Not so much missing from the archive - more irrelevant a far as this release is concerned. Hopefully FYP SDE will surface in the fullness of time and they'll feature on that.

Hi John

Do you know which is right?

The Roxy Music site tells us that the video from Bataclan contains these:
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

Your tracklisting here at Vivaroxymusic says:
Would You Believe? Bataclan Paris 26/11/1972
Sea Breezes Bataclan Paris 26/11/1972
Bitters End Bataclan Paris 26/11/1972
Virginia Plain Bataclan Paris 26/11/1972

I really, really hope you are wrong, and that the video contains If there is something. That would be worth the price alone

Ole

I'm pretty sure it's If There Is Something. For those unaware, snippets of this Bataclan concert have previously appeared on the Total Recall video (Would You Believe) and the BBC's Seven Ages of Rock documentary (If There Is Something). I've been looking forward to seeing all of the available footage for years. I had hoped for more than four songs but presumably that's all that was recorded or at least all that survives. For those interested, this was Roxy's first ever concert outside of Britain and the only concert date in mainland Europe during that tour AFAIK. The footage was recorded for a French music television programme called Pop Deux and was broadcast on December 16th 1972.

Just a few other thoughts on this Super Deluxe edition of the eponymous first album:

Disc 1: The original album except that it's not quite the original album either as it includes Virginia Plain. I prefer the album without VP as that's how I originally heard it but no big deal either as I can easily adapt the playlist on my itunes.

Disc 2: Some of the running times on these demo's/ outtakes make them sound really interesting with several extra minutes on most tracks. The Bitters End outtake for instances, which clocked in at 2:08 on the original album, runs for 6:04. I wonder does this include studio discussions amongst band members/ stopping & starting etc. Either way it should be a fascinating listen.

Disc 3: I've read grumbles on here about some tracks from the Peel sessions being omitted but it is clear that they are simply being held off until the FYP deluxe edition. That's clear from the Full House BBC broadcast on disc 4, which omits the performances of For Your Pleasure and Grey Lagoons that accompanied Remake Remodel and Ladytron (this also begs the question if any FYP songs were recorded at the Bataclan and are being held off for the FYP release). Can John or anyone else please clarify if we have all of the debut albums Peel performances from the various sessions here in their entirety or are there any missing?

Disc 4: Great to see all known existing TV performances relating to the first album appearing here. It's a shame that Remake Remodel from the the OGWT seems lost forever - I had hoped that it might be unearthed for this release but not to be - at least Ladytron, which remains one of the bands most captivating TV performances, survives though. As someone whose never got into surround sound, the Steve Wilson mix doesn't hold much interest but is still a nice addition for those who do like this sort of thing.

Overall, I really don't think we could have asked for much more from this release, except that human nature dictates that we always do. Maybe one thing that could have been included is a full concert performance from the bands debut tour although I'm not sure if any survive in good enough quality to be included in an official product like this. If anyone can suggest any decent quality bootlegs from this tour then please let me know as I'm now really keen to listen to one.

To clarify a few points raised here:

I made an error with the Bataclan track list and it has now been sorted. Thanks Ole for pointing this out.

The various sources of extra material ie: 71 Demo, BBC stuff, Bataclan etc all had material that ended up on the second album. I presume this will be included in any potential deluxe editions in the future.

As far as my thoughts on the demos etc, I will take time to do a post on that and my experience working on this edition and run it by team BF before I post it.

J.O'B.

The Peel Session version of Virgina Plain is available to preview or purchase immediately (for 99p) now on iTunes in the UK. I love it!

What I'd like to know is whether RM DE is only available at the Roxy Music store like BF Live 2015 (I don't hope so because it's already sold out as somebody posted before) or available at any record store or online shop in Europe, the US, Canada etc. If any of our German members has already seen an online shop where it is sold please tell me (jpc, Amazon etc.).

I'm very pleased we finally have a release date. I'm most excited for the hardback book and demos. Reusing the 1999 Ludwig remaster of the album for a 2018 release is a curious choice - Ferry must prefer it to the flat transfer on the Complete Studio Recordings. No "The Numberer" either.

As has been mentioned, the price on the official site was jaw dropping at $173.99 without the bonus signed print (not to my taste anyway). If you're in the USA, I preordered the super deluxe edition off of Bull Moose this morning for $69.97 with free shipping and no sales tax (California resident). Curiously, they have the list price at $89.98. Unless Amazon US can beat that price by February, I'm comfortable paying that amount for the many years of work that went into creating this.

Thanks John. Do you have the full list of the songs recorded/ televised from the Bataclan concert?

Good point, I'd completely forgotten about The Numberer (b-side to Virginia Plain). That's a really surprising omission, albeit not one that I'm going to lose a lot of sleep over as I've already got a copy of it.