Roxy Music 'Avalon'

This is not only not remotely my favorite Roxy Music record (maybe number 5 or so in my list?), but I've always found the production sheen overrated. Still a great record!

Great comment/observation I saw on youtube, about how Duran Duran cited Roxy as an inspiration but one never got the sense that they "got" Roxy, vs. a band like Talking Heads that clearly "got" Roxy Music but was less obviously indebted to them.

the Thrill of it all box set is what got me deeply familiar with this band

Me, too! My biggest "how could they leave this off" track is "Psalm", especially the live on Musikladen version.

Xp but She Sells is amazing and people should be talking about it in hushed tones all the time but they don’t and why don’t they?

Yeah that box is great -- already had all the albums by then but having the B-sides at long last was worth it for that reason alone.

"Same Old Scene" is transcendent, and Avalon remains Avalon, ie transcendent.

I should note something, though, that has not been brought up in the recent discussion, but which I only just realized the other week. The cover model, Lucy Birley, who married Ferry that year and was the mother of his four sons, divorcing him in 2003, died just a couple of weeks ago. Very tragically and sadly, it was suicide, while on a visit to Ireland.

https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/lucy-birley-dead-at-58-london-socialite-and-former-wife-of-bryan-ferry-dies-on-holiday-in-ireland-a3895146.html

Per this piece here:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/tragedy-lucy-birley-sadness-gilded-society-set/

Her death this week came while on holiday in Ireland, surrounded by her beloved dogs. Her brother, journalist Ed Helmore, remarked: “Lucy fought a long battle with depression, a battle that she lost on Monday”

This essay in memoriam is worth your time.

https://www.vogue.com/article/lucy-birley-obituary

It seems strange to say this, but as interesting as Roxy Music were musically, I've never really been fascinated by Ferry as a person. There seems to be something quite dull about him - which is weird, cuz you look at footage of the early Roxy Music performing and they look so exciting and not of this Earth.

They all looked exciting except Ferry, he so looked so awkward and ill at ease and had no real stage presence, hid himself behind a keyboard, no wonder he was jealous of Eno.

Birley was another pro-fox hunting campaigner too, I think?

(x-post)

1. Alfred's various theses on Bryan Ferry make up some of my favorite music writing ever. I liked the band. His writing made me adore them.

2. I don't think I could rank Roxy albums. The S/T, Stranded, Country, and Avalon are all equally wonderful for reasons that are impossible to compare and contrast, because of the way Ferry nullified himself, the way the sense of camp evaporates. The rest are fascinating, even if they've got some ups and downs. My favorite tracks are well distributed across the catalog.

3. I just snagged a nice crisp LP of In Your Mind. My very fashion conscious 18 year old was looking over the jacket, and she was shocked when she realized it wasn't a brand new release. The dude is timeless.

thank you!

bryan ferry is what he fears most, a dilettante

after mainlining this album for the last week one thing I'm still perplexed by is the sequencing. the title cut seems like it should be the finale but it shows up 3 songs in, while Tara is essentially an intro to a closer that never comes.

That's confidence!

Manzanerek is so lovely on the title track, those light burbly phased triads and such

Triad is not the word, I just mean like strumming three strings or w/e

Wait not phasing, just straight tremolo

Wait not phasing, just straight tremolo

A cross between Phil Manzanera and Ray Manzarek.

I just spent two minutes looking around on the internet trying to figure out whether I somehow missed that Ray Manzarek had played on Avalon before I figured out that it was a typo for Phil Mazanera.

New tour announced, "playing songs from Avalon plus solo & Roxy Music hits." I don't know what the hell that means. Is he playing all of Avalon, plus solo & Roxy hits? Is he just playing some songs from Avalon, which of course would be also have been covered by "Roxy Music hits?" No idea.

Is it a good idea to see him live?

Is he playing all of Avalon, plus solo & Roxy hits

sounds like it's this

He's not bad live, but of course there's not a lot of (any) improvisation and it's all about replicating the albums. He's a pretty weird and compelling performer, though, has good moves and makes funny faces.

Thanks, that sounds about all one can expect (he's 73!). Roxy are somewhat heroes of mine and I've never seen him live, but this new tour swings by close to me. I'll probably just go do it. Good moves are underrated.

and his hair -- well.

Sign me up for that ravenous coiffure at 73!

This was his latest full setlist:

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/bryan-ferry/2018/theatro-dasous-thessaloniki-greece-3be988f8.html

The Main Thing
(Roxy Music song)

Slave to Love

Don't Stop the Dance

Ladytron
(Roxy Music song)

Out of the Blue
(Roxy Music song)

Oh Yeah
(Roxy Music song)

Casanova
(Roxy Music song)

Tokyo Joe

Bitter-Sweet
(Roxy Music song)

Windswept

Bête Noire

Zamba

Stronger Through the Years
(Roxy Music song)

Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
(Bob Dylan cover)

My Only Love
(Roxy Music song)

In Every Dream Home a Heartache
(Roxy Music song)

If There Is Something
(Roxy Music song)

Re-Make/Re-Model
(Roxy Music song)

More Than This
(Roxy Music song)

Avalon
(Roxy Music song)

Love Is the Drug
(Roxy Music song)

Virginia Plain
(Roxy Music song)

Encore:
Let's Stick Together
(Wilbert Harrison cover)

Jealous Guy
(John Lennon cover)

Editions of You
(Roxy Music song)

I've seen him three times with increasing delight. He played "Zamba" and "Bete Noire" last time!

That seals it!

Great setlist too

Saw him last year, fabulous show. If he ever meant anything to you, absolutely, go!

I tried but could not find a way!

I've seen him three times and Roxy once. They've all been equally good, and while there's nothing revelatory about him live (unlike, say, David Byrne's most recent tour), yeah, if he means something to you, check it out. Which is honestly not something I'd say for just any legacy act.

I so wish I could have seen Byrne's recent tour. This isn't that, but it's really good. I never saw Bowie until his final tour in 2014, and now my memories are maybe better than the actual show, which was excellent. And you never know when it'll be your last chance.

xp lol Alfred.

Tix ordered, thx guys!

I never saw Bowie until his final tour in 2014

I sure wish he had such a tour. You mean 2004?

I was in the lobby of the venue when the roadie fell from the rafter in July 2004.

Bowie final tour 2004, you mean. I saw him that year at MSG, was great. Hard to believe I saw him not long before that opening for Moby on that ill-begotten Area 2 tour.

xpost!

Yes, 2004, stupid fingers...

that's no way to talk about a dead man

Stupid Fingers would be a great band name.

have consistently missed Ferry and Roxy on all of their tours through the bay area ....I won't miss this one. would be nice if manzanera were on this tour as well.

Tix ordered, thx guys!

― lbi's life of limitless european glamour (Le Bateau Ivre), Monday, January 14, 2019 7:17 PM (four months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

So I saw Ferry's first show of his new European tour on Monday and quite simply: it was a ton of fun! How could it not be when Ferry himself was enjoying it so much? He was so enthused, throwing the audience kisses and just moving about with such swagger all night. His voice isn't what it used to be, that was pretty clear (the first couple of songs he sounded more like Stuart Staples), but that was entirely ok. His backing bank was phenomenal, specifically the drummer and sax player. They were on stage with ten musicians, which I thought was very generous. They ripped through the songs pretty quickly, the bigger hits sometimes only one verse + chorus, but it all made perfect sense and it was just a very tight, lively show, with great sound. We had a blast.

OT: This was by far the concert with the highest average age I've ever went to. I saw people in their 70s taking photos with their ipads :)

Ha, excellent. Looking forward to August.

The surround mix of this is glorious.

The back-to-back sequencing of "To Turn You On" and "True to Life" slays me.

It's pretty genius. "To Turn You On" is my secret favorite on the album.

He never sung again with such unshaded passion; I can see him falling on one knee while singing "God help me!"

The keyboard sound on that track = fireplace simmering.

How to make "Or whatever" sound apocalyptic.

The chord changes and melody on "To Turn You On" make me think he was trying to write a Siren-era song with a 1982 arrangement, it feels a bit out of place on this record.