Giving the gift of music used to be as easy as browsing through record store bins for that one perfect CD. You just hoped that the notoriously fragile plastic case wouldn't crack somewhere between the wrapping, the shipping and the opening.
Music remains a great gift for almost anyone on your holiday shopping list. But it takes a bit more effort to wade through all the options, ranging from apps, to books, to an ever-expanding list of fancy boxed sets. Here, a few suggestions.
GIFT CARDS:
In this era of digital music, give the gift of choice. iTunes Gift Card (apple.com) or the Amazon.com Gift Card (amazon.com), available in denominations starting at $10, means your giftee can buy music or music apps for the iPhone/iPad or Android phones. Pick from a number of holiday designs for the card.
BOOKS:
Many music fans like to read about their favorite performers while they listen to them. If you have a Rolling Stones fan in your life, try Keith Richards' Life ,a detailed and sprawling story of one of the hardest-living rockers who still has his memory fully intact. (Paperback $11.55 at Amazon.com) There's also Living in the Material World, a loving and richly illustrated (photos, letters and memorabilia) tribute to George Harrison, written by his wife, Olivia. ($39.95 list, $25.72 at Amazon)
BOXED SETS:
The new trend is to create extravagant packages around just one aspect of an artist's legacy — whether that's a single classic album (in the case of Pink Floyd, The Who, U2 and Nirvana) or a single tour (Miles Davis.) Unfortunately, they can be expensive, more than $100 for something that includes five or six discs and a bunch of collectibles or a hardback book. Some record labels now offer 2-CD sets that offer most of the good stuff for a little over $20, and that's a price point at which you may be able to introduce a niece or grandson to Dark Side of the Moon.
A few of the big box sets of 2011:
THE BEACH BOYS, The Smile Sessions Box Set
Brian Wilson's Smile opus was recorded in 1966-67, but never got an official release until now. The shelved classic really is one of the great pop masterworks of all time. You get four bonus discs of rehearsal tapes in the box set, or just a single disc of outtakes in the cheaper edition.
[Box set: $140. Two-CD version: $24.]
PINK FLOYD, The Dark Side of the Moon – Immersion Box Set
This ridiculously lavish box has everything from a live 1973 tour performance of the album to a vintage quad mix reproduced on Blu-Ray. The most valuable disc includes a notably different mix of the album prepared by Alan Parsons, Waters' demo of "Money" and a truly lovely Richard Wright solo piano version of "Us and Them."
[Box set: $120. Two-CD version: $23.]
THE WHO, Quadrophenia - The Director's Cut (Super Deluxe Edition)
Pete Townshend considers this 1973 concept album to be The Who's best. The remastered tapes sound more stunning than ever, but the main draw is the two bonus discs that include all Townshend's original demos for the project. The less expensive edition only tags a handful of Townshend's demos on to the end of the album.
[Box set: $130. Two-CD version: $22.]
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