Holiday Gift Guide: Metallica's Masterpiece Expanded, Little Richard's Story, and Prince Socks

Holiday Gift Guide: Metallica's Masterpiece Expanded, Little Richard's Story, and Prince Socks

By AllMusic Staff

Dec. 12, 2017

We're getting into the flashing red light stage of holiday shopping season, so here is another handful of gift ideas for the music lovers in your life, from a turntable and speaker combo to a stuffed Metallica box set to socks featuring the artist once and again known as Prince. See the past three installments here.

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The Complete Monterey Pop
The Criterion Collection is famous for its loving restorations of films, often bolstered by excellent and exhaustive special features. They often operate more in the realm of scripted cinema, but sometimes they delve into the world of music, as with this complete collection of the Monterey Pop Festival, as recorded by iconic filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker (known for Bob Dylan's Don't Look Back documentary). Relive the Summer of Love with wild performances by the Who, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, along with Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds, Moby Grape and Simon & Garfunkel. Many cite Otis Redding's sweaty, impassioned set as the festival's best, but you'll have to judge for yourself. ($44.49)

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Metallica, Master of Puppets Deluxe Edition
Always in the discussion when it comes to the greatest metal albums of all time, Master of Puppets received the deluxe reissue treatment this year, featuring a wealth of live performances (including the band's final show with Cliff Burton and the first with Jason Newsted), along demos, rough riff tapes, a remastering of the original album, and Newsted's auditions. There's plenty here that even the most diehard of Metallica fans have never heard before. ($153.26)

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Prince Socks
Last year we were tickled by the A Tribe Called Quest socks that we stumbled upon, so we're keeping the tradition of quality footwear in the gift guide alive with these socks emblazoned with the marvelous visage of the late Prince. ($14.50)

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Amazon Music Unlimited
Amazon is everywhere and their streaming music service offers tens of millions of songs with new releases from today's most popular artists. Listen ad-free with unlimited skips or download for offline listening. Prime subscribers get deep discounts on the $9.99/month service, and there's also a $14.99/month family plan, which allows unlimited streaming for up to six users. (Monthly subscription)

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Audio-Technica: AT-LP60 Turntable with Speakers
In the past five years, Audio-Technica's LP60 has emerged as the best bang for your buck when it comes to an entry level turntable. Traditionally available in silver, it now comes in a black finish along with a matching set of speakers, which can also be used with your other audio appliances. ($338)

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The Life and Times of Little Richard, by Charles White
The honesty and frankness of Little Richard in this authorized biography is jaw-dropping: In addition to memories including pooping in shoeboxes and giving them as gifts, a threesome with Buddy Holly, and his insane drug use ("A habit like mine cost a lot of money. I was smoking marijuana and angel dust and I was mixing heroin with coke"), the author gets Richard to expound on his appeal to both black and white audiences, his fluctuating sexual orientation, and his frequent shifts between spirituality and being something other than pious. This book isn't new, but it should not be missed. ($24.93

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AllMusic Subscription
If you are a die-hard AllMusic user and value the service we provide, for only $12 a year consider giving yourself the gift of a paid subscription. It helps the site keep the lights on, removes the advertisements, and noticeably improves site speed for you, so unlike receiving underwear or a nineteen-pound fruitcake, everybody is happy. ($12/year)