Box sets scaling all music tastes

Here are reviews of new box sets.

TONY BENNETT; "50 Years: The Artistry of Tony Bennett" (Columbia/Legacy) ****

Tony Bennett fans should be lined up for this one — five discs with a wide variety of great songs, recordings from 1950-2002. And, of course, his most familiar hits are included: "I Wanna Be Around," "If I Ruled the World," "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," etc. There's also a fine 74-page booklet that includes a discography and photos of Bennett with other great musical artists, from the old days to the present. — Chris Hicks

BLACK SABBATH; "Black Box: The Complete Black Sabbath, 1970-1978" (Warner Bros./Rhino) ***

The classic Black Sabbath lineup, featuring Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Terry "Geezer" Butler and Bill Ward, released nine albums. The problem was, after the first three — "Black Sabbath," "Paranoid" and "Master of Reality" — song and sound quality sank slowly into sludge. However, by remastering all the albums and adding a bonus DVD and a velvet-covered history booklet, the last six albums, even "Never Say Die," don't seem so bad. This impressive set is the complete history of the original Black Sabbath; there are no works by Ozzy replacements Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan, Tony Martin or Glenn Hughes. In addition to the three blockbuster albums, there are remastered copies of "Vol. 4," "Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath," "Sabotage," "Technical Ecstasy" and "Never Say Die!" While those albums do sport some gems among the coal, they were never as consistent as the first three albums. But the box set makes up for it by adding a bonus DVD, with the Sabs live at the Beat Club, circa 1972. What's more, the booklet contains lyrics, interviews and rare pictures. — Scott Iwasaki

BING CROSBY; "Swingin' With Bing! Bing Crosby's Lost Radio Performances" (Shout!) ****

Wow! These transcriptions from Bing Crosby's radio programs (1944-1953) are really quite amazing in terms of quality. While most such recordings available today are scratchy and sometimes hard to understand, the sound here is excellent, the result of painstaking restoration work. This album is also unique for its editing; each of the three discs have excerpts from several shows patched together as if it's one program, with the concentration on songs. There's some banter, and Crosby laughs or cracks jokes on certain numbers, but there are no ads or comedy skits. Bing and guests are predictably fabulous, including the Andrews Sisters, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Shore, etc. With a 40-page booklet. What a treat! — C.H.

THE CURE; "Join the Dots: B-Sides & Rarities, 1978-2001" (Elektra/Rhino) ***