(Rock) [LP][24\96] Roxy Music - Roxy Music - 1972 (2008), FLAC (tracks)

Deadwax info
Side 1: S-66840 RE-1 5099924303315-A G2 RM MASTERED BY CAPITOL
Side 2: S-66841 509992-43033-1-6-B DCM G-1 MASTERED BY CAPITOL

Nitty Gritty RCM 1.5
Technics SL-1210 MK2 DD Turntable
Origin Live OL1 fully modified tone arm (Rega RB250)
Audio-Technica AT33EV MC Cartridge
Pro-ject Tube Box SE II Preamp
Tascam US-144 external USB 2.0 Audiointerface
AudioQuest G-Snake LGC interconnects
Mac Pro Dual Zeon 2.66 GHz
Bias Peak Pro 6.2 recording software
Click Repair 3.4.1 for de-click (manual mode only)
XLD Version 20110703 (135.1) (135.0) for 24/96 FLAC conversion

RCM > TT > AT33EV > TubeBox preamp > ADC > Mac Pro > Peak Pro @ 24/96 >
analyze (no clipping, DC Bias offset correction, each side gain adjusted to -0.3 dB) > split into individual tracks >
Click Repair 3.4.1 used in manual mode, 20~30 Rev, Pitch Protection, X2 >
FLAC encoded Level 8 with XLD

No DeNoise was used on this rip.
All de-clicking software used in full manual mode to preserve musical transients.
No music was harmed in the making of this vinyl rip.
No silence been removed, please burn gapless to match original track layout.

: Roxy Music is the debut album by art rock band Roxy Music, released in June 1972. It was generally well-received by contemporary critics and made #10 in the UK charts.

Style and themes

The opening track, "Re-Make/Re-Model", has been labelled a post-modernist pastiche, featuring solos by each member of the band echoing various touchstones of Western music, including The Beatles' "Day Tripper", Duane Eddy's version of "Peter Gunn" and Wagner’s "Ride of the Valkyries"; the esoteric chorus "CPL 593H" was supposedly the license number of a car, spotted by Bryan Ferry, driven by a beautiful woman. Eno produced some self-styled 'lunacy' when Ferry asked him for a sound "like the moon" for the track "Ladytron". "If There Is Something" was covered by David Bowie's Tin Machine, and was later featured, quite extensively, almost as a central figure, in the British film Flashbacks of a Fool.

A number of songs were thematically linked to movies. "2HB", with its punning title, was Ferry’s tribute to Humphrey Bogart and quoted the line "Here’s looking at you, kid" made famous by the film Casablanca (1942); "Chance Meeting" was inspired by David Lean's Brief Encounter (1945). "The Bob" took its title from Battle of Britain (1968) and included a passage simulating the sound of gunfire. Discussing the music, Andy Mackay later said "we certainly didn’t invent eclecticism but we did say and prove that rock 'n' roll could accommodate - well, anything really".

Production

The band had been rehearsing and re-working the songs for a couple of months before they finally found a recording place, after which the entire album was recorded in the space of a single week. This was necessary because there was no record deal as yet, and their managers at EG were financing the sessions themselves. The album was produced by King Crimson's lyricist, Peter Sinfield, who had recently left that band. In May 1972, a few weeks after the recording sessions, a contract was signed with Island Records and in June the album was released.

The band's penchant for glamour was showcased both in the lyrics and in the 1950-style album cover, with photography, hair dressing and art work credits detailed on the sleeve. Karl Stoecker photographed the cover image featuring model Kari-Ann Muller, who later married Chris Jagger, brother of Mick Jagger. The album was dedicated to Susie, a drummer who auditioned for Roxy Music in the early days.

Packaging

Roxy Music, particularly the album's LP incarnation, has been released in different packages over the years. The album's original cover, as issued in 1972 by Island Records (catalog no. ILPS 9200), featured a gatefold sleeve picturing the band (including original bassist Graham Simpson) in stage attire designed by Antony Price, and these issues did not include "Virginia Plain." The album's original U.S. release, in late 1972 on Warner Bros. Records' Reprise subsidiary (catalog no. MS 2114), included "Virginia Plain," which had since been issued as a single in the UK. The original U.S. release also featured a gatefold sleeve, but replaced Simpson's photo with that of Rik Kenton, who played bass on "Virginia Plain" following Simpson's departure from the group.

U.S. distribution of Roxy Music was transferred from Reprise to their affiliated company Atco Records in 1976, and back to Reprise in the mid-1980s. LP editions of the album pressed in these timeframes were without the gatefold sleeve and band photographs, instead providing liner notes on the rear album cover.

Single

The original LP release did not contain any singles. In July 1972, a few weeks after the contract was signed, Roxy Music recorded two more songs, "Virginia Plain" and "The Numberer", that were released as a single. It peaked at #4 in the UK charts and helped push sales of the album, which itself went to #10. In most later re-pressings of the album, including CD versions, the song "Virginia Plain" has been included.

In the Q & Mojo Classic Special Edition Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, the album came #31 in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums".

Ferry was quoted around the time of their 3rd album, "Stranded" that he did not like the odd production of the first LP, and was re-recording many of the tracks.