Wow. Our Bob dissed! Absolutely fascinating. Fremer could have been a bit clearer about his ‘this’, ‘that’, and ‘these’s in this video but I worked it out evntually. I was thinking of getting a sealed US but no way to know if it it has Bob’s signature. And then I have a US with WW1 or WW3 or maybe it’s s LW, but with no RL. So now I have to look into a 1st UK and the UK reissue...
Early US pressings of Avalon are cheap and fairly common in the northeast US. I've checked many and have never seen an RL signature in the dead wax, but there is usually a Masterdisk stamp. He may not have signed this one. The early US Masterdisk's sound feels very lush and powerful to me. I've had a few over the years, but settled on a Jacksonville pressing because it has really clean surfaces. I also have an early UK pressing with Arun signatures and I think it sounds more delicate and subtle than the US which is nearly bombastic in comparison. Both versions are awesome, just different flavors.
Found that exact one at a thrift for dirt cheap a few months ago Allan. Mine is translucent. Back in 6/1/82 this album cost $7.47 + tax I love the sound on this so I don't think i'm going to go any further
Now that I think about it, artists from the 60's and 70's (including the very biggest like the Dylan, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Stones, the Who, Led Zeppelin, etc.) have all seen audiophile reissues. But, 80's and 90's artists have not.
Roxy Music – Avalon – E’G / Polydor (Blue) Made in West Germany by Polygram. Matrix: 800 032-2 03# EAC; 82.5 / 100 / 91.9 / 89.4 / 82.6 / 100 / 86.1 / 75.7 / 77.4 / 38.6 DR; 13 / 16 / 14 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 14 / 12 / 13 / 11 DR13.....-1.67 dB......-17.27 dB......4:31 minutes DR16......0.00 dB......-17.81 dB......4:31 DR14.....-0.73 dB......-16.91 dB......4:17 DR13.....-0.97 dB......-17.99 dB......1:45 DR14.....-1.65 dB......-18.51 dB......3:26 DR15......0.00 dB......-16.50 dB......3:54 DR14.....-1.30 dB......-17.50 dB......4:43 DR12.....-2.41 dB......-17.72 dB......4:17 DR13.....-2.22 dB......-17.22 dB......4:26 DR11.....-8.26 dB......-22.48 dB......1:32 minutes DR Database has a Japanese edition with a 03# matrix which varies slightly from the above (BT?) and although the 03# is quite common I notice editions with a matrix ending with 01 also. Do the Target editions with 01 matrix match the above? Anyways thinking it may not be such a bad idea to have a spare I have gone ahead and ordered (blind) what I hope should be a 01 matrix although another 03# will be ok.
I thought I had a Quiex version among the few US pressings I have but I was mistaken :-(. The standard is pretty nice, and I have a Simply Vinyl that sounds great.
This is why I love this forum; dug out a vinyl copy I forgot I had, US Masterdisc, compared it to my HDCD and 5.1 SACD. All sounded killer but I was really impressed with the bottom end and soundstage width and height of the vinyl. Personally wouldn’t buy a reissue. Definitely in my top ten favorite albums of all time.
I have Flesh and Blood with 'RL'. There I was thinking all this time that Avalon had to have RL in the deadwax. Seems that just about any US 1st will be fine...(condition of surfaces notwithstanding).
I love the version in the foxy music box. It would be great if MFSL or our host did a few roxy music albums on cd, Maybe in a few years.. keep on dreaming...
It is. It's not as 'see through' as say an A&M, so if you're at a thrift or a shop you'll need a pretty strong light source
My Jacksonville copy is definitely non-transparent, so maybe the transparent vinyl was only used in a limited way.
I always use the "flashlight" on my phone - bright enough to see if anything is translucent when held close to the vinyl
Quite possible. It's the 'darkest' one I've ever come across Allan where light goes through. Just thought it was pretty neat
I've never thought about that Jerry when I'm out at the thrifts. Great idea! Funny though when I see something I never think about if it's transparent or not. Actually just today I noticed my old Beatles-Rubber Soul is. Geesh I picked it up months ago...
Arrived today and not a 01 I expected although this may be considered a positive for a blind Amazon UK purchase. ASIN: B000002KXS (not guaranteed as editions share the same barcode) Roxy Music – Avalon – WB / reprise / eg (U.S.A) Barcode: 0 7599-23686-2 9 Cat #: 9 23686-2 Matrix: 1 23686-2 SRC+05 M3S7 IFPI: 2U2M (hub) EAC; 79.8 / 96.3 / 89.5 / 87.5 / 79.9 / 98.1 / 83.2 / 74 / 75.9 / 37.6 DR; 13 / 16 / 14 / 13 / 15 / 15 / 14 / 12 / 13 / 11 DR13.....-1.96 dB.....-17.55 dB.....4:31 minutes DR16.....-0.32 dB.....-18.05 dB.....4:31 DR14.....-0.96 dB.....-17.15 dB.....4:17 DR13.....-1.15 dB.....-18.17 dB.....1:45 DR15.....-1.94 dB.....-18.75 dB.....3:27 DR15.....-0.16 dB.....-16.69 dB.....3:54 DR14.....-1.59 dB.....-17.75 dB.....4:43 DR12.....-2.61 dB.....-17.94 dB.....4:17 DR13.....-2.39 dB.....-17.43 dB.....4:26 DR11.....-8.49 dB.....-22.67 dB.....1:32 minutes Appears to be this entry on Discogs; Roxy Music - Avalon It is a variant so worth posting for anyone interested, could be quite common in the U.S.A.
I seem to recall that parts of Avalon were recorded at Compass Point, a facility that seemed to generate much better than average sounding product. Dire Straits recorded Communique' in the same studio with Jerry Wexler producing -- another much better than average sounding album. Something advantageous in Compass Point's room or equipment, perhaps? I tend to agree with those who think it's been done well enough already -- no fixing needed. I'm quite happy with the sound as it is.
Of the two peaks at 100% on the early edition (E’G Polydor) only one of these (T6 – The Main Thing) has a minimal flat-top on the Right Channel which duplicates on the lowered -0.16 of the later WB / reprise / eg edition. Well I have a backup copy if ever needed.
