Pop Goodies in a Deluxe Package

Still looking for that special Christmas gift for an obsessed pop fan?

Welcome to the age of the $600 pop package.

That’s the price tag at Compact Disc-Count in West Los Angeles for “Songs by George Harrison.”

The box--technically $599.99 plus tax--contains an autographed, limited-edition book of Harrison lyrics and a four-song CD featuring three Harrison songs not available on any album, plus a 1974 live version of “For You Blue,” a song that appeared on the Beatles’ “Let It Be.” The book, which is the heart of the package, features color illustrations by artist Keith West and gold-leafed pages.

For $299 at the same store, there’s a Peter Gabriel box set featuring a biography of Gabriel by Spencer Bright, CDs of seven Gabriel albums (including the “Birdy” sound track) and a CD single of “Solsbury Hill.”

At Tower in West Hollywood, Thelonious Monk’s “The Complete Riverside Recordings,” a multi-disc set of the jazz pianist’s 1955 to 1961 recordings, costs $225.

Or for Beatles fans, several stores around town are offering the entire Fab Four catalogue in a special, custom roll-top box. Price: around $275.

Simon Romero, manager of Compact Disc-Count, said he expects to see an increase in these specialty boxes--mostly imported from England, Japan and West Germany--because the reported permanence of CD makes the format especially attractive to collectors.

But Bob Brownell of the National Compact Disc chain in Studio City, Encino and La Habra said the high-priced imported boxes will always have a very limited appeal.

For instance, he said, his Studio City store carries only one set of the Beatles roll-top box. “What we found is that most of the real Beatles collectors already have the CDs, so it doesn’t make sense to buy the set just to get the box. I think the main interest in these limited edition sets is as an investor (rather than as a collector).”

The special products that are selling, he said, are two Beatles CDs: volumes one and two of “Ultra Rare Trax.” The packages each contain around 30 minutes of session outtakes, most of which has never before appeared on record (see adjoining article).

Other limited-edition or high-priced CD packages available at Compact Disc-Count and, presumably, some other CD-only stores around town:

“It Was Twenty Years Ago Today. . . ,” a set of three Beatles CDs (“Sgt. Pepper’s,” “Yellow Submarine” and “The White Album”), a book and a badge. $199.99.

“Miles Davis Chronicle,” an eight-disc box spotlighting his ‘50s recordings for Prestige. $139.

Among the vinyl packages found at Tower and, no doubt, at other specialized stores that deal in imported sets:

“Jerry Lee Lewis--The Killer: 1963-1968,” a multirecord set from West Germany that focuses on the records Lewis made for Mercury after he left Sun Records. $140. (Two other sets in this series are devoted to Lewis 1969-1972 recordings and 1972-77. They vary slightly in price.)

“Billie Holiday on Verve,” a collection from Japan of the singer’s 1946 to 1959 recordings for Verve. $91.

LUCINDA WILLIAMS/PALOMINO: Williams is a Los Angeles-based singer and writer who seems equally comfortable with the sentimentality of pure country and the ironies of intelligent rock. She celebrated the recent release of her new Rough Trade album Thursday night at the Palomino by playing the 11 songs in the exact order as the record.

A Louisiana native whose work also showcases blues and folk touches, Williams brings a trace of winning Emmylou Harris purity and passion to such country-accented songs as “Abandoned” and “Big Red Sun Blues,” yet there is something too generic about both her singing and the songs. The work in this area--which represents the heart of the new album--often comes across as simply good exercises in a style rather than fully convincing expressions.

By contrast, Williams--backed by a three-piece band that shares her feeling for country and blues strains--injects a far greater sense of self in the spunky independence of “Changed the Locks” or the questioning spirit of “Side of the Road,” tunes that seem to be more on the periphery of the album’s focus. Williams is an interesting talent, but her art could be strengthed by applying higher standards of personal vision to her work.

LIVE ACTION: Robert Cray will be at the Universal Amphitheatre on Jan. 28. . . . The Meat Puppets headline the Roxy on Jan. 18. . . .Emmylou Harris will be at the strand on Jan. 13, the Ventura Theatre in Ventura on Jan . 14 and the Crazy Horse on Jan. 16 and 17.