Roxy Music

I know Avalon fairly well (though I need a relisten), but where else should I go?

If your starting point was Avalon, then a best of may be the safest next choice and then go from there.  Though Laz may be a better person to answer this question, I know he's something of a Roxy nut.

I don't trust Greatest Hits. I'll wait for Laz or Ambler to answer the door.

I have somewhat transgressive views on Roxy. I think the Eno stuff is massively overrated and prefer the heterocynicism of Flesh + Blood. Check out the title track and Same Old Scene. Simple stuff, but it gets under the skin.



'You'd nail her if you could, but she says, love me for my mind...'


I should add that my favourite cover is Country Life. Ah, for the days when pubic hair was not regarded as a fetish.

I have similar views about Peter Gabriel. Can't stand his stuff with Genesis, but I love solo Gabriel (Security, Sledgehammer, his score for THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST etc.).

Yeah, a gabriel thread would be good. Here's Same old Scene.



Might sound unremarkable now, but I think this song formed the template for a lot of synth+guitar bands that made it   big in America in the early 1980s.

Before I play thru it on spotify - is the whole album worth listening to, or a just a few standout tracks?

It's not a great album. The two above plus Over You, maybe Oh Yeah is about the lot. 

Roxy were more or less a Ferry vehicle by the time Flesh + Blood was being recorded, but manzanera's guitar is always good.

I don't think there's such a thing as a good Roxy album. More of a singles band. Disco efforts were good - Love Is The Drug, Dance Away and especially the remix of Angel Eyes.

This forum doesn't seem to like ioS and I can't edit my previous post. 

Was going to add that More Than This is like a more polished version of the Flesh + Blood sessions, but if you've heard Avalon then you'll be familiar with it.

I love Same Old Scene, but IMO Flesh And Blood is the weakest thing Roxy ever put out. Over You and Oh Yeah (On The Radio) were pretty risible MOR fluff and there's barely more than a couple of songs on the album I have any time for. Thankfully, Avalon managed to not only reach the MOR audience Flesh And Blood aimed so shamefully at, but actually brought some genuine beauty and class to the table, qualities sorely lacking in Flesh And Blood. Avalon was a genuinely classy "beach house at sunset" album with plenty of fine evocative moments, even though for the best Roxy effort, their debut album is still the one to beat for me. Sharky, you'll probably be familiar with "2HB" and "If There Is Something" from Roxy's debut, through their beautiful use in Velvet Goldmine and Flashbacks Of A Fool respectively.

And yep, Country Life. Even if the album had turned out f*cking abominable instead of good solid second-tier Roxy, I'd still treasure it for the sleeve alone.

I love Flesh + Blood and Same Old Scene mainly for their juxtaposition of savage guitar and lyrics with soppy pads and melody, which appeals to my subversive bent of mind. However, I agree the other tracks aren't worth having. I didn't bother transferring them to iTunes. 

BTW, More Than This bears some resemblance to Peter De Rose's Deep Purple, which is interesting in view of Ferry's latest album:

Erica Ambler wrote:

Same Old Scene
I think this song formed the template for a lot of synth+guitar bands that made it   big in America in the early 1980s.

Very true, spot-on. It has that irresistible sheen and drive to it which can still be heard in similar genre fare right up to the end of that decade, especially in American rock.

Lazenby. wrote:

Sharky, you'll probably be familiar with "2HB" and "If There Is Something" from Roxy's debut, through their beautiful use in Velvet Goldmine and Flashbacks Of A Fool respectively.

How could avoid them? :-P

The big drawback for Roxy's debut is Ferry's voice. I find it way too affected and the self-indulgent, and that vibe seeps into the whole album. Something changed with Siren onwards. Leaner, more streamlined and less art school posing.

I don't own all of Roxy's albums, but even listening to a best of by them reveals earlier stuff as far more interesting and creative (despite arty "pretensions") than the radio friendly stuff towards the end of their career.  A Song For Europe vs Oh Yeah or Mother Of Pearl vs Over You?  It's like listening to Bowie vs Simply Red.

That bashing of the debut was only based on my hazy memory (not backtracking here - it could be correct). I'll give it a relisten tomorrow.

I only own the debut and Manifesto, along with the best of.  Keep meaning to delve further when I get the chance to though.  The first half of the debut album is great.  The opening track and a couple of others on Manifesto are great.  The best of is mostly great, yes even some of the later stuff like More Than This, Jealous Guy and Same Old Scene.  I know that Roxy had a really big influence on some of the bands we discuss here on the forums, so there'll probably be some more really great stuff out there by them which I haven't heard yet.  Wasn't it Morrisey who called For Your Pleasure  by Roxy the greatest British album of all time?

Just dug out the original Flesh + Blood CD and had a relisten. I stand by what I said. There's four good tracks:

Same Old Scene
Flesh + Blood
Over You
Oh Yeah

The last two are far more MOR and romantic, I agree, but then they're intended for before the break-up. ;-)

BTW, hearing Same Old Scene again made me think of A Flock of Seagulls. Terminate with extreme prejudice.

M wrote:

Wasn't it Morrisey who called For Your Pleasure  by Roxy the greatest British album of all time?

Leave to it Mozza to have the answer. Listened to For Your Pleasure last night and I was blown away. Like Gainsbourg's Histoire de Melody Nelson, it's an odyssey of sleaze. Would probably rank it along with Avalon as my favourite Roxy album.

Roxy Music were great, but Bryan Ferry has released a lot of good material solo as well.