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Individual discs from the Archives Vol. 3 boxset sold individually. $13.99 PER DISC. or $69.99 (plus additional shipping) for all 6 LPs (no box)

The third installment in James Jackson “Wooden Wand” Toth’s Archives Project (the first being the “Hard Knox” CD, and the second being the 100+ songs that were given to pledgers on his Kickstarter campaign) is a great insight into all facets and phases of his 15+ year songwriting career. Some of these tracks were recording when James was 15, some were recorded only weeks ago. And, believe it or not, despite the fact that over 200 unreleased songs have been unearthed so far in the Archives series, there are still hundreds that remain unreleased. And, unlike the archives of some other “prolific” songwriters, most of this stuff, is top notch, and all of it is complete songs. There are no 42 second aborted song snippets to sort through. I was given about 400 songs from which to choose the 75 tunes that wound up on this set. And despite having to listen to 400 songs multiple times, and having to sequence the chosen ones, listen to them over and over again, etc, they all still sound great to me.

Each album, while often drawing from many different periods of songwriting, has been curated by PIAPTK to be loosely based around “themes” that tend to pop up in the Toth emotional and stylistic repertoire.

Disc One: Hard Bargains – This disc contains the more “rocking” Toth tunes, mostly full band style recording with a heavier groove to it. Tracks: Nothing To Declare, Hard Bargains, Drill Myth Shit, Easy Street, Carnival Trailer, Good Saints, Jonny Medulla, Oh Dad, Soothsayer, Lines, Depends on the Friends.

Disc Two: Roadside Peaches – This disc contains the lesser seen Toth song-type... the sincere, sweet, love songs. Tracks: Xiao Li During Youth, Waveland, Wide Mouth Style, Resisting the Need, Bones For Dr. Swah, Roadside Peaches, CB Love, Gentleman Death, Ain't It Strange, No Hayride.

Disc Three: Visiting Hours and Other Missteps - Full of the more Downer-type tunes. But don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of giggle-worthy moments despite the somber tone. A good disc for fans of Born Bad. Tracks: (I Had To Hear It) From A Stranger, Visiting Hours, Hand Off Heart, Mermaid's Lament, Loose Ends, How Do You, Every Turn, Waterhaul, I Slept.

Disc Four: Get Right With Goddess – A really good mixed bag of mostly acoustic tunes. Tracks: Man In Reno, Right Minds Think Twice, Dive, Hellbound Friend, Run Run Run, Hallucination, Good To Get Home, May, Beatles or Stones (demo), Northern Nights, Left of Me, Blind Reprieve.

Disc Five: Preparing An Audience - Much like Tom Waits, Wand often writes tunes from the perspective of a character. Whereas Waits’ protagonist is a down-on-his-luck, hard living, skid row bum, Toth’s is more of a self-loathing, hard living, smarmy Southern jerk. This disc compiles some of the best tunes from that perspective. Tracks: Nails and Spikes, Tumor Blues, Born To Lose, Jaybird Flower, I Still Haven't Lost You, Hosting Hostages, Pacifist Tonight, Room For One More, Or Worse, The Ballad of Gentleman Jim.

Disc Six: Five Alive / First Songs – A collection of the lower-fidelity tunes, many of which are very old, and give a really good glimpse into a little different Wand than you are used to. Runs the gamut of recording type and vocal style. tracks: Eve of Your Death Bonfire, Glory, Jail, The Defensible Inn, Hold Your Horses, Steak Knife, Five Alive, Xtian Scientist, Skin and Bone, Claim That Fame, You Don't Know What It's Like, Ballet Shoes, Angel Face, Dear Weapon.