Questions You’ll Be Asking in the Store Aisles

There is such a fine line between what’s essential and what’s excessive in boxed sets these days that it may take as much time to decide what’s a good buy as it does to listen to the multi-disc packages. Here are some of the season’s most prized sets, with questions you’ll ask while examining each in a store aisle.

*** Booker T. & the MGs’ “Time Is Tight,” Stax (can be found around town for approximately $55). Arguably the finest rhythm section ever in pop, the MGs were featured on scores of Stax recordings in the ‘60s, backing such celebrated R&B; artists as Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd and Carla Thomas. But do you want a three-disc set that doesn’t include those prized collaborations? The focus here is on the MGs’ instrumental work--including such hits as “Green Onions”--and it works nicely for the first two discs. The third disc, however, showcases live recordings that the group has made over the years, including a version of “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” from a 1993 tour with Neil Young. My vote would have been to use the third disc for the early collaborations.

*** Ray Charles’ “The Complete Country & Western Recordings 1959-1986,” Rhino ($50). The two volumes of “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music” that this soul music master recorded in the early ‘60s were brilliant blends of soul and country, built around such classic country songs as “I Can’t Stop Loving You” and “You Are My Sunshine.” Charles came up with more country gems after these packages, including “Busted,” but not enough to justify four discs. The material becomes too thin and the interpretations a bit too predictable over the course of five hours.

**** Randy Newman, “Guilty: 30 Years,” Rhino ($60). Even if you agree that Newman is an American pop treasure, a songwriter with as original and rewarding a style as Johnny Mercer, you may still wonder if you want a four-disc collection that devotes half of its time to rarities, demos and film music. Don’t hesitate for a second. The main riches, from the devilish satire of “Lonely at the Top” (the wry show-biz lament that Newman wrote for Frank Sinatra but couldn’t get Sinatra to record) to the achingly beautiful “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today,” are on the first two discs. But the rarities (including a 1962 teen novelty that was co-produced by Pat Boone) and the film music help define the boundaries of Newman’s art.

**** Various Artists, “Nuggets,” Rhino ($60). There was a time in the psychedelic-minded ‘60s when it seemed like every garage in America was filled with young bands trying to follow in the magical footsteps of such extraordinary rock outfits as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys and the Who--and it feels like every one of those garage bands is represented in this collection of more than 100 recordings from that era. Among the many groups featured: the Seeds, the Kingsmen, the Standells and the Golliwogs (a.k.a. Creedence Clearwater Revival). What’s remarkable about this greatly expanded version of the 1972 “Nuggets” collection is the sense of energy and desire that fills every track.

**** Hank Williams, “The Complete Hank Williams,” Mercury ($170). What’s so valuable about this 10-disc set is that it not only gives us all the recordings that established Williams as the most influential figure in post-World War II country music, including his Luke the Drifter narrations, it also allows us to hear Williams in the days before he signed with MGM Records and began writing such haunting heartbreak songs as “Your Cheatin’ Heart” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.” In this landmark set, we hear Williams honing his style in demos and on live radio broadcasts. Some of the early transcriptions are so scratchy that they’ll make you wince, but primitiveness only adds to the sense of historic edge of the recordings.