New Album Releases 12/11/07: Wu-Tang Clan; Box Sets From Pink Floyd And Radiohead; More Hits from The Stones, Sevendust, Spice Girls; And Lots And Lotsa Jazz

So just when you thought that we'd seen everything the record labels had to offer this holiday season, it seems there are yet a few more of those box sets up their sleeves. In fact, this week brings what are arguably two of the biggest yet.

From EMI comes Oh by the Way, in which the complete works of Pink Floyd (including the Columbia albums like Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall) are boxed up on 16 discs, in one of those beautiful packages that are sure to look all nice and pretty under the Christmas tree. And just weeks before Radiohead are scheduled to release their In Rainbows album as an actual physical CD, comes the Radiohead boxed set, which also repackages that band's entire catalog.

Rolled Gold+: The Very Best of the Rolling Stones is yet another hits package from the oldest rock and roll band in the world. This one however looks like it could be a keeper, since it focuses on the band's creative peak during the so-called ABKCO years, when they were releasing gems like Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed. Other hits packages arriving in stores this week include Sevendust's Retrospective, Vol. 2, and Spice Girls Greatest Hits [Deluxe Edition].

The first album of new material from Wu-Tang Clan in six years is a combination CD/DVD package called 8 Diagrams, and is said to have more of a cinematic flavor, influenced in part by Wu-Tang member RZA's work on Hollywood films the past few years.

For jazz fans — particularly of the big band and hard-bop varieties — there are also a number of interesting releases from the Mosaic label this week, including titles from Art Blakey, Woody Herman, Art Farmer, Charles Lloyd, and Buddy Rich.

We'll see what next week brings, but from where I sit this sure looks like "Merry Christmas," and as they say in show business, "That's All, Folks!"

Here are all of this week's new album releases courtesy of All Music Guide:

Bow Wow & Omarion
Face Off
Columbia
Pop-Rap, Urban

Mario
Go
J-Records
Urban, Contemporary R&B

Wu-Tang Clan
8 Diagrams [CD/DVD]
Motown
Hardcore Rap, East Coast Rap

Birdman
5 * Stunna
Cash Money
Dirty South, Southern Rap

Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers
Hard Bop [Bonus Tracks]
Mosaic
Hard Bop

Victoria Bond
Menotti: The Old Maid and the Thief
Albany
Modern Opera

Mars Bonfire
Faster Than the Speed of Life
Fallout
Psychedelic Pop, Hard Rock

Ruby Braff
Hi Fi Salute to Bunny
Mosaic Select
New Orleans Jazz, Swing

Jie Chen
Chinese Piano Favorites
Naxos
Chinese Music for Piano

The-Dream
Lovehate
Def Jam
Contemporary R&B, Urban

Art Farmer
The Time and the Place/The Lost Concert
Mosaic Singles
Hard Bop, Cool

Slide Hampton
Drum Suite
Mosaic Singles
Hard Bop, Bop

Woody Herman
Woody's Winners [Bonus Tracks]
Mosaic Singles
Swing, Big Band

Huelgas Ensemble
La Quinta essentia
Harmonia Mundi
Renaissance Vocal Music

Charles Lloyd
Of Course, Of Course
Mosaic Singles
Early Creative, Post-Bop

Dave Matthews
Live at Piedmont Park
RCA
Jam Bands, American Trad Rock, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock

Rossen Milanov
The Tortoise and the Hare and Other Tales
Bridge
Children's Music for Orchestra & Narration

John O'Donnell
Christmas to Candlemas
Tall Poppies
Christmas Choral Music

Original Soundtrack
The Great Debaters [Original Soundtrack]
Atlantic / Wea
Original Score, Soundtracks

Pink Floyd
Oh by the Way
Capitol
Album Rock, Psychedelic, Prog-Rock/Art Rock

Paul Potts
One Chance
Sony/Columbia
Classical Crossover, Pop Idol, Opera

Radiohead
Radiohead Box Set
Capitol
Alternative Pop/Rock, Experimental Rock

Buddy Rich
Rich in London
Mosaic Singles
Big Band, Mainstream Jazz, Swing, Modern Big Band, Bop

The Rolling Stones
Rolled Gold+: The Very Best of the Rolling Stones
Universal
British Blues, Rock & Roll, Pop/Rock, Hard Rock, British Psychedelia, Psychedelic, British Invasion, Pop, Blues-Rock

Sevendust
Retrospective, Vol. 2
7Brothers
Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal, Industrial Metal

Beanie Sigel
The Solution
Roc-A-Fella
Gangsta Rap, Hardcore Rap, East Coast Rap, Hip-Hop

Spice Girls
Greatest Hits [Deluxe Edition]
Virgin
Teen Pop, Club/Dance, Euro-Dance, Euro-Pop, Adult Contemporary, Dance-Pop

McCoy Tyner
Mosaic Select: McCoy Tyner
Mosaic Select
Modal Music, Early Creative, Post-Bop, Modern Creative