I just think this is one of the most lush, gorgeous songs ever written... the textures are amazing. The drums, the synths, the guitars, the sax... it's like rolling a calm, warm sea.
That album is so consistent, in its song writing, and production. Like having double cream poured in both ears. Not for the hard core Roxy fans, but SO smooth...
love this song...more than this...bryan ferry, roxy music have some great music...slave to love, avalon, jealous guy, dance away, angel eyes...check out bryan ferry live in lyon like a hurricane...it can be found on youtube.
Remember an interview Ferry gave when this song was just released. He stated something to the effect that the song was "structured" like a sigh. Beautiful.
Who can deny the great voice of Bryan Ferry? Easy listening music, though not that simple. And the album Avalon is very well produced. Was played many times.
@@eximusic I would say their AOL career started with Manifesto 1979 , before that as you say different band more art rock which is my favourite era , although this is excellent as is Flesh & Blood !
@@mikewest1542 It's all great music. Although I don't have it any longer, I remember Manifesto having some fast paced songs, competing with the punk era it came out in. I believe it came out not long after Eno's Before and After Science.
This was a distinctive era for Roxy Music. It's lovely and all, and you should hear it. Lots of people love this era, and this album took Roxy Music mainstream. The early 70s era of Roxy Music is far more interesting to me personally as they really did crazy stuff. Plus I'll always be interested in Brian Eno.
Avalon was one of the first digitally recorded albums. I remember (as a roadie) sitting in recording studios with stunned engineers listening to the gorgeous sound of this sonic confection. I love all Roxy but this one glistens like gold,
You absolutely have to listen to the first album of RM. It's groundbreaking in many ways. No one had done an album like that before mixing prog & glam & art rock. A must!
The synth is actually a Lyricon, which allowed a synth to be played like a saxophone. The original Lyricon did not have MIDI, but later versions and wind controllers later provided that capability. It expanded sax player's pallette to play very unique sounds, I love it as an instrument. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyricon
Late Roxy Music is very different from the early period with Eddie Jobson and Brian Eno. I prefer the early period and especially the album, "Country Life". "Avalon" has amazing production by Rhett Davies and Bob Clearmountain. It set the standard for other albums and musically influenced the "new Romantic" groups of the early '80s. Bryan Ferry continued with the style and production of "Avalon" on his excellent solo albums, "Boys and Girls", and, "Bete Noire". The most experimental music is on "For Your Pleasure" with Brian Eno. Try "The Bogus Man".
The New Romantic thing had already happened by the time this album was released. Both Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet had already released their first 2 albums and Japan split up the same year.
In the early 90s my nephew he was asking me about different bands to listen to I told him about the cramps course Led Zeppelin Richard Hell & the voidoids X and then I told him about Roxy Music and how Roxy was one of my favorite bands a few years later he walked up to me and said Uncle Steve mother Pearl gives me goosebumps smart boy I also remember watching his eyes as he listened to My Lou Reed Rock and Roll Animal album Good Times
Nice description of your reaction to this smooth-sounding Roxy Music song, Justin. I was late to the Roxy Music party, but have been thrilled by them since first hearing the LPs in late 1979 and early 1980. Lucky to have seen them on tour for Avalon, and again during the reunion tour in 2001. I recommend that you check out songs from the second, third and fourth albums, For Your Pleasure, Stranded and Country Life respectively. Especially songs like "Mother of Pearl", "Do The Strand", "Editions of You", "Out of the Blue", "The Thrill of It All", "For Your Pleasure", "Street Life", "Song for Europe", etc. Okay, all of them, really. Shows how a creative band can look forward into the future, back into the past, and be in a strange part of the present all at the same time. By the way, all the early albums (up to the 1976 hiatus) are great, and the later ones have high points, while many people consider Avalon a high point of a very different sound. I still prefer the stranger sounding early albums over that one - which I still enjoy very much. Brian Eno was still playing keybooards and interesting synth effects for Roxy on For Your Pleasure (second album) after which he left, but has commented in later interviews that Stranded (recorded after he had left the band) is his favourite Roxy Music album. Eno continued working with guitarist Phil Manzanera (on each other's albums and in the supergroup, 801) for years as well as with so many other bands and artists once he turned to producing. My fave Eno production is probably Talking Heads' Remain In Light.
Do all this album Justin its incredible its one of the best things ive ever heard from the 80s and maybe from all time, but to be honest they weren't Roxy Music they were all just Bryan Ferry but hey their still good and its a good song. Avalon, Take a Chance with me, The Main Thing and To Turn You On are my favorites from this album
The title track is super pretty and sweeeeet. This album was much more smooth than their earlier work, a break from the more raucous and experimental records they gave us. Brian Eno left the band after two albums but some of the Roxies kept recording and even toured with Eno, between Roxy albums and tours. I strongly recommend you explore Eno's music... Anything off "Here Come the Warm Jets" which I consider to be the first Punk Rock album of the Punk period, despite its sophistication.
In the beginning they were ground breaking and innovative especially when Eno was in the band by this stage it got too bland and smooth for my taste. Well produced and possibly better musically but more like cabaret than rock.
Bang on the money JP...again. The whole of Avalon leaves you in a trance like state. Its a lovely album, and for me personally hearing it in my older years is certainly evocative of 'blue remembered hills'...but its by no means their best work at all. Roxy were my first love, took me out of the mainstream music world and into the art rock genre which led to many different roads such as Bowie, Gabriel, Bush, Pink Floyd and the Associates. If there was a film of my life, I'd choose 'Streetlife' as my coming of age soundtrack...but it was 'Virginia Plain' and 'Pjyamarama', more prog than this, that opened the gates to my own personal Avalon...boring fact, Avalon did exist and is now known as...Glastonbury. Great reaction again from the best reactor on youtube. We really need to get those subscriptions up, people are missing out.
Cocktail hour music... Easy to have a conversation with this playing if at a bar/club. If chilling the whole album just let's you ride along as you ease into your attitude adjustment, if so inclined...
This is not the Roxy Music I love. They changed. Just make sure you don't miss out on the first 3 albums. Fit them in to the other 400 albums you have in line on your channel....but fit them in. They were at their most creative. Later stuff tended towards commercial poppy stuff which isn't the Roxy I began to love. When I advise I just can't wait to broaden your knowledge. It gives me great pleasure.
Yes, I feel like they were two very Different but great bands - the 1st three albums are incredible, Brian Eno left after the excellent first two, but even he thought their third “Stranded” (my favorite!) was the peak of their first manifestation. This is later - different. Smooth, refined and beautiful
Hi Justin, it's interesting that your next 'First Listen' is Eno's Music for Airports. The 'Avalon' incarnation of Roxy was the post-punk, sophisti-pop version. The early Roxy Music albums with Eno are the experimental ones. The tracks 'Re-make/Re-model' and 'Ladytron' are the one's I would start with, although anything from the first two albums is amazingly 'different', experimental, art-rock, prog, genre defying. The Eddie Jobson period was also excellent, perhaps more prog in parts, 'Song for Europe' and 'Out of the Blue' anyone? The band had a hiatus between '75 and '79, during which time the members pursued side projects, Bryan Ferry had a successful solo career (which initially started in parallel with Roxy), Phil Manzanera and Eno worked on 801, other members worked on various projects. I don't know why the band decided that '79 would be a good time to get back together, but my best guess is that it might have been read as 'their time', the revolution in music which occurred in Britain between '76 and '78, meant that the only 'old fart music' seen as relevant by the new wave/punk scene was Roxy, Bowie, The Kinks and to a lesser extent The Who. Although, The Stranglers could never quite escape comparison to The Doors 😀
A solid album although I like the previous one "Flesh and Blood" more, probably because it was my 1st album by them. The track 'To Turn You On' is my favorite on "Avalon" maybe the most romantic they ever did.
Glad to see you are getting back into Roxy Music. As a band, for me, they are second only to the Beatles for innovation and creativity. While all of Roxy’s albums are great, to me the first five are true Roxy Music albums. The next three went too adult contemporary for my overall tastes. Each had great songs, but the band was relegated to Bryan’s backing band status...they never regained their former glory...
Backing vocals work so well with Bryan’s voice on this track. Along with keyboards, they add so much “atmosphere” to the song. Great track...always been a favorite.
This album at one point was voted in as one of the top 50 albums by Rolling Stone Magazine, it was trendy at the time, but I played the death out of it on cassette in my Mercury Lynx, my first brand new car! Great memories. This was my favorite tune on the album!
I like their first 2 albums - after that not so much. I prefer studio albums 95% of the time - but Roxy's live album 'Viva' may be my favorite listening experience by the group.
The best Roxy song Is from the Live at the Apollo DVD and it's Called,," A Song for Europe" If you cant find that version skip it because the older versions don't come close. It is the work of master musicians playing a revised version of the song and is magnificent. Very few have heard this version because it is only on the DVD so you will make a lot of people happy if you can show it to them for the first time
Bryan ferry is from my neck of the woods in the north-east of england, & proud he's a geordie alongside, sting, Mark knopfler, Alan hull(lindisfarne), paddy mcaloon(prefab sprout) & many more🎤🎵
So there I was, a young kid surprised as hell that I was allowed inside a club (a pretty cool one too) and I remember this song and Talk Talk's "It's My Life" being played bak to back. Even though my thing back then was more Bad Brains and Ministry and Killing Joke than this stuff, I was just mesmerized at the coolness of this song. The fact that the cool chicks also reacted well to the song helped, I won't lie. I immediately bought this record, alongside Ferry's "Bête Noire" and "Boys and Girls", all three records being cut from the same exact vein. I also became a huge Talk Talk fan. A much bigger fan than Ferry's or Roxy's. All because of this song and some really cool chicks at a cool club. C'est la vie.
This was a pleasant surprise. Not exactly a wake up and get your morning going song. My wife and I like to put this album on at night when we're sitting out on the back deck sharing a bottle of wine and just relaxing. The entire album rides a similar groove. For more Roxy Songs, try Love is the Drug, Both Ends Burning, Same Old Scene, Dance Away, will get you started. Great video.
These guys were on the frontlines of art rock all through the 70s, pushing on through the heart of the punk & disco movements! I’m gals they kept at it, because they ended the decade with an absolute MASTERPIECE ALBUM! And this album was Roxy Music at their absolute best! In fact, the band retired after the Avalon tour figuring they’d never top this album!! Check out “AVALON” & “My Only Friend”! Both are also masterpieces.
Going to throw out another great, heavy, hard rock band well worth giving a listen to. Cactus. A Blues/Rocker band that came together quickly, and they put out just a few albums in a short period early in the 70's. Tim Bogart the bassist played with Jeff Beck for a period of time and Vanilla Fudge along with Carmine Appice who is one of the legends of early Heavy rock drummer. Members came and went but Pete French came over who went on to play with Atomic Rooster as well. Anything from the first three albums is quality music. I want to recommend my favorite track, off the second album called One Way... Or Another, self titled song as well. It hits heavy, it is quality and a killer rhythm section will get you smiling and amazed that more great, and I mean great music came out in the early 70's time that many never listened to. Cheers Buddy, again, Cactus is a thumpin' good time!
This is an album that since I was a child it always impressed me, now I realize how flawless the production was and how each instrument and Brian Ferry's own singing laid out a musical landscape that seemed infinite like an ocean.
This song was used in lost in translation when bill murray sings it in a japenese karaoke bar, it's also been covered by alot of artists like 10,000 maniacs, blondie etc.
You beat me to the punch. Great song, it was featured in a movie called "Flashbacks of a Fool", starring Daniel Craig. The song goes from almost comical lyrics about growing potatoes to bittersweet reflections of growing older.
@@kuhnhan Yes, I watched that movie too, and that song has a very intense buildup. Especially if you listen to it in the context of the movie. Very nice song
My brother was huge into them. Not sure but this might be their most popular music and a favorite of mine among many. JP your description and how it makes you feel was spot on. It's a great song to drift to. "Slave to Love" is another favorite by Bryan Ferry. Nice reaction.
Avalon is a great album , by then Roxy had became super smooth, and was never followed up. My favourite Roxy Music album is Stranded from 1973, I would urge you to listen to their debut album Roxy Music, first track Re-make/Re-model not great production but still a remarkable piece of work .
For me, "Country Life" is best. The debut has great songs and experimentation, but the production is poor and Ferry sounds raw and thin. Amazing leap in quality on "For Your Pleasure".
@@anabellelei8540 Indeed. I love "Stranded" too. All those early Roxy albums have good songs and arrangements. For "Siren" I felt the album was not as strong as the albums that came before. Not as much variety in the arrangements. But there are gems there too. I particularly like "End of the Line" and "She Sells".
@@blackcatcentralmusic Just Another High is such a strong closer.I love how Siren seems like a decent into madness from start to finish.I could live forever never hearing Love is the Drug again. I think Mother Of Pearl might be my fav song period,but that changes!
Roxy Music's More than this entered the UK Top 40 on 3rd April 1982. It peaked at no.6. The top 10 this week was: 1 - Goombay Dance Band - Seven tears 2 - Imagination - Just an illusion 3 - Bucks Fizz - My camera never lies 4 - Julio Iglesias - Quiereme mucho (Yours) 5 - Chas n Dave - Ain't no pleasing you 6 - Derek & The Dominoes - Layla 7 - Japan - Ghosts 8 - Roxy Music - More than this 9 - Dollar - Give me back my heart 10 - Tight Fit - The lion sleeps tonight Other tracks in this week's top 40.. ABC - Poison arrow Visage - Damned don't cry Associates - Party fears two Bow Wow Wow - Go wild in the country Boomtown Rats - House on fire Gary Numan - Music for chameleons Shalemar - I can make you feel good Haircut 100 - Love plus one Depeche Mode - See you Madness - Cardiac arrest Pigbag - Papa's got a brand new pigbag Paul McCartney/Stevie Wonder - Ebony and Ivory A Flick Of Seagulls - I ran One of my favourite months of the 80s, full of colourful fun and excellently crafted pop songs
The production and quality of Avalon is undeniable but it is also a very different animal than the earlier Roxy Music. I can not recommend strongly enough that you listen to the "Viva!" album's live version of "If There Is Something". It features Eddie Jobson on violin and in my opinion that live recording of that song is the very best thing Roxy Music ever recorded.
Okay it's not Roxy Music from the first album's, but it's Roxy Music that the most love to hear. Check out "Oh yeah" from flesh and blood album, another beautiful song and my favorite. Greetings from Germany
Nice to hear this again after so many years. I played it a lot back when it came out, and it was a gateway for me into some of their back catalog. I look forward to hearing you dig into more tracks off of this one! Completely unrelated to RM, I've never seen anyone request you react to the Jam. A seminal UK band that many lump into the early punk scene, even though they weren't really part of it. I'd recommend A Town Called Malice as it's my favorite by them.
Avalon, what a superb album by this English group released in May 1982 and the great vocals of Bryan Ferry, great pick JP. Another winning song on this album was my favorite " THE SPACE BETWEEN". Remember "LOVE IS THE DRUG" by Roxy Music, released in 1975?
Personally, it's a dreamy slice of Roxy heaven, reminds me off, long hair, school, first girlfriend.. 😊 Wonderful song butty. His voice, them lush keyboard's Justin. 👍 Such a great band, underrated perhaps even butty. Great song, great album.. Awesome choice Justin. Thanks for that. I'm having a cuppa,listening to this belter Justin 😊 ❤️ Wonderful review, so glad you get Roxy Music.... Avalon oh yes butty. Have a lovely day butty. 😊
Hi JP! As long as you started reviewing 'Avalon', have a listen to my favorite track, 'True to Life'; I think it's a genuine masterpiece of 'sexy city romantic music'. By the way, 'Avalon' is one of my 'stranded-on-an-island' albums.
One of my favorite bands. I view them as oddly parallel to Steely Dan in a few ways: how they started off as a 'band' and evolved into more of an entity of core members-supported-by-crack-session-musicians; their sound was initially harder with more of rock edge and became more lush (and one might say commercial, FM-friendly) by the late '70s; great, mature, sharp-eyed lyrics; a contained oeuvre from the early '70s making it into the beginning of the '80s.
My musical tastes were different in the 80’s. However I remember them but not this song and I really enjoyed this. Thank you for another informative reaction.
I've heard this many times, but after seeing the movie "Matchstick Men" (w/Nicholas Cage), that's what always comes to mind now when hearing this song, since it was included in the soundtrack. Excellent movie BTW.
You know more about music than me... I have a comment, and a question. Comment: I think songs are appealing when they have high and low sounds table and bass sounds, in the same sentence, that juxtapose each other. So, in this song, "More than this" a great track by Roxy Music, the word "feel" in the chorus, is high, and "leaves" 2 lines later is low. The female band Heart, do that to quite a few of their songs, notable 'Alone', and 'Secret'. In the song 'Secret' the high words in the chorus are "ever", and "keep", and "weakness", and the elongated "love". The high words and mixed with low. The sentence "it goes away but I cant stop myself from leaving" has the same tonal shifts. Another Heart song 'There's the girl' does the exact same. (Heart have obviously sussed this out). I really like songs like this, and I personally think, my little theory, is we as humans have this instinctive like for the change in tones, or pitch, or melody (on not sure what it is). Its one of the reasons why we enjoy those melodic guitar solos. My question: what is this process in music making called? Does it have a technical name? I mean... its deliberate... right? To captivate us... right? You do touch upon this is your review. Many thanks in advance for reading this and your feed back is greatly appreciated. Love your reactions and reviews.
You should like this -- it's the kind of thing that was feeding David Sylvian as a lad (even though this song is well into his Japan phase). IMO the Avalon album is nearly perfect, very smooth and sometimes dreamy but very consistent.
The 3 incredible Roxy Music albums occurred after Eno left (as great as he was, he needed to start his stellar solo career) and was replaced by Eddie Jobson. Stranded, Country Life, and Siren are the pinnacle of Roxy Music's legacy. You should review Mother of Pearl off Stranded.
Thanks for the great reaction. Maybe you like to listen to Really Good Time from Roxy Music's Country life. It's just a heartwarming song. I know you prefer the wirder (I don't know if that's even a word🤔😅) stuff so therefor you should check out sea breezes from theyr first album. I love that song so much
Good pop song from a time when Roxy were concentrating on commercial appeal. They did this kind of song very well on Avalon, Flesh and Blood and on Manifesto. However, for a sample of how different they were at the start, try Remake/Remodel from their first album Roxy Music. Brian Eno was in the band for this album and it’s follow up For Your Pleasure, and you can see the difference between the two styles. Also have a listen to the single Pyjamarama: it only appeared on Greatest Hits albums but it has one of the best openings of any song in the 70s!
I would love it if you would check out the band Beardfish. I think you will like them. They use a very 70's influenced prog style. Songs like "The Hunter", "Downward spiral/Chimay", "Voluntary Slavery", or "South of the Border" would be an excellent choice. I know, random video to put this on lol
![Megan Thee Stallion - Bigger In Texas [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/QxTkZTLWdo4/mqdefault.jpg)
I just think this is one of the most lush, gorgeous songs ever written... the textures are amazing. The drums, the synths, the guitars, the sax... it's like rolling a calm, warm sea.
💕💕💕💕💕💕
Definition for this song: Lots of class, glamor and pure charm.
Very true :)
Masterpiece song of a masterpiece album. Love Roxy Music and Bryan fFerry!
"Avalon" dropped in May of 1982, many unplanned pregnancies followed.
🤣
I was thinking the same thing.
No doubt.
That album is so consistent, in its song writing, and production. Like having double cream poured in both ears. Not for the hard core Roxy fans, but SO smooth...
A good brew if you will😃
I consider myself a hard core Roxy fan. I love late period and I love early and middle (also a distinct genre) Roxy Music. All for different reasons.
Don't know a lot about Roxy Music but the title track of this album is one of the most beautiful songs ever written.
@Celtic Revival / Adfywiad Celtaidd thanks Celtic revival. I'm guessing the Isle of Avalon has it's roots in Welsh etymology.
They're Rock'n'Roll Hall of Famers.....start getting to know them!
@Celtic Revival / Adfywiad Celtaidd latin too
love this song...more than this...bryan ferry, roxy music have some great music...slave to love, avalon, jealous guy, dance away, angel eyes...check out bryan ferry live in lyon like a hurricane...it can be found on youtube.
Remember an interview Ferry gave when this song was just released. He stated something to the effect that the song was "structured" like a sigh. Beautiful.
Who can deny the great voice of Bryan Ferry? Easy listening music, though not that simple. And the album Avalon is very well produced. Was played many times.
So true
I'd say easy on the ear..
They didn't start out easy listening. Avalon was the beginning of that era for Roxy Music. Go back and listen to Virginia Plain.
@@eximusic I would say their AOL career started with Manifesto 1979 , before that as you say different band more art rock which is my favourite era , although this is excellent as is Flesh & Blood !
@@mikewest1542 It's all great music. Although I don't have it any longer, I remember Manifesto having some fast paced songs, competing with the punk era it came out in. I believe it came out not long after Eno's Before and After Science.
This was a distinctive era for Roxy Music. It's lovely and all, and you should hear it. Lots of people love this era, and this album took Roxy Music mainstream. The early 70s era of Roxy Music is far more interesting to me personally as they really did crazy stuff. Plus I'll always be interested in Brian Eno.
Such a talent,a feel good song
Jump into your car,and let it play..
Avalon is one of my favourite albums of all time and In my opinion their best album. Have this on vinyl
80s is d best era of music
Takes me back to my first year of marriage in 1982. My wife and I were so young, away from home and learning on our own.
This song will take you to another place if you let it. Brilliant Grove!!!
A beautiful song. I love the tastefully restrained guitar accents at the end.
Avalon was one of the first digitally recorded albums. I remember (as a roadie) sitting in recording studios with stunned engineers listening to the gorgeous sound of this sonic confection. I love all Roxy but this one glistens like gold,
You absolutely have to listen to the first album of RM. It's groundbreaking in many ways. No one had done an album like that before mixing prog & glam & art rock. A must!
I just may!
The synth is actually a Lyricon, which allowed a synth to be played like a saxophone. The original Lyricon did not have MIDI, but later versions and wind controllers later provided that capability. It expanded sax player's pallette to play very unique sounds, I love it as an instrument. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyricon
Roxy Music....Gorgeous.
I remember watching MTV in the early 80s and remember watching more than this back in 1982 when I was 4
The sophistication of the production on this track has always been stunning to me.
Late Roxy Music is very different from the early period with Eddie Jobson and Brian Eno. I prefer the early period and especially the album, "Country Life".
"Avalon" has amazing production by Rhett Davies and Bob Clearmountain. It set the standard for other albums and musically influenced the "new Romantic" groups of the early '80s.
Bryan Ferry continued with the style and production of "Avalon" on his excellent solo albums, "Boys and Girls", and, "Bete Noire".
The most experimental music is on "For Your Pleasure" with Brian Eno. Try "The Bogus Man".
'Country Life' is my favorite Roxy Music album as well.
TRANZEURO me too
The New Romantic thing had already happened by the time this album was released. Both Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet had already released their first 2 albums and Japan split up the same year.
I think you will enjoy "Mother of Pearl" from Roxy Music.
Yeah,that's a great one.
In the early 90s my nephew he was asking me about different bands to listen to I told him about the cramps course Led Zeppelin Richard Hell & the voidoids X and then I told him about Roxy Music and how Roxy was one of my favorite bands a few years later he walked up to me and said Uncle Steve mother Pearl gives me goosebumps smart boy I also remember watching his eyes as he listened to My Lou Reed Rock and Roll Animal album Good Times
A brilliant review is on Justin’s excellent channel!
I wish the heavenly instrumental second half could go on forever! Amazing production 🔥
Sheer brilliance....one of the finest crafted songs ever!
Nice description of your reaction to this smooth-sounding Roxy Music song, Justin.
I was late to the Roxy Music party, but have been thrilled by them since first hearing the LPs in late 1979 and early 1980. Lucky to have seen them on tour for Avalon, and again during the reunion tour in 2001. I recommend that you check out songs from the second, third and fourth albums, For Your Pleasure, Stranded and Country Life respectively. Especially songs like "Mother of Pearl", "Do The Strand", "Editions of You", "Out of the Blue", "The Thrill of It All", "For Your Pleasure", "Street Life", "Song for Europe", etc. Okay, all of them, really. Shows how a creative band can look forward into the future, back into the past, and be in a strange part of the present all at the same time. By the way, all the early albums (up to the 1976 hiatus) are great, and the later ones have high points, while many people consider Avalon a high point of a very different sound. I still prefer the stranger sounding early albums over that one - which I still enjoy very much.
Brian Eno was still playing keybooards and interesting synth effects for Roxy on For Your Pleasure (second album) after which he left, but has commented in later interviews that Stranded (recorded after he had left the band) is his favourite Roxy Music album. Eno continued working with guitarist Phil Manzanera (on each other's albums and in the supergroup, 801) for years as well as with so many other bands and artists once he turned to producing. My fave Eno production is probably Talking Heads' Remain In Light.
One of my favorite Roxy Music songs! Love Bryan Ferry's voice!
Do all this album Justin its incredible its one of the best things ive ever heard from the 80s and maybe from all time, but to be honest they weren't Roxy Music they were all just Bryan Ferry but hey their still good and its a good song. Avalon, Take a Chance with me, The Main Thing and To Turn You On are my favorites from this album
The title track is super pretty and sweeeeet.
This album was much more smooth than their earlier work, a break from the more raucous and experimental records they gave us.
Brian Eno left the band after two albums but some of the Roxies kept recording and even toured with Eno, between Roxy albums and tours. I strongly recommend you explore Eno's music...
Anything off "Here Come the Warm Jets" which I consider to be the first Punk Rock album of the Punk period, despite its sophistication.
My Roxy recommendation: "Oh Yeah!" from their "Flesh and Blood" album.
That is a fabulous song 🎧
In the beginning they were ground breaking and innovative especially when Eno was in the band by this stage it got too bland and smooth for my taste. Well produced and possibly better musically but more like cabaret than rock.
Awesome album...Great car music. Came out when I was in college. Good times.
Oooh please try "Same Old Scene" by Roxy Music. Fabulous bit of slap bass from the dearly departed Alan Spenner :)
Bang on the money JP...again. The whole of Avalon leaves you in a trance like state. Its a lovely album, and for me personally hearing it in my older years is certainly evocative of 'blue remembered hills'...but its by no means their best work at all. Roxy were my first love, took me out of the mainstream music world and into the art rock genre which led to many different roads such as Bowie, Gabriel, Bush, Pink Floyd and the Associates. If there was a film of my life, I'd choose 'Streetlife' as my coming of age soundtrack...but it was 'Virginia Plain' and 'Pjyamarama', more prog than this, that opened the gates to my own personal Avalon...boring fact, Avalon did exist and is now known as...Glastonbury. Great reaction again from the best reactor on youtube. We really need to get those subscriptions up, people are missing out.
Ty always Mario😄
One of the best engineered albums ever.
Cocktail hour music... Easy to have a conversation with this playing if at a bar/club. If chilling the whole album just let's you ride along as you ease into your attitude adjustment, if so inclined...
Ohhhh boy. Now you’re stepping in it! Great stuff here! Thank you.
Ty!
It took me years to come around to the smooth beauty of this song and album. As a metalhead in the 80s, this sort of song was anathema.
Great stuff from Roxy Music ☝️
This is not the Roxy Music I love. They changed. Just make sure you don't miss out on the first 3 albums. Fit them in to the other 400 albums you have in line on your channel....but fit them in. They were at their most creative. Later stuff tended towards commercial poppy stuff which isn't the Roxy I began to love. When I advise I just can't wait to broaden your knowledge. It gives me great pleasure.
Their first 5 albums are absolute gold. After the 'Siren' album, their sound became too soft & polished (IMHO). I still love them though.
Ty Derek, I definitely plan on checking out the early work
Yes, I feel like they were two very Different but great bands - the 1st three albums are incredible, Brian Eno left after the excellent first two, but even he thought their third “Stranded” (my favorite!) was the peak of their first manifestation.
This is later - different. Smooth, refined and beautiful
@@edwardmeradith2419 Cool Edward. I still binge listen about once a year whilst driving
@@edwardmeradith2419 I think their third album 'Stranded' and fourth album 'Country Life' are their best.
Hi Justin, it's interesting that your next 'First Listen' is Eno's Music for Airports. The 'Avalon' incarnation of Roxy was the post-punk, sophisti-pop version. The early Roxy Music albums with Eno are the experimental ones. The tracks 'Re-make/Re-model' and 'Ladytron' are the one's I would start with, although anything from the first two albums is amazingly 'different', experimental, art-rock, prog, genre defying. The Eddie Jobson period was also excellent, perhaps more prog in parts, 'Song for Europe' and 'Out of the Blue' anyone? The band had a hiatus between '75 and '79, during which time the members pursued side projects, Bryan Ferry had a successful solo career (which initially started in parallel with Roxy), Phil Manzanera and Eno worked on 801, other members worked on various projects. I don't know why the band decided that '79 would be a good time to get back together, but my best guess is that it might have been read as 'their time', the revolution in music which occurred in Britain between '76 and '78, meant that the only 'old fart music' seen as relevant by the new wave/punk scene was Roxy, Bowie, The Kinks and to a lesser extent The Who. Although, The Stranglers could never quite escape comparison to The Doors 😀
I do kind of love this song, it’s certainly a classic of its time.
FERRY..AWESOME AND THE BAND HUNKERS DOWN..GREAT STUFF,,KEEP UP YTHE GREAT REACTIONS SIR
A solid album although I like the previous one "Flesh and Blood" more, probably because it was my 1st album by them. The track 'To Turn You On' is my favorite on "Avalon" maybe the most romantic they ever did.
Flesh and blood is great! Blue print for synth pop 🔥
Yes! Please do more Roxy Music. From all eras. Try some early stuff like Remake/Re-model or Virginia Plain.
Glad to see you are getting back into Roxy Music. As a band, for me, they are second only to the Beatles for innovation and creativity. While all of Roxy’s albums are great, to me the first five are true Roxy Music albums. The next three went too adult contemporary for my overall tastes. Each had great songs, but the band was relegated to Bryan’s backing band status...they never regained their former glory...
Check out Pink Floyd's One slip, colab with Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera. I always got Brian Ferry mixed up with Richard from Richard and Judy.
Very underrated song. Almost no airplay when released. Sweeping, almost majestic......
Backing vocals work so well with Bryan’s voice on this track. Along with keyboards, they add so much “atmosphere” to the song. Great track...always been a favorite.
This album at one point was voted in as one of the top 50 albums by Rolling Stone Magazine, it was trendy at the time, but I played the death out of it on cassette in my Mercury Lynx, my first brand new car! Great memories. This was my favorite tune on the album!
Always loved this song. Fun fact, Prince did this song live back in 2011. The video's on here...
Another song from that era is "O Superman" by Laurie Anderson. Please.
Great reaction video. My favorite Roxy Music album. My favorite song on this album is, The Space Between Us. Amazing
I like their first 2 albums - after that not so much. I prefer studio albums 95% of the time - but Roxy's live album 'Viva' may be my favorite listening experience by the group.
Totally agree. At this stage they were just "Ferry and his Backing Band".
Yeah! What a fantastic album!!!
I'll be more forgiving and say that I like their first 5 albums....afterTHAT !.....not so much.lol
Wat a song it brings back some classical vice city memories
This song makes me cry sometimes. Other times it puts a smile on my face. Beautiful lyrics.
Absolutely 😃
The best Roxy song Is from the Live at the Apollo DVD and it's Called,," A Song for Europe" If you cant find that version skip it because the older versions don't come close. It is the work of master musicians playing a revised version of the song and is magnificent. Very few have heard this version because it is only on the DVD so you will make a lot of people happy if you can show it to them for the first time
Agreed, this song has a dreamy atmosphere to it.
I tend to listen to it on late evening with dimmed lighting.
Perfect mood
Love this song always ❤️ 💕 💖 💗
Hands Down my favorite song by Roxy Music. I can’t explain why, it just is.
Bryan ferry is from my neck of the woods in the north-east of england, & proud he's a geordie alongside, sting, Mark knopfler, Alan hull(lindisfarne), paddy mcaloon(prefab sprout) & many more🎤🎵
Sting and Brian Johnson, too.
@@willrichardson519 will I mentioned sting, but yeah Brian Johnson, another geordie legend, and lots more besides🎵🎵👍
So there I was, a young kid surprised as hell that I was allowed inside a club (a pretty cool one too) and I remember this song and Talk Talk's "It's My Life" being played bak to back. Even though my thing back then was more Bad Brains and Ministry and Killing Joke than this stuff, I was just mesmerized at the coolness of this song. The fact that the cool chicks also reacted well to the song helped, I won't lie. I immediately bought this record, alongside Ferry's "Bête Noire" and "Boys and Girls", all three records being cut from the same exact vein. I also became a huge Talk Talk fan. A much bigger fan than Ferry's or Roxy's. All because of this song and some really cool chicks at a cool club. C'est la vie.
Both ends burning
This was a pleasant surprise. Not exactly a wake up and get your morning going song. My wife and I like to put this album on at night when we're sitting out on the back deck sharing a bottle of wine and just relaxing. The entire album rides a similar groove. For more Roxy Songs, try Love is the Drug, Both Ends Burning, Same Old Scene, Dance Away, will get you started. Great video.
Perfect mood for a bit of Roxy🍷
Classic album. "Take a chance on me" would be another great pick from this album. Sublime Guitar in that one.
These guys were on the frontlines of art rock all through the 70s, pushing on through the heart of the punk & disco movements! I’m gals they kept at it, because they ended the decade with an absolute MASTERPIECE ALBUM!
And this album was Roxy Music at their absolute best! In fact, the band retired after the Avalon tour figuring they’d never top this album!!
Check out “AVALON” & “My Only Friend”! Both are also masterpieces.
Going to throw out another great, heavy, hard rock band well worth giving a listen to. Cactus. A Blues/Rocker band that came together quickly, and they put out just a few albums in a short period early in the 70's. Tim Bogart the bassist played with Jeff Beck for a period of time and Vanilla Fudge along with Carmine Appice who is one of the legends of early Heavy rock drummer. Members came and went but Pete French came over who went on to play with Atomic Rooster as well. Anything from the first three albums is quality music. I want to recommend my favorite track, off the second album called One Way... Or Another, self titled song as well. It hits heavy, it is quality and a killer rhythm section will get you smiling and amazed that more great, and I mean great music came out in the early 70's time that many never listened to. Cheers Buddy, again, Cactus is a thumpin' good time!
Checkout Roxy music Jealous Guy . Classic.
This is an album that since I was a child it always impressed me, now I realize how flawless the production was and how each instrument and Brian Ferry's own singing laid out a musical landscape that seemed infinite like an ocean.
Try Oh Yeah! from the previous album Flesh+Blood.
Roxy Music 1971-1975. The following stuff is high quality but cocktail bar music in comparison with their first 4/5 albums
Love this song and also many others from roxy music for example Virginia plain
This song was used in lost in translation when bill murray sings it in a japenese karaoke bar, it's also been covered by alot of artists like 10,000 maniacs, blondie etc.
Amazing song and really good drumming!
Very smooth..
I prefer their first 5 albums which are incredible. I believe 'Siren' in '75 was their last truly great album.
I love Roxy music, you should check out" if there is something"from the first Roxy music album it's Prog for sure.
You beat me to the punch. Great song, it was featured in a movie called "Flashbacks of a Fool", starring Daniel Craig. The song goes from almost comical lyrics about growing potatoes to bittersweet reflections of growing older.
@@kuhnhan Yes, I watched that movie too, and that song has a very intense buildup. Especially if you listen to it in the context of the movie. Very nice song
My brother was huge into them. Not sure but this might be their most popular music and a favorite of mine among many. JP your description and how it makes you feel was spot on. It's a great song to drift to. "Slave to Love" is another favorite by Bryan Ferry. Nice reaction.
Avalon is a great album , by then Roxy had became super smooth, and was never followed up. My favourite Roxy Music album is Stranded from 1973, I would urge you to listen to their debut album Roxy Music, first track Re-make/Re-model not great production but still a remarkable piece of work .
Mine too, Siren is pretty much tied
For me, "Country Life" is best. The debut has great songs and experimentation, but the production is poor and Ferry sounds raw and thin. Amazing leap in quality on "For Your Pleasure".
@@blackcatcentralmusic Siren and Stranded for me w/ For Your Pleasure and Country l Life after, but music and opinions,Right?
@@anabellelei8540 Indeed. I love "Stranded" too. All those early Roxy albums have good songs and arrangements. For "Siren" I felt the album was not as strong as the albums that came before. Not as much variety in the arrangements. But there are gems there too. I particularly like "End of the Line" and "She Sells".
@@blackcatcentralmusic Just Another High is such a strong closer.I love how Siren seems like a decent into madness from start to finish.I could live forever never hearing Love is the Drug again. I think Mother Of Pearl might be my fav song period,but that changes!
Roxy Music's More than this entered the UK Top 40 on 3rd April 1982. It peaked at no.6.
The top 10 this week was:
1 - Goombay Dance Band - Seven tears
2 - Imagination - Just an illusion
3 - Bucks Fizz - My camera never lies
4 - Julio Iglesias - Quiereme mucho (Yours)
5 - Chas n Dave - Ain't no pleasing you
6 - Derek & The Dominoes - Layla
7 - Japan - Ghosts
8 - Roxy Music - More than this
9 - Dollar - Give me back my heart
10 - Tight Fit - The lion sleeps tonight
Other tracks in this week's top 40..
ABC - Poison arrow
Visage - Damned don't cry
Associates - Party fears two
Bow Wow Wow - Go wild in the country
Boomtown Rats - House on fire
Gary Numan - Music for chameleons
Shalemar - I can make you feel good
Haircut 100 - Love plus one
Depeche Mode - See you
Madness - Cardiac arrest
Pigbag - Papa's got a brand new pigbag
Paul McCartney/Stevie Wonder - Ebony and Ivory
A Flick Of Seagulls - I ran
One of my favourite months of the 80s, full of colourful fun and excellently crafted pop songs
The production and quality of Avalon is undeniable but it is also a very different animal than the earlier Roxy Music. I can not recommend strongly enough that you listen to the "Viva!" album's live version of "If There Is Something". It features Eddie Jobson on violin and in my opinion that live recording of that song is the very best thing Roxy Music ever recorded.
Okay it's not Roxy Music from the first album's, but it's Roxy Music that the most love to hear. Check out "Oh yeah" from flesh and blood album, another beautiful song and my favorite.
Greetings from Germany
Try “True to Life” on that album. It’s so amazingly good.
Nice to hear this again after so many years. I played it a lot back when it came out, and it was a gateway for me into some of their back catalog. I look forward to hearing you dig into more tracks off of this one! Completely unrelated to RM, I've never seen anyone request you react to the Jam. A seminal UK band that many lump into the early punk scene, even though they weren't really part of it. I'd recommend A Town Called Malice as it's my favorite by them.
Avalon, what a superb album by this English group released in May 1982 and the great vocals of Bryan Ferry, great pick JP. Another winning song on this album was my favorite " THE SPACE BETWEEN". Remember "LOVE IS THE DRUG" by Roxy Music, released in 1975?
True to Life is an often overlooked track on this album but beautiful!
The voice of Bryan Ferry, with the looks of James Bond. Smoooth
Personally, it's a dreamy slice of Roxy heaven, reminds me off, long hair, school, first girlfriend.. 😊
Wonderful song butty.
His voice, them lush keyboard's Justin. 👍
Such a great band, underrated perhaps even butty.
Great song, great album.. Awesome choice Justin. Thanks for that.
I'm having a cuppa,listening to this belter Justin 😊 ❤️
Wonderful review, so glad you get Roxy Music....
Avalon oh yes butty.
Have a lovely day butty. 😊
Ty Neil, hope youre having a great day and weekend
Hi JP! As long as you started reviewing 'Avalon', have a listen to my favorite track, 'True to Life'; I think it's a genuine masterpiece of 'sexy city romantic music'. By the way, 'Avalon' is one of my 'stranded-on-an-island' albums.
One of my favorite bands. I view them as oddly parallel to Steely Dan in a few ways: how they started off as a 'band' and evolved into more of an entity of core members-supported-by-crack-session-musicians; their sound was initially harder with more of rock edge and became more lush (and one might say commercial, FM-friendly) by the late '70s; great, mature, sharp-eyed lyrics; a contained oeuvre from the early '70s making it into the beginning of the '80s.
Never saw the parallel with Steely Dan before but you're right. Similar arc.
Interesting point, and I agree.
My musical tastes were different in the 80’s. However I remember them but not this song and I really enjoyed this. Thank you for another informative reaction.
I've heard this many times, but after seeing the movie "Matchstick Men" (w/Nicholas Cage), that's what always comes to mind now when hearing this song, since it was included in the soundtrack. Excellent movie BTW.
You know more about music than me... I have a comment, and a question.
Comment: I think songs are appealing when they have high and low sounds table and bass sounds, in the same sentence, that juxtapose each other. So, in this song, "More than this" a great track by Roxy Music, the word "feel" in the chorus, is high, and "leaves" 2 lines later is low.
The female band Heart, do that to quite a few of their songs, notable 'Alone', and 'Secret'. In the song 'Secret' the high words in the chorus are "ever", and "keep", and "weakness", and the elongated "love". The high words and mixed with low. The sentence "it goes away but I cant stop myself from leaving" has the same tonal shifts.
Another Heart song 'There's the girl' does the exact same. (Heart have obviously sussed this out).
I really like songs like this, and I personally think, my little theory, is we as humans have this instinctive like for the change in tones, or pitch, or melody (on not sure what it is). Its one of the reasons why we enjoy those melodic guitar solos.
My question: what is this process in music making called? Does it have a technical name? I mean... its deliberate... right? To captivate us... right?
You do touch upon this is your review.
Many thanks in advance for reading this and your feed back is greatly appreciated.
Love your reactions and reviews.
You should like this -- it's the kind of thing that was feeding David Sylvian as a lad (even though this song is well into his Japan phase). IMO the Avalon album is nearly perfect, very smooth and sometimes dreamy but very consistent.
The 3 incredible Roxy Music albums occurred after Eno left (as great as he was, he needed to start his stellar solo career) and was replaced by Eddie Jobson. Stranded, Country Life, and Siren are the pinnacle of Roxy Music's legacy. You should review Mother of Pearl off Stranded.
Thanks for the great reaction. Maybe you like to listen to Really Good Time from Roxy Music's Country life. It's just a heartwarming song. I know you prefer the wirder (I don't know if that's even a word🤔😅) stuff so therefor you should check out sea breezes from theyr first album. I love that song so much
Love this album...just so smooth. Favorite track for me is "Take A Chance With Me", especially the part where it changes into higher gear.
Good pop song from a time when Roxy were concentrating on commercial appeal. They did this kind of song very well on Avalon, Flesh and Blood and on Manifesto. However, for a sample of how different they were at the start, try Remake/Remodel from their first album Roxy Music. Brian Eno was in the band for this album and it’s follow up For Your Pleasure, and you can see the difference between the two styles. Also have a listen to the single Pyjamarama: it only appeared on Greatest Hits albums but it has one of the best openings of any song in the 70s!
Absolutely teeming down here...
I would love it if you would check out the band Beardfish. I think you will like them. They use a very 70's influenced prog style. Songs like "The Hunter", "Downward spiral/Chimay", "Voluntary Slavery", or "South of the Border" would be an excellent choice. I know, random video to put this on lol