I was just listening to a bunch of early Roxy. They've always been a favorite group of mine. Those first 5 albums, and especially the first two! They were so far ahead of everyone, I think they have still not been caught.
I don't like too much where Ferry eventually took Roxy, and his solo career; the mellow stuff.
But take Side 1 of first album, Side 1 of the second, throw in "The Bogus Man"...
What to even call it? The R&B influences were in spirit only.
"Ladytron", "If there is something", "In Every Dream Home" are powerhouses.
But also the following 3 albums with Jobson are so magnificent.
My favorite Roxy is always the real angular, kind of schizo songs.

PS - this also demonstrates why a great band needs chemistry. Paul Thompson may not be the flashiest drummer, but he was the perfect drummer for that band.

And BF to be on touring, just adding that in. I'm not sure if that was covered here.

Phil Manzanera is one of my top ten guitarists.

I have 8 disks of Single-Layer SACDs from Roxy Music to Avalon.
They are completely different.

Especially, 8 Miles High from Flesh+Blood is superb.

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Toru A
Phil Manzanera is one of my top ten guitarists.

I have 8 disks of Single-Layer SACDs from Roxy Music to Avalon.
They are completely different.

Especially, 8 Miles High from Flesh+Blood is superb.

Toru, when you say 'completely different', do you mean the SACD are different from regular releases?

Roxy Music were one of our favorite bands in college days, I agree about the awesomeness of the first two albums. In particular, I think the first album was one of the best debuts ever by any band. They were just fully formed in musical and conceptual terms right from the beginning.

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Palace Revolution 2000

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Toru A
Phil Manzanera is one of my top ten guitarists.

I have 8 disks of Single-Layer SACDs from Roxy Music to Avalon.
They are completely different.

Especially, 8 Miles High from Flesh+Blood is superb.

Toru, when you say 'completely different', do you mean the SACD are different from regular releases?

The SACD version has intimate and fuller sound with the increased digital resolution.
It has more colour, more tranquility, atmosphere and natural tones than regular releases.

I lost an opportunity to buy Hybrid SACD Avalon some years ago.
It still fetches high price on the market.
I think this 8 disks set (plus Ferry's 5 solo albums) are good buy.

Avalon has always been a favorite. I saw the "High Road" tour & it was excellent. Phil Manzanera did a Chuck Berry in outer space solo that Keith would be proud of!

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crholmstrom
Avalon has always been a favorite. I saw the "High Road" tour & it was excellent. Phil Manzanera did a Chuck Berry in outer space solo that Keith would be proud of!

Beginning w/"Flesh & Blood" it became so much a Ferry solo outing. And he drifted more and more into this mellow sound. I loved "These Foolish Things", "Lets stick together", "In Your Mind" - all his early solo albums. And then of course "Manifesto" wit Tibbs and Spenner was really good. But it lost all fire to me. I hated 'Avalon". The only song I like is "True to Life".

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Palace Revolution 2000
My favorite Roxy is always the real angular, kind of schizo songs.

Well, that´s exactly what all the Avalon fans dislike. You see it at Bryan Ferry concerts. When "Chance Meeting" suddenly went into "More Than This" in Oslo 2012, there was a sigh of relief among the audience.

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Palace Revolution 2000

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crholmstrom
Avalon has always been a favorite. I saw the "High Road" tour & it was excellent. Phil Manzanera did a Chuck Berry in outer space solo that Keith would be proud of!

Beginning w/"Flesh & Blood" it became so much a Ferry solo outing. And he drifted more and more into this mellow sound. I loved "These Foolish Things", "Lets stick together", "In Your Mind" - all his early solo albums. And then of course "Manifesto" wit Tibbs and Spenner was really good. But it lost all fire to me. I hated 'Avalon". The only song I like is "True to Life".

Absolutely my feelings about Roxy Music too. Manifesto was OK but you could see the direction they were going to go in. Flesh & Blood was a pop/soul album but Avalon was complete snooze rock for me. The danger was gone and it was all coffee table, bland blue-eyed soul lacking any bite.

For fans of early Roxy it's well worth hunting down the BBC Sessions bootleg. They were much bolder and adventurous whenever they did sessions for the BBC. I think there are also some pre-album demos.

Here's a taster.

Seeing Bryan Ferry in the 2nd row in New Orleans next week. Will report back.

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crholmstrom
Avalon has always been a favorite. I saw the "High Road" tour & it was excellent. Phil Manzanera did a Chuck Berry in outer space solo that Keith would be proud of!

Phil's rendition of the Beatles song in 801 Live is also brilliant.

I don´t like the early Roxy Music/Bryan Ferry-albums.

But Flesh & Blood and Avalon are masterpieces.
Ferry´s Boys & Girls, Mamouna and Bete Noir are even better, pure greatness.

Not familiar with much of their stuff. I'll have to check it out

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HMS
Ferry´s Boys & Girls, Mamouna and Bete Noir are even better, pure greatness.

They´re very dark albums. He´s a cult artist, like Nick Cave, and totally different from Elton John´s mass appeal.

I'm also in the early Roxy camp. The last three studio albums just have none of the edginess that characterized their early albums, which were outstanding.

I will never forget the day I saw and heard their first album, which was brought home by one of my flatmates (as it happens, we were living in Powis Square, where Performance was filmed). I was totally gobsmacked by the whole thing. The cover, the music and the lyrics were all mesmerizing and then they upped their game even further with For Your Pleasure. I still get goosebumps listening to those albums now.

Personally I like Phil Manzanera's solo stuff better. Really liked his rythm section with Simon Phillips and Jim McCormick.
Saw them at the Avalon Tour and remember that, like Charlie Watts, Andy Newmark had a very small drumkit. And like Charlie, made it swing.

By the way, in the tour programme there was a full side picture of King Crimson. Without any explanation. Anybody else know why?

For me their very first album: "Roxy Music", still stands out with Eno - Andrew Mackay - Bryan Ferry - Graham Simpson - Paul Thompson and Phil Manzanera in the line-up.

[youtu.be]

Great Band and great albums!
My favourites are:

1)For your pleasure
2)Roxy music
3)Stranded
4)Avalon

1. Roxy Music
2. Stranded
3. Manifesto

Manifesto tour was fun, those songs sounded better live. Orpheum Theatre Boston great show.

Avalon tour not as thrilling, the beginning of the end.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the album Siren yet, especially since Jerry Hall is the cover girl on that one.

Love Is The Drug was the breakthrough song for Roxy Music in the U.S., and was an FM Rock radio staple for years.

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Beast
I'm also in the early Roxy camp. The last three studio albums just have none of the edginess that characterized their early albums, which were outstanding.

I will never forget the day I saw and heard their first album, which was brought home by one of my flatmates (as it happens, we were living in Powis Square, where Performance was filmed). I was totally gobsmacked by the whole thing. The cover, the music and the lyrics were all mesmerizing and then they upped their game even further with For Your Pleasure. I still get goosebumps listening to those albums now.

Same here Beast. I will never forget that whole first album experience. They literally arrived from Mars. The cover artwork, the photos of the band, and the incredible music, and vocals. Obviously, this was before the Net, so there wasn't all this pre-knowledge. Although somehow I 'knew' about them.
I saw them in a tiny cinema, that happened to have a stage. It was not at all set up for live shows, but they were one of the very few bands who would play in Rome in those days. There was some kind of pre-recorded music going, and they all came out in their super glam outfits, with their BACK to the audience; and then they all posed in exagerated rock;n roll positions. On some cue, the music stopped, and they all jumped and did a 180, to face the audience. And the piano started for "Remake Remodel". I was very young, but I remember it to this day, and one of the times I totally flipped at a show. Come to think of it: "exageration" is a good word to describe them back then.
It is interesting how fans for Ferry/Roxy can be cut down the middle into early or late era.

I say
1 - Roxy Music
2 - For Your Pleasure ( I used to think the second one was better, but I saw a little known film with Daniel Craig once. In it there is a scene that uses "If there is something" to such beautiful effect, that I now am re-convinced it is one of the greatest songs, and it swings the first album back into top position)
3 - Stranded
4 - Country Life
5 - Siren
6 - Manifesto ( has title track, Stronger through the Years, Aint that so, Angel Eyes, but also a few weak ones)

There is very good Live Boot called "Concerto". And then the Box Set, that actually someone here at IORR told me about.

Always liked the early proxy music stuff and seen them a couple of times, many years ago.
To be honest I never really rated them as a live band, buts that's probably me thou.

Their first album is so weird, I cannot manage to listen to it from start to finish... there are only one or two songs I like on that album. Too weird. They got better with every new album (especially when Eno left the band) and closed their recording career with awesome Avalon. The first time I heard of them was when Dance Away & Angel Eyes were all over the place, great songs indeed. Ranking their albums for me is very easy: from last (best) to first (weakest).

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Maindefender
1. Roxy Music
2. Siren
3. Stranded
4. Manifesto

Manifesto tour was fun, those songs sounded better live. Orpheum Theatre Boston great show.

Avalon tour not as thrilling, the beginning of the end.

**Thank you Loog droog, meant to include the fantastic Siren album.

This is what I have great band and singer saw them live in '76...lost interest when it all became to smooth

1972 Roxy Music
1973 For Your Pleasure
1973 Stranded
1974 Country Life

This one is in my top 5 live recordings
1976 Viva! Roxy Music

Solo Bryan Ferry great ones

1973 These Foolish Things
1976 Let's Stick Together

__________________________

GUINNESS: When you walk around New York, do you get recognized all the time?

RICHARDS: I don't know if they recognize me or not. I'm not really conscious of it. If somebody stops me, then I suddenly realize that people are looking at me, but other times they may be doing it and I don't even know because I'm engrossed in something else.

WARHOL: If you want to be seen you can put your chin up more and if you want to disappear—you can wear a wig.

RICHARDS: Exactly. Like walking through the Plaza lobby when the Zeppelin are staying there—you're automatically under scrutiny, everyone is looking for a rock star.

JAGGER: If you walk through any hotel lobby where some other group is staying, you're asking for it.

WOOD: It's full of short men in raincoats making statements for their group's managers.

WARHOL: Do managers all have the same look?

JAGGER: They all look like Bryan Ferry.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-03-09 01:39 by Toru A.

JAGGER: They all look like Bryan Ferry.


HHHAAAAwww ... good one Mick ... have ta remember that one ....



ROCKMAN