Roxy Music Plan Massive 45th Anniversary Reissue of Debut LP
Art rock pioneers Roxy Music will revisit their 1972 self-titled debut album in early 2018 with a 45th anniversary reissue packed with unreleased demos, outtakes, radio sessions and more.
Roxy Music: 45th Anniversary Edition will arrive February 2nd in a variety of formats, including a 3CD/DVD Super Deluxe Edition that also comes packed with a 136-page book.
In addition to the remastered original album, the reissue also features alternate versions of every Roxy Music song, whether in the form of their introductory demo tape and studio outtakes. Roxy Music’s BBC performances from the era, including a pair of Peel Sessions and a March 1972 radio concert, are also housed in the deluxe reissue.
The DVD will boast a 5.1 surround sound remix courtesy of Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson as well as live performances from 1972, including the band’s “Virginia Plain” performance from Top of the Pops and four songs played on French TV at Paris’ Bataclan.
Roxy Music arrived in June 1972 after the band had roughly 10 shows under their belt. At the time, the band was comprised of singer Bryan Ferry, saxophonist Andy Mackay, guitarist Phil Manzanera, drummer Paul Thompson and Brian Eno, who handled synthesizers and “treatments” early in Roxy Music’s tenure.
Ferry said of reaction to the band’s self-titled album in a statement, “We never really felt accepted, I can see how the old guard would have felt threatened by it, because it was so jammed full of ideas and a massive amount of energy. But we hadn’t paid our dues, not in the same way. And we’re still not a part of it, not really, even to this day. That’s been very hard over the years, to try and make it work without being one of them. The ‘them’ is always different, but we’re not part of it. It’s been one of the triumphs, that we’ve managed to stay sane. Or sane-ish. We’re a part of it all, somehow, but still on the outside.”
Mackay added, “Late ‘71/‘72 Roxy was our Arts Lab. The place where we exchanged ideas and dreams freely and created and explored a new sound landscape. We stepped into Command Studios with a complete album in our heads (and half the next one) and it only needed the tape to start running … no album was as easy to record again.
Roxy Music 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition
DISC ONE: THE ALBUM
1. “Re-Make/Re-Model”
2. “Ladytron”
3. “If There Is Something”
4. “Virginia Plain”
5. “2 HB”
6. “The BOB (Medley)”
7. “Chance Meeting”
8. “Would You Believe?”
9. “Sea Breezes”
10. “Bitters End”
DISC TWO: DEMOS & OUTTAKES
EARLY DEMOS April/May 71
“Ladytron”
“2 HB”
“Chance Meeting”
“The BOB (Medley)”
ALBUM OUTTAKES
“Instrumental”
“Re-Make/Re-Model”
“Ladytron”
“If There Is Something”
“2 HB”
“The BOB (Medley)”
“Chance Meeting”
“Sea Breezes”
“Bitters End”
“Virginia Plain”
DISC THREE: THE BBC SESSIONS
THE PEEL SESSIONS 4/1/72
“If There Is Something”
“The BOB (Medley)”
“Would You Believe?”
“Sea Breezes”
“Re-Make/Re-Model”
THE PEEL SESSIONS 25/5/72
“2 HB”
“Ladytron”
“Chance Meeting”
THE PEEL SESSIONS 25/5/72
“Virginia Plain”
“If There Is Something”
BBC IN CONCERT 3/8/72
“The BOB (Medley)”
“Sea Breezes”
“Virginia Plain”
“Chance Meeting”
“Re-Make/Re-Model”
DISC FOUR: DVD
The full album remixed in 5.1 by Steven Wilson
VIDEOS
“Re-Make/Re-Model” The Royal College Of Art, 6/6/72
“Ladytron” The Old Grey Whistle Test, 20/6/72
“Virginia Plain” Top Of The Pops, 24/8/72
“Re-Make/Re-Model” Full House, 25/11/72
“Ladytron” Full House, 25/11/72
“Would You Believe” French TV, Bataclan, Paris, 26/11/72
“If There Is Something” French TV, Bataclan, Paris, 26/11/72
“Sea Breezes” French TV, Bataclan, Paris, 26/11/72
“Virginia Plain” French TV, Bataclan, Paris, 26/11/72