Roxy Music Set To Release More Albums On SHM-CD
The latest batch includes albums ‘Viva! Roxy Music,’ ‘Manifesto,’ and more.
Roxy Music have announced that they’ll be releasing five more albums on SHM-CD for the very first time. Viva! Roxy Music (1976), Manifesto (1979) Flesh + Blood (1980), Avalon (1982), and Heart Still Beating (1990) will all be released on November 14.
These releases join previous SHM-CD editions from the band: Roxy Music (1972), For Your Pleasure (1973), Stranded (1973), Country Life (1974), and Siren (1975). Those reissues were packaged in paper-sleeves that featured replicas of the original LP artwork with a Japanese obi-strap. The same will be the case here, with the five releases in this new batch receiving the same special packaging.
SHM-CDs, which are becoming more popular amongst artists, stands for “Super High Material.” Any CD you would buy in your favorite record store is made from a resilient polycarbonate material. SHM-CDs, however, are made of a purer, high-quality material developed for LCD (liquid crystal display) screens. The size and weight of SHM-CDs are identical to regular CDs; the difference comes below the surface, in ultra-fine detail.
When you put a disc into your CD player, it spins really fast and a laser reads all its data from a series of pits – tiny microscopic indentations – to bring you the music. SHM-CDs work the same way, but the higher-quality material lets the data etch into the disc with even greater precision. That means the music sounds cleaner, brighter and fuller. SHM-CDs are specially made: manufactured with their own stampers on their own assembly line in Japan, distinct from standard discs, and pressed in small batches to emphasize quality over quantity.
Other artists to release CDs using this special format recently include Thin Lizzy, Paul McCartney, The Police, and Eric Clapton.
