The Dirty World Of The Collectors Edition Box Set

Title: Music: The Dirty World Of The Collectors Edition Box Set
Author: Rich
Date: 24, November, 2009

The release of the collectors edition of Spiritualized's Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space got me thinking about the structural damage done to the world's record labels in light of the dreaded MP3 and how they seem to have resorted to putting out reissues in money grabbing ways. Not that it's anything new of course, bands and labels have been at it for years, putting out highly desirable slabs of sexed up albums in multi formats with extra tracks, books, artwork and other gubbins. And to be fair generally it's worth the hard earned cash. There is something rather nice about a box set or limited colelctors edition that just slays those crappy jewel cased monstrosities.

So lets have a trawl through some of the more memoriable ones, lets see what you could get your greasy obsessive collectors hands on, only to be never played and treated like the rarest of all diamonds. Get ready for some hardcore music porn kids...

Spiritualized - Ladies And Gentlemen we Are Floating In Space Remeber the original pill pack? The absolute genius design and feel to the whole album that even to this day sounds amazing? No, well it was kind of limited. Anyway, its 12 years or so since the Spiritualized prescription was released to the masses, and now it's back in the most ludicrous form. Lets see, 12 3" CDs each containing one of the original tracks. Each popped in an oversized foil sealed blister pack. Along with 2 more CDs of outcuts and the like. All enclosed in a tablet box, with its own instructions for use. Oh, and you can have the name printed on the prescription and it is quite honestly a whork of art. Just, who in their right mind is actually going to take the CDs from the package? It's an utterly useless yet highly desirable pharmecutical for sure, but how the hell can anyone who really loves the album justify the price for something they will quite probably never play? Mad..

Label: ATP/R
Price Then: £125 (almost as much as their festivals)
Price Now: £125
Linky: ATP Recordings

Merzbow - Merzbox Japan's noise/S&M terrorist possibly released the most extreme box set ever. 50 (yes 50) CDs of the man's greatest hits from twenty years of making a racket and causing tinnitus to neighbours. Really, 50CDs of his work.. that's something for the extreme fan to say the least, I don't mind a bit of his music, but I highly doubt I could face 50 CDs worth. Along with those scary slabs of mind melting noise, you get a T-shirt, medallion, posters, books, stickers, CD-ROMs and postcards all of which is bound in a leather fetish case. It's quite frankly absurd. Oh, and it also came in an even more limited edition with a few more albums and posters just in case there wasn't enough to burn your face off already. Banned in China too aparrently.

Label: Extreme
Price Then:£225
Price Now: No idea.
Linky: Extreme

Radiohead - In Rainbows Other than the fact this was a bit of a radical way of releasing an album (the download thing, you remember right?), the so called DiscBox was a stunner. The album on two heavy weight 12"s, CD and a bonus second disc with B-sides and some images on. Oh and a book, and a lyric book all housed in a binder with a slip case. Very nice stuff that probably helped the band pay for their download experiment. It's not the nicest thing in the world, but hell.. its still pretty lovely.

Label: Xurbia Xendless/Self Released
Price Then:£40
Price Now:£80+
Linky: WASTE Products

ISIS - Shades Of The Swarm Metal acts seem to be taking a shining to the ways to sell their wares to the kids, (Re: Southern Lord), ISIS however almost went to infinity with their highly limited wax set of all their albums. Yes, thats 12 slabs of heavy weight wax from Mosquito Control to In The Absense Of Truth all rammed into an oversized cloth box with a poster and new art work thrown in for good measure. Its a sexy thing, that sold out within hours of its release to the masses.

Label: HydraHead/Conspiracy
Price Then: £125
Price Now: £200+
Linky: ISIS

Warp - Warp20 Recently released by the now 20 years old Sheffield label, the Warp20 box set was stunning and packing in bits of everything from the label. All hosed in custom binders and debossed 10" sleeves with a heavyweight art book thrown in for good measure. They got it right with this one, here read the review.

Label: Warp
Price Then: £100
Price Now: £150+
Linky: Warp20

The Beatles - Collection Okay so the boys that can never do any wrong released a hell of a lot in their time, so of course box sets were going to happen, and there are quite a few. This one from 1978 however could well be the one the most hardcore of fans should own. Thirteen albums in total all in a nice box with their original inserts. Everything a fan could need. Though of course they probably already had the albums... now you can get the remastered CDs and that, but the wax... its always going to be nicer.

Label: Parlophone/Capitol
Price Then: No idea
Price Now: Something silly
Linky: The Beatles

Pink Floyd - Shine On 9 CDs of one of the most iconic ind influental bands of all time. in 1992 pretty much everyone had a CD player and digital remastering was on the up. Still, technology has advanced now and remasteres then (especially the EMI ones) were pretty shoddy compared to todays standards. But to hell with it who could resist a set like this that gave each of the band's album a new cover that nicely lined up to make the famous Dark Side Of The Moon prism?

Label: EMI
Price Then: No idea
Price Now: £120+
Linky: Pink Floyd

Throbbing Gristle - TG24 Twenty Four hours of one of the most iconic and shocking industrial groups ever to exist is a hell of a marathon. Back to back, this set of 25 CDs of recordings from this unimitatable band has got to be something only the most hardcore of fans could do. To many its just ameturish noise and garbled klangs. Of course people agree to disagree, but this box set, packed with the likes of badges, patches, stickers and postcards, is one hell of a set. Pricey too, but then like with most TG items, its an artifact and a statment.

Label: Mute
Price Then:
Price Now:£150+
Linky: Mute Records

Pixies - Minotaur Okay so too options here. Option number one is the highly classy set of the band's albums on 24ct gold plated CDs (really..yes really) a Blu-Ray and a DVD. Or for the less blingy types, you can have everything on 180gm virgin vinyl, with books, prints, posters and shit... I'm not too sure which I would choose, both are absurd, absurdly good.. but 24ct gold plating... that's just mental...

Label: 4AD
Price Then:£90/£225
Price Now:
Linky: 4AD

So having missed out a ton quite probably, and had to refresh myself with plenty of coffee and cold flannels, our tour of the infamous box set is over. It's like dirty porn these must haves. Anything missed, or anything gems you want to expose to us, comment away. for now though I'm going to go and have some private time with Warp20.

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