TOP PICK
No Country for Old Men:
Collector’s Edition
(Walt Disney)
One of the best movies of the decade gets the deluxe treatment in
this three-disc set that includes more than five hours of extras,
including behind-the-scenes features and a Q&A with the Coen
brothers. There’s also a digital copy, so you can put it on your iPod
and enjoy Javier Bardem’s awesome haircut anywhere.
CD
Beastie Boys:
Check Your Head
(Capitol/EMI)
Hot on the heels of the excellent Paul’s Boutique reissue a
couple months back, the Boys’ most varied album — some hardcore
here, some hip-hop there, a little lite-funk noodling over there
— expands with b-sides and remixes. It still smokes, especially
fan faves like “So What’cha Want” and “Pass the Mic,” which now sound
even more enveloped in a weedy haze.
CD
Chuck Berry: You Never Can Tell/The Complete Chess Masters
1960-1966
(Hip-O Select)
After serving as one of rock’s main architects in the ’50s, guitar
hero Berry ran into a few snags during the first part of the ’60s
(including a jail stint). But this four-disc, 108-song box shows that
he was still plugged in. There are some great songs here (including “No
Particular Place to Go” and “You Never Can Tell”), including 20
never-before-released tracks.
VIDEO
Slumdog Millionaire
(Twentieth Century Fox)
Danny Boyle’s Oscar-hogging movie about a poor Indian boy who makes
good looks fantastic on Blu-ray, where it steeps in the despair (and
occasional hope) of a generation of slum kids. Extras include deleted
scenes and discerning commentary by Boyle. But the ringer is the film
itself, one of the decade’s best.
BOOK
Ultimate Hendrix: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Live Concerts
and Sessions
(Backbeat)
Writer John McDermott — along with Hendrix producer Eddie
Kramer and bassist Billy Cox — attempts to pull together the late
guitarist’s many sessions and concerts. It’s a fan’s dream, chronicling
set lists, studio tracks and television appearances, going way back to
Hendrix’s earliest gigs with the Isley Brothers to his final
concert.
This article appears in Apr 29 – May 5, 2009.