what next?

It seems that the standard nowadays is the deluxe package with a 20-30 minute DVD included along with the CD. I must admit that I find this to be good value. For an extra $2 or so, you get some really nice collectible material. Of course, it can be overdone...see the case of Bruce Springsteen who released a regular edition of the Seeger Sessions, a DualDisc edition and then a few months later put out the American Land edition which featured a couple more bonus tracks, extended video on the DVD, and cost a lot more! How many times do they expect people to buy this stuff? Of course...then the Boss did the whole thing live and released a double CD, or a DVD, or a double CD+DVD edition of the Live Seeger Sessions! Whew! And in the meantime...he worked on a new album of original material due for release in October. I think I'll hang on til I see the premium edition for a good price!
I bought the new Lyle Lovett (with DVD) and it's great value! $17 for a half hour's worth of video material + a dandy collection of new songs! Excellent. Ben Harper's new one is called Lifeline and it comes in a reasonably priced box set too. A live DVD of all the songs from the CD, played in the same order. And a book of photos from the sessions. All for around $20. Trouble is...Ben is just so darn dull these days. As he expanded his band...he stopped doing what I liked best about him...playing the Weissenborn. It features only on the final two tracks. And those two tracks are my faves...but the synthetic R&B/gospel stuff that people seem to love about Ben just pales in comparison to the real stuff that I much prefer. Give me the Staple Singers, or the new Vee-Jay anthology, or any number of old Marvin Gaye albums.
Opinionated? Moi?