Roxy Music 'Avalon'

there's something so silly and great about it

it's actually really heartwarming to me to think that someone could have conjured it up

though there is a very strong cognitive dissonance between bryan ferry's love-man seduction moves and the evocation of a saxon warrior looking out over the north sea or whatever

is that part of the point of the title track? i have no clue

I think I actually prefer "Flesh + Blood" despite it's occasional naffness.

Also, the r&b bass on the title track is fantastic.

i'm not sure i get the talk talk connection...can you elaborate?

yes the bass is nice and so are andy newmark's drums. the drum sound has a lot to do with how this is dated (note again that i am not using that word as a pejorative). the title track has that reggae-robbed-of-its-sideways-jerk quality that worked to varying extents for a lot of rock bands of the late 70s/early 80s

sometimes the effects on ferry's voice--reverb etc--seem a bit overdone, but usually not

given the subject matter of the songs and the overall conceit that's both refreshing and creepy

I can sense it -- restrained elegant bliss as final endpoint from a chaotic pop/rock start. In terms of song structure and thematic focus there's no real connection but in a general sense of 'atmosphere' as generically considered...hm, it's an intriguing observation.

do you mean over the span of these bands' careers or the span of a song?

because it seems to me that talk talk rather rediscovered the value of certain "ugly"/chaotic sounds (utilized in moderation) etc. as they moved along and roxy music purposely excluded such sounds in their later records.

I still think "The Main Thing" is a great song.

Lite rock in itself is not inherently bad.

But that's not why Avalon was made, so that's the problem.

The sibilance [sp] of the track does the rest.

It is the best album OMD ever made.

I'm sick of ILM, if anyone cares.

Have fun.

It's a very well put together record, for sure — and pleasing in many respects: hooks, melodies, synths. And I kind of enjoy it.

But to me, Avalon is the sound of Ferry falling hopelessly in love with a character he had been parodying up until then. As a result, it's utterly impossible to hear this record as anything other than the consequence of that transformation. Does it reflect 80s soullessness? Absolutely — but not in a conscious way at all. And so other than it being made by a legend, nothing about it makes the record all that much different than any other pleasant radio fare from the era.

Does that make sense?

Bryan's son protesting at Tony Blair's constituency home in support of foxhunting almost exactly 20 years later - ie the Ferry lineage now *more* old-establishment than the PM - was the logical conclusion. That's not a diss of "Avalon", far from it.

I HEART "Avalon", btw. "True To Life" is my high watermark - where Bry goes all Liz Fraser on us (at least in terms of being vowelly and impenetrable) and sounds gloriously faded glam-y.

I remember him coming to NYC in 1988 and my then-GF saying "We gotta see him' and I had a deep reaction of 'Why???"

As for the music, I may have mentioned this before, but the feeling of hanging out in some polynesian themed hotel lounge I get is totally unique.

Though the model was in fact a woman -- certainly it was cryptically conveyed, though.

Robin, I'm well aware of Lucy Helmore's background and Ferry's social climbing (his London home was one of the first features in World Of Interiors magazine, it was all very trad and landed gentry, not an inch of modernism anywhere). Though I would disagree that no one cared about Ferry after "Avalon", I know plenty of people who adored "Boys & Girls" and to whom Ferry means an awful lot, just as much as Bowie.

The big difference is that Eno's pieces are aiming for the illusion of stillness, like a water feature while Ferry is trying for stillness. Or put another way Eno's still curious, Avalon's the work of a man who's found his place, both socially and romantically, and is contented. It's no suprise that he packed Roxy in after that as it was an artistic dead end, though he did try refining it with diminishing returns over the following 15 years. It's also no surprise giving his recent background that Frantic is probably his best and most invigorating work since then.

my mom inexplicably had "boys and girls" in her collection but has no memory of hearing it or buying it. i liked it but was typically afraid to admit to that.

jesus christ, grad school has robbed me of the luxury of spending more than 30 minutes thinking about anything except work. i really miss being able to make extended observations like the one that opens this thread. i think i'll slit my wrists.

No, stay true to life. That's the main thing.

Oh my guffing fod. I can't believe this thread came up just now! I was driving home tonight and I saw this street called "Avalon" and I vowed to try to remember to look up the Roxy Music album called that, but I was trying to memorize these other three musical things I'd come across tonight at the same time and then by the time I got home I totally forgot what the 4th thing was and it was Roxy. Thanks ILM! *whew*

ah so that's why amateurist has been so quiet lately

jesus christ, grad school has robbed me of the luxury of spending more than 30 minutes thinking about anything except work.

There's a reason I left it.

amateurist is wrong about "To Turn You On." Predictable chord sequence, icky sentiment, blah blah blah -- he sings it beautifully, especially the way he enunciates "God help me."

I heard avalon on one of the episodes of heroes last night.

this relationship ain't right

truly one of the best moments in music right there.. the guitars, the sax, the croon, the humidity..

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.