Needle Time

  Roxy Music - Avalon [2311 154 DEU 1982 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] From glam art-rock protagonists to smoochy housewife favourites and kings of the long slow fade, ten years was a long time in Roxy history. After a short run of early Roxy Music albums a while back, I was surprised how many requests I received for this particular album of soft-focus adult-orientated rock. My copy is a 1982 German original pressing, released as part of EG's deal with Deutsche Grammophon, mastered by Robert Ludwig and pressed at PRS in Hannover. It certainly brings out the very best of what is an incredibly lush sounding recording. This could well mark the return of mainstream Tuesday. You know you want this. A1 More Than This A2 The Space Between A3 Avalon A4 India A5 While My Heart Is Still Beating B1 The Main Thing B2 Take A Chance With Me B3 To Turn You On B4 True To Life B5 Tara

  Roxy Music - Roxy Music (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix) [00602508553660 UK/EU RSD 2020 24-Bit FLAC] As blog follower 'popontoast' commented when I last attempted a rip of this album, there's an excellent mix in there somewhere.... so let's have another go... in 176.4kHz. Universal Music gave Wilson's remasters of this album to Frank Arkwright at Abbey Road who cut a new lacquer for this release - probably at great expense. They then shipped it to the GZ Media plant in the Czech Republic, who literally made a pig's ear of the pressing. Even after a surfactant treatment and a couple of decent rinses you will still hear some fuzz in the left channel and the occasional thump on the right but this rip is substantially better than my first back in October 2020.  I've cranked up the levels to allow Wilson's tinkering to glisten ..and wow, it really does. Everything is exactly in perfect place, the mids have plenty of body, highs really shine but are not too sharpl...

  Roxy Music - Manifesto [MPF-1226 JPN 1979 24-Bit FLAC] A little post-mid-period Roxy Music anybody? After a four year break, Roxy Music returned with their sixth album, Manifesto which whilst still evidencing a little edgy art-rock in places was certainly more polished than anything previously, the glam period was very much over. The catchy Trash was the first single - where the Roxy had skipped punk and went straight for the new wave. Many will be surprised with the original Angel Eyes which is very different from the smoochy disco single it was eventually become. Rocky Roxy fans will still find much to love on this album, especially on tracks such as Stronger Through The Years and the title track. Dance Away is a huge hint that things were about to get a bit slick & smoochy. This is my Japanese original pressing which I picked up quite cheaply in a Shinjuku record store a few years back, it is in really good condition and this rip was relatively straight forward. I've...

  Roxy Music - Roxy Music (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix) [00602508553660 UK/EU RSD 2020 24-Bit FLAC] Steven Wilson is highly sought after as a remixer and many labels have used him to rework their legacy material for the modern audience. Most of the artists are of little interest to me, Gentle Giant, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Steve Hackett and Chicago hardly float my particular boat. His work on the XTC and Tears For Fears albums are certainly work close examination as he breathes life into older recordings with great respect for audio fidelity. The high resolution download version of Roxy Music's debut adds space and balance to these 1972 recordings, however it is just a tad too loud. Universal, by a series of huge acquisitions,  now own some of the most important back catalogues ever recorded. They gave Wilson's remasters of this album to Frank Arkwright at Abbey Road who cut a new lacquer for this release - probably at great expense. They then sent this lacquer to a press...