I finally broke down and ordered the new Complete Tony Bennett Bill Evans Box Set on 180-gram vinyl. It was waiting for me when I got home from work on Friday and I took a few snapshots.
First is the lovely glossy cover on the box:
When you open the box, the first thing you see is the beautiful 12-page liner notes with Will Friedwald’s excellent essay and some wonderful photographs. On the back of the liner notes is this great collage. I especially like the engineer’s sheets and the 8-track tape. I used to have an 8-track tape player in my first car, a blue VW Beetle.
Then there is this nice print of Tony and Bill. I think I’ll be finding a frame for this.
There are four LPs in the set. One for The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album and another for Together Again. The remaining two LPs are outtakes and bonus tracks. Here’s one of the covers:
On the back of each album are these great photographs from the sessions in contact sheets:
Here’s a close-up of one the photographs I liked, complete with a suggestion for cropping the photo:
And, finally, the back of the box:
This set is real class act. Concord Records did an outstanding job of packaging this set.
Alas, I don’t have a turntable anymore, though I am seriously considering buying one now. But my brother is an audiophile with a state-of-the-art system, so I’m sure I’ll be heading over to his house soon for a listen.
Paul M.Mock says
Suzanne,
You have inspired me to “pull the trigger” and purchase this box set! I have been hemming and hawing about whether I really NEED this in my collection as I have all this on CD and multiple LP copies (including MFSL and 45RPM Analogue Production audiophile LP’s of the 1st album). But I truly believe the 2nd album is the one that now needs the audiophile attention on LP and it appears that has been done here. I just ordered it and should have it in time for my long Memorial Day weekend when I can sit down, shut out the world and give this set my full attention!
Many thanks for the inspiration. I hope all is well,
Paul
Suzanne says
Hello Paul,
I hope you enjoy it. I haven’t listened yet, but plan to hit up my younger brother soon for a long listen. There are bonus tracks that have not, to my knowledge, ever been released and that is a huge benefit for me. I’ll be interested in your observations.
Best,
Suzanne