Music is never out of fashion as a gift idea. Here are some outstanding vinyl box sets for lovers of Neil Young, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, Iron Maiden and a certain ex-Beatle, a book about the beginning of rock at Sun Records and another about The Byrds, some tough-looking boots made in collaboration with The Clash, and even a perfume inspired by Whitney Houston.
ALWAYS YOUNG: as a 50th anniversary edition. Young鈥檚 fourth solo album remains one of his most beloved, with the songs 鈥淗eart of Gold鈥� and 鈥淥ld Man.鈥� The box sets will be released Dec. 2 on vinyl and CD, boasting the original album, three studio outtakes, and an unreleased live 1971 B小蓝视频 solo performance on CD, LP and DVD. Also included is the film 鈥淗arvest Time,鈥� a previously unseen two-hour documentary capturing the 鈥淗arvest鈥� recording sessions. The package also contains a hardbound book and fold-out poster. Cost: $150.
BOOTS MADE FOR WALKIN': again for some punk-approved footwear. An eight-eye, high-shine boot ($180) has a military green base, and a three-eye shoe ($140) has a cherry red base. The heels are marked with The Clash鈥檚 logo, and each pair comes with a set of dog tags based on those worn by the band, and seven sets of laces inspired by the colors of their most iconic albums. Here's a way to 鈥淩ock the Casbah鈥� in style.
BABY ROCK: You can't talk about the birth of rock 鈥榥鈥� roll without talking about Sun Records, which recorded Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. To celebrate Sun's 70th anniversary comes (Simon and Schuster). It's written by Peter Guralnick and Colin Escott, and has entries for such hits as 鈥淏lue Suede Shoes,鈥� 鈥淲hole Lotta Shakin鈥� Goin鈥� On,鈥� 鈥淏reathless,鈥� 鈥淚 Walk the Line,鈥� 鈥淢ystery Train鈥� and 鈥淕ood Rockin鈥� Tonight." Cost: $60.
SIR PAUL: have been packaged into a single box. His first, 鈥淢cCartney,鈥� was released in 1970 and features 鈥淓very Night,鈥� 鈥淛unk鈥� and 鈥淢aybe I鈥檓 Amazed.鈥� 鈥淢cCartney II鈥� came out in 1980 and contained 鈥淐oming Up,鈥� 鈥淲aterfalls鈥� and 鈥淭emporary Secretary.鈥� The third, in 2020, had tracks 鈥淔ind My Way鈥� and 鈥淲omen and Wives.鈥� The vinyl versions come in creamy white or black, and there is a three-CD set. They include three photo prints with notes from McCartney about each album. Cost: $40-100.
SMELL LIKE WHITNEY: Whitney Houston's estate has released a perfume inspired by the singer鈥檚 鈥渓uminous鈥� personality, warmth and zest for life. the scent features notes of pear and citrus, balanced by gardenia, ylang-ylang and jasmine. A touch of amber grounds the fragrance with a warm, sensual note, according to its maker. The bottle was similarly inspired, taking its tall, sleek silhouette from Houston鈥檚 鈥渆legant stature.鈥� Cost: $9.95 for a 3 ml sample.
BILLIE & ELLA: Limited edition vinyl box sets from legendary jazz vocalists Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald will make anyone's holiday brighter. Never before released on vinyl, the four-LP box collection, has 50 tracks, including 鈥淕uilty鈥� and 鈥淪olitude,鈥� and a 20-page booklet. The three-LP box set gathers her singles together for the first time, including 鈥淭he Sun Forgot to Shine This Morning鈥� and 鈥淗otta Chocolatta.鈥� Cost: $90 for Holiday; $45 for Fitzgerald.
IRON GIFT: In honor of the 40th anniversary of Iron Maiden's third album, the heavy metal kings have released a three-disc vinyl rerelease. That was the album that first featured Bruce Dickinson on vocals and catapulted the band to international stardom, with songs like 鈥淩un To the Hills鈥� and "Murders In the Rue Morgue.鈥� In the set, the band is also offering for the first time on vinyl their live concert from March 1982 at Hammersmith Odeon in London, 鈥淏east Over Hammersmith.鈥� Cost: $49.50.
BYRDS, PART ONE: 鈥� is a 400-page coffee-table photo book that was curated by the band鈥檚 three surviving founding members. It is available in three versions, signed by the surviving members, Chris Hillman, Roger McGuinn and David Crosby. The book features more than 500 images from legendary photographers such as Henry Diltz, Barry Feinstein, Curt Gunther, Jim Marshall, Linda McCartney, Tom Gundelfinger O鈥橬eal and Guy Webster, as well as restored images from the Columbia Records archives. Cost: $125-$1,700.
BIRDS, PART TWO: Fans of our feathered friends may love a massive, 20-LP set containing 242 recordings of original songs and readings inspired by or incorporating birdsong 鈥� all to benefit the National Audubon Society. Some of the artists included in are Mark Ronson, Beck, Karen O, Nick Cave, Elvis Costello, Robert Pattinson, Jonathen Franzen, The Flaming Lips, Bobby Cannavale, Greta Gerwig and Ad-Rock. There's also a 60-page book with essays from Randall Poster and Shearwater鈥檚 Jonathan Meiburg, and 27 artists contributed original paintings and illustrations. Cost: $400-$440 depending on outlet.
TOP OF THE CHARTS: Who has the best album in the land? Rolling Stone magazine has weighed into such a fraught and contentious debate with This is a book that will spark a thousand arguments 鈥� is 鈥淪uperfly鈥� by Curtis Mayfield better than 鈥淩ed鈥� by Taylor Swift and is Pearl Jam's 鈥淭en鈥� correctly ranked above 鈥淭he Bends鈥� by Radiohead? The magazine got its ranking by polling critics and musicians like Stevie Nicks, Questlove and Beyonc茅. (likely as soon as this gift is unwrapped). Cost: $50.
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Mark Kennedy is at
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
