Perception (6CD/6DVD, Boxset)
For years, the recording industry has asked fans to purchase the same music from the 1960s and '70s over and over again, via remasterings, repackagings, and, of course, reformattings. The Doors' boxPerception(get it?), cleverly packaged as... a door, does hold some astonishing music, but the thing itself is a weird hybrid beast with multiple formats for every release. Each of the group's six albums has not only beenre-remastered (this time by the remaining band members plus original engineer Bruce Botnick as the "40th anniversary mix"), but loaded up with a bevy of previously unreleased bonus tracks. But that's not it--for each album, there's a companion DVD, which includes a whole new 5.1 surround sound mix with more tracks, as well as the usual DVD extras, i.e., photo galleries, lyrics, and videos. That makes 12 discs, much of it essentially redundant. If you're cool with that, you're in for a treat. From the spookier, unissued version of "Indian Summer" to the entirely new tune "Push Push" and some super-rad footage of the band rehearsingL.A. Woman, it's easy to fall in love with this swirling, highly sexualized, and often brilliant band all over again.--Mike McGonigal