Roxy Music - ROXY MUSIC****

Re-make Re-model/Ladytron/If There Is Something/2HB/The Bob (Medley)/Chance Meeting/Would You Believe/Sea Breezes/Bitters End

Debut album from the influential British art rock group Roxy Music. During this early period there was a creative tension between the glam rock crooning of vocalist Bryan Ferry and the electronic experimentalism of keyboardist Brian Eno. (UK:10)

“This album practically invents a new aesthetic, blending fifties nostalgia with futurism, pop art with literary sensibilities, and, musically, Bryan Ferry's ironic crooner persona with Brian Eno's electronic experimentalism. The second side is perhaps less melodic and memorable than the first, and some tracks work better in theory than in practice.”

“This first album is an interesting piece of rock and roll music that shot Roxy Music to the pinnacle of the exciting glam rock of the seventies. Its sound is very much shaped by both Ferry and Eno; Ferry contributes a melody that can even go so far as to recall the singers of the slick 1940s, while Eno feels futuristic and adds atmosphere in a way that only he could.”

“The tension between Eno's eternally experimental approach and the slick, crooning glam rock style of Bryan Ferry creates not chaos, but a unique hybrid approach with plenty to offer. Suites such as The Bob, and Sea Breezes show the technical complexities the band could attain when they put their mind to it, whilst electrifying pop numbers like Remake/Remodel see the band members injecting fast, sharp jolts of technical wizardry and sudden, unexpected twists into warped pop formats.”

“The songs are strange in structure, there seems to be extended improvisations in place of choruses. There is also a lot of genre experimentation going on. Brian Eno's synth treatments on Ladytron and 2HB add to the tension in these songs. Roxy Music sounds like a start of new musical epoch and that’s what this album really is. Bryan Ferry’s affectionate croon is jarringly accentuated by Brian Eno’s modern electronic noises and the resulting effect is highly innovative and harmonious.”

“Bryan Ferry's voice is still raw and hasn't developed into his patented trademark lounge lizard croon but fits the seemingly undisciplined material. The instrumentation is quite formidable and it was a refreshing paradigm shift to see the saxophone and oboe incorporated into the proceedings.”