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Sorting muddled box sets in iTunes

docstocker

docstocker

pfm Member
Help please
I have several boxed sets where iTunes has put, for instance, the second movement of a symphony into a separate album.
I am sure there must be a simple way of getting everything back into the correct running order as a single album, but alas I have not been able to find it and have had to make a playlist in the correct order and always use that.
Any iTunes expert to help please?
(And yes I know lots of you don't use iTunes but when it first came out it did the job pretty well.)
John
 
If you are in ‘album view’ you can select multiple items, i.e. the parts of the album and apply common tags which should fix the errors. You need to be very careful when doing this as mistakes can’t be undone so you may end up having to tag everything in that box or re-rip if you make a mistake.

The original problem occurs due to iTunes (and all equivalent packages) relying on public domain data-lookup to identify the CD being ripped and there are many, many errors in this data. Also there are many situations where a given CD has been issued in multiple contexts, e.g. as a stand alone single CD of that symphony, and as say disc 6 in a 12 CD box set. As such giving advice how to fix the tagging is somewhat complex as it varies depending in what you are trying to fix. Preductably I’m totally obsessive about it, all my classical box sets show up on the list with the box image as the album, within that are the individually numbered CDs. It can take a bit of farting around to get there, but it is certainly possible.
 
I right click to ‘get info’ then copy and paste the album title (and artist) into the get info of all the affected segments. They’ll all drop into one album.
You can employ this tactic to play (say) four discs as an album. For example, Well Tempered Clavier. Remove the “disc 1” or whatever it says from the title. If all fields in ‘get info’ are identical, it will drop into a single album. You can ensure the discs list in order by ensuring the boxes 1 of 4 etc hold the correct values.
You’ll inevitably lose your artwork so you’ll have to copy and paste from google into ‘get info’.
 
mjw said:
I right click to ‘get info’ then copy and paste the album title (and artist) into the get info of all the affected segments. They’ll all drop into one album.
You can employ this tactic to play (say) four discs as an album. For example, Well Tempered Clavier. Remove the “disc 1” or whatever it says from the title. If all fields in ‘get info’ are identical, it will drop into a single album. You can ensure the discs list in order by ensuring the boxes 1 of 4 etc hold the correct values.
You’ll inevitably lose your artwork so you’ll have to copy and paste from google into ‘get info’.
Click to expand...

This.

Ensure that both Album and Sort Album are set to the same value. Well Tempered Clavier is not the same as Well Tempered Clavier in iTunes (the extra space will throw it off) and sometimes there can be hidden characters at the end of the title, so make sure you delete any spaces and whatnot after the last letter.
 
docstocker said:
It sounds like I will settle for using my playlists get around!

J
Click to expand...

I have had the same problem in the past but once you get into the remedy mentioned by another poster it is quite easy. You can change all the tracks on the disc in one go when you get the hang of it. The alternative is to re-rip the disc & check the set-up is consistent (e.g. disc no. 1 of 2, etc.) before the ripping process starts - easier than correcting afterwards.

I have never bothered with playlists but really should as the cuts on many box sets are often not at the end of an act on opera & I have some dual CD's with 3 symphonies over the 2 discs with 1.5 symphonies on each disc.
 
cjyosemite said:
I have had the same problem in the past but once you get into the remedy mentioned by another poster it is quite easy. You can change all the tracks on the disc in one go when you get the hang of it. The alternative is to re-rip the disc & check the set-up is consistent (e.g. disc no. 1 of 2, etc.) before the ripping process starts - easier than correcting afterwards.

I have never bothered with playlists but really should as the cuts on many box sets are often not at the end of an act on opera & I have some dual CD's with 3 symphonies over the 2 discs with 1.5 symphonies on each disc.
Click to expand...

I find playlists extremely useful and couldn't live without them now.

Static Playlists --
a) Rearranging tracks from CDs to mimic the tracks on an LP (particularly useful on Jazz Box sets)
b) Isolating complete symphonies (as you suggest)
c) Forming 7 playlists so that I can hear all of (say) Beethoven's Piano Sonatas in a week (probably peculiar to me :) )

Dynamic playlists are great too. eg --
a) Albums I have never played
b) Albums by Bob Dylan I haven't played in the last year
c) Tracks without art work
 
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