Music Boxed Sets

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Published: Nov 15, 2006

Putting out a new Xmas EP every year — as Sufjan Stevens has done since 2001 (OK, he flaked in 2004) — sounds like a bigger gimmick than his proposed 50 state-themed albums. But this series, like that one, is salvaged by the sheer sincerity and devotion he puts into the tracks, most of which are originals. The dude cares. In fact, for a guy who makes his bones dragging his listeners through the emotional wringer, he writes some damn festive holiday tunes. And while there's plenty of humor in this five-disc set, few tracks, if any, would qualify as ironic. (Even "Get Behind Me, Santa!" and "That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!" seem to come from a cozy and earnest place.) The set also comes with stickers, a Rick Moody essay, sheet music and a video by Tom Eaton. Now, do you need three versions of Sufjan Stevens doing "O Come, O Come Emmanuel?" Yeah, you kinda do.

The jingle-jangle of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!" has been all but completely co-opted by Time-Life Presents: Baby Boomers! There's already a 1990 box, plus subsequent reissues, and it's not like the band has recorded anything since then. On the face of it, There Is a Season (four CDs and one DVD) feels like a greedy cash-in, and redundant to boot. But disc one makes a strong case that the band's mojo initially resided in Gene Clark's melancholy-yet-hopeful songs like "Here Without You" and "The World Turns All Around Her." By disc two, Clark is headed out the door, but things are just getting interesting. Roger McGuinn and David Crosby start getting their Coltrane on with some hypnotic guitar duels. In due course, the songs get weirder. Listening now, you can hear how The Byrds paved the way for Yo La Tengo and Wilco. (Cue up "Draft Morning," which is pretty much the "Ashes of American Flags" of its day.) And so the box goes, covering the Gram Parsons year, the hairy-hippie lineup and the futile reunion attempts. This is a fine, comprehensive collection, but if Columbia foists another one in 15 years, we have a problem.

Legendary ethnomusicologist/archivist Harry Smith's influence on our rock gods (from Dylan to Baez, Zeppelin to Springsteen) cannot be overstated, but as each generation gives way to the next, you have to wonder how far back our modern troubadours have traced their roots. According to Revisited — wherein Smith's classic folk-blues Anthology gets remade by moderns — today's folk-rockers are still doing their homework. The two-CD/two-DVD set comprises highlights from a series of star-studded Smith tribute concerts in '99 and '01. Beck, Wilco and Gavin Friday seek out the catalogue's rock potential while Beth Orton, Petra Haden and Robin Holcomb keep things dark, haunted and acoustic. Marianne Faithfull drives home "Spike Driver Blues" with proper brooding, while Nick Cave wails through "John the Revelator." Most entertaining is the reimagining of "Ommie Wise" by Kate and Anna McGarrigle with Elvis Costello. After a faithful recounting of the classic murder ballad, the trio provide an original sequel wherein John Lewis is so tortured after killing his wife he's moved to dig up Ommie's grave. That he finds her coffin empty is as close as you're going to come to justice, and it fits this collection perfectly.

House of Gifts
The Living Room
The Kitchen
The Bed & Bath
The Closet
The Office
The Kid's Room
The Garage
Pets
Holy Extravagance!
The BQ Holiday Gift-O-Matic
Living in a Box