Where did you find Roxy Music? [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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Snowbunny
05-08-2006, 05:08 PM
Never. Heard. Of. Them.

Well, not when they were popular. They were popular right? Did they tour a lot? Big venues? Were they played on FM radio?

How many of you were fans? I heard the song, "Mother of Pearl" recently and it could be released today, and not sound dated, at all!

I've only heard less than a handful of songs, mostly via Davey, and they're not what their name makes them sound like.

Snowie

musicman1999
05-08-2006, 06:16 PM
You must be young.They were very popular,toured a lot in the day.Brian Ferry was the front man.Many consider Avalon to be their best work.If you like what you have heard seek them out,there are a few compilations with good song lists.

bill

BradH
05-08-2006, 06:26 PM
They were popular right?

Yes. No. Sort of in a cult kind of way. Big in Britain.

Did they tour a lot? Yes.

Big venues? Not really.

Were they played on FM radio? Yeah, back when FM was cool.

I first heard them on the radio in nineteen-seventy mumble mumble....ahem.

In the early 80's we played For Your Pleasure for some phony punks in the heartland wearing their gear and told them it was from 1973. They refused to believe it until we showed them the album. They looked really confused and depressed. It was funny to watch.

MindGoneHaywire
05-08-2006, 06:29 PM
Love Is The Drug was a fairly popular FM radio track. Avalon was popular as well, though mostly on what would've then been considered 'alternative' radio stations, at least in these parts. However, MTV did play the Avalon video; along with a bunch of other stuff that wasn't exactly 'rock' as commercial FM radio defined it at the time. Some crossed over (Culture Club, Eurythmics, etc.) to mass pop success, and some didn't. Roxy Music broke up after that.

I think Avalon is a great album, but it's miles from what Roxy Music sounded like when Brian Eno was in the band, which I'd describe as glam-prog, and in a good way. He was already gone by the time of Siren, the album that Love Is The Drug was on.

Snowbunny
05-08-2006, 06:48 PM
You must be young.

Compared to dirt? I guess so....


Many consider Avalon to be their best work.bill

Now that song I heard on the radio in later decades. Avalon, Avalon, Avalon - Ick! No, I like the sound of that Mother of Pearl song.

Snowie

Snowbunny
05-08-2006, 06:53 PM
In the early 80's we played For Your Pleasure for some phony punks in the heartland wearing their gear and told them it was from 1973. They refused to believe it until we showed them the album. They looked really confused and depressed. It was funny to watch.

Love it! You rock! :3:

Snowbunny
05-08-2006, 06:58 PM
Love Is The Drug was a fairly popular FM radio track. Avalon was popular as well, though mostly on what would've then been considered 'alternative' radio stations, at least in these parts. However, MTV did play the Avalon video; along with a bunch of other stuff that wasn't exactly 'rock' as commercial FM radio defined it at the time. Some crossed over (Culture Club, Eurythmics, etc.) to mass pop success, and some didn't. Roxy Music broke up after that.

I think Avalon is a great album, but it's miles from what Roxy Music sounded like when Brian Eno was in the band, which I'd describe as glam-prog, and in a good way. He was already gone by the time of Siren, the album that Love Is The Drug was on.

You, my friend, have cursed me! All I can think of is the lyrics - Love is the Drug so you better not pick it, It only grows when its on the vine. ARRRRGGGHHHH! Isn't that a Captain and Tenille song?

Davey
05-08-2006, 07:15 PM
Love Roxy Music. As you can probably guess, I heard them pretty early on because of my love of Bowie and T. Rex and Mott the Hoople and King Crimson and all the other glammers. Virginia Plain came out of nowhere. Just one of the best singles ever. Really about 5 years ahead of the curve. "Mother of Pearl" is a classic, even the version later done by Johnette of Concrete Blonde reknown could be classic. Just a great song. All their 70s albums are now classics, but they really didn't have a huge following here in the US. I had to buy some of their albums as UK imports, and being a cheap student, that was tough. But ya gotta feed the fire. Hard to pick a favorite, but most days maybe Stranded, although after a listen to "The Thrill of it All", I might pick Country Life. Love that song. They do have a couple pretty nice hits collections, but as usual they leave off way too much of the interesting early stuff and tack on too many of the later radio hits. And you don't get all the cover girls either ;)

I remember doing a Roxy Music album poll here when the new software came online a few years ago, with pictures of all the discs. Fun times. Don't remember which one won, and the archive seems to be gone now. Too bad.

ForeverAutumn
05-08-2006, 07:19 PM
Where did you find Roxy Music?

Under the "R"s. Right between David Lee Roth and Rush.

:biggrin5:

Snowbunny
05-08-2006, 08:01 PM
Under the "R"s. Right between David Lee Roth and Rush.

:biggrin5:

You Kooky Kanuck! Are you sure you wanna admit that in public? :biggrin5:

Snowbunny
05-08-2006, 08:11 PM
I had to buy some of their albums as UK imports, and being a cheap student, that was tough.

Oh, that explains everything! You went to school to learn to be cheap! :wink5:



And you don't get all the cover girls either ;)

And I still maintain that if you lift their skirts you wouldn't get cover girls either.

So if I liked the song Mother of Pearl which album would be the closest to that song's sound? I LOVE internet music shopping. I still love having the actual CD in my hands.

Snowbuns

Dusty Chalk
05-08-2006, 10:13 PM
Hmmm...college friend made me listen to them. I think they were arguing over which was better, Siren or Country Life.
You, my friend, have cursed me! All I can think of is the lyrics - Love is the Drug so you better not pick it, It only grows when its on the vine. ARRRRGGGHHHH! Isn't that a Captain and Tenille song?Uh, no. "Love is the Drug" has a bit of a reggae beat, begins with a car starting up, very Remain in Light-ish beginning. Chorus:

Oh oh catch that buzz
Love is the drug i´m thinking of
Oh oh can´t you see
Love is the drug for me

"Mother of Pearl" is from Stranded -- I've recently developed a new appreciation for early Roxy Music, which is the self-titled album (which has "Re-Make/Re-Model" and "Sea Breezes" amongst others), For Your Pleasure ("Do the Strand", "In Every Dream Home a Heartache") and Stranded ("A Song for Europe"). I don't expect you to know any of these songs, I'm just mentioning my personal favourites.

Country Life and Siren are good too, and not that far off from the above-mentioned three albums, although they really started changing right between the two.
Under the "R"s. Right between David Lee Roth and Rush.

:biggrin5:I was gonna use that joke. You beat me to it. wanders off, mumbling something about 'rack'm frack'm'...

Mike
05-09-2006, 01:37 AM
First saw them on the TV on the good old BBC’s Top of The Pops with Virginia Plain and Ferry and his weird voice, Eno’s funny haircut and Andy MacKay’s sax (it’s funny how much sax is featured in the 70’s glam rock sound) and have loved them ever since. Older siblings are great when you are young, they buy the albums and you get to play them and impress your friends.

Mother Of Pearl is from Stranded – but you already knew that - and although it doesn’t feature Eno it still carries his influence before Ferry took over completely. It’s probably my favourite of their early albums with tracks like Amazona which has a great bass line, and the brilliant Song For Europe. By the way the remastered Roxy albums, particularly the first 3, sound fantastic and IMO are way ahead of just about anything for the time. They are so strikingly different yes they still sound good today, not dated just great.

Avalon is so far removed from the early stuff it’s a different band, it’s so smooth it’s like a soundtrack to a classy 80s porn movie, but saying that it’s no reason not to play it and like it.

Cheers
Mike

richmon
05-09-2006, 05:37 AM
Me too, was late to that party. A buddy used to play the debut album back in the day, but the whole glam rock thing wasn't my favorite.
Fast forward to 1995 and a co-worker who's a big fan lent me two video tapes, live in paris and ??. Seeing the band live really helped me get them big time. I borrowed his 4 disc Roxy box and distilled that down into my own best of. What songs I remember copyng are:
Ladytron
Virginia Plain
The Thrill Of It All
Dance Away
My Only Love
The Main Thing

Copies freely supplied -rrichmon44 atjunodotcom.
I caught them on the last North America tour, 1999 or so, outstanding show, really smashing. For Christmas I got the Live at the Apollo DVD, that has a moving version of My only Love on it.

ForeverAutumn
05-09-2006, 09:56 AM
Where did you find Roxy Music?
Under the "R"s. Right between David Lee Roth and Rush.
You Kooky Kanuck! Are you sure you wanna admit that in public? :biggrin5:


The DLR belongs to my husband, so I don't have to admit to anything. :smilewinkgrin:

Dusty Chalk
05-10-2006, 12:33 PM
There's also a thread on it over at sh.tv (http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=80612). Were you watching television when you heard this tune?

Smokey
05-10-2006, 05:51 PM
If anybody like to sample Roxy Music or album to see whether they will like it or not, Avalon might not be good point to start.

Two albums that sample the height of their peak was earlier album Siren (‘75), and later album Flesh+Blood (‘80). Siren represent the peak of their progressives phase, and Flesh+Blood represent the peak of their artistic phase. If music is to your liking, then work your way backward :)

Siren
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000256KK.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
Flesh+Blood
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000256VN.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg