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Roxy Music / The Complete Studio Albums / 8LP vinyl box set

By Paul Sinclair

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51

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This March, Universal Music will issue The Complete Studio Albums, an 8LP vinyl box set that brings together every one of Roxy Music‘s studio albums on 180gm vinyl.

All the music has been remastered at half-speed at Abbey Road Studios by engineer Miles Schowell and the records come with complete original sleeve and inner sleeve reproductions including original artwork, lyric sheets and high-end gloss finishes. Also included will be a download voucher for a full set of MP3s.

The Complete Studio Albums is out on 16 March 2015.

Contents:

  • Roxy Music (1972)
  • For Your Pleasure (1973)
  • Stranded (1973)
  • Country Life (1974)
  • Siren (1975)
  • Manifesto (1979)
  • Flesh + Blood (1980)
  • Avalon (1982)

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51 Comments

51 thoughts on “Roxy Music / The Complete Studio Albums / 8LP vinyl box set”

  2. I’ve no opinion yet on the LP box set, but it’s a must-have for any diehard Roxy fan. However, I am torn between “re-mastering” and original, unaltered audio – the latter of which has its pros and cons, depending on playback medium and quality of mastering and pressing.

    To get this out of the way first: the 2008 and 1020 Japanese CD reissues sound like doo-doo. “Viva!,” especially, I found unlistenable for its compression. The compression on the Japanese re-masters (supposedly flat-transferred from original tapes, but juiced in the mastering process) is abominable; the space between and around the instruments is gone, and the dynamic range is gone. The 1999 re-masters aren’t as “bad,” or not as heavy-handed on the compression, but to one who’d had as a precedent how the original issues of Roxy’s albums (for me, anyway, the first five) had sounded, the flat-transferred box-set CDs sound refreshingly true to the original dynamic range and equalization of those recordings, almost to a nostalgic degree. I do really like the “non-re-mastered” 1984 E.G. CDs of the first five albums, however.

    However, the pressings of Roxy’s albums on vinyl in the ’70s, especially in the U.S., posed some inconsistencies. The American (Atco) pressings weren’t nearly as good as the English and German pressings. One could say that the “purest” experience of the first Roxy album would be from a first-pressing Island UK LP. (Better still, to be listening to it in London in ’72.)

    I believe in preservation of not just music, but also of its originally-intended sound, which is as much of its time as the music. The manner in which recordings are EQ’d and mixed, and then mastered, are stylistic nuances “of” an era as much as guitar licks, drum fills and effects. The flat-transferred recordings will inevitably seem kinda dull to anyone accustomed to more recent “re-mastering.” In the latter case, highs are crisper, bass is fuller, and so forth (and the quiet passages perhaps more audible) – but that’s not “the sound” of that music, of its time.

    Of course I’d heard David Bowie’s song “Station to Station,” but I’d never REALLY heard it until I listened to the flat transfer from the master tape, in the box set of that album. The emotional “content” in the nuances and dynamics of each performance, and the emotionality of Bowie’s singing, were like an epiphany, such that I broke down and cried. Modern “re-mastering” can make a recording sound more “powerful,” but in trampling its nuances, the music loses its true power.

    1. You big girl! Haha only kidding thanks for your honest appraisal however at the end I want sure if your saying that the abbey rd half speed works!

  3. The sleeves are totaly crap [Siren and Manifesto are the worst]…
    Hope they’re doing a better job on the Super Deluxe Boxes…

  4. as others have said the cover quality is poor and records very tight, at least 3 of the inner sleeves are split.

    Also no download code, did others get a download code?

  5. Hi there!
    Would like to inform you that on analogplanet.com editor Michael Fremer placed a video for about 20 minutes about the box set; very interesting, with the promise for written reviews of the quality of all the albums……
    Seems though he received a nice and clean copy; no damaging on the corners what so ever…..
    In the video he really gives valuable info, so check it out….!

  8. Ridiculous isn’t it? Bordering on passive aggressive to open your box set, bitch and moan about the package and never report back on the f’ing sound after a month. C’mon!

    But I digress. These sound warm and analogue to me. Never had a UK Island pink rim to compare to, but this is my take. Reported elsewhere:

    I’m halfway through the box. I started with Siren as this has always been the most limited in the versions I’ve heard, including the U.S. vinyl I bought in the 70’s. It never seemed to have much bottom end and even the symbol splashes seemed compressed. Then I went back to the debut, For Your Pleasure and Stranded. Looking forward to Country Life ;-) Anyway initial impressions are that this box is more revealing and dynamic than the very good CD equivalent of this box. Nice sense of spatial information, neutral and not overtly “digital”. Along the lines of the Blur box. I still have to compare against my few original domestic (US) pressings and the Back to the Capitol Vaults series but if you need a good set, I would say buy without hesitation. These did require a wet cleaning in my Spin Clean. Happy RSD 2015!

    The Capitol Vaults sound like unarticulated mush next to the remasters. Miles Showell kicked butt on these.

  9. Hi Trash & Paul. You have a unique opportunity to share your thoughts on the Sound Quality of the Roxy Boxes you have. Personally, I don’t care about the packaging. But I know lots of people do and that’s all good. If I buy this, the Vinyl goes straight in to Mofi sleeves anyhow.

    I have the Half-Speed Mastered Jesus & Mary Chain Box Set and it sounds terrific. HSM-ing when done well by a respected engineer like Miles Showell can produce wonderful results. What were the results on your Box Sets guys? How does it sound? Comparable to the original Pink Rims? Not even close? Better? Please don’t keep us in the dark. I and many others are waiting with baited breath to hear if the sound quality of this Roxy Box is worth the investment. We hope to hear from you soon!

  10. Hi Paul –

    Still hoping you will share your thoughts on the Roxy boxed set at some point.

    I’ve been digging around on the ‘net and not found anyone really complaining so maybe the condition of mine was an aberration.
    Having said that I decided to return for a refund rather than an exchange because:
    – The tightness of the sleeves in the covers was always going to lead to problems getting the records in and out
    – I felt that the quality of the cardboard sleeves themselves was not great . I still have an original of Avalon and it is soooo much nicer (even thought the stock used is not as thick)
    – On closer examination I just felt it wasn’t worth the money…

  12. Got my box delivered today.

    What a disappointment.

    Pulled Avalon out of the box and here’s what I found:
    1 – The sleeves are constructed in a slightly different way which means that there are conspicuous fold lines not he reverse of most of the albums
    2 – The inner sleeves are really tight (really really tight) its difficult getting the albums in and out of the covers.
    3 – The first three albums I checked all had folded corners on the inner sleeves and visible creases (I stopped there so I don’t know what the rest are like). I guess that is a consequence of the sleeves being so tight.
    4 – Some of the colours look wrong – Manifesto seems to have come off worse.

    I’m sure the vinyl itself is probably fine but after seeing what some vinyl reissues can achieve (e.g. the Beatles and even the Metamatic reissue) these are really sub par. Avoid!

      1. I forgot to add that there were significant glue residues on the backs of three covers I looked at (i.e. where the folds were made).

        And my Avalon outer sleeve was actually slit along the bottom edge (I suspect that this was a another consequence of the sleeves being way too tight!

        Paul please let us know what yours are like – I do hope you have much better luck!

        1. Trash
          Agree with your comments. All my outer sleeves were to tight for the contents, inner sleeves were creased and ripped etc. Sent my box set back for a refund…

  14. I know that Vinyl is all the rage but I bought the SACD’s from Japan (actually twice because I forgot I preordered them from Amazon and bought them from CDJAPAN, talk about a $300 mistake) and they are beautiful in sound and vision, although the small print is a bit hard for me to read. It think the box set of CDs should have been hires or at least included hires downloads and the vinyl should also have hires downloads. Obviously they exist as evidenced by the Japanese SACDs. I guess that Mr. Ferry wanted everyone to buy the CD box set, then the SACDs, and now the Vinyl and later the 8 individual super deluxe editions. I’ve got to start fundraising for the super deluxe editions — anyone in the US need an unopened set of SACDs?

    1. They are now, and they sound great… also without any problem with the inner sleeves, though the covers are a bit dark, yet stylish and sturdy. Of course there’s a difference with the originals, that are a bit more spacious and with a natural sound decay, on the other hand, the remasters offer more detail, more bass and drums (Paul Thompson in full glory). I must admit, the originals were seldom without ticks and pops and these pressings are crystal clear and silent. The high res pays of here, even if its a digital makeover of the masters.

  16. I bought the 1999 remaster of Avalon and hated it. It was compressed and loud; I much prefer the dynamic range of the original CD issue. (I no longer have that 1999 disc for comparison, but the DR Database confirms the reduced dynamic range compared to the earlier CD.)

  17. Will be a nice having them in a box all together.What I cannot understand is why they would not add a nice hardback book of Roxy Music memorabilia.Articles etc.A great opportunity to do that I might have thought.Looking forward to buying the vinyl for a 3rd time.

  18. I also prefer the 1999 remasters which Bob Ludwig did. They were mastered superbly and would love to have these in Hi resolution download format. The last set of remasters were flat and lifeless. There are loads of demos available – which are out there and The John Peel Sessions must get released. I’d live to see the full Newcastle gig made available from the Viva Roxy Tour.
    Just as importantly, is there a pro version of the last tour shot and will it be released?

    1. I prefer the 1999 remasters as well. Packaging for box set was nice in regards to the repro record covers but no lyric booklets or info on the box contents was a disappointment as was the decision to remove the originally announced hi-res content. What looked like a 5 star set barely scrapes in at three.

  19. Would that be the original original lp art,or the cd original two fold covers on Country Life onwards?Some of those cd covers were not exactly pristine .Honestly this is very expensive when you could get the Capital Vaults versions a few years ago for 15.99 or thereabouts-nice massive posters inside too.Excuse me,but how painstakingly hard is it to reproduce cover art?I’ll stick to my Island original,it was a hell of a lot cheaper back then!

    1. I totally agree with the last review. I find this box set too expensive and original artwork? I’m not completely convinced. I believe that the ‘Capitol Vaults” series was great value but shame they didn’t produce anything after ‘Country Life’. My advice, go to a well known internet auction site and pick up original Island versions or go even one better and grab the Japanese Toshiba Island EMI versions. The USA Warner Bros and Atco versions are decent too.

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  23. What’s the point in this? When are the anniversary CD releases with the extras coming out? they were supposed to be for the 4oth, so at that rate it should be up to “Country Life”. I’ll believe it when I see them.

    1. What is going on?Where is the box set of the first lp-this is really annoying ,and I totally agree that the cd box sound was really over rated in comparison to the 99 Ludwig remasters.I tell you what,I think I am going to be dead by the time those box sets come out! I have waited patiently Bri,but this is getting ridiculous;cant see the point in forking out AGAIN for these on vinyl ,I dont care if they are half speed mastered.WHERE ARE THE BBC AND ROGER BUNN TAPES?

  25. Is it my ears or am I the only one who thought the sound quality of the CD equivalent of this Roxy box set was flat and lifeless compared to the 1999 Remastered editions (which I know were in the ‘not liked’ HDCD format).
    Leaving sound quality alone however, the reproduction of the album covers in the CD box set was Quality plus!

    1. The sound got praised by many for that CD box, because it hadn’t been messed around with in terms of EQ and not compressed etc. Not sure if they were ‘flat transfers’ or not, but I guess if you were used to early remasters then the box may have sounded quite different.

    3. Yeah I agree Kris. The box set remasters weren’t as good as the HDCD versions. The HDCD versions are the closest thing you can currently get to the ‘correct’ sound of the original first pressing Lp’s.

        1. Decoded the HDCD’s sound pretty good but they are goosed with bass and treble as well as too bright. The LP’s sounded darker than the Ludwig remasters.

      1. Ah – that makes sense…
        I’m really interested in finding out how much it is. US site has it at $200 whereas the French site lists it at €188, the German one at €311…

        I would expect a price of around £15 – £20 per album so something around £120 – £160…

        Shame their is no added material (the Suede and Jam sets included books).

  28. Do you know if they are going to releaase high res versions now then? Don’t want to buy the JAP SACD’S if they are going to appear as files on hdtracks or pure audio format

  29. I really hope they sell these individually as well. I bought the initial 180g versions but never got my hands on anything beyond Country Life. This is good news regardless!

  30. I remember buying the original version of this box back in 1982 when it was called ‘The First Seven Albums’ and contained the Polydor pressings in a burgundy textured box with a die-cut front cover.
    Hope the newly remastered pressings are of better quality than the ones back then.

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