AC/DC, MJ, Miles Davis, Def Jam and More Box Sets

Here are a selection of box-set offerings this season:

AC/DC "Backtracks" (Sony)

In this CD box set cover image released by Sony, AC/DC's "Backtracks" is shown. (AP Photo/Sony)

(AP)

The essence of a box set is great packaging, lots of swag and hard-to-find content. All that is here on the latest AC/DC box set. The high-end version comes in a box made to look like a road-worn amplifier, complete with AC/DC logo. But look — the top comes off to reveal one of the treasures inside actually IS a working amplifier that you can plug a guitar into a jam along!

The three CDs lean heavily on B-sides and live tracks that were released piecemeal as part of something else, and not a whole lot can be considered truly rare. That's particularly true with the early tracks featuring original singer Bon Scott, who died in 1980. But the band has pretty much scraped the bottom of the Bon barrel in previous post-mortem releases. The most interesting Scott track here is a live version of "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" from Sydney, Australia in 1977.

The other two CDs feature various live cuts with current singer Brian Johnson, nicely mixed and cleaned up from the soundboard. Two DVDs include alternate versions of many promo videos (there's some nice Bon Scott stuff here), as well as a 2003 concert in a tiny club in Germany.

The set also comes with a 164-page coffee table book laden with previously unpublished photos from 1974 to the present, a vinyl record duplicating the first CD of "rarities," a poster from their 1977 European tour, buttons, stickers, temporary tattoos and a 1975 vintage AC/DC guitar pick. It's not cheap, at $200-plus, but for true fans, it's probably worth it.

— Wayne Parry, AP Writer

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Michael Jackson, "Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection" (Motown)

While the documentary "This Is It" shows Michael Jackson as a man able to thrill with his smooth moves and voice up until his death, the three-CD box set "Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection" shows Jackson as a boy launching into the pop stratosphere.

With a bright yellow package depicting a cherubic, Afro-haired Jackson on the cover, the superb collection features every Jackson solo recording released from 1971 to 1975 — albums "Got To Be There," "Ben," "Music & Me" and "Forever, Michael." Also included are songs released from the Jackson vault after he became the King of Pop, the 1984 album "Farewell My Summer Love" and 1986's "Looking Back to Yesterday," featuring previously unreleased masters.

Bonus tracks, colorful photos, album covers, original liner notes and essays by Motown's Suzee Ikeda and author and professor Mark Anthony Neal complete the box set.

Most of all, "Hello World" showcases Jackson's glorious voice, an instrument so nuanced that he sounds much older and wiser than his young years. A spoken word intro leads into Jackson's soulful cover of the Bill Withers classic "Ain't No Sunshine": Jackson lets his boyish falsetto soar over backing strings, in complete control over the vocal dips and swoops.

Other tunes span from harpsichord-tinged ballads to funky gems such as "Rockin' Robin," a sure-fire hip shaker. His voice lowers in register on "Forever, Michael," taking on the more mature tone to define his later albums and hits.

Just to hear a sweet-voiced Jackson take on Edwin Starr's soul stomper "Twenty-Five Miles," wailing over distorted guitar, makes this collection truly worth it.

— Solvej Schou, AP Writer

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"Def Jam 25" (Def Jam)

There is no Jay-Z without the Def Jam label. No Public Enemy. No Kanye West, Beastie Boys, Rihanna or LL Cool J. Sure, these game-changing talents would have been heard regardless. But Def Jam had the savvy and sheer willpower to make them superstars.

That's why this five-disc history of Def Jam's 25-year history is an essential ingredient for any serious rap music collection. Even if you have all the songs in album or single form, or buried among thousands of MP3s in your computer, the box set's track sequence puts them in context, connecting the dots as rap moves from fringe to revolution to mountaintop.

The Def Jam story starts when party promoter/artist manager Russell Simmons met punk rocker/rap producer Rick Rubin, who was making records out of his New York University dorm room. Their first hit — and the box set's first song — was LL Cool J's "I Need A Beat."

That cut was just a voice and a drum machine. By the end of disc one, rap has taken a sonic quantum leap with Public Enemy's furious "Fight the Power." The whole collection is filled with such fascinating evolutions and connections: Nikki D to Foxy Brown; Boss to Rick Ross; Onyx to DMX; Sisqo to Ne-Yo.

There also are one-hit wonders (Montell "This Is How We Do It" Jordan) gems (Method Man and Mary J. Blige's "You're All I Need To Get By") and enough Jeezy and Ludacris to keep Atlanta happy. And, of course, Jay-Z, from his breakthrough "Hard Knock Life" to his appearance on Rihanna's "Umbrella."

Jay-Z's presence means more than just timeless lyrics. He represents the industry smarts and hustle of Simmons and his alter ego, Lyor Cohen, who succeeded Rubin as Def Jam partner and resident Caucasian. There have been a lot of big rap labels over the past 25 years. Only Def Jam has played the vicious rap game to perfection without getting played.