Lavishly presented in packaging done up to look like a vintage hatbox: cake-tin cylindrical in shape (diameter of about 25cm, maybe 10cm high); slightly diagonal black and white candy stripes running down the side; large curly pink writing across the flat black lid, which fits snugly on the box but is also decorated and held in place by a drawstring. Inside, luscious black foam inlay housing extensive book-form colour liner notes, photos and all (and with the single word 'diary' on the front, along with a rendering of a keyhole), and four cd cases, each decorated differently to resemble a compact (complete with mirror).
As to the music, well, it's wonderful, of course. This is part of what the sticker on the plastic wrap on the outside says, and it's a pretty accurate indication of the music itself:
"The Should-Have-Been Hits From When The Girls Ruled The Airwaves!"
4 CDs of '60s Girl-Pop Heaven - the First Boxed Set of Its Kind
120 Songs You Just Gotta Hear
Plus a Spectacular 200-Page Book With Fetching Photos, Essays, Track Commentary & Artists' Reflections
* * *
Anyway, I've had this for months and, what with my utter lack of time for leisurely discovery of music, it doesn't look like I'll get anywhere near absorbing all of the music here any time soon. Lots of familiar names - Shangri-Las, Ellie Greenwich, Ronettes, Velvelettes, Chiffons, Shirelles, Dusty, Carole, etc, etc - sometimes with familiar songs and sometimes not, all bursting with that sound. Lovely.
