Wednesday, August 16, 2006
10 Box Sets and Expensive Multi-CD Collections That You Should Go Buy
I've lately come to like the idea of the boxed set more and more. I used to feel that it was always a disappointment, if you love the artist, it's a collection of B-material that they only put out to stifle demand.
However, the great box sets are usually a collection of either the work of one artist who just couldn't give the world enough material, or of artists that have disappeared now being introduced to the public for the first time. Also I've grown to love the box set that compiles a portrait of a scene be it new or old.
So below are ten box sets that are relatively recent and very much worth seeking out and owning. Some are harder to find than others but I don't think there's anything here that couldn't be found on either amazon.com or forcedexposure.com. These are in no particular order.
V/A - California
No Phantom Planet here. The Sunshine State's home to so many noise musicians that it seemed like the perfect place to have this kind of summary.
Yellow Swans and John Wiese are the most famous contributors but there are great sides from Sixes, R.H. Yau, Joe Colley and many more. 10 LP's, 20 artists, each one gets a side. No cd version, which is fitting for the noise scene, but difficult to put on Ipod. A great portrait of the forever budding scene.
V/A - Last Visible Dog Elegy Box
The more ambient side of the noise scene. Each artist has about an EP's worth of material leaving us with over 7 hours of music. My Cat Is An Alein, Seht Avarus, and Birchville Cat Motel create some gorgeous soundscapes, however I have done without the dull Bardo Pond material. Overall though, it's a fairly great work and one of the best releases from last year.
V/A - Ohm
An excellent history of electronic music lesson. A must for every hotshot with a laptop.
Albert Ayler - Holy Ghost
The mother of all box sets. This collection of the work of this jazz great had a surprising and lasting effect, all the Lightning Bolt and Wolf Eyes kids got a hold of hit and revered it. It's become a profound influence on the noise community. The low-fi live recording of "Prophet John" could be the best music I've ever heard.
V/A - The Anthology Of American Folk Music
A catalog of old weird America. Very well known, you can find it anywhere, should be one in every home, just based on John Fahey's liner notes alone.
John Oswald - Plunderphonics
Try as they may this record cannot be suppressed. Inventing the illegal art form of mash-up and sampling as far back '69 this set is wildly hilairious. Oswald perfected the "plunderphonic" form on Plexure, but at 20 minutes it's hardly enough. This is something I keep coming back to, the frankenstein monsters he creates are legendary.
V/A - Balance
Erstwhile records is the flagship label of the Electro-Acoustic Improv scene. Extremely abstract and minimal. On this document of their '02 festival they re-team many of the pairings of some of their best releases. Otomo Yoshihide, Ami Yoshida, Sachiko M, Toshimaru Nakamura, Keith Rowe, Thomas Lehn et al. craft absolutely bizarre, endurance defying, sometimes stunningly beautiful symphonies of the future. The price is pretty stiff, but it's got gorgeous packaging and a excellent companion DVD.
V/A - The Conet Project: Recordings of Short-Wave Numbers Stations
A compilation of recordings from the mysterious numbers short-wave radio stations. Coded messages looping forever, who knows what the hell their origin is, but listening to these are, but when we hear they are fascinating. The ghosts of epionage from the '40's, it's a must own and there's nohing quite like it.
Miles Davis - The Cellar Door Sessions 1970
There's hardly a note that Miles Davis recorded that is not essential. But this is Miles in 1970, playing at his most aggressive, during period where each month he was inventing a genre. This material was edited down to the single record Evil-Live, but that's only the tip of the iceberg, and there's so much great material, the box set is a must.
The Los Angeles Free Music Society - The Lowest Form Of Music
Artist like Smegma, Le Forte Four, The Doo Dooettes, Airway, Tom Recchion, Rick Potts, John Duncan and CV Massage were part of the mid 70's Los Angeles scene that was clearly a step foward from hippy-dom and a step before punk. They combined musique concrete, Beefheartian improv, and just odd behavior and set up the paradigm of what became today's noise scene. A very surprising collection, with many artists who are still active today, and still sound foward thinking. If you get in touch with the Cortical Foundation, you might be able to get the $100 set for less (I think I got mine from them at $60) if they still have any.
However, the great box sets are usually a collection of either the work of one artist who just couldn't give the world enough material, or of artists that have disappeared now being introduced to the public for the first time. Also I've grown to love the box set that compiles a portrait of a scene be it new or old.
So below are ten box sets that are relatively recent and very much worth seeking out and owning. Some are harder to find than others but I don't think there's anything here that couldn't be found on either amazon.com or forcedexposure.com. These are in no particular order.
V/A - CaliforniaNo Phantom Planet here. The Sunshine State's home to so many noise musicians that it seemed like the perfect place to have this kind of summary.
Yellow Swans and John Wiese are the most famous contributors but there are great sides from Sixes, R.H. Yau, Joe Colley and many more. 10 LP's, 20 artists, each one gets a side. No cd version, which is fitting for the noise scene, but difficult to put on Ipod. A great portrait of the forever budding scene.
V/A - Last Visible Dog Elegy BoxThe more ambient side of the noise scene. Each artist has about an EP's worth of material leaving us with over 7 hours of music. My Cat Is An Alein, Seht Avarus, and Birchville Cat Motel create some gorgeous soundscapes, however I have done without the dull Bardo Pond material. Overall though, it's a fairly great work and one of the best releases from last year.
V/A - OhmAn excellent history of electronic music lesson. A must for every hotshot with a laptop.
Albert Ayler - Holy GhostThe mother of all box sets. This collection of the work of this jazz great had a surprising and lasting effect, all the Lightning Bolt and Wolf Eyes kids got a hold of hit and revered it. It's become a profound influence on the noise community. The low-fi live recording of "Prophet John" could be the best music I've ever heard.
V/A - The Anthology Of American Folk MusicA catalog of old weird America. Very well known, you can find it anywhere, should be one in every home, just based on John Fahey's liner notes alone.
John Oswald - PlunderphonicsTry as they may this record cannot be suppressed. Inventing the illegal art form of mash-up and sampling as far back '69 this set is wildly hilairious. Oswald perfected the "plunderphonic" form on Plexure, but at 20 minutes it's hardly enough. This is something I keep coming back to, the frankenstein monsters he creates are legendary.
V/A - BalanceErstwhile records is the flagship label of the Electro-Acoustic Improv scene. Extremely abstract and minimal. On this document of their '02 festival they re-team many of the pairings of some of their best releases. Otomo Yoshihide, Ami Yoshida, Sachiko M, Toshimaru Nakamura, Keith Rowe, Thomas Lehn et al. craft absolutely bizarre, endurance defying, sometimes stunningly beautiful symphonies of the future. The price is pretty stiff, but it's got gorgeous packaging and a excellent companion DVD.
V/A - The Conet Project: Recordings of Short-Wave Numbers StationsA compilation of recordings from the mysterious numbers short-wave radio stations. Coded messages looping forever, who knows what the hell their origin is, but listening to these are, but when we hear they are fascinating. The ghosts of epionage from the '40's, it's a must own and there's nohing quite like it.
Miles Davis - The Cellar Door Sessions 1970There's hardly a note that Miles Davis recorded that is not essential. But this is Miles in 1970, playing at his most aggressive, during period where each month he was inventing a genre. This material was edited down to the single record Evil-Live, but that's only the tip of the iceberg, and there's so much great material, the box set is a must.
The Los Angeles Free Music Society - The Lowest Form Of MusicArtist like Smegma, Le Forte Four, The Doo Dooettes, Airway, Tom Recchion, Rick Potts, John Duncan and CV Massage were part of the mid 70's Los Angeles scene that was clearly a step foward from hippy-dom and a step before punk. They combined musique concrete, Beefheartian improv, and just odd behavior and set up the paradigm of what became today's noise scene. A very surprising collection, with many artists who are still active today, and still sound foward thinking. If you get in touch with the Cortical Foundation, you might be able to get the $100 set for less (I think I got mine from them at $60) if they still have any.
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