Did Santa let you down a bit today?
As the Rolling Stones sang, you can't always get what you want. But with a gift card or Christmas cash in hand, maybe you can.
Here are a few ideas for your consideration, starting with the Stones. Prices are list; bargains are out there:
• The Rolling Stones, In Mono (ABKCO, $189.99). As The Beatles did in 2009, the Rolling Stones have released their earlier albums in the original monophonic sound. The remastered sound is even better than you might remember. The box is pricey, but it has 15 CDs, including a bonus disc with singles that didn't appear on the albums in this boxed set. Someday, perhaps the label will release the titles individually. Given that the Stones have gone back to their blues roots on their new album, Blue & Lonesome, the box offers the pleasure of the Stones' self-titled 1964 debut, with tunes by Willie Dixon, Bo Diddley, Slim Harpo and Jimmy Reed. The boxed set continues through the 1969 title Let It Bleed.
• The T.A.M.I. Show and The Big T.N.T. Show (Shout! Factory, DVD, $29.99). Two concert films from 1964 and 1965 featured some of the biggest stars of the day. On T.A.M.I., it was Marvin Gaye, Lesley Gore, James Brown, The Supremes, Chuck Berry and more. On T.N.T., the acts included The Byrds, Ray Charles, the Ronettes, Lovin' Spoonful, Ike & Tina Turner and Roger Miller. This cool reissue on Blu-ray includes new interviews with Petula Clark and John Sebastian (Lovin' Spoonful) and a booklet of essays. For '60s music fans, a must.
• The Band, The Last Waltz 40th Anniversary (Rhino, $19.98-$259.98). How much do you love The Band? Specifically, their farewell concert. In 1976, the star-studded concert event was also filmed by director Martin Scorsese. Performers included Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris, Muddy Waters, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, the Staple Singers, Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan. Available versions include a two-CD set, a six-LP vinyl set and a four-CD, two-Blu-ray set with an interview disc.
• David Bowie, Legacy (Legacy, $13.99). A two-CD compilation of David Bowie's hits and familiar tracks, the set includes the recent single "Lazarus" from Blackstar, "Space Oddity," Queen and Bowie's "Under Pressure," "Fame" and many more. Forty tunes.
• David Bowie: Who Can I Be Now? (1974-1976) (Parlophone, $175.99 CDs, $296.99 LPs). From Diamond Dogs to Station to Station, this 12-CD, 13-LP reissue includes two concert recordings, alternative mixes and various edits. It revives three previously released tunes from Bowie's unreleased 1974 album The Gouster, a forerunner of sorts to Young Americans. A high point is an extended remake of "John, I'm Only Dancing."
• Prince, 4ever (Warner Bros., $20.99). A two-CD, 40-song compilation of many of Prince's most popular songs. It brings together his work up to 1993. Licensing issues kept more recent material off, so while it's a good compilation, it's not definitive. Prince's last Top 10 hit, "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World," isn't here, nor is his version of "I Feel for U" and "Let's Pretend We're Married." Another disappointment: It isn't sequenced chronologically. But 4ever does have "Batdance" and "Girls & Boys."
• Pink Floyd, The Early Years 1965-1972 (Legacy, $599.99). You really gotta love Pink Floyd if you're wanting this set with its 11 CDs, eight Blu-rays, nine DVDs, five singles and a nearly $600 price tag. The British band's beginnings are explored on this massive set, which includes (on the DVDs) concert footage, interviews and studio footage. It includes posters, fliers and more. Too much? There is a two-CD highlights collection titled Cre/ation ($14.99).
• Keith Jarrett, A Multitude of Angels (ECM, $51.29). The great jazz pianist Keith Jarrett took improvisation to a whole new level in 1975 with The Koln Concert. Angels consists of four CDs of previously unreleased concerts from a 1996 tour of Italy, which marked the end of his lengthy improvisational approach. In the liner notes, Jarrett says he considers these works a pinnacle of his career.
LEONARD COHEN
If you are a fan of the late singer-songwriter-poet Leonard Cohen, and you've already bought his most recent album, the superlative You Want It Darker, there are other prospects.
Books: the critically praised I'm Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen by Sylvie Simmons (Ecco, $16.99); The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley and the Unlikely Ascent of 'Hallelujah' by Alan Light (Atria, $15) which focuses on the evolution of Cohen's most recorded song; Cohen's 2007 poetry collection Book of Longing (HarperCollins, $13.99); Leonard Cohen on Leonard Cohen: Interviews and Encounters (Chicago Review Press, $19).
Recordings: One you might have missed: Philip Glass, Book of Longing (Orange Mountain, $20). This two-CD set is a song cycle written by Glass based on Cohen's poetry collection of the same title. Cohen recites some of his poems, and others are sung by soprano Dominique Plaisant, mezzo-soprano Tara Hugo, tenor Will Erat and bass-baritone Daniel Keeling.
Email:
Style on 12/25/2016