The original EG cd's have much more treble than the flat transfers. And while the EG cd's sound good and I'm happy to keep them, these new remasters are essential for any (casual?) Roxy Music fan. I agree. The mixing on those first few albums is pretty poor.
so this box is the best sound of roxy on CD ever? better than old EG's and Black Triangles? well just the Avalon SACD is better? If yes I go to buy it, I see great dynamic range on this new 2012 box
great! what about the quality of the packing? (I dont like the picture disc of a pic of the album in disc by the way...) $80 sounds a little expensive if they are made with cheap materials... I would be nice if go to be released in mini lps on japan for get good quality on packing.
I agree as much as I can. I have not heard all of the black triangles or all of the EGs. I prefer the Target, and SACD of Avalon. Box set for everything else.
It should have come with all the albums on SACD, such a shame the High Res versions were axed. The CD's sound so good but are such a tease for proper 24Bit 96K versions that would have been amazing.
I don't find the packaging on the discs to be flimsy. I understand the complaints over not reproducing the inners/lyrics but, based on what I read here, I was expecting those really thin mini-LP deals that are in lot of the multi-disc sets these days. These sleeves are much more substantial - similiar to the recent Beatles digipacks.
The box and individual LPs are very sturdy. My only complaint is the box is too small to comfortably fit all the LPs. Way too snug.
thanks I go to buy it, best price? http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Studio-Recordings-1972-1982/dp/B0075LTOR2/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1350927040&sr=1-1&keywords=roxy+music+complete+studio+recordings and yes is a shame that dont release in hi-res or SACD etc... but! more shame that dont release on vinyl, I prefer vinyl than CDs, also is shame they dont release the LIVE albums
Just listened to a few of these for the first time. What a pleasant surprise! Listening to "Country Life" now. Not only the best sounding CD but it beats the LP as well. IMO. Very warm and very analog sound to them all. And I love the packaging. Best purchase I've made in recent memory.
Why aren't the Roxy Music Reprise CDs that were released first in the U.S. never discussed? How did they sound? Everything pre-"Flesh+Blood" was issued in the States and wound up in cut-out bins. Obviously, the band's import discs have dominated this forum's sound quality obsession. But how did those early domestic Reprise discs stack up?
All of the CD's up to the 1999 'HDCD' Remasters were listen here with EAC values. The US Reprise seem to be their own individual mastering. http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showpost.php?p=5824781&postcount=67
I ran into some copies of the 2012 remasters from the boxset in a second-hand shop in my area. I bought a couple... I listened to "Country Life" yesterday... Love the music, but the sound? Is it just this album? Because we are very far away from audiophile sound.
It is the 1er time i went past the sleeve (;-) so I can't compare it to other masterings. I have 3 copies of Stranded though (Eg, Ludwig, 2012) and I agree that the 2012 is the best sounding of them all. Now I'm wondering if I should get Flesh and Blood and Siren. How is the SQ?
The best available IMO. There's an excellent review of this set by Wayne Klein on Amazon. FYI. Here: 5.0 out of 5 stars The complete studio discography including singles, b-sides, remixes in a handsome boxed set for the band Roxy Music August 28, 2012 By Wayne Klein HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase Although they never achieved the fame in the U.S. that they did in the U.K., Roxy Music remained an influential band with their art-rock/glam-rock approach. The band's first five studio albums are seminal while their last three studio albums range from decent to exceptional. This handsome boxed set collects the band's eight studio albums in handsome, thick, glossy gatefold mini-LP sleeves along with two CDs of the band's various b-sides, singles and various remixes. Although this set is missing previously unreleased tracks or outtakes, there are a number of releases on the last two CD set that make their debut in digital form for the first time. Although fans may argue over the merit of various releases (was the band better with or without Eno? Did Eddie Jobson's musical sophistication as a keyboard and violin player expand the band's musical sound), these are all worthwhile picking up for fans in this new remastering which goes back to the original analog sources. Reportedly these are "flat" transfers that represent the sound of the mastertapes more accurately than any other release and while I can't attest to how these compare to the mastertapes, these are probably the BEST representation of how the band sounded. These releases sound exceptionally good--they are not brick walled, not peak limited, compressed nor has there been any attempt to fatten up the bass sound or the introduction of any strange EQ choices. The albums are presented as intended (and, in the case of "Manifesto" features the original album line up--the original CD release included the single version of "Angel Eyes" and a different take of "Dance Away" that were substituted for the original tracks) IMHO these best the UK original E.G. releases as well as the Warner/Reprise CD reissues AND Bob Ludwig's remasters from 1999. The sound is warm and analog-like (which is ironic in our digital age given these albums were produced without ever thinking about how they would sound digitally). The transfers are top notch throughout. What we get here is as close to the original sound as the band intended for these releases. The labels feature the original album cover graphics on the CD labels. Is this set perfect? For fans who want a booklet detailing the recording of the various albums along with lyrics and details on the mastering of this edition the answer would be no. Also, the original release was to include DVD higher resolution releases of ALL the band's albums and b-sides. This was scaled back to this set here and, while those things are missed, as mentioned these are the ultimate redbook CD editons of the albums. Fans looking for accurate reproductions of the LP sleeves including the inner lining should be aware that these are ALL gatefold sleeves (only the first three were released on LP in gatefold sleeves)and the inner sleeves are color coordinated to the release but blank ("Country Life", "Flesh + Blood" and "Avalon" all included the original lyrics for each release on the inner sleeve something not reproduced here). The gatefolds do have outtake photos from the cover sessions included on the inside (some of which appeared on the boxed set Thrill of It All). The CD of outtakes, b-sides and remixes include the following tracks (collecting everything that the band released during their lifetime--The version of "India" included on "The Thrill of It All" on the fourth disc is not a unique mix but the album version and is not included here as a result): Virginia Plain 3:00 (This was not on the original LP release in the UK but a stand alone single) The Numberer 3:42 Pyjamarama [Island Mix] 3:03 Pyjamarama [Polydor Mix] 2:54 The Pride and the Pain 4:16 Do the Strand [USA 7" Mix] 3:23 Hula Kula 2:39 Your Application's Failed 4:45 The Thrill of It All [Edit] 4:22 The Thrill of It All[USA 7" Mix] 3:25 Love Is the Drug [USA 7" Mix] 3:00 Sultanesque 5:26 Both Ends Burning [7" Mix] 4:01 For Your Pleasure 5:04 Trash 2 3:11 Dance Away [7" Version] 3:50 (This version was the original mix on the US release and differs slightly with a different mix) Dance Away [Canadian Extended 12" Mix] 6:31 Angel Eyes [7" Version] 2:53 (This is the single version which eventually replaced the album version in the UK) Angel Eyes [12" Version] 6:38 Oh Yeah [7" Version] 4:15 Manifesto [Remake] 4:02 South Downs 5:24 (The version on the Thrill of It All CD was mastered in error in reverse) Lover 4:29 Jealous Guy 6:12 To Turn You On [1981 B-Side Version] 4:13 (This version features a slightly different and earlier mix of the song) More Than This [7" Version] 4:35 Avalon [7" Version] 4:16 (This version features a different mix on the vocals that was previously only available on the original single) Always Unkowing 5:21 Take a Chance with Me [7" Version) 3:40 Take a Chance with Me [USA 7" Mix] 2:47 The Main Thing [12" Single Version]7:44 The Main Thing [Remix] This is an exceptional set and collects all the albums, singles, single mixes, b-sides and remixes issued during the band's career. The mastering is exceptional as is the packaging except for the issue of no booklet, no lyrics. Fans will find this set to be essential as the releases are flat transfers of the original mastertapes and is recommended. 5 Comments |
I'm gonna get techie here. I have listened to my favourite Roxy Album by far, Avalon from this set. I was surprised to hear how it was mastered to a sensible volume (not like those hugely compressed 1999 HDCD [not-HDCD doing] discs). It sounded pretty good I must admit. I fired up Reaper DAW and got out Voxengo SPAN (a spectrum analyser plugin), messed about with the routing, and then imported and lined up and synchronised the two versions, altering playback speed/pitch of the 2012 to match the 1992. In the ring we have the 2012 Complete Studio Recordings pressing VS an older favourite, the1992 E'G EMI Swindon pressing. I had to drop the 1992 by around 1.6dB to make them equal,and then I compare tonality. There is definitely more highs in the 1992, not harsh treble, but there is more of it, or less of it in the 2012. The other main difference is that the vocals on track 3 "Avalon" really do pop out with more body on the 2012, whereas they are laid back a bit on the 1992. To be honest, I'd take either, the new one sounds pretty good. I compared the 1992 against the W.German Polydor 800 032-2, and the 1992 had more lifelike vocals on track 3. There did appear to be a mid range drop comparing the two, but the very upper top was dropping off rapidly on the old Polydor, perhaps indicating it may have been from a tape dub of the mater? Anyways, here's a capture of real-time-average spectrum analysis from a vocal section in track 3 "Avalon". The Blue line is the 1992 (-1.6dB), the Green line is the 2012 (+0.1766%). I adjusted the display to better show the differences. Block size 2048, Avg Time 1000ms, 1/6oct Smoothing. The comparison result is similar across the album.
