The Rolling Stones to release limited-edition 15-album vinyl box set
The Rolling Stones have announced a lavish box set called ‘The Studio Albums Vinyl Collection 1971-2016’.
As the title suggests, the 15-album box set contains every Rolling Stones studio album from 1971’s ‘Sticky Fingers’ right up to 2016’s covers album ‘Blue & Lonesome’ on heavyweight 180-gram vinyl.
Each limited-edition box set is individually numbered and the albums are housed in faithful and intricate original packaging replications.
‘Some Girls’ comes housed in the replica design including 20 cut-outs on the cover, while the sleeve of ‘Sticky Fingers’ is presented as Andy Warhol’s original design, complete with a working zip with a hidden image underneath. Elsewhere, ‘Exile On Main Street’ comes with a set of 12 original postcard inserts.
All 15 albums across 20 LPs have been meticulously remastered and cut at ‘revelatory’ half-speed at Abbey Road Studios, from vinyl specific original tape transfers designed to get the very best possibly sound from the format.
As well as the records on vinyl, the box set includes a download card for HD digital redemption of the catalogue and includes a numbered certificate of authentication.
Retailing at £370 to £399.99, you can pre-order the album right here ahead of its release on Friday 15th June 2018 via Universal Music.
For all you tech aficionados out there, here’s some more information on the half-speed cutting process:
Abbey Road Studios’ engineers have been cutting grooves into discs since the studios first opened in 1931. In 2013, award-winning engineer Miles Showell joined their existing mastering team, bringing a wealth of disc-cutting experience with him.
One of the artisan techniques offered by Abbey Road Studios that results in the very highest quality sound reproduction is Half Speed Cutting. This process involves the master source being played back at precisely half its recorded speed while the cutting lathe is similarly turned at half the desired playback speed. This allows the cutting head twice the time to cut the intricate groove, allowing considerably more accuracy with important matters such as frequency extremes and micro-dynamic contrasts. The resulting cuts have excellent high frequency response (treble) and very solid and stable stereo images.
It’s not quite as simple as running everything at half rate. There is an EQ curve applied to all vinyl records and by running the lathe at half speed, all the frequencies are wrong. However, the technical staff at Abbey Road Studios have had new custom-built filters installed which allow Miles to practice half speed cutting to the full on a modified Neumann VMS-80 lathe.
‘The Studio Albums Vinyl Collection 1971-2016’
Sticky Fingers (1971)
LP sleeve presented as Andy Warhol’s original design complete with working zip and hidden
Exile On Main St (1972) (2LP)
2LP in original style gatefold sleeve complete with inner-bags and set of 12 perforated postcards
Goats Head Soup (1973)
LP in gatefold sleeve with two inserts
It’s Only Rock’n’Roll (1974)
LP with original heavyweight inner sleeve
Black And Blue (1976)
LP in gatefold sleeve with original inner bag and lyric sheet
Some Girls (1978)
LP housed in replica design including 20 cut-outs on the cover
Emotional Rescue (1980)
LP with original sized poster
Tattoo You (1981)
LP with original heavyweight inner sleeve
Undercover (1983)
LP with original heavyweight inner sleeve and lyric sheet
Dirty Work (1986)
LP with original heavyweight inner sleeve, red shrink wrapping and bespoke sticker
Steel Wheels (1989)
LP complete with original inner sleeve and sales insert
Voodoo Lounge (1994) (2LP)
2LP gatefold sleeve with original lyric inners
Bridges To Babylon (1997) (2LP)
2LP with original lyric inners
A Bigger Bang (2005) (2LP)
2LP gatefold sleeve with original lyric inners
Blue & Lonesome (2016) (2LP)
2LP gatefold sleeve with original inners
Don’t forget, The Rolling Stones’ eight-date No Filter Tour takes place this May and June. Tickets are on sale from Planet Rock Tickets now.
They play the following dates:
MAY 2018
London Stadium – Tue 22nd + Liam Gallagher
London Stadium - Fri 25th + Florence & The Machine
Southampton St Mary’s Stadium – Tue 29th + The Vaccines
JUNE 2018
Coventry Ricoh Stadium – Sat 2nd + The Specials
Manchester Old Trafford Football Stadium – Tue 5th + Richard Ashcroft
Edinburgh BT Murrayfield Stadium – Sat 9th + Richard Ashcroft
Cardiff Principality Stadium – Fri 15th + Elbow
London Twickenham Stadium – Tue 19th + James Bay