Roxy Music - Avalon (Hybr)
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CD Details
Artist: Roxy MusicEdition: Music CD
Format: Extra tracks, Hybrid SACD - DSD, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2003-10-21
Music Label: Virgin Records Us
Soundtracks:
- More Than This
- The Space Between
- Avalon
- India
- While My Heart Is Still Beating
- The Main Thing
- Take A Chance With Me
- To Turn You On
- True To Life
- Tara
- Always Unknowing (bonus track)
Music reviews of Avalon (Hybr)
Music Review: It Improves What I Though Couldn't Be Improved
Rating: 5 Stars
If there were any album that I thought would be impossible to improve with technology, it would be Roxy Music's Avalon. The sound stage of the original was rich and full, yet the separation and detail were amazingly accurate. Avalon's masterful engineering helped make it Roxy Music's magnum opus and one of the greatest recordings of all time. Improving on it would take more than just a new technology that utilized 3 more channels. In short, this is not an album that could be pimped.
That being said, it took less than 30 seconds of hearing track one, More Than This, to convince me of two things. First, Sony not only improved what I thought was impossible to improve-they greatly improved it. Second, all the money I spent upgrading my audio system to utilize SACD was money well spent.
SACD recordings often sound untrue to the original; the engineers seem to over exploit the technology and disrupt the feel of the original recording. Maybe it was in effort to avoid this that Sony sought the help of two people who were involved in the original mixing of the album, Rhett Davies and Bob Clearmountain. Two veteran mixers maximized the technology without interfering with the sound or feel of the original. Maybe it is the brilliant job these two did; maybe it is the richness of the music; or maybe it is both, but this new version doesn't seem to add as much as it seems to reveal. This recording of Avalon sounds like it was written to be played on SACD.
The original recording of Avalon probably spun more times in my CD player than any other CD, yet it seems brand new. Every song on the album benefits from the new recording, but track 6, The Main Thing, seems to make the most of the 3 extra channels and the increased sound spectrum. The vocals and percussions are so detailed and crisp that they truly fulfill all the audiophile clichés about "perfect clarity" or "being true to life." The title track, Avalon, seems to drop Brian Ferry just a few feet in front of the listener while over the listener's shoulders, Phil Manzanera plays guitar and background singers help fill the room with hauntingly sweet vocals. The experience is amazing. This track was the first SACD recording where I truly felt center-stage.
As an added bonus, this recording provides what every fan of the original recording wishes they had- more. The SACD has an additional track added on the end, Always Unknowing. It is definitely "A" quality, however it may have been better suited for RM's previous album, Flesh and Blood. It doesn't quite deliver the lush, ambient sound that the other Avalon tracks deliver. Plus, the original final track, Tara, was the perfect finale.
If you are still not sure why you spent money on a SACD player, this version of Avalon will eliminate all uncertainty. Even if you were unfamiliar with the original or not a fan of it, you will not be able to refrain from enjoying the experience provided by this disc. It is remarkable.
Description of Avalon (Hybr)
Roxy Music Photos
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