venerdì 13 ottobre 2023

Marillion - 1981-07-xx - The Roxon Tape (STU/FLAC) 24 bit/96 khz

(Studio FLAC)

The Roxon Tape

This is a transfer from my own original tape of the 'Roxon Demo' more properly known as 'The Roxon Tape', since it was used both as a traditional demo, and sold subsequently more widely at early gigs. The Marillion Setlists Site 1980-1988 by Andre Kreutzmann and Thomas Spitzer says the following about the tape...

The first commercially released demo tape produced by Les Payne.
400 copies of the tape were pressed and intended as promotional releases. Due to a demand from their fans, the tape was later sold at gigs also as promotion for the band.

In the August issue of Sounds the band got 19 lines: "Marillion, an Aylesbury five-piece who freely admit the marked Genesis influence both in their writing and performance, release a limited-edition privately-recorded cassette this week. The three-track tape runs for 15 minutes and features He Knows You Know, Garden Party and Charting The Single and is available for £1.25 from 13 Winchester House, Bishops Walk, Aylesbury, Bucks..."
(Sounds, August 1981).

The tape was recorded over two days at Roxon Studios in Watlington, England over the 18th and 19th July 1981.

Being a tape obsessive and a Fish-era Marillion fan this was one tape I really wanted to get, and recently I was lucky enough to find one at a reasonable price. Transfers of the tape circulate quite commonly, the best so far being on 'Early Years Collection 1982-1983' compilation with lineage: original promo cassette > CDR > HD (aiff) iTunes (safemode) > flac (Xact). 

My copy betters this by a small margin, benefitting most likely from the high-quality playback I get from the ZX-7. When transferring the tape I did one with Dolby On and without Without. I'm undecided which is best overall, pick your own favourite compromise!

The versions of the tracks on this tape are excellent in my opinion. The band had certainly honed their craft over the 6 months since Fish joined in the New Year of 1981. Listen to how rough the vocal style is on the original Fish version of The Web from January 1981 is (over the original 'Closer' backing track) and compare it with these tracks. It was going to be another 18 months until 'He Knows You Know' was released as a single, and nearly two years before the release of 'Script For A Jester's Tear'. The transition between these versions and the final releases is a fascinating one. 

Total Time 15'12"

Nakamichi ZX-7 > Tascam HD-P2 > WAV (24-96) > Bias Peak 5.02 > xACT FLAC 8

- With Dolby Transfer
- Without Dolby Transfer

1. He Knows You Know 
2. Garden Party
3. Charting The Single

From an original tape 'Duplicated by ITD Cassettes Ltd'.
Photos of the tape are included in this package.

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