Lennon, Orbison and Gaye Given the Deluxe Treatment

John Lennon, Marvin Gaye and Roy Orbison are saluted in impressive but expensive new boxed sets that underscore just how ambitious the compact-disc reissue program has become.

The four-disc sets, which retail for about $50 each, all come with handsome, illustrated booklets that offer either lyrics (in Lennon’s case) or histories of the artists and/or their music.

“Lennon,” released by Parlophone and distributed by Capitol Records, offers 73 of the late rock star’s most noteworthy tracks from his post-Beatles years--including all but one of the 21 selections from his two most acclaimed albums (“Plastic Ono Band” and “Imagine”) and seven tracks from the Grammy-winning 1980 album “Double Fantasy.”

There is also a generous sprinkling of songs from Lennon’s mid-’70s rock ‘n’ roll oldies sessions (including “Stand By Me” and “Ain’t That a Shame”) plus assorted singles, including “Merry Xmas (War Is Over).” The only reason this isn’t the ultimate Lennon album is that it doesn’t include any of his Beatles recordings.

The Orbison set--titled “The Legendary Roy Orbison” and released by CBS Special Products--features 75 Orbison selections, from the early rockabilly of “Ooby Dooby” through the ‘60s classics (“Only the Lonely” to “Oh Pretty Woman”) to various other songs, most of which appeared on the late singer’s albums over the years. It doesn’t, however, include anything from “Mystery Girl,” his 1989 album for Virgin Records.

The Gaye set--titled “The Marvin Gaye Collection” and released by Motown--is the most ambitious of the three collections because more than a third of the 81 recordings by the late soul singer were previously unreleased.

The 34 “new” recordings range from “The Christmas Song” (recorded live at the Apollo in 1962) to a playful version of Tom Jones’ “It’s Not Unusual” that begins with a wisecracking Gaye declaring, “Roll the tape. I’m gonna kill this.” Also, such surprises as “Mack the Knife,” “Hello Young Lovers” and “Happy Days Are Here Again.”

But the most noteworthy “new” material involves the seven selections from “Vulnerable,” an unreleased album of lushly arranged ballads that was a pet Gaye project, according to David Ritz’s liner notes. Gaye recorded the songs, including “The Shadow of Your Smile,” in the ‘60s, but wasn’t pleased with his vocals and re-did them in the ‘70s. The set, produced by George Solomon, features the ‘70s vocals.

FROM BROADWAY: MCA Records has released the first five volumes in a new Broadway Gold series. The original-cast volumes, all digitally restored, are “Annie Get Your Gun” (starring Ethel Merman), “Carousel” (John Raitt, Bonnie Raitt’s father), “The King and I” (Gertrude Lawrence and Yul Brynner), “Oklahoma!” (Alfred Drake and Joan Roberts) and “Wonderful Town” (Rosalind Russell).