Sound advice on box sets
Various, "Song of America"
With contributions from such diverse artists as Devendra Banhart, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Martha Wainwright, and the Fisk Jubilee Singers, a new box set of American music has a curious muse: Janet Reno.
The seeds for the project were planted nearly a decade ago when Reno's niece and her husband, musician Ed Pettersen, were visiting Reno in Washington. Pettersen entertained the family gathering with several of his own historically themed folk tunes, and it occurred to Reno that a history of America told through song might provide a more engaging way for young people to learn about their country's past than a textbook or a lecture. She grabbed a pad and pen, made a rough sketch of her country's formative eras, and handed the idea over to Pettersen, who rounded up the material and musicians.
"Music is central to education," the former US attorney general said in a recent phone conversation. "It's not strange or forbidding. Music can educate simply by inspiring people."
The 50-song, three-CD set spans a trio of epochs. Among the offerings representing 1482-1860 are Native American musician Earl Bullhead's powerful rendition of "Lakota Dream Song" and a stately "God Save the King" from John Wesley Harding. On the disc covering 1861-1945, rock band Marah is armed with dulcimers and banjos for "John Brown's Body," while ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro radically recasts "Stars & Stripes Forever." Such modern topical offerings as "What's Going On?" and Grandmaster Flash's "The Message" highlight disc three, which represents 1945 to the present.
Reno is credited as an executive producer on the project, but insists that despite discovering a world of new music and musicians during the making of the album, she never considered taking a more creative role.
"I can't sing a tune," Reno confessed.
Various, "Sound of the City: New York Area Doo-Wop (1956-1966)"
While a recent wave of sets focusing on these street-corner symphonies have been all-encompassing, this one focuses primarily on the Italian-American division. With three discs, the box celebrates the youthful harmonies of groups such as Dion and the Belmonts, the Four Seasons, and, fuhgeddaboudit, Vito and the Salutations.
Emmylou Harris, "Songbird"
It's not easy to encapsulate a career as varied as Harris's, but "Songbird" nails it, starting with an alternate version of "Clocks," from her obscure 1970 folk debut. Handpicked by Harris, the songs on the four discs (plus a DVD with nine videos) feature the singer in her prime, alone and alongside Johnny Cash, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, and, of course, Gram Parsons.
Various, "Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970"
From the well-known - Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Janis Joplin - to the historical footnotes - Frumious Bandersnatch - this compendium of the Haight-Ashbury groovers, complete with hardcover book, covers everything from psychedelic freak-outs to hippie folk to garage rock. Groovy, man.
Various, "City of Dreams: A Collection of New Orleans Music"
Irma Thomas, Professor Longhair, and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band are among the eclectic lineup featured on the four-disc overview of Rounder Records's New Orleans catalog.
Sly and the Family Stone, "The Collection"
Seven discs of raw funk and soul from the late-'60s and '70s? Yes, please. Sly and Co. get the deluxe reissue treatment for their first seven albums with expanded packaging, new liner notes, and a flurry of bonus tracks. Forty years after the release of the group's debut, the music sounds as vital as ever.
Various, "Heavy Metal"
Packaged in an amp-like box with a knob that cranks to 11, this four-disc collection chronicles the thunderous road from Iron Butterfly to Sepultura, with a tricked-out booklet of track-by-track song histories, artist interviews, and photos.
Various, "The Brit Box"
A darn comprehensive tour of UK indie, shoegaze, and Brit-pop, the four-CD set begins with the Smiths, concludes with Gay Dad, and covers pretty much everything relevant in between. The 80-page booklet includes essays and interviews with key producers and artists.
Robyn Hitchcock, "I Wanna Go Backwards"
A bounty of unreleased goodies, this box set reissues Hitchcock's 1981 debut, "Black Snake Diamond Role," along with "I Often Dream of Trains" (1984) and "Eye" (1990). Diehard fans will definitely want to hear "While Thatcher Mauled Britain: Demos '81-'90," a new double-disc collection of bonus material.
Various, "People Take Warning! Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs 1913-1938"
For that night at home with a heavy heart and a bottle of whiskey comes this three-disc collection of 70 songs that are telling in their stark and sometimes hair-raising accounts of the sweet hereafter.
Billie Holiday, "Rare Live Recordings: 1935-1959" and "Lady Day: The Master Takes and Singles"
For those who want to go beyond the single-disc, best-of collections but aren't ready to shell out for the 10-disc everything-but-the-gardenia-from-her-hair overviews, these two compilations offer beyond-the-basics treats. The first features five discs that span Holiday's performing career from early peaks to late-period valleys. The second collection is a four-disc affair that hits all the familiar highs of her recorded career as well as oodles of deeper cuts. 