Steve Winwood - The Finer Things (4 CD, 1995/FLAC)

 

The Finer Things is a compilation album box set of recordings by Steve Winwood. It includes songs from his early days with The Spencer Davis Group through Traffic and Blind Faith and into his work during his solo career. 

Steve Winwood has led a long and varied career, recording everything from straight R&B and jazz-flavored rock to folk and pop. Over the course of four discs, The Finer Things chronicles the entirety of his career, beginning with the Spencer Davis Group, through Traffic and Blind Faith, right until his successful solo career. It includes all of the hits and many of his finest album tracks, yet the overall approach is rather exhausting -- the rarities are rarely illuminating, they're just there for the sake of being there. Nevertheless, it is a worthwhile purchase for anyone wanting a comprehensive picture of Winwood in all of his various guises. 

George Harrison - All Things Must Pass [Super Deluxe 5 CD, 2021] (FLAC + 24/192)

 

George Harrison’s masterpiece, ‘All Things Must Pass’, is being celebrated with a suite of new 50th anniversary editions, including multiple limited physical and digital configurations featuring sessions outtakes and jams.

Decades in the making and lovingly crafted by the Harrison family, All Things Must Pass has now been completely remixed from the original tapes for this stunning release that fulfills Harrison’s longtime desire. Executive produced by Dhani Harrison and mixed by triple GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer Paul Hicks (The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, John Lennon), the new mix transforms the album by sonically upgrading it – making it sound brighter, fuller and better than ever before. 

 

Neil Young - Official Release Series Volume 5 (5 CD, 2023) [FLAC]

Neil Young continues his occasional Official Release Series box sets with a new volume (No 5) which brings together four albums released as the 1980s turned into the 1990s.

The albums are 1989’s Freedom, Ragged Glory from 1990, the live album Weld and it’s experimental companion, Arc (both 1991). These are discs 22, 23+, 24 and 25 in the series. The ‘+’ for Ragged Glory indicates some bonus material which is two B-sides (‘Interstate’ and ‘Don’t Spook The Horse’) and unreleased versions of ‘Box Car’ and ‘Born To Run’, the latter a 12-minute version.

Bob Dylan - For Sale or Just On The Shelf [6 CD studio outtakes]

 

For Sale Or Just On The Shelf is an attempt to gather the circulating Bob Dylan Columbia Studios Recording Session Outtakes (1961-1964) into a reasonably logical, hopefully useful, accessible compilation. It is arranged chronologically and includes as accurate as possible identifications for the session takes and sources. Selected alternate mixes and live performances are included for interest and comparison.

Steve Hillage - Searching For The Spark (22CD Super Deluxe Box Set) [2016/FLAC]

Steve Hillage is associated with the Canterbury scene of the late ’60s / early ’70s and formed short-lived outfit Khan; worked with Kevin Ayers for a while; was a member of Gong and then went on to release a series of solo albums in the late 1970s, including Fish Rising, L, Motivation Radio and Green. 

The 22CD box set (it contains no vinyl) is enormous, weighing in at nearly five kilograms, thanks, in part, to the inclusion of a hefty 188-page hardcover book, written and assembled by Steve Hillage and Gong family expert Jonny Greene, the book contains hundreds of rare and previously unseen photographs and cuttings. It’s limited to 2500 copies worldwide and was first released in late 2016.

1969 Arzachel / Uriel

1972 Space Shanty / Khan

1975 Fish Rising

1976 L

1977 Motivation Radio

1978 Green

1978 Live Herald

1979 Rainbow Dome Musick

1979 Open

1983 For To Next / And Not Or

1991 System 7

1976 / 1979 BBC Radio 1 In Concert (2CD)

1978 Deeply Vale

1977 Live At The Brighton Dome

1979 Live At Schwabinger Bräu, Munich

1979 Live At The Odeon Hammersmith

2006 At The Gong Family Unconvention / The Steve Hillage Band

2016 Sparks Vol 1 1970-73

2016 Sparks Vol 2 1974-76

2016 Sparks Vol 3 1976-79

2016 Sparks Vol 4 1980-90