Now the dust and hype has settled down concerning all The Beatles deluxe sets,plus the John Lennon sets"Plastic Ono Band"and"Imagine" and George Harrison "All Things Must Pass"deluxe sets,i wondered what the knowledgable folks on here thought of them,if lucky enough to have bought them,because those multi cd sets are NOT cheap,in fact i think some of the pricing for some box sets veer on robbery.

WARNING:This is a rather long post,but won't take long to read,but if your concentration can't keep up with the task,i'd suggest having a cup and teabag ready,to give your eyes and brain a rest,and time to refocus,and return to this post,and repeat if necessary,i don't want any accidental falling asleeps or hands in the air thinking how the hell longer is he going to go on.......LOL.

I have been lucky to have been able to buy them all,excepting the Let It Be deluxe set,as i will NOT pay £70 for it.
I have been extremely fortunate in being able to buy them all second hand on the likes of ebay,music magpie,and i think it was an Amazon seller,as i DIDN'T jump on them straight away on release,as i couldn't afford them,i thought the pricing was a bit much,so i patiently waited till folks were reselling them.......and it worked.

First off i'll start with The Beatles:

SERGEANT PEPPERS LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND deluxe cd set:

This IS a mammoth box set,with a fabulous book included,posters,stickers,4 cds featuring mono and stereo,loads of extras on the other 2 cd(though still lots of playing space available for more),but also extras on the actual cds of the album,NOT heard before,though some was unveiled years back on the anthology series,the 2 dvds/blue ray,i've NEVER watched yet.It makes me wonder how many people actually watch the DVD/blueray?Or watch once and never take it out again?
How much does having a DVD and Blueray in a set like this add to its initial pricing,as i'd personally rather NOT have it with them,and bring the pricing down about £20.What do you think?

The packaging is big,the sleeve is a hologram like design,that i knew nothing of till i received it,so far it's been sturdy,though i bought it second hand,there was damage to the casing,and some scratching to other parts including the poster and wee marks on the book,which i knew about before buying,i bought this last year 2022,for just under £90,and i WAS over the moon to get it,as i know the price when it came out was not right timing for me,as i had literally no money as i had been long term sick with no wage.So this set came out 2017,so it was 4 years old when i bought it.So for £90,i DO think this was a worthwhile buy and worth that money.

THE BEATLES WHITE ALBUM deluxe multiple cd set:

First released in 2018,this is NOT as bulky as the Sgt Pepper set,as its a totally differnt design,as the box has been dropped for a book set design,with all the extra material and memorabilia in a pouch like design,covered in a plastic slip over,with the 4 Beatles faces.

Again i picked this up second hand early this year 2023 from a ebay seller local to me,who brought it round to my house the same day i bought it.The plastic slip over was kinda torn,and in poor shape,there was a bump like it had been dropped at the end of the book,but it was really just small cosmetic damage,so i picked this up for £92,and once i'd went through it,the book was immaculate,it included the poster and the 4 headshots of each Beatle,all immaculate,and the 6 cds and 1 blueray,NO dvd this time,were immaculate,and the musical extras included on this set are fabulous,of course the first 2 cds are the album,third cd are the Esher Demos,cds 4,5 and 6 are ALL mainly unheard of outakes,alternate versions,works in progress etc,but again the cds ALL have space available,and one wonders if on some box/book sets like these their cds could be condensed as they have 80 minutes to fill on each cd,instead of say 4 cds with 45 minutes playing time?Unfortunately its a trick ALL the labels use,more discs more money,higher charging price.
The book is a beautiful thing,with plenty photos,liners etc,and i think this AGAIN was a very worthwhile buy,and worth the money i paid for it,in fact i was ecstatic it was in such a good condition,and was delighted at the musical extras.BTW mine is number 143711.

ABBEY ROAD deluxe book set

This can ONLY disappoint after the mammoth Sgt Pepper and briliant White Album musical extras and packaging.
Again a slight change in its design and shape,this time an album 12" size the book set slips into a sturdy pocket box,with Abbey Road design.
The book is gorgeous,but it seems obvious to me things have been scaled back on the whole package,with 3 cds and 1 blueray with ATMOS and 5.1 Surround sound,i DONT now anyone who has that capability!!
cd1 is the album,cd 2&3are sessions,which again are NOT packed to the gills with music,there is still space to a have more....this came out in 2019,but if i remember it was delayed due to covid hitting.
Don't get me wrong the musical extras are superb to my ears,as i am a big Beatles man, but i feel this is NOT worth the asking price on first release,for a low paid or average paid or unable to work person on benefits shelling out £90 for music IS a big ask,and shell out.Though there are other options like the 2 cd set which is far cheaper,but if youre a Beatles person like me,you'll only be satisfied with getting this the deluxe ultimate edition with ALL the extra musical additions.
To me i'd say £55 maximum this is worth,even if that,thats how disappointed i was with the overall package compared to what had come before.It sells new at around £80-90,i'd NOT pay that,again i picked up a second hand mint copy for £60.And even at shelling out that,i felt hard done by....lol.....

REVOLVER deluxe cd set

A highly anticipated release this was for the Beatles enthusiasts.This WAS hyped to bits on its release in 2022 ,and met with some over excited feedback but also some deflated disappointed feedback.
I'm in the second camp,the deflated and disappointed,as its clear theres NOT a lot of material that was actually available and surplus from 66,so hence you get 5 cds,CD1 new Stereo mix,CD2 Original mono 66 master,CD3 sessions with multiple takes,rehearsals of too many of the same songs,CD4 sessions,again too many of the same songs repeated,i mean cmon 4 versions of yellow submarine,an annoying kids song at best,CD5 A EP with 4 songs,i get the idea,but come on this could have far so easily fit on the other discs,again it brings me back to the more discs,more for the asking price mentality of the majors owned now by big corporations,the book is gorgeous like the others,but its slimmed down what,to ask for £120 for this in my opinion was daylight robbery,you see i compare the product worth and its cost to deveop and make,and this is NOT worth £120 in anyones book.I paid £100 for this,and i grudged that immensely,and it's resulted in me being scunnered,that i've barely played it and NOT picked up Let It Be......

The packaging sticks with the Abbey Road idea,of a 12"sized book set that slips into a sturdy pocket box,but this time the cds are in their own seperate lp looking bit,and the book is seperate from them.Again i feel hard done by with this set,with the musical additions and overall package,i expect a lot more for a hundred quid!!

THE SOLO BEATLES

GEORGE HARRISON-ALL THINGS MUST PASS deluxe cd set

Released in 2021,features 5 CDs of music and 1 Blueray disc with Dolby ATMOS and 5.1 capabilities,how many people actually have that in their house i dont know.Again i'd prefer this without that blueray,just to reduce the price for folks.
CD1 -the first half of the album,CD2 the rest of the album,CD3-day 1 demos Tuesday 26 May 1970,CD4-Day 2 demos Wednesday 27th May 1970,CD5-Session out takes and jams 28 May to 7 October 1970 .
So there 3 cds of extra music,and that music as splendid indeed,i can't fault that,but again i'll mention the playing time on each cd is not exactly jampacked,so its back to the more discs,charge higher price mode that seems effects most of those sets.It's a ploy i dislike.

The packaging is poor,the booklet is slim and bare with little information included,certainly NOT deluxe to me,in fact its bereft of anything useful with little to connect to the music,an utter wasted opportunity to have it filled with details etc.
I'm in a middle about this one,as i do feel the musical extras are excellent and do feel deluxe,but the box,the poster and book DONT feel deluxe,the musical part certainly has my mind thinking the £70 i paid was worth it,then i open the book,and think really??In no way is that a deluxe priced book.It reeks of cost cutting,while still charging deluxe top dollar.......not good.Unfortunately it does feel like the label,estate have cut corners and have overcharged the music enthusiasts on this one.

JOHN LENNON deluxe cd sets
PLASTIC ONO BAND
Released in 2021,features 6 cds,and 2 blueray discs.
This IS deluxe,an absolutely superbly put together generous book set,i mean 6 cds of music,this IS what serious enthusiasts want,maybe the Harrison estate could take a hint from what deluxe should mean. As this has everything done in good detail,the book is superb,full of info,personal photos,and recording details and info.You also get a couple of postcards,a large poster,2 seperate holding parts for the 6 cds and 2 bluerays with the sleeve aetwork on both.
The extra 5 cds of music,you get rough mixes,rehearsals,live music,out takes,works in progress,stereo and mono,and jam sessIOns,mainly of the album tracks,but in very different sounding versions etc.
I picked this up at a reasonable £70 i think,and for me personally it was worth it,as the whole package is fabulous.

IMAGINE
Released in 2018.Features 4 cds and 2 bluerays that features all sorts.
Again this IS deluxe,with loads of extra music,all the single sides,the actual album,raw mixes,works in progress,out takes,extended versions,.......the works really,the 2 bluerays are useless to me as i dont have the capacity to play them,so i wonder how much cheaper it would be without those included?To be honest,theres that much music i DONT feel cheated at all.

The book is fab,full of details,photos,tech info,memorabilia,recording information.....everything a music anorak would want.Excellent indeed.
Again i picked this up for about £65 or thereabouts,well worth the money in my opinion.

BOTH have the same design of packaging,10" size with the book and cds and bluerays slipping inside a sturdy pocket box.

Thanks Stuart very informative but I think Ill keep my pension in my pocket Id most like play once and put it on my shelf

The White Album SDL offered the best value for money of the Beatles sets and Revolver the poorest. However, the large format books and boxes are all welcome and Sgt Pepper was the most fun. Also amazing how much the prices dropped on these relatively quickly. I got Abbey Road SDL new for about £35 after a few months!

On the solo Beatles, I eventually bought all of the Lennon sets and really enjoyed them all. However, before I go that far, I bought the Lennon 'signature' box that has all his albums as not everything was re-done as a super deluxe. My favourite Lennon album is 'Walls and Bridges' and would love a bigger version of this if one is ever done. I was also surprised how much I enjoyed his 'Rock 'n' Roll' album.

I prefer George Harrison's later albums (late 70s / 80s) to his earlier 70s output overall, though I have the box sets of both eras. I got the smaller box set of All Things Must Pass and quite enjoyed that though I think the earlier tracks on it are better than the rest.

McCartney? Well I have a lot of those single and 2 x CD sets in white card sleeves that came out years ago and obviously enjoy those. I have never been tempted by the really expensive super deluxe box sets of his as mostly they seem to comprise of books of hand written lyrics and family photos which I can do without. Actually, the 2 x CD set of Flowers In The Dust features Elvis Costello singing the album songs on discs 2 and sounds better than McCartney singing them!

PS
In the current economy I feel almost self-conscious even talking about such indulgences; CD prices have gone up the same as everything else. Not to get political but jus to say solidarity with Amazon workers (who get so many of our aural delights to us) and their struggle for union recognition at the Coventry plant. One woman described how she had just got her wedding ring out of pawn, that's how well paid they are!

PM

Thank you Paul and Phil for your replies.

I get what you're saying concerning "indulgences"Paul,particularly in a time that desperation is being made and felt.....but it will be telling how many people go abroad this summer on their holidays,its a thing i don't do,so music is my only indulgence really.Now that the payments for fuel from government have stopped,the biting hardship will be getting felt for those on the lowest incomes and assistance.

As up to now i'm not too sure things have been as desperate as is being made out in the main media,of course there will be the large minority where it really IS biting,as it usually is the lowest paid and those on assistance that ARE hit first and the hardest,i mean social media is full of photos of folks on holidays,and people counting down the days and weeks when they go abroad too and the restaurant and hospitality sector seems to be picking up in Edinburgh,i have been on lunch twice with my elderly aunt,and the places we went too were mobbed,the lady said it had never let up for weeks,to me these are signs that the hardship has not hit as hard as it could have been,but as i say,now the fuel payments have stopped,the real hardship WILL begin to hit the many,as interest rates on mortgages begin to really bite too.

With food prices getting to utterly ridiculous prices as inflation goes down,it's weird,so there IS definitely profiteering going on with big shopping corporations,as its utterly ridiculous that items have went up by 50%,40%,30% and more,there is NO justification for increases that large,it AGAIN shows that big companies can't be trusted to control their greed as they take advantage of a bad situation.The same with the big fuel companies,as crude oil prices come down,our fuelbills continue to increase, and it ISN'T just a strange coincidence that as our fuel bills increase hugely,the companies ARE making record profits!!

Makes me wonder if the prices that have went up spectacularly,when the economy eventually does plateau,will those prices come down to lower level.......i doubt it very much!!THAT will be a disgrace,its very rare when prices of items go up,they come down to previous prices.I await with interest....so much for competition keeping prices down,as they're ALL in it together,making sure situations are always GOOD for the big companies,i think that's called shared interest,operating a kind of protection for each other in cooperation,in essence a type of concealed monopoly.

I've went on a bit of a tangent there,but i agree Amazon NOT recognising Trade Unions or their representation of employees,harks back to victorian times,and is utterly abhorrent,but i DO believe we need risk takers,entrepeneurs as such to create business with fresh ideas and Amazon have done that at an alarming rate,they filled a void and service that ultimately has proved very popular with the general public,and HAS created large numbers of global employment,but unfortunately their cut throat management structure along with its working practices make unnecessary highly pressured,high stressed toxic atmosphere within its corporation,particularly for those on lower wage scales and in manual jobs,THAT comes from the top down!

Personally i DONT believe in big government as they're usually hopeless at business with unnecessary red tape,and ALWAYS over run and overspend on ANY project they undertake and the government funded public services like civil service,local authorities can be wasteful where those poor at their job ARE protected,including bad teachers,bad health workers,bad management,i was in it for 30 years.The things i saw and know would open many eyes!!

I'll leave it there Paul,as i've went on a bit much,but its an interesting discussion none the less.I must add i DONT label myself left or right,i dislike BOTH sides,i trust NO-ONE in power,whether its conservsative or labour,they're ALL the problem,and certainly NOT the solution.