The Eno, Ferry and Roxy Music thread

I like the song "More Than This" by Roxy Music but dont really know much else about these artists. Opinions please.

 

Judging by your musical tastes in your profile (Can, etc...), I cannot see how you wouldn't like the Eno albums from the 70s. I love these albums. The Eno/Fripp collaboration is interesting also.

 

If you like More Than This, you'll most likely enjoy the entire Avalon album. There's a fantastic SACD available for it with a superb 5.1 mix.

 

Aw, i was hoping it was on the Country Life album

 

There's a box set from some years ago, not sure if it's still available, that would fill all your needs. It's good. If not, just start with the first album and move forward. I find I listen most to the first album and Stranded.

 

Bryan Ferry is an amazing musician and a very smooth singer. His voice has a very pleasant tonality. My favorite Bryan Ferry songs are:

*Love Is The Drug
*Don't Stop The Dance
*Kiss And Tell
*Your Painted Smile

Look in my profile; he is on my list of favorite singers.

 

I'll second Avalon...it's a must-hear album! Also, SACD is excellent for it's sound quality, surround mix and there's a bonus track!

 

Is the SACD a hybrid?

 

Yes:

http://store.acousticsounds.com/browse_detail.cfm?Title_ID=15575

 

Mmm. Yes, if there was ever a reason NOT to shrink album artwork into tiny CD size booklets...

If you end up liking Avalon, then Bryan Ferry's Boys and Girls would be a great next step and wouldn't you know it, there's a multichannel SACD for it too! Too bad they haven't released more Roxy/Ferry material on SACD (I know there's a couple of other titles but they need the entire catalog released).

 

I would say the first four Roxy albums (Roxy Music , For Your Pleasure , Stranded and Country Life are essential especially For Your Pleasure which is one of my favourite albums of all time. There's also a good compilation from the first 3 albums called The Early Years which is a fine introduction and sells cheaply (I got mine for about £2.99) There's also a Roxy box set which I've seen in the bargain bins and is also worthwhile despite missing out on a few album tracks. If you like later Roxy, there are several compilations available with all the hits, but I agree that Avalon is the best of the reformed Roxy.

As for Eno, well there's a lot out there, but my favourite albums of his are the four "vocal" albums, Here Come The Warm Jets , Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) , Another Green World and Before And After Science . And his latest album, Another Day On Earth is also song based and well worth having. He's also got a lengthy ambient catalogue, the best of which imo is Music For Airports , and also his collaboration with David Byrne My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts is essential.

I don't know much about Bryan Ferry solo but it did rely heavily on cover versions and I never felt it was as good as Roxy, but I did like his last album Frantic . A bit AOR in places but seemed to borrow from latter day Roxy for inspiration.

 

How about a nice COMP. Not like there are any out there!!!! I just got a 3 disc version with all the RM and BF singles. Its a nice start and i got it off of EBAY for about 10 bucks....

 

All the Roxy Music albums are classics, IMO. Post-Eno (e.g. Avalon) is quite different, both artistically and as far as production values. But they're great in their own right. Ferry's and Manzanera's (and of course Eno's) solo albums, same story.

The High Road EP ('Roxy Musique') of a live show in Paris is one of the best live gigs I've ever heard; so's the video of the same show off the '82 tour..I'm not sure if it was ever released on dvd.

 

I'm not a big Avalon fan. I can't seem to get thru it. I think Roxy jumped the shark on Siren. It has a few good songs (Love is the Drug not being one of them) but it's kind of a stinker. Manefesto is okay (minus the production). No to Flesh and Blood.

The Eno stuff is great as are some of the Manzenera albums. Ferry has some really good albums too. There's just something about that latter period Roxy that loses it for me. It may as well be The Thompson Twins.

 

The High Road video is currently available on DVD, however the High Road EP is NOT from the same show (despite having the same title and cover art) - it's from a Glasgow performance and it's never been available on CD.

The is a CD ('Heart Still Beating') of live tracks from the Avalon tour, MOST of which are from the audio of the High Road video. Also, the opening act (King Crimson) were also filmed the same night and their show was issued as a videocassete ('The Noise') and is currently available on the 'Neal And Jack And Me' DVD.

 

The Roxy Music of the early 70s and the Roxy Music of the 80s are really two different things, IMO. The 70s Roxy is a rock band while the 80s Roxy is essentially Bryan Ferry with sidemen, working in a more pop vein (Avalon is pretty indistinguishable from Ferry's first album Boys and Girls).

I've always felt Eno's importance in the Roxy Music story is a little overstated, myself. He was only on their first two albums.

 

I tend to agree, they are two different bands, the first one was experimental, the reformed band from Manifesto onwards was a bit too easy listening and pop orientated for my liking. I still liked a few songs from the albums like More Than This but the compilations cover those. And I agree with you on Flesh and Blood, I thought it was their worst album.

 

Disagree with you there. Flesh And Blood is one of my absolute favourites. Particularly Oh Yeah. Would LOVE to hear this album given the same SACD surround treatment as Avalon and Boys & Girls.

Steve

 

I agree! I love Same Old Scene immensely!

I understand the Thompson Twins comment and to be honest, while I like the earlier Roxy Music albums somewhat, I'd take Thompson Twins' Into The Gap album over any of them any day. Everyone writes them off as one hit wonders but that is a solid album in my opinion.

I learned about Roxy Music because I was an early Duran Duran fan and they mentioned that they were influenced by Roxy. So, beware! If you dislike Duran Duran and Thompson Twins, you may very well dislike the latter Roxy Music and Ferry solo stuff!

 

The thing that drags Flesh and Blood down are the bland cover tunes like "In the Midnight Hour" (the lead track!) and "Eight Miles High." There are still many good songs on the album, though -- "Oh Yeah," "Same Old Scene," "My Only Love," "Over You."

 

No one's mentioned 'The Bride Stripped Bare.' Why has no one mentioned 'The Bride Stripped Bare'? It's my favorite Ferry solo album. Really it is. So, if no one else is gonna mention 'The Bride Stripped Bare', then I'll have to.

'The Bride Stripped Bare.'

There. Now it's been mentioned. And I can relax.

(Sorry. The season finale of 'Gilmore Girls' in on tonight and I think there may be channelling issues.)


Also big love for '801 Live' and Quiet Sun's 'Mainstream.' Much less enthusiasm for Andy Mackay's solo stuff. Or The Explorers. Remember them? Yeah, me either.

 

Me three. Flesh And Blood is a solid album right thru the singles to the title track and the cover tunes. Just too bad they didn't bring Paul Thompson back for this album and Avalon. Nice to see he's back in the band now.

 

Or the folly of "Rock Follies".

 

Oh, wow. Geez, I actually DID forget about that. Huh.

You'll understand if I don't thank you for reminding me, right?

That was back when Rula Lenska was considered a celebrity, wasn't it? What a weird place the 70s was.

 

I totally understand! I felt I had to share it with someone just in case it was all a bad dream. Unfortunately it wasn't.