Duane Allman In A Box Set? Whose Buying CD's?

A couple weeks back I found myself rummaging through an old beat up junk store that specializes in the fine art of "Passing it Forward." They pay you money for junk then jump the price to make a profit. The vinyl album collection was the largest I had seen since Ernie's in Park Road Shopping Center was the biggest baddest music store in Charlotte. (1985) Never did I dream of one day standing at a crate slowly sifting through un-alphabetized material collecting memories that lasted barely three seconds. Every album cover had a story. Every reason why I quit collecting them instantly overshadowed the process of music pleasure. Then I saw what I've always dubbed the ugliest mistake the industry has ever pushed itself into: Box sets. Hordes of creatively designed eye catchers that barely had enough wind to say, "Hey um, wanna play me like a southern fiddle?" Maybe it's because I've been a radio jock since 1979 but box sets have never been anything but in the way. The music is brilliant. The price the record pimps stamped onto the outside basically asked, "Any suckers in the crowd? There's one born every minute." I'm not gonna lie to you. My KISS collection didn't start at album number one. Detroyer earned my virginity. A few months down the pipe the label put out a three record set. Hell yes I had to have it! It was KISS! Except it never made it to the turntable but once. Seriously! Once you've been bitten by Alive 1 then Destoyer...everything before it was a practice. Then came the IPod and every shape of MP3 and Wav file. Smart Phones were bangin and your Grandma could hoist in Charlie Pride at the flick of a button. Knowing where the music industry has gone...I ask, "Why has Rounder Records assembled and fine-tuned a massive box set of Duane Allman highlights for ‘Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective?" I TOTALLY grasp the importance of his presence this side of the radio speaker but a box set? Has someone advised Best Buy and Wal Mart who've slashed their music selections up like fresh trout? Wait! Like a classic info-merical on late night television. There's more! The seven-disc box set will be available on March 5. It features 129 songs from his early days as a garage rocker through his time with the Allman Brothers Band. Stop! For some reason when I think of Classic Rock Box Sets I instantly picture John Hancock from WBT. I can still remember when he got his IPod and how it physically changed his life. Who is going to buy a box set? Have they set up shop in a local flea market? The term Box Set went out with MTV's unplugged. But wait! There's more! According to Rolling Stone, studio sessions with Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and Boz Scaggs are amongst the treats one will find on ‘Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective.’ It begins with his time with the Allman Joys and then the Hour Glass. Also included is is Allman’s work with Derek and the Dominoes. The ‘Skydog’ box set will be the second to come from the Allmans in 2013. Earlier this week the band announced they’d be releasing a four-disc set of two live shows from 1972 and 1973. Both the Macon, Ga. and Uniondale, N.Y. show were recorded after Duane Allman’s death in 1971. Note to creative minds wanting to make it big. Adele has been the number one selling artist in the world two years in a row not selling compact discs. Selling cd's is calling your audience old. If you truly want to reach an Allman Brothers fan go vinyl. Wait! Who's got a turntable capable of pumping up the volume so loud you feel like you're in the studio?