If you’re looking for something to buy the music enthusiast on your holiday gift list (or expand your own collection), below is a roundup of noteworthy physical 2022 box sets and classic reissues. Most can be found at Amazon, Walmart or Target with expedited shipping.  

David Bowie

Divine Symmetry: The Journey to Hunky Dory

(Rhino)

Geared toward diehard David Bowie enthusiasts, Divine Symmetry is a 4CD/1 Blu-ray collection that details the 12-month period leading up to the release of the British rock legend’s fourth studio album Hunky Dory in December 1971. It consists of the main album, home demos, live and studio recordings and BBC radio sessions.

Unlike 1970’s frequently hard rocking The Man Who Sold the World, these songs were written on piano as opposed to guitar, giving them more of a pop/rock feel. Bowie’s new record label RCA did little to promote Hunky Dory and its single “Changes” because they figured he would be adopting a new persona soon. Sure enough, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars arrived seven months later.

Once the latter album became successful on the heels of Bowie’s first UK top 10 single “Starman,” people realized that Hunky Dory was actually a great batch of songs, and it became a hit retroactively. The same thing happened with The Man Who Sold the World. Mick Ronson, Woody Woodmansey, Trevor Bolder and future Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman all played on Hunky Dory, which is among Bowie’s best regarded works.

Divine Symmetry contains 48 previously unreleased tracks or demos from the era, plus co-producer Ken Scott’s new alternative mixes of the album.

The five discs (each with a different Hunky Dory session pose sleeve) slide into pockets amid the stellar 100-page hardback book. It comprises a 1971 Bowie timeline, several rare or unseen images including Brian Ward’s “pharoah” photo sessions and Bowie at the piano in Haddon Hall (England), various pull quotes from the musician, handwritten lyrics (“Oh! You Pretty Things”), single and studio box images, cover session outtakes, production notes from Scott (who reiterates his famous quote that the vocals are all basically first takes), period articles from NME and LA music monthly Phonograph Record and other memorabilia.

Bowie’s friends Geoff MacCormack and George Underwood, singer Dana Gillespie, guitarist Mark Pritchett, concert promoter David Stopps, publisher Bob Grace and photographer Louanne Richards provide some interesting recollections.

Besides the main remastered album which sounds crisper than ever in hi-res stereo on Blu-ray, there is a June 1971 David Bowie and Friends performance (in both mono and stereo) before a live studio audience during BBC Radio in Concert.

DJ John Peel describes what is happening on each of the songs. Onstage, Bowie prefaces a solo acoustic “Kooks” by explaining he’d been inspired by a Neil Young album and the birth of his new baby son in writing it.

BBC Radio Session and Live, includes the seven-song “Sounds of the ‘70s” appearance with DJ Bob Harris. But the real highlight (despite wavering quality at one point) is the Live Friars, Aylesbury concert from September 1971.

Bowie starts by warning that he doesn’t play many gigs and then does two covers by American comedian Biff Rose. He prefaces a spirited take on early hit “Space Oddity” by admitting, “We get this over with as soon as possible.” Halfway through, the rest of the band joins Bowie and guitarist Ronson for a vigorous “Oh! You Pretty Things,” “Changes,” covers by Chuck Berry and the Velvet Undergound (“Round and Round,” “Waiting for The Man”) and more.

Elsewhere, the box set has alternative mixes, singles and versions and a reproduction booklet of Bowie’s journal with lyrics, proposed album running orders, doodles, tour expense figures, song chord changes, etc.

Also available: Brilliant Adventure 1992-2001, the next installments in a series which combines all of Bowie’s studio output from that period along with rarities; Toy Box is devoted to the 2000 sessions for the shelved album Toy, where Bowie revisited tunes he’s originally recorded from 1964-71.

Robbie Williams

Life Thru a Lens

(UMe/Island Records)

Robbie Williams’ solo album after leaving the British boy band sensation Take That was one of 1997’s best debuts. It is available as an impressively expanded release to mark its 25^th anniversary.

Spawning five UK top 20 singles – including the international hit ballad “Angels” – Life Thru a Lens reached No. 1 on the UK chart and eventually sold more than 2 million copies in that territory. Most of the songs were co-written by Williams and Chambers (then primarily known for his work with World Party; he also co-produced).

The 4CD 63-track box set includes bonus tracks, B-sides, previously unreleased demos, rehearsal recordings, rare remixes, and Williams’ non-album debut single cover of George Michael’s “Freedom” (UK No. 2, August 1996). It is featured in both the exciting single edit and an instrumental dance remix.

Even more enticing for longtime fans is the first audio release of a full concert recorded at London’s Forum in June 1998 (originally released as “Live in Your Living Room” on VHS tape but never reissued). Williams provides humorous introductions at every turn and is in fine vocal form. He takes a fan request to perform The La’s “There She Goes,” nearly gets drowned out by fans singing along to “Angels” and he does an odd encore of his No. 1 hit with Take That, “Back for Good,” with a heavy metal-tinged chorus.

(On a personal note: the original versions of the last two songs still make this writer stop in his tracks when they randomly pop up somewhere in public.)  

The square lift off singles box contains the original 12 songs spread over seven 7-inch vinyl singles, plus hidden CD track “Hello, Sir” and bonus seventh single “Freedom” with “Average B-Side” (the first time the song has actually been a B-Side as it was previously a CD bonus track).

Each single is in an individual picture sleeve and the labels have different photos. The accompanying eight-page color booklet contains song lyrics, Andy Earl photos and credits. The main album is also available in 1LP clear vinyl and digital download formats.

In addition to the solid Life Thru a Lens album, the 4CD slide out box set highlights are plentiful: All the rocking, funky versions of “Freedom,” the sinewy, organ-drenched “Better Days,” a cover of XTC’s “Making Plans for Nigel” with searing electric guitar, a nice acoustic guitar take on David Bowie’s “Kooks,” the nearly Nirvana-esque “Teenage Millionaire,” a piano ballad cover of Cole Porter’s “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye” (predating his own major foray into standards), the exciting full-length “Let Me Entertain You,” a suitably sublime turn on Pet Shop Boys’ “I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind of Thing” and a fun 1998 golden oldies duet with Tom Jones from the London Forum as heard in the “The Full Monty” film soundtrack: “Come Up and See Me (Make Me Smile)/Leave Your Hat On/Land of A Thousand Dances.” All four CDs are trifolds, and the booklet has the original 7-inch picture sleeve images.

The Human League

The Virgin Years

(UMe/Virgin)

One of the more influential electronic-based pop acts to emerge from England during the late Seventies, The Human League achieved moderate success at home with its first two albums. But the third time proved to be the charm when Dare was released in October 1981.

Lead singer Phil Oakley was joined in the studio by then-new vocalists Susan Sulley and Joanne Catherall, and they created memorable (and somewhat unusual) harmonies together. Meanwhile, producer Martin Rushent and the rest of the band crafted arresting synthpop sounds.

“Don’t You Want Me” reached the pole position on both sides of the Atlantic and became a signature song not only for The Human League, but the decade in music. The group landed three more top 15 UK hits off Dare: “Love Action (I Believe in Love),” “Open Your Heart” and “The Sound of the Crowd.” Dare is still a new wave classic.

The Virgin Years, a special limited edition colored vinyl box set chosen by the band, collects the four Human League albums from 1981-90 in addition to the Fascination! EP. All the box set LPs are packaged in tip-on sleeves, housed in a sturdy large box and pressed on turquoise, lime, yellow, red and clear vinyl. They have the original artwork. All have lyrics except Fascination! and all are gatefolds except Romantic? and Fascination!

The six-track Fascination! collection from 1983 contained more career-defining hits in the effervescent "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" and "Mirror Man," which evoked Motown girl groups from the 1960s.

For 1984’s Hysteria, produced by Hugh Padgham (The Police) and Chris Thomas (Roxy Music), The Human League added more organic instrumentation into their trademark sound. The plaintive ballad “Louise,” a nice “Life on Your Own” and the compelling, politically minded “The Lebanon” all reached the UK top 20.

Two years later, Crash – produced and partially co-written by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (Janet Jackson, Morris Day & The Time) – saw the Human League delve into more of an R&B/New Jack Swing direction. It yielded “Human,” the band’s second US chart topper and the lovely “Love is All That Matters” is another standout.

Romantic? emerged in 1990. The ladies’ vocals took more prominence, especially on glorious main track “Heart Like a Wheel,” a top 40 hit in England and America. “Let’s Get Together Again” is a second highlight. Definitely a must-buy for new wave vinyl lovers.

ABBA

The Vinyl Album Box Set

(Polar/UMe)

Thanks to the “Mamma Mia!” Broadway and national touring stage productions and two popular feature films released over the past 20+ years, the enduring music of ABBA has never strayed far from popular culture. It is also omnipresent at parties, wedding receptions, feature film soundtracks, television shows and elsewhere.

After Voyage, the first new ABBA album since 1981, arrived in November ‘21 to international success (and a Grammy nomination), focus on the most successful pop group ever to emerge from Sweden only intensified.

Now, new fans who have recently rediscovered the back catalog can get The Vinyl Album Box Set or The CD Album Box Set. They round up all nine ABBA studio albums (including Voyage) for the first time, in addition to a bonus tracks disc featuring the singles “Fernando,” “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” and various B-sides. The LPs are pressed on 180-gram vinyl. An accompanying glossy 40-page booklet contains album credits and career-spanning photos. The CD set comes in a slide out holder with mini cardboard cover replicas. All except Voyage are imprinted with the Polar Records logo.

The multiple major hit singles across the collection include “Waterloo,” “SOS,” “Mamma Mia,” “Dancing Queen,” “Money Money Money,” “Knowing Me, Knowing You,” “The Name of the Game,” “Take a Chance on Me,” “Chiquitita,” “Does Your Mother Know,” “The Winner Takes it All,” “Super Trouper” and others from the 1970s-‘80s – plus the recent top 20 UK/Sweden hits “I Still Have Faith in You” and “Don’t Shut Me Down.” More than a few are probably embedded in your brain.

All told, these albums show why the music and voices of Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad left an indelible imprint on pop music.

The Rolling Stones

Live At The El Mocambo 

(UMe/Polydor)

There are a ton of live albums in the Stones catalog. Many are memorable for one reason or another, but Live at The El Mocambo is really special. This is the first official appearance of two infamous secret concerts at the 300-capacity Toronto club in March 1977. A local radio contest gave away tickets to see Canadian rock band April Wine, supported on the marquee by an unknown band called “The Cockroaches.” April Wine ended up being the opening act.

Available on double CD and 4LP black vinyl, they include the full set from the March 5 show and three bonus tracks from the March 4 gig. Previously, four of the performances were featured on the Love You Live album in September 1977 that had tracks from The Stones’ 1975-76 tours. The full El Mocambo set was never heard before.

The stellar sound here was newly mixed by Bob Clearmountain. The CD edition is packaged in a pink/blue/yellow trifold with a nifty perforated tongue logo cover (you can change the color by flipping over the booklet). UK music journalist Paul Sexton wrote the interesting liner notes that detail what led up to the secret shows and how they progressed with archival quotes he did with members of the band and others.

Blues covers by Muddy Waters (“Mannish Boy“), Bo Diddley (“Crackin' Up“), Willie Dixon (“Little Red Rooster“) and Big Maceo (“Worried Life Blues“) are part of the sets, which marked the live debut of “Worried About You,“ later to arise on 1981's Tattoo You.

Among the highlights: the searing slide guitar work on “All Down the Line,” Billy Preston’s backing vocals and Ian Stewart’s piano solo on “Hand of Fate,” Mick Jagger’s sarcastic quip (the first of many) before the guys’ bluesy take on Bobby Troup’s “Route 66,” the lovely keyboards and Jagger’s falsetto on “Fool to Cry,” the guitar interplay between Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood amid “Dance Little Sister,” a slinky “Tumblin’ Dice,” as Jagger ad libs a lyric, “Let's Spend The Night Together“ as the crowd gets boisterous, the slightly revamped “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It)” a breakneck “Rip This Joint” and totally rousing “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”

Sparks

21^st Century Collection

(BMG)

Sparks have never gone away, but following a triumphant appearance at Coachella 2013, a newfound appreciation for the influential alt-pop sibling duo slowly gained momentum. Then the focus got even brighter. A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip arrived in 2020 and was another solid entry in a career that dates back to the 1970s. Last year, Edgar Wright’s acclaimed documentary The Sparks Brothers made the film festival circuit, arrived at cinemas and eventually home video. Ron and Russell Mael also wrote the story and music for the award-winning movie musical Annette starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard.

Here in America, the LA natives are best known for “Cool Places,” the 1983 duet with Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go’s. But in England, they scored a half dozen Top 20 hits including “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the Both of Us,” “Amateur Hour” and “Beat the Clock.”

Earlier this year, five Sparks catalog albums – some out of print for years and sought after by collectors - were released individually as CD and LP deluxe reissues for the 21^st Century Collection. They include Balls (2000), Lil’ Beethoven (2002), Hello Young Lovers with guest Steven McDonald of Redd Kross on additional bass (2006), Exotic Creatures of The Deep and its humorous “Lighten Up, Morrissey” (2008) and The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman (2009). The more recent Hippopotamus (2017) and A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip round out the collection.

Among the mostly previously unreleased bonus material featured on all titles except Seduction: A Tony Visconti-produced version of “The Angels” on Balls, Ron’s liner notes on the 20-page booklet to Seduction and “We Are the Clash” on Hello.

The Beach Boys

Sail on Sailor – 1972

(Capitol/UMe)

Although the Beach Boys project Carl and the Passions - So Tough was met with a lukewarm reception on the music charts upon release in 1972 and the members later dismissed it as a lesser work among the catalog, it has since become a cult favorite among fans and prominent musicians such as Elton John and Saint Etienne. The Beach Boys even performed the album’s single “Marcella” and “All This is That” on its 50^th anniversary reunion tour in 2012 with Brian Wilson.

Carl and the Passions - So Tough marked the debut of new Beach Boys members Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar and originally came packaged as a twofer with a Pet Sounds reissue.

Holland - the first album without Bruce Johnston since 1965 - emerged in early ’73 after the band’s expensive relocation to a barn studio in the Netherlands. More successful than Passions, the Chaplin-sung single “Sail on Sailor” was a modest hit and later became a staple at FM classic rock stations.

Sail on Sailor – 1972, part of a Beach Boys archival series to mark its 60^th anniversary, combines the freshly remastered albums Carl and the Passions - So Tough and Holland. The 6CD Super Deluxe Edition includes the “Mount Vernon and Fairway (A Fairytale)” EP from Holland and a thoroughly enjoyable unreleased live concert recorded at Carnegie Hall on Thanksgiving 1972 - the first full Beach Boys concert from the period with the original setlist to be released.

The box set sports 105 tracks (80 previously unreleased). There are alternate versions, alternate mixes, outtakes, isolated backing tracks and a cappella versions. So Tough and Holland were also mixed in Dolby Atmos.

Everything is packaged in a 12.5” x 10” hardback book. The CD set has a 48-page booklet with liner notes by Howie Edelson, production notes by Mark Linett, new and old interviews with The Beach Boys, rare photos, images of recording studio artifacts, producers’ notes, promotional memorabilia and more. Various other formats are also available.

Standout tracks include the smooth harmonies of “All This is That” (more pronounced on an amazing a capella mix), “Marcella,” the jaunty “Sail on Sailor” and the “California Saga Suite.” All a capella tracks are fascinating.

The New York City concert sounds sharp thanks to a then-new 16-track remote recording system. Alongside a backing group including the pair who’d later break out on their own as The Captain and Tennille, the band perform a 26-song set.

Among the highlights are Carl Wilson’s supple vocals on “Darlin,” “Heroes and Villains,” “Don’t Worry Baby” (again with Carl’s gorgeous falsetto; they hadn’t played it in years), a revamped “Help Me, Rhonda” with boogie woogie piano work, the extended “Do it Again,” a rocking “Fun Fun Fun,” and a ramshackle encore of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”

Guns N’ Roses

Use Your Illusion I & II

(UMe/Geffen)

Four years after the major success of its 1987 debut album Appetite for Destruction, Guns N’ Roses released two true studio follow ups simultaneously. Use Your Illusion I & II debuted in the top two slots on the Billboard 200, sold more than half a million copies each during Week 1 and have moved more than five million units since then.

The band expanded its hard rock sound and even the length of some tunes, which broached the 10-minute mark. Across both releases are the top 10 hits “Don’t Cry” and “November Rain,” plus popular album rock radio faves “Yesterdays,” “Civil War” and “You Could Be Mine” as well as covers of Paul McCartney & Wings’ “Live and Let Die” and Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”

Nearly 100 tracks - 63 previously unreleased - make up the Super Deluxe Use Your Illusion I & II box set. It is available as a Super Deluxe 7CD/Blu-ray, a Super Deluxe 12LP/Blu-ray, 2CD Deluxe Editions, standard 1CD and 2LP versions of the main albums separately.

In all formats, Use Your Illusion I and II have been fully remastered for the first time from high-resolution 96kHz 24-bit transfers from the original stereo 1/2-inch analog masters. All versions can be purchased as digital downloads.

The box set features an anamorphic illusion picturing each of the two covers at different angles. The 12LP box is pressed on 180-gram heavyweight audiophile black vinyl with six premium tip-on gatefold jackets. Both Super Deluxe Editions also include the complete live audio recording Live In New York, taped at the Ritz Theatre on May 16, 1991, with sound newly mixed from original multi-track tapes.

Live In Las Vegas 1992 has been newly mixed from the original multi-track tapes. The bonus disc is a Blu-ray video of the complete concert film, newly transferred from 35mm prints to 4K UHD and presented in 1080p 24fps HD, in its entirety, along with audio mixed in Dolby Atmos, Dolby True HD 5.1 surround, and PCM 48kHz 24-bit stereo. The Blu-ray menu features the new live music video “You Could Be Mine.” This is the first release of any complete audio and video concerts from the Use Your Illusion-era GN’R.

The box sets are housed with a 100-page hardcover book with unreleased photos, memorabilia and archival documents, Conspiracy Inc. replica fan club folder with membership card, four Conspiracy Inc. 1991/1992 Use Your Illusion era replica fan club newsletters, 10 lithos that reveal 1 of 2 unique images when inserted into the supplied red & blue reveal sleeves, seven band 8”x10” photo prints, four Use Your Illusion tour replica cloth sticky backstage passes, a Ritz Theatre 5/16/1991 replica concert ticket (with the original misprinted date of 5/15/1991) and a brand new 24”x36” band poster.

The limited edition 4LP set comes in a premium tip-on gatefold jacket with a 12″x12″ insert and feature both original studio albums fully remastered for the first time. Use Your Illusion I includes the debut of “November Rain (2022 Version)” with a first-ever real 50-piece orchestra conducted and arranged by Christopher Lennertz.

Both albums are housed in an exclusive foil-art slipcase showcasing both Use Your Illusion I & II covers. The LPs are all pressed on different colored vinyl, Exclusive to this set is a zoetrope turntable mat that when combined with a strobing light effect animates the mat’s artwork while spinning on a turntable.