Roxy Music: Rhododendron Is A Nice Flower.

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ROXY MUSIC

Released: 16th June 1972

Roxy Music is the debut studio album by English rock band Roxy Music, released on 16 June 1972 by Island Records.

It was generally well received by contemporary critics and made it to number 10 in the UK Albums Chart.^[1]

From Wikipedia

Re-Make/Re-Model

Ladytron

If There Is Something

Virginia Plain (not on original UK release)

2HB

The Bob (Medley)

Chance Meeting

Would You Believe?

Sea Breezes

Bitters End

Ah. Nice to be back in the early seventies. This will be a voyage into unfamiliar waters for me. I like Roxy Music but don't know any of their albums. As a debut, this seems to have a degree of kitchen-sinkery about it. They throw in an awful lot of styles with the apparent intention of seeing what sticks. Re-Make/Re-Model opens with a hubbub of voices. The song itself is a bit of a cacophony, but the first thing that struck me was how Ferry's vocal tics are very similar in places to David Byrne of Talking Heads. 'Ladytron' has an almost folky opening with a nice castanet effect but keeps diverting into more manic episodes of guitar and keyboard breaks. It's like they've got some kind of attention deficit disorder.  They mix traditional rock with a kind of vaudevillean sensibility on 'If There Is Something'. It's typically early 70's glammish rock. Ferry does a weird vibrato on the vocal and something even odder near the end, hitting the higher registers.

'Virginia Plain' must be the best know song on here. You have to question whether Ferry is taking the piss with the way he sings it. It's a really interesting song I think. All over the place when you consider it, but totally coherent as a whole. The keyboard backing is great and must have been totally groundbreaking at the time. Bowie was reputedly always ahead of the curve, but this in particular seems about 10 years too early. Also the abrupt ending is great in an era of repeat-to-fades. '2HB' has a lovely warm keyboard sound.

'The Bob (Medley)' veers all over the place too (although there is a clue in the title). At one point it sounds like the soundtrack to Call Of Duty.and then it warps into what could be the Small Faces. 'Chance Meeting'  sounds like it could've been originally done by Kate Bush (unlikely, she would have been about 11 at the time). I think it could do without the elephantine noises in the background cos there is a kernel of a great song I think. My son S. was sitting near me as I listened to the doo-wop-ish 'Would You Believe' and the drum break got him moving, so it has that going for it. I liked the wistfulness and spaced-out feel of 'Sea Breezes'. In an act of unapologetic literalism, it features the sound of a sea breeze. Could've done without the more jarring second movement. The castanets make a welcome return on 'Bitters End', and Ferry does his Bobby 'Boris' Pickett voice. In fact it isn't dissimilar to the Monster Mash.

FOR YOUR PLEASURE

RELEASED: 23rd March 1973

For Your Pleasure is the second studio album by the English rock band Roxy Music, released on 23 March 1973 by Island Records. It was their last to feature synthesiser and sound specialist Brian Eno.

The group was able to spend more studio time on this album than on their debut, combining strong song material by Bryan Ferry with more elaborate production treatments. For example, the song "In Every Dream Home a Heartache" (Ferry's sinister ode to a blow-up doll) fades out in its closing section, only to fade in again with all the instruments subjected to a pronounced phasing treatment. The title track fades out in an elaborate blend of tape loop effects. Brian Eno remarked that the eerie "The Bogus Man", with lyrics about a sexual stalker, displayed similarities with contemporary material by the krautrock group Can.^[2]

From Wikipedia

Do the Strand

Beauty Queen

Strictly Confidential

Editions of You

In Every Dream Home a Heartache

The Bogus Man

Grey Lagoons

For Your Pleasure

During my recent Trial By Le Bon, I accused Duran Duran of trying to start a dance craze with 'Do The Demolition'. Well it appears Roxy really ARE trying to start one with 'Do The Strand'. We all know the song, which is great, with that insistent piano and Bryan Ferry's warbling delivery. Another point to note is that it features the word "Fandango", something it has in common with Bohemian Rhapsody and A Whiter Shade Of Pale, so to all you budding Diane Warrens out there, my advice is to work the F-word into your song for a guaranteed nailed-on classic. I'll tell you another thing, it really does make you want to dance.

'Beauty Queen' brings it all back down. It has a shimmering keyboard and you can hear the expression on Bryan's face. 'Strictly Confidential' builds to a histrionic climax but is interesting nonetheless. 'Editions Of You' has that nice slightly-out-of-tune effect on the electric piano. It has more of that staccato delivery from 'Do The Strand' and great sax and guitar breaks. Did he really say "too much cheesecake too soon"?.

I put it to you that we tend to view early Roxy as all Glam Rock outfits and avant-garde sounds, but some of this is pretty dark, 'In Every Dream Home A Heartache' being a case in point, which, by my interpretation is about a bloke killing his partner. Maybe it's just me and it's another tribute to a blow-up woman (c.f. The Police). I guess it's one of those songs that you can keep listening to for 40 years and still not be quite sure of the meaning.There's a false ending before a final instrumental coda. Robert Smith is obviously a fan, he nicked the rhythm from 'The Bogus Man' for the Cure's 'The Love Cats'. However Roxy Music themselves could be accused of a bit of musical magpie-ing as there is also a strong whiff of 'Nutbush City Limits'. It has an air of accessible weirdness although it outstays its welcome by some distance.'I found 'Grey Lagoons' to be a bit of a mess, but I suspect it gets better on repeated listenings.

'For Your Pleasure' is also a bit of a challenge, Eno making his presence felt too strongly I would say. Unusually for me, I've done a bit of reading around and Eno left after this one, so I can expect a change of tone I think. I really enjoyed this one, much more than the first, but there are some excessive moments that it could do without. Sexy album art.

STRANDED

Released: November 1973

Stranded is the third album by English rock band Roxy Music, released in 1973 by Island Records (it was released by Atco Records in the United States).^[2] Stranded was the first Roxy Music album on which Bryan Ferry was not the sole songwriter, with multi-instrumentalist Andy Mackay and guitarist Phil Manzanera also making songwriting contributions. It is also their first album with keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson and bassist John Gustafson, who replaced Brian Eno and John Porter, respectively, after their departures following the release of their previous album For Your Pleasure.

Stranded reached number one on the UK albums chart. The track "Street Life" was released as a single and reached number 9 on the UK singles chart. In the US, Stranded charted at number 186.

From Wikipedia

Street Life

Just Like You

Amazona

Psalm

Serenade

A Song for Europe

Mother of Pearl

Sunset

To the modern audience, Bryan Ferry is a louche besuited lounge lizard with poor parenting skills, and indeed his recent resurgence has shown him to be sickeningly good looking at one year off his three score and ten. However these early albums show a spikier side. The opening 'Street Life' is a good example, he sings it like a Jack Russell terrier. It's very similar to 'Do The Strand' to my ears. 'Just Like You' is softer and there is a slight lounge-band style to it. 'Amazona' has a rhythmic beat, but they can't resist wandering off the path and it all  becomes rather tediously jumbled. In fact it's little more than a jam session in places.

Is 'Psalm' really what it seems to be? A genuine attempt at an expression of religious devotion? You can only take it that way, there seems to be no side to it. Thematically it echoes the 23rd psalm, The Lord is My Shepherd and all that. 'Serenade'  doesn't make a lot of sense but there are some nice lyrical touches "G-Plan Gymnastics", "Boo-hoo willows weep around you still". 'A Song For Europe' has a 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' feel about it. It seems to be a reflection on lost days spent in those 'romantic' European cities, Paris (stand-offish IMHO), Venice (expensive IMHO). Last verse is just Bryan wibbling on in a mixture of French and Latin. Mind you he does chuck in a bit of whistling at the end, which regular readers will know always goes down well round here.

'Mother Of Pearl' veers all over the shop although it does resolve into a fairly hearfelt love song. Appropriately enough the closing track is 'Sunset'. Nice piano intro and a rather lovely prayer of thanks for, well, the sun. Every time I see a Roxy Music album cover the words of Nigel Tufnel on being told that the picture on 'Smell The Glove' is "sexist" run through my mind. "Sexy? What's wrong with being sexy?"

COUNTRY LIFE

Released: 15th November 1974

Country Life is the fourth studio album by English art rock band Roxy Music, released on 15 November 1974 by Island Records. It was released by Atco Records in the United States.^[1] The album is considered by many critics to be among the band's most sophisticated and consistent.

Country Life peaked at number three on the UK albums chart. It also charted at number 37 in the US, becoming their first record to crack the top 40 in the country. The album includes Roxy Music's fourth hit single, "All I Want Is You", which, backed with the B-side "Your Application's Failed", reached number 12 on the UK singles chart. An edited version of "The Thrill of It All", with the same B-side, was released in the US.

From Wikipedia

The Thrill of It All

Three and Nine

All I Want Is You

Out of the Blue

If It Takes All Night

Bitter-Sweet

Triptych

Casanova

A Really Good Time

Prairie Rose

First of all, let's deal with the pachyderm in the internal walled area. The cover is a bit of an embarrassment. Their only defence would be that it was a different time, but this represents the nadir of Roxy album art. I'd like to think they were being ironic, but I somehow doubt it. I even hesitate to post the picture, but hopefully you understand that it is done in context.

I've listened to this a few times and found it hard to break into. There are none of the better known hits on it. I'd say there's a strong Bowie influence, particularly on the measured 'Three and Nine'  which has a good dreamy harmonica part, and 'Out Of The Blue' with it's twiddly bass guitar. 'All I Want Is You' is probably the best known track (to me anyway) and ploughs the same furrow as 'Do The Strand' and 'Street Life'.

It's almost as if Roxy had two personas, the experimental and diverse one of the album tracks and the fairly straightforward rockers of the singles. Bryan fancies himself as a bit of a polyglot and chucks in plenty of French and German lyrics (we saw similar behaviour in 'A Song For Europe'). I liked the playful honky-tonk blues of 'If It Takes All Night'. In 'Bitter Sweet' we appear to be in a thirties Berlin nightclub of the type made famous in 'Cabaret. They break out the harpsichord, tabor and sackbut (probably) for 'Triptych'. It's all very mediaevel. I detected a foreshadowing of 'Love Is the Drug'in the closing 'Prairie Rose'. Despite my initial difficulties, I enjoyed this in the end, but the sleeve is unforgivable. Someone get the poor girls a coat.

SIREN

Released: 24th October 1975

Siren is the fifth album by English rock band Roxy Music, released in 1975 by Island Records. It was released by Atco Records in the United States.^[1]

Siren produced the singles "Love Is the Drug" and "Both Ends Burning", which peaked at numbers two and 25 respectively on the UK Singles Chart. "Love Is the Drug" became Roxy Music's highest-charting single in the US, reaching number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[2] In 2003, Siren was ranked number 371 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

From Wikipedia

Love Is the Drug

End of the Line

Sentimental Fool

Whirlwind

She Sells

Could It Happen to Me?

Both Ends Burning

Nightingale

Just Another High

Plenty of sound effects at the start of 'Love Is The Drug'. Arguably their best known song and certainly epitomizes the Roxy sound, with stabbing guitars and brass, a little maraca and Ferry's quavery, staccato vocal. In fact the whole album actually sounds like Roxy Music, which is kind of a first.

'Sentimental Fool' starts with creepy sci-fi incidental music type stuff. Couldn't really decide what to make of the rest of it if I'm honest. 'Whirlwind' is a much easier proposition. A nice immediate rock-out. 'She Sells' has a cracking piano intro, you can see where Scissor Sisters got some of their ideas (not that they are coy about their influences). 'Could It Happen To Me?' has an enjoyable Beatlish hook.

However despite these good touches (and LITD) I was underwhelmed by the whole experience. Maybe the observation that it sounds like them means they are merely going through their paces. Cover art is now an important part of any Roxy Music piece. This has Jerry Hall looking like Daryl Hannah in Splash! Apparently it was taken on Anglesey, so no wonder it looks a bit parky.

MANIFESTO

Released: 16th March 1979

Manifesto is the sixth studio album by English rock band Roxy Music. It was released in March 1979 by E.G. in the United Kingdom, Polydor in Europe and Atco in the United States.

Following an almost four-year recording hiatus, Manifesto was Roxy Music's first studio album since 1975's Siren. The first single from Manifesto was "Trash", which peaked at number 40 on the UK Singles Chart.^[2] The second single, the disco-tinged "Dance Away", was more successful, peaking at number two in the UK on 26 May 1979, beaten to the top spot for three weeks by Blondie's "Sunday Girl". It became one of the band's biggest hits, and was also the ninth best-selling single in the UK in 1979. The song was also released as a 12" extended version (running at six and half minutes), a format that had started to become popular in the late 1970s. The third single from the album was a re-recorded version of "Angel Eyes", which was far more electronic and "disco" in nature than the power-pop album version. An extended 12" mix was also released. The single also made the UK top five, peaking at number four in August.^[2] The album itself peaked at number seven on the UK Albums Chart.^[2] In the United States, the album peaked at number 23 on the Billboard 200, making it Roxy Music's highest-charting album in the US.

From Wikipedia

Manifesto

Trash

Angel Eyes

Still Falls the Rain

Stronger Through the Years

West Side

Ain't That So

My Little Girl

Dance Away

Cry, Cry, Cry

Spin Me Round

I've listened to this a couple of times and it's a grower, despite being discomfited by 'Angel Eyes' not being the version I expected. This one is much harder and rockier with a thumpy bassline compared to the one you usually hear on the radio and lacks that gorgeous harp bit. Not better or worse, different. The opening title track has a prolonged intro and Ferry sounds quite menacing as it all drives forward. When I first heard it I couldn't get a grip but I like it now. It finishes a bit weirdly though.

'Trash' reflects it's title as a bit of well-executed cheesy pop. There are parts of 'Stronger Through The Years' where it sounds like they've recorded it somewhere up the Amazon and some of the other instrumentation toward the end of the track veers off the beaten track and into the jazz-fusion undergrowth. Ferry hits the harmonica on 'Ain't That So', which also has a cool smoooth jazz feel to it. They sort of lose the way in the middle before picking it up again though. 'My Little Girl' has a very punchy drum and guitar intro which contrasts with Ferry's honeyed vocal.

Apparently, unlike 'Angel Eyes' this version of 'Dance Away' is the single version you always hear, but shouldn't be, and was different on the original album release. You need to buy the full studio recordings with all bells and whistles to get everything. I'm confused. I suspect that the better known versions of both songs are more indicative of what came later with the Flesh And Blood and Avalon albums, i.e that smoother sound that Ferry has continued with ever since. That finger-snapping skeleton castanet sound on 'Dance Away' must be done electronically I think.

They go for the comtemplative as they close it out, with 'Spin Me Round'. The sort of thing that goes best with a single malt at 11pm. The cover art looks like a Labour Party conference circa 1997 - or the Tories in 1983, take your pick.

FLESH AND BLOOD

Released 23rd May 1980

Flesh and Blood (stylised as Flesh + Blood) is the seventh studio album by English rock band Roxy Music, released on 23 May 1980 by E.G. Records, it was an immediate commercial success peaking at No. 1 in the UK for one week in June and then returned to the summit in August for another three weeks, in total spending 60 weeks on the albums chart in the United Kingdom. The album also peaked at No. 35 in the United States and No. 10 in Australia.

The album was preceded by the single "Over You", a No. 5 UK hit that also provided the band with a rare US chart entry at No. 80. Two more hit singles followed: "Oh Yeah" (UK No. 5) and "Same Old Scene" (UK No. 12, AUS No. 35). Flesh + Blood also included two cover versions: the Byrds' "Eight Miles High" and Wilson Pickett's "In the Midnight Hour". The latter was released as a single in some territories. In addition, the album's title track along with the aforementioned "Over You" and "Eight Miles High" peaked at No. 46 on the Billboard dance charts.^[2]

From Wikipedia

In the Midnight Hour

Oh Yeah

Same Old Scene

Flesh and Blood

My Only Love

Over You

Eight Miles High

Rain Rain Rain

No Strange Delight

Running Wild

Well I wasn't expecting Wilson Pickett's 'In The Midnight Hour', especially after the rather odd counted intro. Not sure about it really, more of an academic exercise than a reinterpretation. However the next two tracks are, in my opinion, the best that Roxy have done, 'Oh Yeah' and 'Same Old Scene'. The former has that brilliant lyric "there's a band playing on the radio, with a rhythm of chiming guitars" - accompanied, a lot more cleverly than it sounds when I write it, by chiming guitars. You can see Ferry in his trench coat and suit, walking along a neon lit rain-swept street. It's pretty much perfect.

However, 'Same Old Scene' is my absolute favourite RM track, with tthe world weary melancholy turned up to the max. Manzanera's shimmering guitar merges beautifully with Ferry's voice and the middle eight keyboard break is just sublime. This is the overture to the eighties. Sorry, am I getting a bit carried away?

After all that I found the title track a bit of a disappointment. There's a definite production sound to the album, with the vocal stylings now largely gone and 'chiming' guitar and saxophone to the fore. It comes out again on 'Over You', with its fairly conventional rock and roll riff that sounds a bit like Duane Eddy.

Another cover next, The Byrds 'Eight Miles High' slightly funked up. More successful than the Wilson Pickett, but the song is supposed to be hippy-trippy. 'Rain, Rain, Rain' and 'No Strange Delight' washed over me somewhat. 'Running Wild' sounded for a second like Metallica's 'The Unforgiven' at the start. Not for long though. It's Bryan at the end of a long day, fag drooping from the corner of his mouth as he sits alone at the end of some trendy bar.

The cover art is fairly typical Roxy, but not offensive. A couple of models holding javelins for some reason. I rarely give ringing endorsements but you should give this a listen. It's terrific.

AVALON

Released: 28th May 1982

Avalon is the eighth and final studio album by English rock band Roxy Music, released on 28 May 1982 by E.G. Records, and Polydor. It was recorded between 1981 and 1982 at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, and is regarded as the culmination of the smoother, more adult-oriented sound of the band's later work. It has been credited with pioneering the sophisti-pop genre.^[6]

The first single, "More Than This", preceded the album and was a top 10 hit in Britain, Australia, and several European countries. "Avalon", the second single, reached the top 20; "Take a Chance with Me" reached the top 30. In the United States, "More Than This" and "Take a Chance with Me" reached 103 and 104.

From Wikipedia

More Than This

The Space Between

Avalon

India

While My Heart Is Still Beating

The Main Thing

Take a Chance with Me

To Turn You On

True to Life

Tara

I remember when this came out. It was advertised on telly and I was impressed by the combination of the fantastical artwork and the snatches of tracks played during the ad. I've finally got round to satisfying my curiosity, 32 years on. It doesn't disappoint either. By now they are in a gentler place than when they started. 'More Than This' sets the tone for the rest with Ferry's sobbing vocal and the smooth soundscape. 'The Space Between' is quite like his last single, 'Loop-de-li'. 'Avalon' itself is another of their smoky, end of a long-night compositions. It has that female backing vocal which gets very high toward the end. 'India' is an odd little instrumental piece. Didn't conjure the subcontinent for me. Ferry almost goes a bit Youssou N'Dour on 'While My Heart Is Still Beating'. His voice has got that kind of echoey quality. They muck around with some synth effects in  'The Main Day', but its still an effective song.'Take A Chance With Me' is possibly the stand-out track on a good album, as catchy as its (almost) namesake. The rest is of a similar standard. The undulating sound of 'True To Life' and the late-nite sax of 'Tara' are particularly satisfying.