DVD/DTS Poll Roxy Music - ROXY MUSIC [DTS DVD]

[rtbluray]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this 2018 reissue of the debut self-titled album from Roxy Music.
This 45th anniversary box set contains a 5.1 surround remix mixed by Steven Wilson.

Pre-release thread for all shipping/ordering queries and non-poll related posts:
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...1972-on-5-1-dvd-mixed-by-steven-wilson.18610/

 

[proufo]

Music and 5.1 mix apart, what a beautiful object!

One thing: are they ashamed of it having a 5.1 mix?

Looks like the packaging for XBoxes that say "Microsoft" in very small print.

Another good thing: it lists Graham Simpson as the main bass player. When they added Virginia Plain to the album they also listed only Rick Kenton, picture and all.

 

[svengaleekie]

I've listened to it 3 times now (only in DTS, yet to listen to the Dolby) and felt I'm ready to vote, I gave it a nine 'cos it has to be really special to warrant 10.
As you might expect from Steven Wilson it's an excellent surround mix, I especially liked the sounds wizzing around on The Bob (Medley) and the sax and guitars in the rears on other tracks, the package includes a huge book telling how the band formed and went on to record the album, lyrics, photos and lots of other stuff.
It is too expensive though, I paid £130, I'm lucky enough to be able to be this frivolous, but many aren't!

Audio select screen

Track playing screen

 

[H.A.L.]

Agree so far with every comment here.

So what did I notice? How strong the bass / drum section of Roxy was! Sort of got smothered by the Ferry - Eno tug of attention, and of course Manzanera, as lead guitarist, had a prominent spot that yet fell under Eno. In the videos you see how Eno synthesized Phil to the point he was muddled -- must have been weird playing while someone fiddled with your dials Not that I'll argue with an Eno treatment: he's the synth king. Too bad the videos have him on the edges; even in his glam glitter robe, there really was not enough attention on him.

2 HB was when the mix started to catch me in its spell, and the Bob medley was a mindf*k. And again because of the nicely separated bass and drums.

If I gave it a 9 . . . well, it was better than the FM and Beatles mixes. We knew it would be, but man, what a proud 9!

I agree with rtbluray -- FOR YOUR PLEASURE needs to come next! The pricing thing was a cockup. Hopefully they'll learn for the next box sets (of any band) that come out.

[edit: All said, if compared with the AVALON surround, this mix gets pushed down to an "8," still. There's something so SMOOTH about that mix, that matches the music. No skin on SW. It was just a great combo of music and mix.]

 

[Which_One_Is_Pink]

Have had "For Your Pleasure thru Siren" forever but never owned this one for some reason :slap:, although quite familiar with several songs, the obvious culprits, Ladytron and Virginia Plain so this is my first time hearing the album as a whole. Have listened to the Wilson 5.1 in DTS 96/24 and it sounds fantastic, stellar mix and SQ very crankable! Great to become familiar with some new old Roxy, a very Roxy 9 for me .

 

[cornwall198]

Oh my goodness - I remember buying this when it first came out. Those days were all about Zeppelin, Sabbath, Wishbone, Yes, Tull, Groundhogs, Ten Years After, etc. - and then these guys came along. What?! We hard rock guys were avoiding all things glam, even Bowie, for goodness sake. And now these weirdos turn up - and we all fell in love with them instantly. I still don't get why we gave them the pass we didn't give to the other "make-up and lipstick" artists. Or bands with a saxophonist? Or songs about 'romance' (yeughh!!). Or singing that is so mannered? Or crazy synthesizer freaks - what was an "Eno" anyway? And yet fall in love we did! Was it the amazing rock guitar stylings, the terrific drumming, the spacy soundscapes, or just the sheer wonderful ridiculousness of it all? What on earth was that "Bob MedLey" all about anyway?

This first Roxy album is still my favorite - the shock of the new (or at least different!)... And how wonderful to hear it in magnificent 5.1. So playful and entertaining, so immersive, so involving. I gave it a 9 - as the sound still doesn't have quite the bottom end to thump it along, and a pity about DVD-Video too. But I'm having so much fun - isn't it great to hear Manzanera soloing all the way through Re-Make, only to strum a few chords when it is his turn to take the solo break later in the song? And to hear the wonderful Eno soundscape inviting us to into Ladytron. And all that crazy swirling stuff in Bob. And the screeching guitar/synthesizer on Chance Meeting. Never mind the rollicking delight to be had with dear old Virginia Plain...

The extras and packaging are also tremendous. It is such a treat to hear all that BBC material - in many ways those versions of the songs are even better than the takes that made the album.

By the way, when my Dad saw the cover, he asked me why I was bringing such inappropriate images into our home. But he stole a second look anyway. Ha!

 

[skherbeck]

I'm a first timer to this album, and I absolutely love it! Musically it reminds me of a cross between early 70's Bowie (the song structures and arrangements) and Devo's "Are We Not Men?" (the quirky vocals and lyrics and synths/sounds)... VERY different from Avalon (the other Roxy album I've heard), but in a good way... this rocks (and it's trippy)! Someone else mentioned how good the rhythm section sounds and I couldn't agree more; the fidelity of this mix is really "phat*"! The surround mix is discrete, with mostly keys, sax, and background vocals in the rear channels, but there are all kinds of effects moving around the room intermittently throughout... very enjoyable. In terms of the set, I like what's included, as far as "Super Deluxe Editions" go... you get the essentials (several CDs of every permutation of the original album you could imagine and a surround DVD), but instead of some trinkets, vinyl, or reproductions of posters and tickets, you get a beautiful hard bound book (similar to the "Sgt Pepper" box set). I'll give this a 9 (I want to give it a 10, but I'm trying to stay true to my original voting standards from when I first discovered the QQ... lately, everything is sounding sooo good to me!)

*phat - (slang) terrific; superb. C20: from Black slang, a corruption of fat. Word Origin and History for phat. adj. hip-hop slang, "great, excellent," 1992, originating perhaps in the late 1980s and meaning at first "sexiness in a woman."

...yeah, the fidelity is definitely terrific, superb, great, excellent, and sexy.

 

[rusinurbe]

Thought long and hard but it gets a nine from me.
The mix is superb the music fantastic the extras are well there and great in their historical context.

The point is dropped because at that price it should have been a full fat dvda or have included a lossy blu ray. Or both as most of the King Crimson boxes have.

Cost per did £25 in this box cost per disc in a king Crimson box £2.50 someone's taking the P155

 

[wheeler98]

How great is this recording? I would’ve unflingly paid full-rate to get it. It’s immersive and startilingly insistent. Play me...louder...LOUDER....LOUDER

 

[splinter7]

While far from my favorite Roxy Music recording, I still enjoy the quirky, craziness of this release and Steve Wilson’s surround mix must be close to one of his best.

The mix is totally immersive with extremely discrete elements. The fidelity for a 46-year-old recording is astounding. Very little if any hiss or other remnants are audible the mix.
No instrument seems to overly dominate the mix other than on individual solos.

Brian Eno’s synthesizer and tape effects are certainly the highlight and the they are thrown all over the room.
Ferry’s vocals, for the most part, are woven into all the speakers and percussion mostly occupies the back half the sound field.
Bass guitar seems to be focused across the fronts.
Oboe and saxophone spotlights seem to find a home in the left rears, but the oboe does make its way to the front left for “Sea Breezes”. The guitars, keyboards and mentioned synthesizer and tape effects run around the whole mix.

“The Bob (melody)” while not the strongest song on the album, is certainly a surround highlight. It must have taken Steve a fair deal of time to figure out where he wanted to place everything. The sound effects explosions of a war time Britain start in the rears and expand from there. Manzanera’s guitar run (manipulated by Eno?) runs around the room to cool effect.

The other audio & video content are nice, but the main prize here is the surround mix. Not sure how the label missed that one as it is barely provided a footnote.
The live videos are a nice add but I bet you can dig them up on youtube. They do make me laugh though. Here is this weird band - all wearing weird fashion choices - performing in front of a bunch of straight laced kids to figure out how to dance to it.

Ferry’s eyes look like they are not strong enough to hold up his caked-on eyeliner.

I can see listeners not buying into the over-the-top camp and quirk of the album but I somehow appreciate it. Especially with Steve’s mix giving the whole thing a bigger stage. I am giving it a 10 for surround mix & fidelity reason's only.
If I voted based on my feelings for the whole pricing fiasco, it would rate a negative ten.

Finally – Thanks Clint for letting this one go as I was thinking I would never have the opportunity to hear it.

 

[jaypfunk]

Don't really need to go nuts on my review. 10/10 always loved this album and this 5.1 is SICK!!

 

[Ninecats]

I have always liked the early glam of the 70s, as well as some of the progressive music done in the same era. Roxy Musics debut is a perfect match, still the most adventurous album they did - finding out that Steven had done a 5.1 mix of this made me feel like a child on christmas morning. And so the announcement came... as well as the prize. Still too expensive I imagine, I managed to snatch it for $64 and even though the book alone is a piece of art I still find the regular cost of $120+ simply too much. But anyway, I probably would have gotten this anyway...

The mix? Fucking perfect!! It makes the album so justice, Enos quirky sounds, good separation, good fidelity, it’s just a pleasure to crank this.

I have to give this a 10, much for the long time coming and still meet my high expectations and upon that, maybe one of Stevens finest mixes yet.

 

[Scott65]

Another 9 from me. Only played the 5.1 mix so far, but love it. DTS is a healthy constant 6.4Mbps. Got it from amazon.com for 98 AUD (including shipping to Aus). The recently opened amazon.com.au website has it for 143 AUD! Nice packaging etc, but could have done with an XTC style package and price.

 

[atlantasteve]

Is this the same album that was released in 1972? I feel like I am having entirely different experience listening to this in 5.1. Isn't that exactly what we love about surround sound. The whole box set is outstanding. Add it to my list of demo box sets.

 

[beerking]

I have raved about this group since I first heard them in 1971.
This is just magic to my ears.
As previous reviewers have said, nothing less than 11....!!
Damn, where is it..
C'mon it must be there ...
Who removed the sacred legs eleven?
It says 11 on my Marshall Amp so I know its out there....

 

[Daniel John]

I'm late to the party. Just ordered this from Amazon today (an early xmas gift to myself). Arrives tomorrow after which I'll post my review. Sounds like the consensus is this is a winner. I know Avalon has been out for a while. Any reports of other Brian Ferry or Roxy Music multichannel releases?

 

[rtbluray]

I'm late to the party. Just ordered this from Amazon today (an early xmas gift to myself). Arrives tomorrow after which I'll post my review. Sounds like the consensus is this is a winner. I know Avalon has been out for a while. Any reports of other Brian Ferry or Roxy Music multichannel releases?

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/index.php?threads/ferry-bryan-boys-and-girls-sacd.4863/

 

[GOS]

I'm late to the party. Just ordered this from Amazon today (an early xmas gift to myself). Arrives tomorrow after which I'll post my review. Sounds like the consensus is this is a winner. I know Avalon has been out for a while. Any reports of other Brian Ferry or Roxy Music multichannel releases?

If you are a fan of Roxy before they lost Eno.....this thing will blow your mind. I get a charge out of it........weirdness, yet beautiful.

 

[peterzach]

I forgot to vote on this. This is a 10. Its a classic first album and in surround what can I say other than that SW has done another magical mix. The mix gave me a better appreciation of all the songs.
If you can get around the high price of the boxset then this is a must for anyone that likes 70's music done by Bowie,Trex and Television as this album would compare to those artists.

 

[The56Kid]

An amazing mix yet again from Wilson. What can I say? 10!