For me, Tom Petty has become an acquired taste as I have matured over the years. Whilst I've never disliked anything he's done, until recently, I was never that excited by it, but that was more down to me not investing listening time more than anything else. That has changed in recent years, particularly after watching the Sound City movie and investing in the Damn The Torpedoes Blu Ray.
So, when my mate Paul Sinclair over at SuperDeluxeEdition.com highlighted the fact that Amazon.de were selling this Live Anthology box set at an insane price (£25 GBP inc. shipping to the UK) it was a total no-brainer. I mean, a box with 62 live tracks, on CD & Blu Ray, a movie, a concert video, book, artwork and the Official Live 'Leg vinyl for less than what I would pay for a decent vinyl reissue doesn't take much thinking about at all. Luckily, I snapped up a copy as they didn't hang around long and being in the EU, shipping was really fast, cheap and no heavy import duties!
The box itself is very well made and a heavy beast. It really is a great example of how to do a decent box set, made all the more delightful when you remember how little you paid for it! But even if I'd paid top dollar, I'd have been happy. As for the content, all the discs are packaged individually and very nicely. CD's come individually sleeved and then presented in a large card outer. The movies have their own mini gatefold sleeves, as does the Blu Ray. The book is a really enjoyable read, especially as you listen to the audio. Lots of information and interesting opinion pieces. The ephemera such as repro posters and stickers are a nice touch, and the separate sleeve art is crying out to be mounted and hung. Not sure about the use of the blank notebook? But hey, I guess a gap needed filling
The vinyl is very nice too. It's only 4 tracks, and I wonder why they didn't go with a repress of the UK version of the EP which contained one extra track? But hey, a minor quibble.
As for the Blu Ray, it is incredibly well presented on screen, with every track featuring the details of who was playing on that track and when and where it was recorded, switching nicely to a screen saver after about 30 seconds. The audio itself is as good as one could expect. Some people have mention that the LFE is a bit hot and I hadn't really noticed it that much, but then I do like a little extra in the bass department, both in my music and my ladies
But overall, the live ambience is recreated incredibly well here and it really showcases what a great live band they are.
Aside from my comment about the lack of extra track on the vinyl, this set is pretty much damned near perfect, and even though I've tried to justify marking it down, I really can't. It's a 10 from me!
If you can find this set discounted anywhere, it's an absolute steal, but even at full price, if you enjoy quality live rock and roll, it doesn't come much finer than this.
