Roxy Music

Certain Songs #2126: Roxy Music – “Oh Yeah (Detroit, 2001)”

June 15, 2021 by Jim Connelly

Album: Live
Year: 2001

Roxy Music broke up after Avalon, Ferry wanting to try the solo career again. While he had some success in the U.K.- – you know what happened in the U.S., of course — the other guys did other things, though drummer Paul Thompson (who had left after Manifesto) played with Concrete Blonde and when their song “Joey” made the top 20, it was the best that any Roxy-associated person (unless you count Eno’s production of U2 or, er, Coldplay) had ever done on the Billboard singles charts.

Oh, that is also if you don’t count that Eddie Jobson was in the original version of the “Owner of A Lonely Heart” video as the keyboard player for Yes, even though he never actually played a note of music with the band. Which is something I just learned doing my half-assed research for this piece.

Certain Songs #2125: Roxy Music – “Dance Away”

June 10, 2021 by Jim Connelly

Album: Manifesto
Year: 1979

. . .

In 1975, after Siren, Roxy Music essentially broke up because Bryan Ferry wanted to concentrate on his solo career. However, because they issued the live Viva! Roxy Music in 1976 and my beloved Greatest Hits album in 1977, when they regrouped in 1979 — the solo career going nowhere (at least in the U.S.) — and put out Manifesto, most folks could be excused for not knowing that they’d been gone at all.

Certain Songs #2124: Roxy Music – “Both Ends Burning”

June 9, 2021 by Jim Connelly

Album: Siren
Year: 1975

. . .

One of Bryan Ferry’s great lyrical talents was taking phrases that were otherwise cliches and making something original out of them: “All I Want Is You,” “The Thrill of It All” are two prime examples, as is the majestic “Both Ends Burning,” the final single from Roxy Music’s early run.

After the initial attention-grabbing sound effects, “Both Ends Burning” explodes from the speakers led by Andy MacKay’s sax and a soaring swirling Eddie Jobson synth part over a straight-up disco groove from bassist John Gustafson and drummer Paul Thompson.

Certain Songs #2123: Roxy Music – “Love is The Drug”

June 8, 2021 by Jim Connelly

Album: Siren
Year: 1975

For their first four albums, one of the contradictions inherent in Roxy Music was the contrast between Bryan Ferry’s incredibly put together style and the crazed anarchy of many of their songs. And given that Roxy Music was Ferry’s band — especially after he canned ol’ sourpuss Brian Eno a couple of years prior — it was inevitable that they drift in his direction. And in retrospect, it’s surprising it took them this long to do it.

“This long” of course, being three years, as while Siren was their fifth album, it was still only three and a half years after Roxy Music. As a contrast when the Arcade Fire went all disco sleek on their fourth album, it was nearly a decade after their debut.

Certain Songs #2122: Roxy Music – “All I Want Is You”

June 7, 2021 by Jim Connelly

Album: Country Life
Year: 1974

. . .

Opening with a massive Phil Manzanera guitar fanfare that sounds like an entire village’s church bells ringing out in celebration, “All I Want Is You” is Roxy Music yet again in big-ass rock mode — every one of their early singles were bangers — and in fact, could almost be dismissed as being formulaic except they were still killing it by finding new variants on that formula.

Certain Songs #2121: Roxy Music – “The Thrill of It All”

June 6, 2021 by Jim Connelly

Album: Country Life
Year: 1974

. . .

So while “Editions of You” is always going to be my favorite Roxy Music song, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that “The Thrill of It All” is the greatest Roxy Music song, and I’m not sure it’s even particularly close. If ever a song lived up to its name, it’s this one.

After putting out three albums in about 18 months, Roxy Music took their time with the fourth, the band line-up having solidified with Eddie Jobson on synths and electric violin and John Gustafon on bass, Country Life was incredibly focused, and the ensemble playing was out of this world.

Certain Songs #2120: Roxy Music – “Mother of Pearl”

June 5, 2021 by Jim Connelly

Album: Stranded
Year: 1973

. . .

I’ve mostly stayed away from the long artier cuts, mostly because I think Roxy Music as an all-time great singles band — at least partially because until the end, all of their singles were absolute bangers — and because most of the long artier cuts were also slow, which I just don’t think they pulled off as convincingly as the fast ones.

There were exceptions, of course: the spooky “In Every Dream Home a Heartache,” the trippy “For Your Pleasure” and the anthemic “A Song For Europe” all had their moments, but for me, the tie they well and truly nailed it was “Mother of Pearl,” which with 40+ years of hindsight seems like a fractal of their entire career, going from gloriously crazy to gloriously beautiful in the space of 6:53.

Certain Songs #2119: Roxy Music – “Street Life”

June 4, 2021 by Jim Connelly

Album: Stranded
Year: 1973

. . .

Even though Stranded was Roxy Music’s second album in 1973 and third in an eighteen month period, things had changed pretty radically in the Roxy camp since For Your Pleasure came out eight months prior. The main thing of course, was the sacking of ol’ sourpuss himself (or maybe given his reputation at the time, ol’ pussy hunter) Brian Eno, whose popularity was rivaling if not overshadowing that of Bryan Ferry.

And so in a classic act of passive-aggressiveness, Ferry had his manager do the actual firing, and poor Brian Eno was never heard from again.

Certain Songs #2118: Roxy Music – “Editions of You”

June 3, 2021 by Jim Connelly

Album: For Your Pleasure
Year: 1973

. . .

You know how when you’re checking out an artist new to you, and you can’t quite wrap your head around them, and then there’s one song that suddenly floors you, opening the door for the rest of their songs? For me and Roxy Music, that song is “Editions of You,” which is at least part of why it’s my favorite of their songs.

That’s part of it, but mostly it’s because “Editions of You” is pure, uncut adrenaline wrapped up in a shit ton of wit.

Certain Songs #2117: Roxy Music – “Do The Strand”

June 2, 2021 by Jim Connelly

Album: For Your Pleasure
Year: 1973

. . .

There was only a nine-month gap between Roxy Music’s debut album and their sophomore effort, 1973’s For Your Pleasure, cos bands worked fast back then. It’s also possible that the falling out between Bryan Ferry and ol’ sourpuss himself, Brian Eno, was already beginning to happen, and they wanted to get something out before it all blew up. Which luckily, had no effect at all on the music, as For Your Pleasure was a definite step forward from their debut, featuring songs like the haunting ode to a blow-up doll (no, really!), “In Every Dream Home a Heartache” and ending with the tripped-out Enotronics of the title track.