The music scene during the 1970s was defined by flash, glam, and a whole slew of over-the-top eccentricities. In the midst of this glamorama emerged a band that would popularize art-rock and establish the mood of British experimentalism. Headed by Brian...
[more]The music scene during the 1970s was defined by flash, glam, and a whole slew of over-the-top eccentricities. In the midst of this glamorama emerged a band that would popularize art-rock and establish the mood of British experimentalism. Headed by Brian Ferry, Roxy Music played on the fusion of art and rock with a slick, ironic, avant-garde sensibility. Ferry's soulful-sexy croons lent a seductive lounge vibe to the band; Roxy Music was like Frank Sinatra, the Velvet Underground, and the Beatles all rolled into one.
The band's rise in the British pop charts came in the summer of 1972 with the release of their first album, "Roxy Music." Working with the envelope-pushing Brian Eno, Ferry created a lush, elegant sound that nonetheless subtly parodies its own kitsch. Instrumentation is imaginative to say the least -- at some points a synthesizer winds its way into electronic experimentation, at other points a sax warms things up R & B-style. The combination is brilliant, glamorous, and lethal.
When Eno left Roxy Music after the release of its second album, Ferry continued to create music that was just as stylish if not quite so experimental. Albums like "Stranded" (1973) and "Country Living" (1974) are beautiful pop-rock productions. The synthesizers are absent here, but in their place are sublime strings and layered pianos. And the advance of the decade saw Roxy Music's increased interest in disco. Toward the latter half of the '70s, the band further abandoned its rock elements in favor of suave, heavily stylized dance pop. But it's hard to criticize such a move, since the music loses none of its cultivated sheen. In effect, Ferry did not go farther, but he did go deeper.
Though a long-time success in Britain, Roxy Music only had a weak presence in America because of its "detachment and understatement." America was addicted to the catchy and the loud, so Roxy's lush rock did not always garner notice. But even America listened with pleasure to the band's final album, "Avalon" (1982). Often hailed as Roxy Music's greatest album, this work marks the end of the band's musical transformation. The synthesizers are back, but they are romantic and polished rather than edgy. Critic Stephen Erlewine even called the album "sophisticated make-out music for yuppies." This take on Roxy Music may sound derogatory, but it's not. It just means that the seductive glamour that defined Roxy Music from the start had simply grown up and bought itself some nicer clothes.
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