Holiday packages
CD COLLECTIONS THAT WILL GET YOUR GROOVE ON
The CD lover on your list wants two things: One of these deluxe packages and the time to enjoy them. There's nothing like sneaking away Christmas morning and spending an hour poring over liner notes and listening to fresh tunes. We have five choices for rock superfans and neophytes trying to get into a new favorite.
“A Boy From Tupelo: The Complete 1953-1955 Recordings,” Elvis Presley
The boy had it from the beginning. The very beginning. Hearing an 18-year-old Elvis croon and cry through “My Happiness,” recorded at Sun Studios in 1953, reveals he had the charm, coy charisma and talent way back when. From “My Happiness” to a newly discovered, 1955 recording of “I
Forgot to Remember to Forget,” this threeCD box is the most comprehensive collection of early Elvis recordings ever assembled. One revelation: Elvis began as a nervous wreck full of magnetic energy: His take on Chuck Berry's “Maybellene” rumbles with jitters and fire. “Savage Young Du,” Husker Du.
Could it be that Husker Du actually got worse as it went along? Could critical favorites such as “New Day Rising” and “Flip Your Wig” actually represent a fall off from the band's early '80s demos? Nah, it's just the early stuff was awesome, too. These 69 recordings (47 released for the first time) roar with the fury of '80s suburbia. Honestly, the demo of “Do You Remember?” equals their best work. The demo also seems quaint in comparison to the trio's increasingly speed-obsessed songs. Later in the set, you'll find a handful of 30-second songs that come as brilliant bursts of anguish: “Punch Drunk,” “Bricklayer” and a live version of the sonic hand grenade “You're Naive.”
“Trouble No More: The Bootleg Series Vol. 13, 1979-1981,” Bob Dylan The latest installment in the Bootleg Series could be the most controversial. Does the start of Dylan's “lost in the woods” period merit seven CDs of 100 previously unreleased live and studio tracks? It certainly does. The maestro's move toward gospel over three albums saw him digging into deeply personal material and putting on joyful, wild concerts. Go straight to the passionate gospel of “I Will Love Him” (a song he only performed live twice) and an outtake of “Shot of Love” in which organist Carl Pickhardt seems to find salvation mid-solo. “Listen Without Prejudice/MTV Unplugged Deluxe,” George Michael Stocking-stuffer-sized