Boxsets

[PH]

On 14th August InsideOutMusic will release three limited boxsets. One consisting of the three solo albums by James LaBrie. Another with the last three albums by Redemption. And the third with three albums of Kaipa (the first two of 21st century Kaipa and the one from 2010).
EDIT: And on the 29th of January 2016, they released another limited boxset: 5 out of 8 of the original albums of Beardfish. Just the first two and the last one are missing.
EDIT 2: On 9th of September 2016, 5-disc box sets for Pain Of Salvation, Steve Hackett and Devin Townsend will be released.




I was wondering, do you like these kind of box sets?

I do have a couple of box sets. It's a great way to get a great deal of full albums for a small price.
I have two box sets by Mike Oldfield and that way I have most of his discography. The essential albums anyway. Also, I have a Rush box set with their 1990-2007 output. A Yes box set. And Anathema with three albums. And a few others.

I must say there is a big quality difference between many box sets. The first one of Mike Oldfield (with his first six albums) is really nice. Each album has it's own mini LP sleeve and they all fit in a pretty and decent cardboard box thingy. The second box set however, is just a box (like Spock's Snow, Ayreon's THE and Neal's Testimony limited editions) with a cheap paper sleeve for every disc. And there's no booklet.
The same goes for Rush and Yes.
The one I've got by Anathema is the worst. It's one of those "Original Album Classics" series. It looks very cheap. And it was cheap. They've got a new box set with the same albums plus a live album, so I'll probably update it.

I find box sets like these to be a very good way of discovering bands. With bands that I'm not a great fan of but like the occasional song or album, a box set will do just fine (Rush). In case of Yes, it's their most poppy era (with "Open Your Eyes" for example), so I don't mind that much either.
For others I'd like to have the real deal with a proper booklet and full artwork.

Of these particular box sets by InsideOutMusic, I'll want to check out James LaBrie, because I've heard some songs and was not overly enthusiastic, but still like to check out the albums.

I'm a big fan of Kaipa, so I already have those albums, but they're probably the best albums so if anyone doesn't have them already...

I might want to check out Redemption.

[maddox]

I have a few boxsets myself but I'm usually reluctant to buy one.
There are some sets that only have the cd's in the package, and not the booklets, which is a let down for me.
Of course, the price is quite low, and when you're a beginner or not familiar with the band/artist, it's a great way to get those albums for a low price.

[Bupie]

Same as Mad, the lack of booklet is a big letdown for me. I like to read about the making of the music, the situation within the band at the time of the recording ... My ideal pick is a reedition with the original booklet and new notes revisiting the story.

That being said, I have a few "Original Albums Series" myself (Cheap Trick, Santana ...).

[PH]

Okay guys, so today I picked up the LaBrie boxset. And what can I say? It's pretty good! The box is a bit like the "Snow", "Testimony" and "The Human Equation" special editions, although it's a little bit thinner. It's alright, it's decent. The three discs come in a paper sleeve, but there IS a booklet actually. It's one booklet which has the full artwork for all albums and all of the lyrics, so nothing's lost really.
All of this for the price of just one cd. If you haven't already got the albums, I'd say take this opportunity!

[Bupie]

Well, I only listened to one of his albums, Elements Of Persuasion, and unfortunately have to say that I didn't find one song to like on it  I think that it is the first CD that I sold back ... I just noticed that Mike Mangini is playing the drums on that one by the way.

[Nicky007]

I avoid boxsets and like re-releases for the same reasons as Bupie.

just noticed that Mike Mangini is playing the drums on that one by the way.

Hm, interesting

- Nicky

[PH]

Another boxset was released with no less than 5 discs for the price of one!



When you buy this, you get:
- Sleeping in Traffic: Part One (2007)
- Sleeping in Traffic: Part Two (2008)
- Destined Solitaire (2009)
- Mammoth (2011)
- The Void (2012)

Only the first, second and latest album are missing in this package.

This band was hyped for a long time and they are still very popular. I have listened to the second album ("The Sane Day") and liked it, but I couldn't find the album anywhere to buy. Never really tried the rest actually. I think I listened to "Sleeping In Traffic: Part One" once and was not that interested at the time.
But this is just too good to let pass.

Of course, nothing beats having the real albums, but I have the James LaBrie edition and I must say that it's pretty good. All of the original artwork is intact. The only thing that's missing is the jewel cases...
InsideOut is really a music label that cares for the music, musicians and the listeners/fans.
In any case you're wondering: no, I don't work for InsideOut!

[maddox]

Another boxset was released with no less than 5 discs for the price of one!



When you buy this, you get:
- Sleeping in Traffic: Part One (2007)
- Sleeping in Traffic: Part Two (2008)
- Destined Solitaire (2009)
- Mammoth (2011)
- The Void (2012)

Only the first, second and latest album are missing in this package.

This band was hyped for a long time and they are still very popular. I have listened to the second album ("The Sane Day") and liked it, but I couldn't find the album anywhere to buy. Never really tried the rest actually. I think I listened to "Sleeping In Traffic: Part One" once and was not that interested at the time.
But this is just too good to let pass.

Of course, nothing beats having the real albums, but I have the James LaBrie edition and I must say that it's pretty good. All of the original artwork is intact. The only thing that's missing is the jewel cases...
InsideOut is really a music label that cares for the music, musicians and the listeners/fans.
In any case you're wondering: no, I don't work for InsideOut!

Looks nice.
Tell me, are the booklets a part of this boxset or are it just the cd's?

[PH]

Looks nice.
Tell me, are the booklets a part of this boxset or are it just the cd's?

I only have the James LaBrie boxset at this point. Which looks like this:


It has ONE big booklet, which includes all artwork and lyrics of all three booklets. Like if you stitch all seperate booklets together.

The Beardfish boxset looks like this:


Of course, I can only make assumptions, but from this photo I suppose it got the same treatment.

[maddox]

That sure looks better than the Radiohead boxset I bought once for a friend of mine.
Just the cd's, nothing more...

Interesting...

[PH]

That sure looks better than the Radiohead boxset I bought once for a friend of mine.
Just the cd's, nothing more...

Interesting...

I know of that boxset and these boxsets are very different. Like I said in the recent purchases thread, just got this "Discovering Beardfish" set and indeed, the same treatment as James LaBrie. Wonderful, so much value for so little money. This 5 disc edition has a very fat booklet with all of the lyrics and even something that looks like liner notes on the "SIT:2" album.

Now I need that Redemption box set. And Kaipa, just to complete my box set collection! haha just kidding. But I do hope more of these are on the way!

[PH]

But I do hope more of these are on the way!

And it looks like there are!

Check out Pain Of Salvation:

- Entropia (1997)
- One Hour By The Concrete Lake (1998)
- The Perfect Element, Part 1 (2000)
- Remedy Lane (2002)
- 12:5 (2004)

Steve Hackett:

- Till We Have Faces (1984)
- Guitar Noir (1993)
- Darktown (1999)
- To Watch The Storms (2003)
- Wild Orchids (2006)

And Devin Townsend:

- Ocean Machine: Biomech (1997)
- Infinity (1998)
- Physicist (2000)
- Terria (2001)
- Accelerated Evolution (2003)


These will be for sale in three weeks. Dunno about you, but I'm planning on getting them. I don't have any of these albums yet (except for DT's "Terria") It's perfect value for money and the boxsets are very 'complete' with full booklets and all.
Was already fantasising to update my Steve Hackett collection, so this might come in handy.

You can order from here:
http://www.insideoutshop.de/Category/Discovering/209
But I bought earlier boxsets in local record shops or webshops.

[Nicky007]

Now I need that Redemption box set. And Kaipa, just to complete my box set collection! haha just kidding.

I can box you for completion, Paxi

I don't do the box thingy, somehow that never seemed relevant to me

- Nicky

[PH]

So I have the Devin Townsend and Steve Hackett boxsets (Pain Of Salvation on the way). I immediately noticed that the packaging was different this time.
No box, but a slipcase. And to my horror... no booklet...
I wonder why they suddenly changed this.

[Bupie]

I don't know but it is always sad to have no booklet. Imagine Contagion Max without booklet for instance 

[maddox]

So I have the Devin Townsend and Steve Hackett boxsets (Pain Of Salvation on the way). I immediately noticed that the packaging was different this time.
No box, but a slipcase. And to my horror... no booklet...
I wonder why they suddenly changed this.

That's my biggest fear regarding buying boxsets.
No booklet, or even no lyrics is a total let down for me.

[PH]

Today another boxset entered my collection:

The Flower Kings:


These albums are included:
- Back In The World Of Adventures (1995)
- Retropolis (1996)
- Stardust We Are (1997)
- Flower Power (1999)
- Space Revolver (2000)
- The Rainmaker (2001)
- Unfold The Future (2002)

This boxset is in almost every way very different from the aforementioned boxsets. This is not one of the "Discovering..." series.
No less than seven albums are represented, with ten discs in total.
The boxset is not a "Snow"/"Testimony"/"The Human Equation" type boxset like the "Discovering..." boxsets. It's a very luxury box with a lid you can take off.
Take a look.

There's a (very fat) booklet which consists of all of the booklets in one. Added to that is an exclusive interview with Roine Stolt.
Oh, and "Unfold The Future" is the 2017 remixed/remastered version.

Unfortunately, there are no bonus tracks... Which is, I think, a missed opportunity and makes this boxset a no-go for fans that already have these albums. For me however, this is perfect, as I already wanted to get more into the back catalogue of The Flower Kings. I already had the first two albums, but I'm really interested in listening to the rest.

[maddox]

That looks pretty neat, Paco.