (like Bob Dylan, to be clear).
They are also an opportunity to enrich one's collection of rarities or elements that would hardly be possible to find in any other way. Among the many I have, I have chosen 5 to comment on, almost all of which are currently out of print, not necessarily my favorites but particularly dear to me for different reasons. And so...
5) LITFIBA "LIVE & RARE"
This full-bodied box of vinyl, received by my wife a few Christmas ago, is not only beautiful but above all full of unobtainable pieces. The recovery of the very rare "Live in Berlin" from the early days is appreciable as well as the presence of the band's first real studio recording, the almost entirely instrumental "Aeneid of Krypton". Then we find the no less unobtainable "Colpo di Coda" and "Lacio Drom" and the less successful "Croce e Delizia" and "Live 99"; closes the collection "Stato Libero di Litfiba" in Picture-Disc version. For those who want to preserve the vinyl, I add that the box also includes a USB pen with all the songs in mp3. Sorry, for the sake of completeness, the absence of the live "Open your eyes" (perhaps in full edition) and the highly retouched "Pirate", but considering the amount of material present I would say that we can be satisfied.
4) NEVERMORE "THE COMPLETE COLLECTION"
This is one of those perfect box sets and at the same time full of pain for the untimely death of Warrel Dane, singer and leader of one of the bands capable of declining extreme metal in an original and innovative way, giving us pearls of absolute value. , such as "Politics of Ecstasy", "Dreaming Neon Black" and "Dead Heart in a Dead World". The box set, in addition to a flag with the band's logo, presents everything that the line-up has released, studio albums (we even find both editions of "Enemies of Reality", the only live album, and a series of bonus tracks condensed into an extra album, a comprehensive booklet with all the lyrics and notes of the various works completes the whole thing. Little to add, a true monument to the memory of an inimitable band.
I always said one thing, the Uriah Heep discography is so vast that only a nice box set can help me complete it... and here it is, magically appeared, even if for a short time, a nice box containing all the studio production of the rock band, even if a little spartan (some works are merged into a single disc) but undoubtedly has the advantage of completeness. The whole is completed by a series of prints and the 33rpm of "The Magician's Birthday" with an alternative cover. A real gem for a band that would have deserved greater fortunes.
2) PINK FLOYD "THE EARLY YEARS 1965-1972"
The chills. This is the release that every Pink Floyd lover has always dreamed of, a voluminous box that reproduces the band's first truck in aesthetics and that collects all kinds of rarities of the band on CD, DVD and Blu-ray, accompanied by reproductions of various memorabilia and from the reissue of the first single of the group.
I attach a personal memory to this box: at its release it had an unreachable price but I found it at some point on an absurd offer at 50%... always expensive, but certainly more accessible.
1) IRON MAIDEN - "EDDIE'S ARCHIVE"
Little to say, this the one to which I am most attached, a real jewel in terms of appearance and content. An elegant metal box entirely worked containing a parchment with the family tree of the band, a glass and 3 double CDs, respectively the best of the recordings for the BBC (including one, more than precious, with Paul di Anno), the "Live at the Hammersmith"(possibly one of the best Iron Maiden concerts) and a collection of the best b-sides. Of course, considering all the unreleased material or published only on vinyl by the band, perhaps you could have dared something more, but beauty is the emotional load that all this carries with it far exceeds the limits of this operation which, at least for me, represents the best I could wish for.
And you, what are your favourite box sets?