The old 1995 box sets

[Squire Smart]

So what do you reckon? Am I being mad and ruining a classic set or doing the right thing given the need for space?

YES.

You must really be squeezed for space to break up those classic sets. I can understand your need to make room as i have a family also, but i've never
felt so squeezed for space that i would throw out anything from my Elvis collection, let alone breaking up any of my Box sets.

Even at one time years back when there was just the wife, 1 kid (now 4) and myself living in a one bedroom apartment, i found room for my collection.

I have been collecting Elvis since i was a kid and have kept everything since and on thru today, (a mountain now) and i can't imagine even tossing out 1 newspaper
clipping. Call me overly obsessive about my Elvis collection, some fans are not, but it's all part of my life's journey and the memories they hold are comforting for me.

I would keep those Box Sets becouse one day you may wish you had.

Yes, that's a good point. What's that saying - you don't know you miss something until it's gone? I may have some space in the cellar for the boxes and keep the discs and book upstairs. I just want to increase my usage of the discs, give the CDs a good blast regularly, they keep getting forgotten about stored away in those boxes.

[sweetangeline]

I would play a FTD release the car before I'd toss those boxes out.

And I'll be damned if I will EVER play a FTD release in a car.

My truck is the only place I listen to mine...

...you may be pleasantly surprised to see and hear some of the players installed now...amazing!!

[elvisalisellers]

There was also the half-size boxed U.S. editions which seem to have held their value a tad more than the LP size U.K. issues.

50s60s70s_usa.JPG

[the squirrel]

This may sound like sacrilege but I am thinking of chucking out the actual packaging/the boxes that the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s set came in and just keep the Jewel cases (and the stamps and booklets). My reasoning for this is two fold:

1. My home is small and we as a family need to free up some space.

2. The three boxed sets are hidden away due to their very size and therefore the contents don't get played that much. Out of sight, out of mind etc etc. I plan to have the Jewel cases on my main cd cabinet on the Elvis shelf where they are much easier to access.

I'm never planning to sell the sets so getting rid of the boxes aren't going to cause any loss in resale price. Plus there doesn't seem to be much market for them anyway above £15-£20.

So what do you reckon? Am I being mad and ruining a classic set or doing the right thing given the need for space?

Surely you CANNOT have such small rooms or space that you cannot have room for these boxes?..........Do you live in a cd cabinet or something ?.....

[DakotaKid]

I still have those sets and their boxes along with all contents in VG+ condition. I have found through experience that once I start storing CDs on shelves and other contents in drawers, bad things happen.

[rockinrebel]

I've had all the jewel cases on my CD shelves since I bought the sets in the '90's. I still have the boxes and booklets, but they are stored elsewhere.

I tend to take the discs out of most of my box sets and store them in jewel cases. If I leave them in the boxes, they rarely get played.

Also I don't like the design of the more recent deluxe sets as it's difficult to get the discs out without damaging them, so once I have taken the discs out, they go into jewel cases.

[bajo]

Those boxes were great! They did their thing! Even though I thought the 70's Box should have stuck to the formula of the previous two! If they are going to revamp them once again, I hope they use the upgraded masters! I do treasure those boxed sets. The one I play most are the studio sides from the 70's Box! Some fine mixes there!

[charroman]

Gotta say I did the same for years and all my CDs are basically in year order of recording for ease of locating. The boxes ended up in the attic but for some reason I reinstated them earlier this year and along with some more recent boxes they are now stored under all my other CDs. I still return to them every now and then and brings back fond memories of the 90s and how good it felt to have these releases

[rockinrebel]

Those boxes were great! They did their thing! Even though I thought the 70's Box should have stuck to the formula of the previous two! If they are going to revamp them once again, I hope they use the upgraded masters! I do treasure those boxed sets. The one I play most are the studio sides from the 70's Box! Some fine mixes there!

Agreed. The '70's box is one that I still play quite often. I really like those mixes, and the sequencing is great too.

[Jovan]

I recently rebuilt the 50's box in flac from the EAC and TCM. Will do the same for the 60s and 70s box and then burn them onto cd. Great stuff for in the car!

[dennyelvis]

I too love the sets, I owned the originals but sold them in the late 90s! I couldn't resist buying the book versions, they fit lovely with the other book reissues! The sound of the 50s cant compete with the YMWTBB (probably never to be surpassed!?) The 60s set stands up today, and the 70s still contain hard to get material today?

[seaward]

I still have my boxed sets and am still quite happy with them.

[elvis-fan]

...and the 70s still contain hard to get material today?

I'm not sure about the "hard to get material", but the 70's set does contain some unique mixes. For instance, the tracks for Elvis Country were remixed and do not have the "I Was Born About 10,000 Years Ago" runoffs at the end/beginning of each track. The only other place to find these mixes are on TCM.

[chop983]

I like the big boxes. Just need 68 special.

[emjel]

Ah, the fun of being a collector and the frustrations it causes due to lack of room. And it seems to be getting worse these days with all of the big box sets and books being released. There is nothing worse that buying something that cannot be displayed properly and has to be put in a cabinet in another room or the older stuff ends up getting relegated to a box in the loft.
I managed to reclaim around 60% of space by ditching the plastic cases for the majority of my non Elvis CD collection (around 1500) and putting them in special fold over poly sleeves that hold both the CD and original booklet. I might even do it with my Elvis and Beatles CDs too which is probably around another 400 CDs and most of the original Elvis ones are in the loft as I have the FTD releases in the den. The only downside is that it just makes it a little harder to see where the release is, especially on a higher shelf as there is no spine to be able to read, so I keep a few CDs in their original cases or the digipack releases which acts as a bit of a guide/indicator.

But I would never ditch the big boxes and just keep the CDs. Like lots of collectors, there is a sentimental thing about keeping the original and of course the historical factors which kinda gets in the way of getting rid of things. Might just as well sell the whole big boxset packages and use the money to go toward buying the smaller re-issued sets if you feel the need to own certain releases, albeit in a different guise to the original box. Having said that, if space is such a premium and you just want the original music, sell the big boxes and buy the Complete RCA album collection. It certainly complements the FTD series if you have those too.

[the squirrel]

Never throw ANY of your Elvis cd boxes or cases because in the future, you will be very very sorry because:

1. IT JUST AIN'T RIGHT
2. IT JUST AIN'T RIGHT
3. Heaven forbid you should you ever fall on hard times and need some cash, the cd's will be more or less worthless.

[Mike C]

I thought this subject would be a good opportunity to share a photo of two promotional items related to the 50s and 60s boxes. These standees are displayed proudly in my music room. My 4-year-old gets a kick of seeing Elvis!

IMG_0370.JPG

[ParadiseRoad]

...and the 70s still contain hard to get material today?

I'm not sure about the "hard to get material", but the 70's set does contain some unique mixes. For instance, the tracks for Elvis Country were remixed and do not have the "I Was Born About 10,000 Years Ago" runoffs at the end/beginning of each track. The only other place to find these mixes are on TCM.

The unedited version of Faded Love is on its own reason enough to keep the seventies set.