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This Is a Really Good Time to Be a Collector

When you’re truly obsessed with a band, owning their hit records simply isn’t enough. While we’re now a lot less likely to put a poster over our bed to proclaim our allegiance (no judgment here!), we’re also infinitely more willing to dig a little deeper into the discography and to treat ourselves to some related collectibles of almost fetishistic appeal. The four sets below each come with some pretty cool extras and represent a pretty wide array of musical tastes. Then again, who says you can’t be a lifelong fan of both The Traveling Wilburys and Parliament-Funkadelic? We sure are.

The Ultimate Traveling Wilburys Set

You’ve got two options here: A three-LP set (printed on 180-gram vinyl) that features The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 and The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 (their second album) plus a bonus 12” with exclusive extended mixes, a 16-page booklet, a fold-out poster and an envelope with six collectable postcards or the CD/DVD package which offers the two Traveling Wilburys albums with bonus tracks and a DVD featuring five music videos, plus The True History of The Traveling Wilburys documentary short, and a 40-page casebound book along with two collectable postcards, a fabric sticker and a numbered certificate of authenticity. Price: $32.95

Stax ’68: A Memphis Story

This five-disc CD box set compiles every single — both A and B sides — released on Stax and its subsidiary labels in ’68: over 120 iconic songs from era-defining artists such as Otis Redding, The Staple Singers, William Bell, Booker T. and the M.G.’s, Carla Thomas, Johnnie Taylor, Albert King, Isaac Hayes, Linda Lindell, Rufus Thomas, and many more. The package also features a 56-page book with in-depth liner notes by Andria Lisle, Robert Gordon, and renowned producer Steve Greenberg, plus rare and never-before-seen photographs from the Stax archives. Price: $59.95

Related: “It Still Stacks Up: 1968 Made Stax Records”

CCR Deluxe 7-LP: Vinyl Boxed Set

This collection contains all seven of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s studio albums completely remastered. If you grew up with Bayou Country, Green River, Willy and the Poor Boys — to name their 1969 releases alone! — then these new pressings will reveal nuances to some songs that are embedded deep in your DNA. If you want to introduce someone to the pleasures of CCR’s Cosmo’s Factory, Pendulum, and Mardi Gras then you can’t do any better than this. Price: $214.99

 

Related: “Excalibur and Cosmo: When CCR Members Go Solo”

George Clinton/P-Funk: Chocolate City

In his ’70s heyday, George Clinton took James Brown’s musical revolution to the outer limits of the musical cosmos. His outrageous, jamtastic brain-melting innovations peaked with the prophetic 1975 Parliament classic Chocolate City. This set is the ultimate experience of that release with its Chocolate & Pantone gold chocolate box, a double 12” vinyl brown-and-white marbled vinyl with five live to vinyl cut tracks from George Clinton’s P-Funk, a double CD of the live performance in brown-and-white discs, the full live concert DVD filmed at Metropolis Studios plus a special foldout poster along with sleeve notes featuring George Clinton in his “Uncle Jam” guise. Price: $99.99

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2 comments on “This Is a Really Good Time to Be a Collector

  1. I beg to differ. The BEST time to have been a collector was the mid-90’s through early-’00s. Rhino was the King of Compilations that not only sounded great, but often dug really deep and served up rare and rediscovered Gold. Sony/Legacy was a very close runner-up. And EVERYONE was putting out expansive, beautifully packaged and curated box sets. The loudness wars hadn’t totally killed the sound quality at that point, either.

    I guess it all depends on what you’re into. If you’re a vinyl fan, and don’t mind spending a premium for a niche format, now is your moment. If you appreciate pop-and-click-free sound, excellent packaging and curation and value for your money, you’re about 20 years too late.

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