Phish box set for release November 4, 1999 - Old Gold and Black (Wake Forest U.) By Travis Langdon Album Review - Hampton Comes Alive WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- With the commercial holiday season upon us, music enthusiasts would do well to take a look at three CD box sets due to hit the shelves in the coming weeks. In Songs of Freedom, So Many Roads and Hampton Comes Alive, fans can expect to delve quite pleasantly into the respective repertoires of a cultural icon, a 30-year concert phenomenon and one of today's most quickly rising live acts. People familiar with Bob Marley's music will surely recognize that this is not the first time Songs of Freedom has been in stores. The four-disc limited edition was originally released in 1992 but has long since been unavailable. However, on Nov. 16 the same compilation will be reissued worldwide in all of its glory. As the subtitle, "From Judge Not to Redemption Song," suggests, Songs of Freedom chronologically explores the entire career of one history's most successful international musicians in a 75-song retrospective. An intriguing mix of classic recordings, live performances and rare studio outtakes, the album presents Marley's work with the Wailers, and solo projects. The first disc opens with Marley's first studio recording ? 1962's "Judge Not." The rest of the disc covers the early period of his career, featuring original favorites such as "One Love," "Stir it Up" and "Bus Dem Shut." The other three discs bring in more previously unreleased material, including re-mixed versions of "Trenchtown Rock," "Is This Love" and "Could You Be Loved," in addition to an acoustic medley and rare tunes such as "High Tide or Low Tide" and "Iron Lion Zion." The last disc ends with a poignant version of "Redemption Song" performed shortly before Marley's 1982 death. The next set of music, So Many Roads, is organized similarly, but its Nov. 11 release date will mark the first time it has been available in stores. The five-disc collection organizes more than six hours of Grateful Dead music into a sequential trip starting in a San Francisco recording studio in 1965 that does not end until the band's last show in 1995. Two of the studio works on the album were actually recorded under the Dead's original moniker, The Warlocks, in the mid-60s, but some of the tracks are studio outtakes from as late as 1988. However, the majority of the music on the compilation is the band (in all of its different musician lineups) doing what it does best -- playing live. The anthology features such classics as "Dark Star," "Eyes of the World," "Stella Blue," "Cassidy," "Scarlet Begonias," "Bird Song" (with guest saxophonist Branford Marsalis) and "Terrapin Station." Also featured on the discs are quite a few rarely played songs and improvisational instrumental sections that stood out in the minds of the band's archivist. The final track of the fifth disc, "So Many Roads," is from the Dead's last concert, and showcases the heartfelt quality of Jerry Garcia's voice that mesmerized audiences for over 30 years. The last box set due for release in the coming weeks is a little different. Rather than being an anthology of Phish's career up to this point, Hampton Comes Alive is simply the complete recording of the two-night stand in Hampton, Va. last fall. The band has repeatedly referred to the Hampton Coliseum as one of its favorite places to play, and last year's shows depicted the band's heightened energy level at this venue Captured on six discs, these shows present the band's one-of-a-kind concert experience complete with skilled musicianship, innovation, homage to their musical influences, bizarre stage antics and spontaneity. From the moment the band took the stage with "Rock and Roll pt. 2" (better known as the infamous Jock Rock anthem) to the second night's encore of Chumbawamba's "Tubthumping" (with guest trumpeter Carl Gearhardt and lyricist Tom Marshall), the boys never once let up. Of course, this stand mostly featured the band's originals both old and new. Tunes that stand out include "Tube," "Possum," "Bathtub Gin," "The Wedge," "Piper," "Harry Hood" and "Driver," which features Trey Anastasio on an acoustic guitar. However, presenting a complete live performance gives the band the opportunity to include their diverse choice of cover songs, which ranges from Bob Dylan's "Quinn the Eskimo" to Ween's "Roses are Free," to Stevie Wonder's "Boogie on Reggae Woman" to the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage." Also included in the collection is the band's first and only attempt at Will Smith's "Gettin' Jiggy With it," in which eccentric drummer Jon Fishman takes over lead vocals and plays a mean vacuum cleaner, to boot (hear it to believe it). All of these compilations are thorough packages of music, worthy of a place in any music lover's collection. Priced around $60 each, these three sets are sure to please discriminating fans and newbies wishing to learn more about these very talented artists. More information is available at bobmarley.com, dead.net and phish.com. Review © 1999 Old Gold and Black (Wake Forest U.)