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'The Studio Collection' was the first boxed set to include all of Queen's studio albums on vinyl, and the first UK vinyl boxed set since 'The Complete Works' in 1985. It was released on 25 September 2015, and features the Bob Ludwig remasters, originally produced for the band's 40th anniversary in 2011. It was later reissued on 28 June 2019, 17 July 2020 and 12 November 2021.
The set comes with a black card slipcase which surrounds the box. The box itself is gold and textured, and designed like a standard LP box, with a hinged lid. Inside, there are all fifteen studio albums, on coloured vinyl, a 108 page 12" x 12" hardback book, featuring artwork, pictures, handwritten lyrics and a discography, and a voucher code to download 320 kbps MP3 versions of each album.
The set features 18 discs in total - 12 single disc albums, and three double disc albums ('Queen II', 'Innuendo' and 'Made In Heaven'). It contains fifteen coloured vinyls, one black vinyl (for 'A Day At The Races'), and two one sided etched discs (for 'Queen II'; one white vinyl, one black vinyl). Each disc is a half-speed lacquer, pressed onto 180 gram heavyweight vinyl. It features the original artwork for all albums, including the posters for 'Jazz' and 'Made In Heaven'. However, there are some minor changes.
As well as the boxed set, each album was also available individually on black vinyl, as 13 single disc albums and two double disc albums. 'Innuendo' and 'Made In Heaven' remained as double disc albums, due to their running times, but 'Queen II' reverted to a single disc. The album is a double disc in the boxed set to recreate the 'Side White' and 'Side Black' from the original album pressing, rather than length constraints.
The first thirteen albums retain their original tracklistings. 'Innuendo' is now split over two discs, and has two changes compared to the original LP. Firstly, 'Don't Try So Hard' was originally track 4 on side B, but was moved to track 5 on side A for the CD release. The 'Studio Collection' vinyls retain this change, but also swap 'I Can't Live With You' (track 4 on side A) with 'These Are The Days Of Our Lives' (track 2 on side B). This second change seems to be for no particular reason, as it only makes a difference of 18 seconds to the respective sides, changing side B from 12:55 to 12:36 and side C from 12:11 to 12:29. Side A has a running time of over 15 minutes, so length cannot be an issue. The final album, 'Made In Heaven', is also split over two discs, and adds "Track 13" as the single track on side D, which is the first time it has ever been released on vinyl, and the first time it has been mentioned on the album sleeve.
This page lists the major differences between the boxed set pressings and their original counterparts. However, unavoidable differences, such as record company information and catalogue numbers, are not listed.
Full scans of the boxed set are available in the gallery.
Front and Back of the Card Slipcase....
....the Front and Opened Inner Box....
....and a Promotional Shot
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