With the holiday season approaching, things can get a little hectic — thankfully, Exclaim! is here to help make this year's festive gift-giving experience a little bit easier. To ensure that you get the entertainment-obsessed loved ones in your life a present that's as exciting and interesting as they are, we've put together a list of the season's niftiest offerings.
We'll be rolling out the Exclaim! 2017 Holiday Gift Guide on a daily basis, so keep an eye here for the rest of our seasonal suggestions. First up, here are some box sets for the super-completist in your life.
King Crimson
Sailors' Tales (1970 – 1972)
Prog rock aficionados will dig this massive, 27-disc set of studio, live and bonus material from King Crimson's early '70s heyday, spanning their albums In the Wake of Poseidon, Lizard and Islands along with plenty of unreleased material. The set also comes with a booklet, a downloadable concert video and exclusive liner notes. (DGM)
Order it via Amazon
The Smiths
The Queen Is Dead Super Deluxe Edition
Though this release comes a year too late for the record's 30th anniversary, there's never a bad time to celebrate such a storied album. The box set includes a newly-remastered version of the record, a disc of demos and B-sides, a recording of a 1986 show in Boston and a DVD featuring a short documentary on the making of the album. (Rhino)
Order it via Amazon
The Fall
Singles 1978 – 2016
The Fall's prodigious output gets some much needed streamlining while offering up some hard-to-find B-sides via this career-spanning, seven-disc box set. In addition to featuring new remasters of every track, the box set features an illustrated discography and an exclusive book. (Cherry Red)
Order it via Amazon
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones in Mono
Monaural fans will be delighted by The Rolling Stones in Mono; the 16-LP set collects the band's 1960s output, including both the U.S. and UK editions of Out of Our Heads and Aftermath. The box set also includes Stray Cats, an exclusive collection of singles and non-album tracks. (ABKCO)
Order it via MusicVaultz
Tom Petty
The Complete Studio Albums Volume 1 (1976-1991) and Volume 2 (1994-2014)
The music world was saddened by the recent death of Tom Petty; announced before his passing, this pair of box sets collect his work, both with the Heartbreakers and solo, on vinyl. (Universal / Warner)
Order Volume 1 via Amazon
Order Volume 2 via Amazon
If the above recommendations aren't enough, here are some more box set gift suggestions courtesy of our friends at MusicVaultz:
Rush
A Farewell to Kings (Super Deluxe Edition)
Celebrating the album's 40th anniversary, this box set includes the 2015 remastered version of the album, a live concert and a covers EP featuring other artists covering tracks from A Farewell to Kings, on four LPs, three CDs and a Blu-ray audio disc. Bonus additions include a ring, turntable mat, two lithographs and a limited edition cereal box. (Ole)
Order it via MusicVaultz
Paul McCartney
Coloured vinyl bundle
Eight of Macca's albums — Venus and Mars, Tug of War, Ram, Pipes of Peace, McCartney, McCartney II, Band on the Run and Wings at the Speed of Sound — are available on limited edition coloured vinyl. (Universal)
Order it via MusicVaultz
The Jam
1977
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the year punk exploded, this box set features the Jam's first two albums, In the City and This Is the Modern World, along with three extra discs of demos, live performances and videos. Bonuses include a 144-page book, postcards and alternate art, housed in an exclusive box. (Universal)
Order it via MusicVaultz
Queen
News of the World 40th Anniversary Edition
This edition includes the 2011 Bob Ludwig remaster of the album, a track-for-track alternate version of the album and plenty of bonus tracks, along with a new documentary, posters, a sticker sheet and the original album press kit. (Universal)
Order it via MusicVaultz
Max Webster
The Party
This CD box set includes remastered versions of albums Max Webster, High Class in Borrowed Shoes, Mutiny Up My Sleeve, A Million Vacations, Live Magnetic Air and Universal Juveniles, along with a new disc of unreleased tracks and lead singer Kim Mitchell's long out-of-print self-titled EP. (Ole)
Order it via MusicVaultz
The Beatles
The Beatles in Mono
Ten classic Beatles albums have been remastered from the analogue master tapes, and are available in a box set with the three-disc Mono Masters compilation and a 108-page hardback book featuring essays and a detailed history of the mono mastering process. (Universal)
Order it via MusicVaultz
Def Leppard
Hysteria 30th Anniversary Edition
This 30th anniversary edition of Def Leppard's Hysteria includes five CDs (including plenty of B-sides, remixes and concert audio), two DVDs (including a documentary and live footage) and four books (a history of the album, a complete Def Leppard discography, a photo book and replicated concert programme). (Universal)
Order it via MusicVaultz
We'll be rolling out the Exclaim! 2017 Holiday Gift Guide on a daily basis, so keep an eye here for the rest of our seasonal suggestions. First up, here are some box sets for the super-completist in your life.
King Crimson
Sailors' Tales (1970 – 1972)
Prog rock aficionados will dig this massive, 27-disc set of studio, live and bonus material from King Crimson's early '70s heyday, spanning their albums In the Wake of Poseidon, Lizard and Islands along with plenty of unreleased material. The set also comes with a booklet, a downloadable concert video and exclusive liner notes. (DGM)Order it via Amazon
The Smiths
The Queen Is Dead Super Deluxe Edition
Though this release comes a year too late for the record's 30th anniversary, there's never a bad time to celebrate such a storied album. The box set includes a newly-remastered version of the record, a disc of demos and B-sides, a recording of a 1986 show in Boston and a DVD featuring a short documentary on the making of the album. (Rhino)
Order it via Amazon
The Fall
Singles 1978 – 2016
The Fall's prodigious output gets some much needed streamlining while offering up some hard-to-find B-sides via this career-spanning, seven-disc box set. In addition to featuring new remasters of every track, the box set features an illustrated discography and an exclusive book. (Cherry Red)
Order it via Amazon
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones in Mono
Monaural fans will be delighted by The Rolling Stones in Mono; the 16-LP set collects the band's 1960s output, including both the U.S. and UK editions of Out of Our Heads and Aftermath. The box set also includes Stray Cats, an exclusive collection of singles and non-album tracks. (ABKCO)Order it via MusicVaultz
Tom Petty
The Complete Studio Albums Volume 1 (1976-1991) and Volume 2 (1994-2014)
The music world was saddened by the recent death of Tom Petty; announced before his passing, this pair of box sets collect his work, both with the Heartbreakers and solo, on vinyl. (Universal / Warner)Order Volume 1 via Amazon
Order Volume 2 via Amazon
If the above recommendations aren't enough, here are some more box set gift suggestions courtesy of our friends at MusicVaultz:
Rush
A Farewell to Kings (Super Deluxe Edition)
Celebrating the album's 40th anniversary, this box set includes the 2015 remastered version of the album, a live concert and a covers EP featuring other artists covering tracks from A Farewell to Kings, on four LPs, three CDs and a Blu-ray audio disc. Bonus additions include a ring, turntable mat, two lithographs and a limited edition cereal box. (Ole)Order it via MusicVaultz
Paul McCartney
Coloured vinyl bundle
Eight of Macca's albums — Venus and Mars, Tug of War, Ram, Pipes of Peace, McCartney, McCartney II, Band on the Run and Wings at the Speed of Sound — are available on limited edition coloured vinyl. (Universal)Order it via MusicVaultz
The Jam
1977
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the year punk exploded, this box set features the Jam's first two albums, In the City and This Is the Modern World, along with three extra discs of demos, live performances and videos. Bonuses include a 144-page book, postcards and alternate art, housed in an exclusive box. (Universal)Order it via MusicVaultz
Queen
News of the World 40th Anniversary Edition
This edition includes the 2011 Bob Ludwig remaster of the album, a track-for-track alternate version of the album and plenty of bonus tracks, along with a new documentary, posters, a sticker sheet and the original album press kit. (Universal)Order it via MusicVaultz
Max Webster
The Party
This CD box set includes remastered versions of albums Max Webster, High Class in Borrowed Shoes, Mutiny Up My Sleeve, A Million Vacations, Live Magnetic Air and Universal Juveniles, along with a new disc of unreleased tracks and lead singer Kim Mitchell's long out-of-print self-titled EP. (Ole)Order it via MusicVaultz
The Beatles
The Beatles in Mono
Ten classic Beatles albums have been remastered from the analogue master tapes, and are available in a box set with the three-disc Mono Masters compilation and a 108-page hardback book featuring essays and a detailed history of the mono mastering process. (Universal)
Order it via MusicVaultz
Def Leppard
Hysteria 30th Anniversary Edition
This 30th anniversary edition of Def Leppard's Hysteria includes five CDs (including plenty of B-sides, remixes and concert audio), two DVDs (including a documentary and live footage) and four books (a history of the album, a complete Def Leppard discography, a photo book and replicated concert programme). (Universal)Order it via MusicVaultz