Back in 1972, a year I remember well with moving there were a number of acts that later on you realized were about to break big one of which was David Bowie who released the seminal Ziggy Stardust album that year and there was Roxy Music.
Roxy Music are an English art rock group formed in November 1970 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone and oboe) and Paul Thompson (drums and percussion). Former members include Brian Eno (synthesizer and "treatments"), and Eddie Jobson (synthesizer and violin). Although they disbanded in 1983 they reunited early this century releasing live albums but nothing new in the studio.
Roxy Music were one of the first English bands I got into buying their records over the years band one first artists to have their catalogues fully released on cd back in the mid 80's before the Stones or even Beatles and they have been reissued three times with the last set suffering from a very loud screechy sound that lead me toward buying my favourite albums by them on original vinyl.
Last Monday this 10 cd box set came out called The Complete Studio Recordings and I sprung for it although it's different than originally intended probably for cost reasons so here's a few thoughts on it.
The first thing anyone getting this set has to get over this is it's not the ultimate set with High Resolution audio on dvds and a coffee table book throw in it's more basic than that but by way of compensation is a lot cheaper around the £50 mark. That's not much per cd now is it?
Also unfortunately a background capsule booklet wasn't included which is a shame because it would of helped to set the context of each album (and the singles) release for the casual fan but the packaging is otherwise of a high standard with thick card sleeves and a paper inner to protect the disc.
The card looks durable so shouldn't suffer damage in regular use with a bit of care. The box is sturdy (yay!) and functional allowing you to slide out the core to retrieve an album for playing when it is on your shelf something I appreciate having had experiences of the sort so big you end up putting them at the top of the closet!
For this set Roxy Music (self titled) loses Virginia Plain which was never part of the original lp and 1979's Manifesto gains for the first time on cd the album versions of Angel Eyes and Dance Away rather than the disco inspired remakes issued originally for the 45's and all are present in the 2cds covering non album singles, b sides and odd mixes.
The mastering for this set is different than the 1999 HDCD discs which remain available new, preserving far the better the difference between the quieter and louder passages so when you listen to a track like Street Life, it doesn't tire your ear and you can tell the difference between tracks with more softer passages and those that don't .It seems they redid the transfers from original analogue tape which coupled with newer analogue to digital converters results in much smoother sound compared to previous cds.
I've had quite a blast this week playing all these albums back comparing with other versions finding this set to the best sounding yet.
To sum up, it may not be the ultimate set when it comes to features but is a extremely good sounding set, well presented being available at a modest price suitable for either a casual fan as a one stop purchase or for those looking for upgraded sound.
No comments:
Post a Comment