I’ve always thought of Roxy Music as being more based in the early Eighties, and associated with the kind of ballads like Over You and Avalon. But this, in the early years with Brian Eno, is a very different, and rather wonderful, animal.
Eno’s electronica, combined with the
woodwind work of Andy Mackay are what really make the unique sound, as well as
Bryan Ferry’s vibrato-laden vocals (Ferry also providing keyboard). I mean, punk
oboe? Yes please! Probably the closest thing we’ve heard here before is Frank Zappa,
especially a track like Would You Believe?, which is probably the most
traditional rock and roll style track on the album, sounds quite Zappa-esque.
Take a Fifties sound, add some innovative sounds, ramp up the emoting to bathos
levels.
But that’s not really indicative of the
sounds you get from this album. Re-Make/Re-Model, Ladytron, If There Is
Something, all start out one way and go another. Glorious swirling oboes on If
There Is Something in a middle section bridging what seemed like a country rock
song, and the call-response climax. Re-Make/Re-Model having mini-breaks for
each of the musicians that are fun without being awkward.
Better than Zappa. When Roxy Music go off
into a bit of ambient noise or polyrhythmic drumming, they don’t stay there
long enough for it to become annoying or self-indulgent. See the track Sea
Breezes, perhaps the most experimental sounding on the album (which is all
quite experimental). It does some fuzzy guitar noise, but only for about 30
seconds or so.
I commented on the Manassas album that,
while the songs individually were all pleasant to listen to, nothing really
remained with me. This. THIS is what I was looking for. Innovative and unusual,
but still some damn good music at the same time. It’s those Northern England
working-class roots, good fertile ground for some of the best music.
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