Separate post: I saw Roxy as a little kid in a cinema in Rome. There wasn't even a proper stage because no one dared playing in Italy in those years. Roxy comes out, in full glam and regalia, but all standing with their back to the audience. There was some kind of recorded music playing. Then a big firecrack!, and they all jumped up, and spun around. There was like a moment of dead silence. And then "There's a new sensation..."
Really thrilled to see these guys covering Roxy. For my money, they're up there with the Beatles, Stones, and Kinks. Love Bryan Ferry's solo work, too: In Your Mind, Olympia, Let's Stick Together, and The Bride Stripped Bare are special favorites. Siren and Country Life are both 5s for me, Stranded and For Your Pleasure 4.5, the debut 4. The only thing I really take exception to in these reviews is Kramzer's put-down of "Song for Europe": can't tell you how many times I've thrilled to every aspect of that, from the lyrics to the arrangement to Ferry's performance. And that fade: God almighty....magnificent.
I absolutely adore the more experimental early records but for me their best will always be Avalon. Avalon is just a perfect masterpiece. Atmospheric, sensual, mysterious, moody, and transcendent. Just a stellar record.
As long as you don't directly compare it to something like Country life, Avalon is a phenomenally good album. You just can't go into it expecting a noisy artrock album but it definitely encapsulates the early 80s.
This was ridiculously easy for me. 1. Country Life (the best of their first phase) 2. Avalon (the best of their second phase) 3. For Your Pleasure (their best LP with Eno) 4. Stranded 5. Siren 6. Roxy Music (first half far better than the second) ...big gap... 7. Flesh + Blood (only comes above Manifesto due to the awesomeness of "Same Old Scene") 8. Manifesto (listened to in full maybe a handful of times to refresh my memory, but never truly feel like listening to it ever)
I must be that arty guy-For Your Pleasure is hands down my favorite Roxy Music record! to defend Brian Eno's contribution a little; "In Every Dream Home..." ends in an amazing Manzanera guitar solo that is really enhanced by Eno's effects. the voice at the end of the title track? Judi Dench. the cover model? Amanda Lear (Ferry's gf at the time). thanks guys for covering Roxy Music :)
8. Flesh and Blood : 1980 3.5 stars 7. Avalon: 1982 4 stars 6. Manifesto : 1979 4 stars 5. Siren : 1975 4 stars 4. Stranded : 1973 4.5 stars 3. Country Life: 1974 4.5 stars 2. Roxy Music : 1972 5 stars 1. For Your Pleasure: 1973 5 stars This was a real pleasure. Knew all of their discography but hadn't gone back to it in years and going through this exercise reminded me how great and influential they were particularly to that initial punk/new wave scene of the late 70s. All albums bar one are 4 stars plus. My favourite discography review this year so far.
*5 Stars* 1. Stranded *4.5 Stars* 2. Avalon 3. Flesh + Blood *4 Stars* 4. For Your Pleasure 5. Roxy Music 6. Country Life 7. Siren *3.5 Stars* 8. Manifesto Roxy Music is a really consistent band for me. I mentioned in the Discord that they're almost Spoon-like in their consistency. No album is worse than good for me. I had heard most of the albums going into this except for Manifesto and Flesh + Blood.
Country Life for me is their best work, l know a lot of people wouldn't agree, but it's a balanced album with some of their best songs. Out of the Blue, Prairie Rose, The Thrill of it All and A Really Good Time some great examples.
I think what keeps me coming back to this channel (besides the natural chemistry and the top-notch articulation on display - Kram is really good at this and that’s taking nothing away from Jas & Joe who are both excellent also) is the album takes go from being so agreeable to genuine wtf moments! I mean Joe putting the first two albums bottom is one of the bigger wtf moments of late, and then arguably un-done by Jas putting Manifesto top! It all serves up a delicious hour or so of three dudes just taking music in a really entertaining and engaging way
My ranking is pretty close to chronological. I wonder how much of this comes to hearing the albums fairly close to their release dates. 1. Roxy Music. 2. For Your Pleasure. Started listening to vinyl again, in the past 2 years, so I'm very excited for the first two Roxy albums being released in half-speed masters. 3. Stranded. 4. Country Life. These four are all amazing albums, and Stranded and Country Life can flip ranking on any given day. 5. Siren. Love this record; only a notch below the first 4, but couldn't say why. Sentimental Fool is a favorite. Also the last time the invaluable Paul Thompson really shines. 6. Manifesto. Eh, couple of decent songs, but this is where they started to sound like they were auditioning for soundtrack placement on an episode of Miami Vice. 7. Avalon. Ibid. 8. Flesh and Blood. Maybe if it was promoted as a Bryan Ferry solo album, but still pretty weak. An important, formative band in my youth. My friends and I would buy just about anything on the Island label. Trying to think of what the Third Side episode could be: Best solo releases, bands who, arguably, got better after a founding member left, bands whose lesser albums were there most commercially successful...
My ranking: 1. Country Life 2. Siren 3. Avalon 4-7. (In no particular order) Roxy Music, For Your Pleasure, Stranded, Manifesto 8. Flesh + Blood I discovered Roxy Music when Siren was released in 1975. For decades that was my favorite Roxy Music album, because of its accessible art rock flash. Recently, I rediscovered Country Life and now listen to it quite often. It embodies their decadent romantic image in a collection of powerfully energetic songs, in particular the opener, The Thrill of It All. Avalon is the perfect example of a band re-inventing itself but still retaining its basic appeal. There's still that mystery and romanticism and swirling instrumentation and wistful singing. The only bad thing about Avalon is that the evolutionary journey that led to it forced out their fantastic original drummer, Paul Thompson. Manifesto just didn't grab me when it came out in 1979. It has a lot of interesting moments, but it just didn't stand out like the earlier albums, in part because of the techno pop and stylish posturing of the New Wave bands of that period. The times had caught up with the band and it was no surprise when they went for a more conservative sound on their next album. But as fun as it is to listen to Roxy Music, you can only fully appreciate them by watching some of their many videos on UA-cam. You see the amazing amount of both style and substance that they brought to their performances. You also see how each band member functioned seamlessly as both an individual and as a team player. They brought a chamber music sensibility to rock music.
"Avalon" and "Over You" are two of my all-time favorite singles, but I tend to rank albums by how many songs I like on the album, so: 8. Flesh & Blood 7. Manifesto 6. Stranded 5. Roxy Music 4. Siren 3. For Your Pleasure 2. Avalon 1. Country Life
I loved this video. When I got back to UK, I pulled 'Country Life' off the shelf to see if you were right - it is a great LP. I agree it is as good as 'Manifesto'. Played it to death. Now back in Doha, you've got me plodding away with my bass to some of the tracks on there. Awesome basslines - love 'The Thrill of it All' - but the best so far is 'All I Want is You' - I cannot keep up with Bryan Ferry and then, during the instrumental break it plummets to F on the E String - I LOVE it. Thanks guys. Love your stuff, keep them coming.
@@keithjones7390 you could be right. I love them both. I love the way Manifesto leads off with that dark track. Also really like Still Falls the Rain. And Ain’t That So.
@@angelrising8589 I have some of Ferry's solo albums, some great tracks, the covers and his own compositions. I particularly love the Sympathy for the Devil cover on These Foolish Things album and The 'ln' Crowd on Another Time Another Place LP. The self written title track from that album is one of the best things he's done.
Stranded is my favourite at a push. That's Eno's favourite, too (even if he wasn't playing on the album). There aren't any truly bad albums in the Roxy catalogue. It is more down to the stylistic preferences that determine how I rate them. Outside of the all too laid back (in my opinion) Flesh + Blood and Avalon (the ones I like least) there is very little between them. Their debut suffers from poor production, but the songs are decent. For Your Pleasure, the already mentioned Stranded, Country Life, Siren and Manifesto are all very strong, and pretty consistent. Siren's songs at times seem a little slight, but the overall playing and production (and musical direction), is impressive, and refreshing. I don't think any of their albums quite reach the quality of their rival David Bowie's peak records, but I'd argue they are all quite superior to David's post Let's Dance output.
First 4 albums are tops for me and their order will vary. Anyone familiar with the great covers that some of Radiohead did of 2HB, Bitter-Sweet and Ladytron as ‘Venus in Furs’ for the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack? Thom Yorke does an amazing Brian Ferry!
1. Stranded (4.5) (probably my favorite Bryan Ferry vocal performance here, and I like the neat twists and turns in the song structures - really glad it grew to #2 for Jason at least) 2. Siren (4) (going into a slightly stripped down direction with stronger dance elements works well) 3.Roxy Music (4) (the second more Eno heavy side holds it back a bit, but I adore the first 4 songs and “Virginia Plain”, which is probably a 5 quality side) 4. For Your Pleasure (4) (yeah, I’m with Joe in not caring for “The Bogus Man” much - I do really love “Do the Strand” and “Editions of You” though) 5. Country Life (4) (I actually don’t love the high points as much as the other 72-75 albums, but still very good) 6. Avalon (3.5 - almost 4) (the sophisti pop / adult contemporary sound isn’t the ideal sound I want from them, but still quite nice) 7. Flesh + Blood (3.5 - almost 3) (a little bit middle of the road but still some big highs like “Oh Yeah” and “Over You”) 8. Manifesto (3) (not bad, but I don’t find the songs too memorable)
My Roxy Music rated - # 1 For Your Pleasure # 2 Stranded # 3 Avalon # 4 Country Life # 5 Flesh & Blood # 6 S/T # 7 Manifesto & # 8 Siren. For You Pleasure is one of my all time favorite albums. The rest are all solid but tend to be a bit short & uneven. ✌
08) Manifesto (3.25 stars) 07) Country Life (3.75 stars) 06) Flesh and Blood (4.25 stars) 05) Roxy Music (4.5 stars) 04) Siren (5 stars) 03) Avalon (5 stars) 02) Stranded (5 stars) 01) For Your Pleasure (5 stars) 0 stars - irredeemably terrible/insultingly bad/the worst .5 stars - terrible 1 star - bad 1.5 stars - between bad and fair 2 stars - fair 2.5 stars - meh 2.75 stars - "It's OK, but quit playing it." 3 stars - OK/decent 3.25 stars - pretty good 3.5 stars - good 4 stars - very good 4.5 stars - excellent 5 stars - penthouse perfection notes: * I got into Avalon around my senior year in high school. It wasn't until my early 30s that I got into Brian Eno and learned he was on the first two albums, so I got into them along with Siren. Wasn't very familiar with the rest, but I heard every album at least once at some point before going into this. * Roxy's music has a very theatrical quality, particularly on their first three albums. I especially love the songs that have wild transformations and multiple parts. They were almost like a prog band in that regard. * Bryan Ferry has a weird vibrato style of singing, especially early on. Very arty and theatrical - I dig it! * The debut does not get off to a very promising start. "Re-Make/Re-Model" sounds a bit amateurish. Every instrument is given a few bars to solo (which is cool), but the solos are generally not very impressive. The bass (which I don't think is that great on this album) riffs on "Daytripper," and the sax solo is just pedestrian. But after that, the album becomes really good, starting with second track "Ladytron" which gets pretty trippy. I love the excellent oboe solo which starts at the 1:48 minute mark (used to think it was a synth). * "The Bogus Man" has such a great hypnotic groove - makes me think the band had been listening to Can. * On Manifesto, Roxy largely trade their arty tendencies for disco with diminishing returns, although I really dig "Stronger Through the Years" which sounds mysterious with some cool effects. * On Flesh and Blood, the music retains some disco but also evolved into a more soft-rock style and it totally works. The two covers on the album ("In the Midnight Hour" and "Eight Miles High") have been effectively "Roxy Music-fied" with reasonably good results although Ferry is no Wilson Pickett. * Avalon is a brilliant, relaxing, 5-star album. I love all the songs except for "More Than This" and "True to Life" being my least favorites (still good though) and "To Turn You On" is good if a little cheesy. But every song from "The Space Between" to "Take a Chance with Me" is chef's kiss good. * Cheers mates!!!!!!!
Kind of a flip of mine - which I sort of expected . . not way off on the ratings except for Stranded and For Your Pleasure - (it's sounding as if I'm on Team Joe here)
All 8 are great albums, so my ranking is really just about what I personally prefer to listen to- 1. Avalon (5 stars)- an insanely beautiful album, it's so easy just to get lost in the soundscapes on this album. I also think the sounds do a great job melding with the natural environment. I have a memory of listening to this album on a sunny day in Santa Monica, on a snowy day looking out the window at home, and on the rooftop of a building in Chicago at night, and in all three it felt like the sounds in the album meshed completely with what I was seeing and experiencing. There is a lovely rich darkness that is cast over it all. It won't be everyone's favorite because the songwriting is more straightforward, but it is easy to get swept up in its world. 2. Manifesto (4.5 stars)- next to Avalon I think this is the most listenable, it is great and groovy and addicting. Thematically it has a bit more of the early Roxy Music vibes of reflecting on a life of pleasure. I like Ferry's perspective here a bit more than on Siren, where he kind of passes through the pains of his lifestyle by jumping right back in and doubling down. 3. Stranded (4.5 stars)- this album almost feels proto-90s to me with the alt rock "Amazona", the Britpop feeling "Street Life", and the repetitive groove of "Mother of Pearl" that almost anticipates Primal Scream. Like the cool experiments "Psalm" and "Song for Europe" too. 4. For Your Pleasure (4.5 stars)- love the weird art pop feel of this one, dazzles you and really is helping invent a new genre. Enjoy Brian Eno's ambient soundscapes too, especially the title track. 5. Roxy Music (4 stars)- still really unique, great first half which just creates a near perfect intorduction for the band. Second half doesn't quite live up, but stays really inventive and intriguing throughout. A bit more "typical" glam feel which holds it back a hair. 6. County Life (4 stars)- nice album, good mix of songs with second half particularly creative and intriguing. Not sure I'm as into the early heavy tracks "Thrill of it All" and "All I Want is You" which sound a little loud to me in terms of mix, but they are still good. Never liked "If It Takes All Night" 7. Flesh and Blood (4 stars)- love the rich soundscapes in the first half, the singles are excellent pieces of songwriting, have mixed opinions on the covers and end of the album is weaker. 8. Siren (3.5 stars)- this one focuses on the heartache present in the life of a partier. It's thematically cohesive but not sure the pity act always moves me. The songwriting is unusual but doesn't always hit for me, particularly something like "Whirlwind" which sounds weird without being that good. Still it's hard to imagine Roxy without "Love is the Drug"
I cant wait for Eno week!! He's my boy. You have to promise me you'll cover all his ambient pieces like Discreet music and Neroli and On land... haha. Anywhoo, i love all roxy music's albums a lot; this is just how they shook out this week. 1. Stranded 2. Manifesto 3. Flesh + blood 4. Country life 5. For your pleasure 6. Roxy music 7. Avalon 8. Siren
The live album recorded on the 2001 tour is one of the best live albums of at all time. I came to Roxy only after that time and so regret missing that tour. Saw them on their final tour and they were good but that 2001 tour sounded amazing.
1. For Your Pleasure * * * * * It’s at number 45 on my favorite albums list, and In Every Dream Home A Heartache is one of my ten favorite tracks of all time. Pure genius. 2. Roxy Music * * * * 1/2 3. Sirens * * * * 4. Country Life * * * * 5. Avalon * * * Never got around to listen to the other ones.
Stranded is pretty good, up there with their best work l feel. Manifesto and Flesh and Blood not as strong as Avalon, OK in parts is the best you could say.
You're killing me guys. Avalon (Kram!) and For Your Pleasure (Joe and Jason!) are my two favorite Roxy albums. And I love "Bogus Man." But I'm an Eno fan.
Another enjoyable video and great pick. Lots of great comments from all and find it hard to disagree apart from the Eno hate from Joe. I know that Ferry and Eno were very competitive in not only band concerns but sexual conquests. Sheppard's Eno bio On Some Faraway Beach gives a very interesting account of the Roxy years. Ferry felt quite threatened by Eno who was becoming a bigger draw from audiences than Ferry due to his flamboyant stage presence. Ferry also sidelined many of Eno's ideas wanting full control of the band. The clash of Egos between Eno and Ferry helps make Roxy so interesting in the early years - especially on the second record. They had completely different visions of what they wanted. Eno was also bored with live performance and found himself "thinking about the laundry on stage". He wasn't sacked by Ferry, but Ferry did want to be centre stage - Jobson was a good fit in this regard as it allowed Ferry to leave the piano at the side of the stage and assume position as front man. For me the first four are the best and very hard to rank. After Country Life I'm slightly less keen but still rate all their albums respectably. 1) For Your Pleasure -The dark masterpiece in which Dame Judi Dench makes a cameo! ""You don't ask. You don't ask why" -5 Stars 2) Stranded - In truth I like this one as much as FYP but I gotta rank 'em. Mother of Pearl is my favourite Roxy song - 5 stars 3) Country Life - 5 stars 4) Roxy Music 5 stars 5) Siren - Both Ends Burning was the first Roxy song I loved as a kid. I remember 1975 like it was yesterday, having a cassette player and recording Both Ends Burning from the radio. 4.75 stars 6) Manifesto - 4 stars 7) Avalon - 3.5 stars 8) Flesh and Blood - 3 stars
1981 after I graduated college, my last great friend John turned me unto Roxy and Bryan Ferry solo. Was 2nd row theater Bryan Ferry doing a solo album tour in the mid-80’s the one after Bete Noir. I got Roxy then. Post-modern ahead of their time serious but not serious at the same time like a put-on
One of those great "hard to define" bands. The more you listen to their music the more it draws you in. Uncompromising yet accessible. Country Life is probably my favorite followed by Stranded then For Your Pleasure. Their live records are well executed. I love their version of Neil Young's Like a Hurricane.
A discography without flaws - through the years and changes they kept their high level and one-of-a-kind image, even when they moved from innovators to performers. A band high on the top shelf of my collection since decades. Equally impressive is the output of their members outside of the band. And, of course, Brian Eno has established himself meanwhile as part of the rock pantheon being one of the most influential artists ever (but this is not his discography, even if he left his early mark of genius here as well). 50 years after the debut, their music still sounds new, unique and exciting on the same old scene... 8. Avalon 4,0 (There is no "worst" album here, this is their 8th best, better than most anybody's greatest hits album.) 7. Flesh + Blood 4,0 6. Manifesto 4,0 5. Siren 4,0 4. Country Life 4,0 3. Stranded 4,5 2. For Your Pleasure 5,0 1. Roxy Music 5,0 (My # 2 AOTY in 1972 and it needed one of the top 5 albums in rock history to keep it from winning...)
@@TastesLikeMusic I have a large disappointment for you: Phil Manzanera has an excellent solo-discography with albums that I rate 5 stars, 4,5 or 4 and I can assure you that you will like not a single one of them...
I was a bit late to the Roxy Music discography having only had Avalon and a "Best Of" for years until finally around 2015 I heard the other records and really dug them. They're definitely a fantastic band: 1. Avalon (5 stars) 2. For Your Pleasure (4.5 stars) 3. Country Life (4.5 stars) 4. Siren (4 stars) 5. Stranded (4 stars) 6. Roxy Music (3.5 stars) 7. Manifesto (3.5 stars) 8. Flesh & Blood (2.5 stars)
For your pleasure was the first Roxy record I bought in 1995, Country Life the second. Shortly thereafter I found the excellent Thrill of it all boxset at a nearby library 1 Country life For your pleasure 3 Stranded 4 Bryan Ferry - Boys and girls 5 Manifesto 6 Flesh + blood 7 Bryan Ferry - In your mind 8 Avalon 9 Roxy Music 10 Siren
Just starting this video never watched any other videos by you guys but when Joe had "Roxy Music" self titled at #8 my jaw dropped lol Im excited to see where the rest of albums fall
The later albums besides Flesh + Blood really grew on me, and I think I now love the two other Roxy Music Mark 2 albums the most. It may not be their most provocative, but it’s probably their best-written and most listenable. 1. Avalon (1982) 2. Manifesto (1979) 3. Siren (1975) 4. Country Life (1974) 5. Roxy Music (1972) 6. Stranded (1973) 7. For Your Pleasure (1973) 8. Flesh + Blood (1980)
I have been a casual Roxy Music fan since around 1975-6. Before this week I was very familiar with the last four albums, and somewhat familiar with the first four. Ranking these albums was difficult because there isn't a lot of space between them. Every play through I wanted to move something up, but that meant moving something else down. This is where I ended up. 1. Avalon - (5 star) Pure pop perfection. No edge whatsoever, this is an album for chilling in the backyard on a summer evening with an adult beverage and the love of my life. Relaxed, romantic, this one is almost a solo Brian Ferry record. 2. For Your Pleasure - (4.5 star) Biggest mover of the week for me. Innovative, incisive, lyrically sharp and modern. 3. Country Life - (4.5 star) More consistent than the previous albums and much improved over Stranded. Finally found themselves after loss of Eno. 4. Siren - (4 stars) Lots of great songs, but a little bit of filler worked in. 5. Manifesto - (4 stars) Like Siren, has some tremendous songs, but a bit of filler also. 6. Stranded - (3.5 stars) Really felt the loss of Brian Eno here. Starts great, but fades on the back half. 7. Flesh + Blood (3.5 stars) This was the biggest fall of the week. I used to really love this album in the 80s, but not so much now. 8. Roxy Music - (3.5 stars) Great debut. And they only went up.)
I think you're underrating the debut. To me, it's their most consistent album top to bottom. "Sea Breezes" is the only track I don't care for. Nice list, tho!
@@AbbeyRoadkill1 I liked the debut very much. I just felt they got better in every way afterward. But these rankings are fluid. Every play-through resulted in movement. In a few months it could be in my top 3.
My ranking: 1. Avalon (8,5/10) 2. Country Life (8,5/10) 3. Siren (8/10) 4. For your Pleasure (7,5/10) 5. Stranded (7,5/10) 6. Roxy Music (7/10) 7. Manifesto (6,5/10) 8. Flesh+Blood (6/10) Greetings from Canary Islands
I was only aware of their last three albums and only listened to the earlier ones once for this, but this is where I came out. I probably like Avalon more than most Roxy Music fans. I think Bryan Ferry is unique and very talented. His solo work is just as good as his RM work 1. Country Life - 4.5 stars 2. Avalon - 4.5 stars 3. Flesh and Blood - 4.5 stars 4. Manifesto - 3.5 stars 5. For Your Pleasure - 3.5 stars 6. Stranded - 3 stars 7. Roxy Music - 3 stars 8. Siren - 3 stars
Can't explain why I love Siren so much. I know it's getting a tad bit more later Roxy, less experimental than the earlier 4.( love them all) but Just Another High? Come on, it's just heart breaking. So, 1) Siren, 2) Stranded 3) For Your Pleasure,4) self title 5) Country Life. I like Avalon but drop off with the rest. Thanks guys for doing my second fav artist next to Bowie! Joe, u broke my heart with the Eno thing.
A very hard catalogue to rank . It's hard to argue with any of the lists because of the distinct eras . I saw them on the Avalon tour in 1983 , and they were fantastic . They played a little bit of everything from every era . It all worked beautifully . Anyway , here's my list in order of preference : Stranded Country Life Avalon Siren Roxy Music Flesh & Blood For Your Pleasure Manifesto ( I still really like this album , but there had to be a number 8 ) Cheers !
Joe on Siren - "It doesn't give me exactly what I'm looking for." Maybe you should appreciate it for what it is instead of focusing on it not being like other Roxy music. (Sorry, I'm picking on you today!)
1. Roxy Music (1972) 5/5 2. For Your Pleasure (1973) 4.5/5 3. Country Life (1974) 4.5/5 4. Avalon (1982) 4.5/5 5. Stranded (1973) 4/5 6. Siren (1975) 4/5 7. Flesh & Blood (1980) 3/5 8. Manifesto (1979) 3/5 CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER: 5.0 Roxy Music (1972) 4.5 For Your Pleasure (1973) 4.0 Stranded (1973) 4.5 Country Life (1974) 4.0 Siren (1975) 3.0 Manifesto (1979) 3.0 Flesh & Blood (1980) 4.5 Avalon (1982) About 15 years ago I went through a phase where I was listening to Roxy Music a lot (and it's been that long since I've heard some of these albums so it was fun to rediscover them.) I love how all-over-the-place their musical style is- a little R&B, a little country, a little rock, a little progressive, a little pop, a little ambient. There's a strong argument to be made that their first 2 LPs represent the most exciting/groundbreaking music they made. But even so, they kept putting out quality albums as their music (slowly) moved away from art-rock and started including more pop elements. The 3 "middle period" albums made in the wake of Brian Eno's departure are more than worth the investment of time (I find 1974's Country Life to be the best of them.) After a hiatus following 1975's Siren, they returned in 1979/80 with Manifesto and Flesh + Blood. By this point, the 3-dimensional collaborative brilliance of the first 2 albums was completely gone and they'd become a pretty straightforward pop act- which makes the appearance of their final album, 1982's Avalon, something of a pleasant surprise. A mature masterpiece, Avalon is one of those long-term growers that gets better with age. I consider Roxy Music to be one of the more important bands of the 1970s and they'll probably show up somewhere in the bottom half of my all-time top 100 list. A few things hold them back from being in my tippy-top tier: not too many of their hits translated that well to my side of the Atlantic Ocean; I like Bryan Ferry's singing but can't say I totally love it (his vocal "quivers" can grate on me); and I think there are times when the band's playing (and Brian Eno's "treatments") outshine the songs themselves. MY RATING SYSTEM: 5.0 = major classic (consistently great *and* stratospheric highs) 4.5 = minor classic (consistently great *or* stratospheric highs, but not both) 4.0 = great (more than 50% is worth revisiting and it's an essential record for this artist/style - passes my "it'll make a fan out of someone who's new to this artist" test) 3.5 = seriously good (more than 50% is worth revisiting) 3.0 = nominally good (less than 50% is worth revisiting) 2.5 = decent (competent but uninspired - not worth revisiting) 2.0 = poor (difficult listen) 1.5 = awful (can't finish it) 1.0 = historically awful (musical apocalypse) *Note: "Consistently" does not mean "flawlessly." I allow for a few clunkers if the rest of the songs are good enough. Also, I don't go below 1 star because once I'm in the realm of the truly terrible I don't care to differentiate anymore.
I think you summed up Avalon perfectly- a "mature masterpiece." Almost adult contemporary, yet still has great playing and a few surprises. Not for turning up in the car with the windows down and screaming your head off, this is the album I put on when the wife and I are out back having a nice, relaxing evening. In those situations, it is perfection.
Also included my conversion to a 10 point scale Stranded - 5 stars (10) For Your Pleasure -5 stars (9.9) Siren - 4.5 stars (9.3) Roxy Music - 4 stars (8.6) Manifesto - 4 stars (8.5) Flesh and Blood - 4 stars (8) Country Life - 3.5 stars (7.5) Avalon -3 stars (6.6)
Country Life and Avalon are my favourites, I think it is possible to like the styles at either end of their output. Avalon is NOT American Adult Contemporary MOR radio stuff, it's actually quite European with the introspection and even minimalist touches.
Roxy is tough to rank. The albums are consistent in their inconsistency. Included some solo Ferry: 13. _Viva! Roxy Music_ - the live album. A powerful band at it's zenith - loses points for the weak song selection. 12. _Manifesto_ - A reformed Roxy in the Punk era, middle-aged & uncertain. But "Dance Away" is untouchable radio Pop, "Ain't That So" is a sexy dream, & "Angel Eyes" is Disco heaven. 11. _In Your Mind_ (Ferry solo) - Underrated. "This Is Tomorrow" is a real banger. 10. _Siren_ - a "Love Is The Drug" single with eight b-sides. "She Sells" & the sweaty, druggy "Both Ends Burning" are 🔥 9. _Boys & Girls_ (Ferry solo) - sumptuous. 8. _Flesh + Blood_ - surprised by my own ranking after a re-listen. "Same Old Scene", "Over You", & "Oh Yeah" are Yacht-Rock classics while "No Strange Delight" & "My Only Love" are elegant warm-ups for _Avalon._ The rest is obnoxiously uninspired. 7. _Let's Stick Together_ (Ferry solo) - Ferry re-records Roxy hits. Improves many of them. 6. _For Your Pleasure_ - Roxy's _Ok Computer._ 5. _Stranded_ - a band confident in it's powers. "Mother Of Pearl", "Just Like You", "Song For Europe" - discography high points. 4. _Country Life_ - the "stadium filler". Roxy's _Aladdinsane._ 3. _Roxy Music_ - perfect. Roxy's Glam _Nevermind The Bollocks._ 2. _Bete Noire_ (Ferry solo) - bloody love this album. 1. _Avalon_ - holy music.
Interesting commentary/comparisions . . In Your Mind a 5-star album for me. A hidden masterpiece. Every song is fantastic. Would love a Bryan Ferry discography if the Boys ever did one.
@@NaughtyVampireGod In Your Mind is my #1 Ferry album as well. If I were to rank it into the Roxy Music discography it would be #4 between Stranded and Country Life (but I think that Ferry solo and the band are very different animals and probably should not be mixed).
@@roxannewalsh Ahh. Glad to hear you have In Your Mind as Bryan's best album. (Got a favorite song of his?) Yep. I wouldn't rank Bryan Ferry solo with Roxy Music - distinct musical entities - unlike, say, Adam with or without the Ants . . 😀
Safe to say Roxy Music are one of my all-time favourite bands. 8. For Your Pleasure (1973) ★★★★ 7. Roxy Music (1972) ★★★★ 6. Flesh + Blood (1980) ★★★★ 5. Manifesto (1979) ★★★★½ 4. Stranded (1973) ★★★★½ 3. Siren (1975) ★★★★½ 2. Avalon (1982) ★★★★★ 1. Country Life (1974) ★★★★★ ★★★★★ - Masterpiece ★★★★½ - Really great ★★★★ - Great ★★★½ - Really good ★★★ - Good ★★½ - OK ★★ - Bad ★½ - Really bad ★ - Awful ½ - The worst
1. FYP 2. Stranded 3. Country Life 4. Roxy Music 5. Avalon 6. Siren 7. Flesh & Blood 8. Manifesto It's a good job that people don't always have the same opinion 👍🏻
@@John-et9yl Roxy Music is one of those few bands where they don't really have one "definitive" album or one that everyone dislikes, they are just so consistent!
A band I've liked for some time. First album I heard was "Siren" which I got due to a 5 star review in the Rolling Stone Record Guide as well as an A- from Robert Christgau. My order: 1. Country Life - 5 stars 2. Siren - 5 stars (the beginning of change of direction, but it still resonates with me) 3. Roxy Music - 4 1/2 stars - love the craziness! 4. Stranded - 4 1/2 stars 5. For Your Pleasure - 4 stars 6. Manifesto - 3 1/2 stars 7. Avalon - 3 1/2 stars - just too clean 8. Flesh and Blood - 2 1/2 stars I would be curious to hear Joe listening to Eno's rock albums of the 70's - Here Come the Warm Jets, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy), Another Green World (which bridges the gap between rock and ambient music beautifully), and Before and After Science. A great foursome of albums.
Christgau also gave Avalon an A-. I agree tbh. Avalon is my favorite Roxy Music album. It Hm has the sound that I want from them and not that weird strange-for-strange’s-sake sound of the first two albums.
Christgau also gave Avalon an A-. I agree tbh. Avalon is my favorite Roxy Music album. It Hm has the sound that I want from them and not that weird strange-for-strange’s-sake sound of the first two albums.
Glad two out of three chose country life as their number 1. Although Stranded reaches some breathtaking heights especially on Amazona during the maniacal guitar and science fiction synthesizer battle in the middle, Country Life has it all! Don’t know why but apart from being one of my Most Favorite bands, Roxy always makes me want to do the French Can-Can. I just can’t help it when I’m listening to them alone. Gotta listen to Manifesto some day. Never tried it. The guy on the upper left made some great observations about their sound which are pretty spot on. This was a great episode.🙏🏼🤗
This was an interesting week for me. I really only knew Avalon and the bigger songs as I have a greatest hits compilation but never went any deeper. I had expectations that I would love them more than I did and maybe those expectations changed how I heard things. I liked everything and there are very tiny margins between my top album and my bottom album. I really never aimed to have a controversial ranking as that is never my approach but this is just how things fell for me. I am thinking maybe I should go back to my bottom picks in the future and see if anything changes. Still a very interesting discography and I found lots of great songs I really enjoy from all eras. I've always loved Bryan Ferry's voice. 8. Stranded - 3.5 7. Country Life - 3.5 6. Siren - 3.5 5. For Your Pleasure - 3.5 4. Manifesto - 4 3. Flesh and Blood - 4 2. Roxy Music - 4 1. Avalon - 4
i did not know much about roxy music back in the day , but when i did , they grew upon every listen! I believe the more you listen the more you will like them! Phil is amazing ! When i listen to this day , i hear things i didnt hear before! The band so tight!!🐯🐯
By far they have one of the best discographies of all time, top 20 for sure. Only my top 1 is definitive, top 2-5 change a lot: 1. Roxy Music - 10/10 (one of my top 10 albums of all time) 2. For Your Pleasure - 10/10 3. Stranded - 10/10 4. Siren - 10/10 5. Country Life - 10/10 6. Avalon - 8/10 (one of the most overrated albums ever) 7. Manifesto - 6.6/10 (mediocre but the title track and Still Falls The Rain kinda save it) 8. Flesh + Blood - 4.5/10 (pretty bad, their only real miss)
I agree that Roxy Music made consistently great albums without any being perfect, although they all contain some brilliant moments: 8. Flesh And Blood (3.5 stars) 7. Manifesto (3.5 stars) 6. Roxy Music (4 stars) 5. Stranded (4 stars) 4. Siren (4 stars) 3. For Your Pleasure (4.stars) 2. Avalon (4.5 stars) 1. Country Life (4.5 stars)
Hi Bryan - Hope you doing well, my friend. How''s 1991 coming along? A packed year for me. As to Roxy Music, we are in basic agreement except for Flesh and Blood. We both have Country Life at #1 - - - it's a five star album for me. Overall I think we are hearing them about the same.
@@NaughtyVampireGod Thanks Naughty - good to hear from you. I stopped working on my list for 91 to give all the Roxy albums a listen but I will be getting back to that. You are right, my friend, it’s another fabulous year and there are several strong candidates for my SOTY. As for Roxy Music, there isn’t much to separate all of their albums in my view but Country Life just edges it. I didn’t see your post for 1990 - do that get added over the weekend? If so, I will go back and search for it again. Cheers.
@@bryanbyrde8338 - I posted my 1990 list on Sunday. (Yeah - just like you I took a break from 91 for Roxy Music.) REM is back in 91 after two years without a studio album. That's a lot for them: a studio album for every year from 83 to 88. But at this point I have no idea as to my SOTY. REM was my AOTY (Out of Time) but there were also great albums by Siouxsie & the Banshees, Pere Ubu and of course Nirvana. Plus Queen's swan song . . Lots to consider. I agree that Roxy Music has a very consistent discography. Country Life is my clear favorite but it's terrific when the least fave is 3.5 stars. Anyway, Bryan, I'm interested to see what you have as their top songs. 😀
I'm liking this so far. Half way through. Manifesto not mentioned yet except in passing. You know it's the best one lads. Manifesto trifecta. I can feel it a coming.
I've only listened to "Country Life" and gave it 3 stars. I'll probably check out songs on your lists tomorrow to determine if I want to listen to other albums
Loved how much respect you paid to Roxy's bass players, there are pure class! I'm also happy that you all highlighted Casanova, it's definitely one of my favorite Roxy songs (please, do check out Bryan Ferry's solo version of that track from Let's Stick Together, very different but really cool, if not cooler than the original). Both Eno and Ferry have done some amazing solo stuff, sometimes even together! I am eager to see what Joe thinks of Fripp and Eno's No Pussyfooting.
Your brief mention of Ferry's solo work prompted me to comment on the cover of The Stones' Sympathy for the Devil from his These Foolish Things album. It's one of my favourite Ferry covers among many including The In Crowd and Smoke Gets in Your Eyes from Another Time Another Place, an album I've always loved.
He wrote the title track which is another highlight of ATAP. The title track to These Foolish Things is another great one, his unique vocal style lends itself ideally to many of of his wonderful covers.
Siren is the best of all aspects of the band with the best songwriting, but Stranded may have the strongest single side of music…side 1. The reason Siren is so satisfying Kram, is that because it’s the full banquet. By the way, Manzanera did a brilliant solo album which Eno does vocals on, called Diamond Head. Underrated album
Diamond Head was my #5 AOTY for 1975, a 5 star album. It sits in the same category as Eno's early solo albums or Robert Wyatt's Rock Bottom and Ruth is Stranger Than Richard (Robert Wyatt also plays on the Manzanera album). Those are all albums that led into Bowie's Berlin trilogy and by that into the music of today...Those who underrate these albums are those who better keep their mouths shut about music.
Tend to prefer the middle period. All good to great records though, tough to rank: 1. Country Life 2. Siren 3. Roxy Music 4. Manifesto 5. Stranded 6. Avalon 7. For Your Pleasure 8. Flesh + Blood
Always subject to change, but here’s my current ranking: 8. For Your Pleasure 7. Stranded 6. Avalon 5. Manifesto 4. Roxy Music 3. Flesh + Blood 2. Country Life 1. SIREN!
Well I have 3 albums at 8.5....one of them being Flesh and Blood (good 4 stars) so I agree with that point Jason. Not much to tell several of the albums apart.
Stranded is my #1 followed by Country Life but there great tracks on all the albums and I think history hasn’t given them their due for their creativity
Siren is their pinnacle. Stonecold classic. FYI, Avalon, besides being one of the top make-out albums of the early 80s….it was, along with Ricki Lee Jones debut, Dire Straits and Alan Parsons Project’s Eye In The Sky, one of the common albums used in stereo stores to showcase the early period audiophile stereo systems that took off in that decade. Superb production.
The first two albums are quirky, strange and fun. My preferred albums are the next three. Stranded, Country Life and Siren. Avalon is a pleasant listen. However, I miss the weirdness and the edgier romanticism of the previous three.There are certain tunes I like on Manifesto and F&B but as albums they don't do it for me. To be honest, I never got into Roxy Music during the 70's. I discovered their catalogue in the 90's. I wanted to check out bands and artists that were not too familiar to me when I was growing up in the 70's. They were certainly ahead of their time. The live album Roxy Music Live from 2001 is really good. The concert video of that tour is wonderful. Ferry's voice is not as strong as I'd like it to be, but musically it's solid. Lucy Wilcox and Julia Thornton are among those who provide support. All in all, it's one of my favorite concert DVD's.
Like Velvet Underground and other avant-garde, artsy bands, Roxy Music takes a while to really appreciate. At first listen much of their music -- especially on the early records -- sounds strange, dissonant and even unaccessible. Ferry had some exotic influences ranging from 20's Jazz Age to Bossa Nova (Avalon!). This is perhaps why they never truly broke into the pop mainstream except with their brilliant last album. But, once it clicks, the brilliance shines through intensely and you see why they are so revered by other musicians and so influential.
Love Roxy Music so looking forward to this. Of the albums I've heard I think I love their debut the most. Wonder if any of you have heard of Sparks, who started around the same time. Edgar Wright just did an excellent documentary on them last year (The Sparks Brothers) and I've been a fan since 1974. Maybe some year you guys can rank their 25 albums. 😁
Yeah, I like the Sparks albums that I know. (Their first 5 and last 3 or 4) Obviously I'm a big fan of the debut with Todd producing. I saw the documentary and it made me want to explore the rest. However, they're a band I'd probably be pushing a lot harder for if they didn't have so many albums. I'm sure we'll get to them someday though. They are pretty heavily requested. -Jason
@@TastesLikeMusic Thanks Joe. Whenever it does happen, I would love to promote it beforehand on my channel, maybe with a live chat or pre-recorded live chat. Just keep that in mind. 🙂
I understand the pioneering aspects of the early stuff I do like the experimental Brian Eno parts it gave them a unique edge coming out of the gate kind of like an andy Warhol approach to doing things for the time ,but i actually feel they got better not song to song but record to record as they went along and I think Avalon is one of the great musical rock albums and highly influential albums of all time ,I get it that some people hear it as a bit Yacht rocky but it has great emotional , melodic and harmonic depth to the sounds to the direction and had great timing for moving with the times at that point splitting up the band seemed appropriate sadly enough because it was clearly leaning on Bryan Ferry's vision on which you can can hear on his next solo album boys and girls in which was very good for that time .I haven't listened much to his early solo efforts between Roxy records , plenty of catching up to do at some point.
"deep in the night flying very strange cargo our soul ships pass by solo trips to the stars in the sky gliding so far that the eye cannot follow where do they go we'll never know"
Love all 8 Roxy albums. Very surprised to see manifesto at number 1 as it's also my favourite. The first 4 albums are also amazing . Love the eno atmospheric first 2. Very hard to rate these.
Thanks, interesting perspectives, which is great, and entertaining. However, it kind of reminds me of friends at school when the first Roxy album was released - they just didn't get it because their reference points were always 'rock' (or equally prog in those days) (p.s. I dig prog and rock and whatever too, but the whole context(s) is/are way different. I think they originally didn't cross the Atlantic too well, until they gradually became more conventional.
Top band who were seen as too polished & arty at times but they have stood the test of time well & my worst to best is... 8 - Avalon 7 - Manifesto 6 - Flesh & Blood 5 - Stranded 4 - Roxy Music 3 - Country Life 2 - Siren 1 - For Your Pleasure...
Separate post: I saw Roxy as a little kid in a cinema in Rome. There wasn't even a proper stage because no one dared playing in Italy in those years. Roxy comes out, in full glam and regalia, but all standing with their back to the audience. There was some kind of recorded music playing. Then a big firecrack!, and they all jumped up, and spun around. There was like a moment of dead silence. And then "There's a new sensation..."
Great comment . Nice story 👍
Really thrilled to see these guys covering Roxy. For my money, they're up there with the Beatles, Stones, and Kinks. Love Bryan Ferry's solo work, too: In Your Mind, Olympia, Let's Stick Together, and The Bride Stripped Bare are special favorites. Siren and Country Life are both 5s for me, Stranded and For Your Pleasure 4.5, the debut 4. The only thing I really take exception to in these reviews is Kramzer's put-down of "Song for Europe": can't tell you how many times I've thrilled to every aspect of that, from the lyrics to the arrangement to Ferry's performance. And that fade: God almighty....magnificent.
I absolutely adore the more experimental early records but for me their best will always be Avalon. Avalon is just a perfect masterpiece. Atmospheric, sensual, mysterious, moody, and transcendent. Just a stellar record.
I must listen to it again, and not fall asleep this time.
As long as you don't directly compare it to something like Country life, Avalon is a phenomenally good album. You just can't go into it expecting a noisy artrock album but it definitely encapsulates the early 80s.
This was ridiculously easy for me.
1. Country Life (the best of their first phase)
2. Avalon (the best of their second phase)
3. For Your Pleasure (their best LP with Eno)
4. Stranded
5. Siren
6. Roxy Music (first half far better than the second)
...big gap...
7. Flesh + Blood (only comes above Manifesto due to the awesomeness of "Same Old Scene")
8. Manifesto (listened to in full maybe a handful of times to refresh my memory, but never truly feel like listening to it ever)
Agree with your list except I love the track Manifesto, especially the sinister bass intro.
Agree with list though I love flesh and blood (except for the two covers) 😂
I must be that arty guy-For Your Pleasure is hands down my favorite Roxy Music record! to defend Brian Eno's contribution a little; "In Every Dream Home..." ends in an amazing Manzanera guitar solo that is really enhanced by Eno's effects. the voice at the end of the title track? Judi Dench. the cover model? Amanda Lear (Ferry's gf at the time). thanks guys for covering Roxy Music :)
8. Flesh and Blood : 1980 3.5 stars
7. Avalon: 1982 4 stars
6. Manifesto : 1979 4 stars
5. Siren : 1975 4 stars
4. Stranded : 1973 4.5 stars
3. Country Life: 1974 4.5 stars
2. Roxy Music : 1972 5 stars
1. For Your Pleasure: 1973 5 stars
This was a real pleasure. Knew all of their discography but hadn't gone back to it in years and going through this exercise reminded me how great and influential they were particularly to that initial punk/new wave scene of the late 70s.
All albums bar one are 4 stars plus. My favourite discography review this year so far.
Same here. I think we have same ratings.
*5 Stars*
1. Stranded
*4.5 Stars*
2. Avalon
3. Flesh + Blood
*4 Stars*
4. For Your Pleasure
5. Roxy Music
6. Country Life
7. Siren
*3.5 Stars*
8. Manifesto
Roxy Music is a really consistent band for me. I mentioned in the Discord that they're almost Spoon-like in their consistency. No album is worse than good for me. I had heard most of the albums going into this except for Manifesto and Flesh + Blood.
Country Life...a must own album. It was given a proper remaster a few years ago and it sounds great, especially the bass.
Country Life has been my favourite Roxy Music album for years, superb from start to finish!
The bass by a session musician, John Gustafson, not a full member of the band.
Country Life for me is their best work, l know a lot of people wouldn't agree, but it's a balanced album with some of their best songs. Out of the Blue, Prairie Rose, The Thrill of it All and A Really Good Time some great examples.
I rediscovered it recently, with all the wonderful songs you mention. Three and Nine is also very good.
"Triptych" (spoiler) made my top 10 songs. "Casanova" is great, too.
This album about made my top amazing amazing album if only for your pleasure wasn't so good
I’m with you
I think what keeps me coming back to this channel (besides the natural chemistry and the top-notch articulation on display - Kram is really good at this and that’s taking nothing away from Jas & Joe who are both excellent also) is the album takes go from being so agreeable to genuine wtf moments! I mean Joe putting the first two albums bottom is one of the bigger wtf moments of late, and then arguably un-done by Jas putting Manifesto top!
It all serves up a delicious hour or so of three dudes just taking music in a really entertaining and engaging way
The only thing is the verbal 'jokes', Kram isn't as funny as he or Jason think he is.
My ranking is pretty close to chronological. I wonder how much of this comes to hearing the albums fairly close to their release dates.
1. Roxy Music.
2. For Your Pleasure. Started listening to vinyl again, in the past 2 years, so I'm very excited for the first two Roxy albums being released in half-speed masters.
3. Stranded.
4. Country Life. These four are all amazing albums, and Stranded and Country Life can flip ranking on any given day.
5. Siren. Love this record; only a notch below the first 4, but couldn't say why. Sentimental Fool is a favorite. Also the last time the invaluable Paul Thompson really shines.
6. Manifesto. Eh, couple of decent songs, but this is where they started to sound like they were auditioning for soundtrack placement on an episode of Miami Vice.
7. Avalon. Ibid.
8. Flesh and Blood. Maybe if it was promoted as a Bryan Ferry solo album, but still pretty weak.
An important, formative band in my youth. My friends and I would buy just about anything on the Island label. Trying to think of what the Third Side episode could be: Best solo releases, bands who, arguably, got better after a founding member left, bands whose lesser albums were there most commercially successful...
My ranking:
1. Country Life
2. Siren
3. Avalon
4-7. (In no particular order) Roxy Music, For Your Pleasure, Stranded, Manifesto
8. Flesh + Blood
I discovered Roxy Music when Siren was released in 1975. For decades that was my favorite Roxy Music album, because of its accessible art rock flash. Recently, I rediscovered Country Life and now listen to it quite often. It embodies their decadent romantic image in a collection of powerfully energetic songs, in particular the opener, The Thrill of It All.
Avalon is the perfect example of a band re-inventing itself but still retaining its basic appeal. There's still that mystery and romanticism and swirling instrumentation and wistful singing. The only bad thing about Avalon is that the evolutionary journey that led to it forced out their fantastic original drummer, Paul Thompson.
Manifesto just didn't grab me when it came out in 1979. It has a lot of interesting moments, but it just didn't stand out like the earlier albums, in part because of the techno pop and stylish posturing of the New Wave bands of that period. The times had caught up with the band and it was no surprise when they went for a more conservative sound on their next album.
But as fun as it is to listen to Roxy Music, you can only fully appreciate them by watching some of their many videos on UA-cam. You see the amazing amount of both style and substance that they brought to their performances. You also see how each band member functioned seamlessly as both an individual and as a team player. They brought a chamber music sensibility to rock music.
"Avalon" and "Over You" are two of my all-time favorite singles, but I tend to rank albums by how many songs I like on the album, so:
8. Flesh & Blood
7. Manifesto
6. Stranded
5. Roxy Music
4. Siren
3. For Your Pleasure
2. Avalon
1. Country Life
I am in almost total agreement with your list, night owl, apart from your numbers 5 and 6 are flipped for me. Great minds clearly think alike!
My list is very similar but they’re all so close and most very interchangeable depending on what I’m listening to. 👍
I think the song Avalon just straight up sucks. I’m with Kramzer on that.
I loved this video. When I got back to UK, I pulled 'Country Life' off the shelf to see if you were right - it is a great LP. I agree it is as good as 'Manifesto'. Played it to death. Now back in Doha, you've got me plodding away with my bass to some of the tracks on there. Awesome basslines - love 'The Thrill of it All' - but the best so far is 'All I Want is You' - I cannot keep up with Bryan Ferry and then, during the instrumental break it plummets to F on the E String - I LOVE it. Thanks guys. Love your stuff, keep them coming.
Country Life is my favourite RM album, it's way better than Manifesto in my opinion.
@@keithjones7390 you could be right. I love them both. I love the way Manifesto leads off with that dark track. Also really like Still Falls the Rain. And Ain’t That So.
@@angelrising8589 I have some of Ferry's solo albums, some great tracks, the covers and his own compositions. I particularly love the Sympathy for the Devil cover on These Foolish Things album and The 'ln' Crowd on Another Time Another Place LP. The self written title track from that album is one of the best things he's done.
Brilliant assessment Guys , I’m now on to your marathon Bowie review !
It really would be a marathon 😃
Stranded is my favourite at a push. That's Eno's favourite, too (even if he wasn't playing on the album). There aren't any truly bad albums in the Roxy catalogue. It is more down to the stylistic preferences that determine how I rate them. Outside of the all too laid back (in my opinion) Flesh + Blood and Avalon (the ones I like least) there is very little between them. Their debut suffers from poor production, but the songs are decent. For Your Pleasure, the already mentioned Stranded, Country Life, Siren and Manifesto are all very strong, and pretty consistent. Siren's songs at times seem a little slight, but the overall playing and production (and musical direction), is impressive, and refreshing. I don't think any of their albums quite reach the quality of their rival David Bowie's peak records, but I'd argue they are all quite superior to David's post Let's Dance output.
First 4 albums are tops for me and their order will vary. Anyone familiar with the great covers that some of Radiohead did of 2HB, Bitter-Sweet and Ladytron as ‘Venus in Furs’ for the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack? Thom Yorke does an amazing Brian Ferry!
1. Stranded (4.5) (probably my favorite Bryan Ferry vocal performance here, and I like the neat twists and turns in the song structures - really glad it grew to #2 for Jason at least)
2. Siren (4) (going into a slightly stripped down direction with stronger dance elements works well)
3.Roxy Music (4) (the second more Eno heavy side holds it back a bit, but I adore the first 4 songs and “Virginia Plain”, which is probably a 5 quality side)
4. For Your Pleasure (4) (yeah, I’m with Joe in not caring for “The Bogus Man” much - I do really love “Do the Strand” and “Editions of You” though)
5. Country Life (4) (I actually don’t love the high points as much as the other 72-75 albums, but still very good)
6. Avalon (3.5 - almost 4) (the sophisti pop / adult contemporary sound isn’t the ideal sound I want from them, but still quite nice)
7. Flesh + Blood (3.5 - almost 3) (a little bit middle of the road but still some big highs like “Oh Yeah” and “Over You”)
8. Manifesto (3) (not bad, but I don’t find the songs too memorable)
I forget who said it, but the quote goes that Roxy Music is the sound of pop culture becoming self aware. Perfect description for a great band.
My Roxy Music rated - # 1 For Your Pleasure # 2 Stranded # 3 Avalon # 4 Country Life # 5 Flesh & Blood # 6 S/T # 7 Manifesto & # 8 Siren. For You Pleasure is one of my all time favorite albums. The rest are all solid but tend to be a bit short & uneven. ✌
08) Manifesto (3.25 stars)
07) Country Life (3.75 stars)
06) Flesh and Blood (4.25 stars)
05) Roxy Music (4.5 stars)
04) Siren (5 stars)
03) Avalon (5 stars)
02) Stranded (5 stars)
01) For Your Pleasure (5 stars)
0 stars - irredeemably terrible/insultingly bad/the worst
.5 stars - terrible
1 star - bad
1.5 stars - between bad and fair
2 stars - fair
2.5 stars - meh
2.75 stars - "It's OK, but quit playing it."
3 stars - OK/decent
3.25 stars - pretty good
3.5 stars - good
4 stars - very good
4.5 stars - excellent
5 stars - penthouse perfection
notes:
* I got into Avalon around my senior year in high school. It wasn't until my early 30s that I got into Brian Eno and learned he was on the first two albums, so I got into them along with Siren. Wasn't very familiar with the rest, but I heard every album at least once at some point before going into this.
* Roxy's music has a very theatrical quality, particularly on their first three albums. I especially love the songs that have wild transformations and multiple parts. They were almost like a prog band in that regard.
* Bryan Ferry has a weird vibrato style of singing, especially early on. Very arty and theatrical - I dig it!
* The debut does not get off to a very promising start. "Re-Make/Re-Model" sounds a bit amateurish. Every instrument is given a few bars to solo (which is cool), but the solos are generally not very impressive. The bass (which I don't think is that great on this album) riffs on "Daytripper," and the sax solo is just pedestrian. But after that, the album becomes really good, starting with second track "Ladytron" which gets pretty trippy. I love the excellent oboe solo which starts at the 1:48 minute mark (used to think it was a synth).
* "The Bogus Man" has such a great hypnotic groove - makes me think the band had been listening to Can.
* On Manifesto, Roxy largely trade their arty tendencies for disco with diminishing returns, although I really dig "Stronger Through the Years" which sounds mysterious with some cool effects.
* On Flesh and Blood, the music retains some disco but also evolved into a more soft-rock style and it totally works. The two covers on the album ("In the Midnight Hour" and "Eight Miles High") have been effectively "Roxy Music-fied" with reasonably good results although Ferry is no Wilson Pickett.
* Avalon is a brilliant, relaxing, 5-star album. I love all the songs except for "More Than This" and "True to Life" being my least favorites (still good though) and "To Turn You On" is good if a little cheesy. But every song from "The Space Between" to "Take a Chance with Me" is chef's kiss good.
* Cheers mates!!!!!!!
Kind of a flip of mine - which I sort of expected . . not way off on the ratings except for Stranded and For Your Pleasure - (it's sounding as if I'm on Team Joe here)
All 8 are great albums, so my ranking is really just about what I personally prefer to listen to-
1. Avalon (5 stars)- an insanely beautiful album, it's so easy just to get lost in the soundscapes on this album. I also think the sounds do a great job melding with the natural environment. I have a memory of listening to this album on a sunny day in Santa Monica, on a snowy day looking out the window at home, and on the rooftop of a building in Chicago at night, and in all three it felt like the sounds in the album meshed completely with what I was seeing and experiencing. There is a lovely rich darkness that is cast over it all. It won't be everyone's favorite because the songwriting is more straightforward, but it is easy to get swept up in its world.
2. Manifesto (4.5 stars)- next to Avalon I think this is the most listenable, it is great and groovy and addicting. Thematically it has a bit more of the early Roxy Music vibes of reflecting on a life of pleasure. I like Ferry's perspective here a bit more than on Siren, where he kind of passes through the pains of his lifestyle by jumping right back in and doubling down.
3. Stranded (4.5 stars)- this album almost feels proto-90s to me with the alt rock "Amazona", the Britpop feeling "Street Life", and the repetitive groove of "Mother of Pearl" that almost anticipates Primal Scream. Like the cool experiments "Psalm" and "Song for Europe" too.
4. For Your Pleasure (4.5 stars)- love the weird art pop feel of this one, dazzles you and really is helping invent a new genre. Enjoy Brian Eno's ambient soundscapes too, especially the title track.
5. Roxy Music (4 stars)- still really unique, great first half which just creates a near perfect intorduction for the band. Second half doesn't quite live up, but stays really inventive and intriguing throughout. A bit more "typical" glam feel which holds it back a hair.
6. County Life (4 stars)- nice album, good mix of songs with second half particularly creative and intriguing. Not sure I'm as into the early heavy tracks "Thrill of it All" and "All I Want is You" which sound a little loud to me in terms of mix, but they are still good. Never liked "If It Takes All Night"
7. Flesh and Blood (4 stars)- love the rich soundscapes in the first half, the singles are excellent pieces of songwriting, have mixed opinions on the covers and end of the album is weaker.
8. Siren (3.5 stars)- this one focuses on the heartache present in the life of a partier. It's thematically cohesive but not sure the pity act always moves me. The songwriting is unusual but doesn't always hit for me, particularly something like "Whirlwind" which sounds weird without being that good. Still it's hard to imagine Roxy without "Love is the Drug"
I cant wait for Eno week!! He's my boy. You have to promise me you'll cover all his ambient pieces like Discreet music and Neroli and On land... haha. Anywhoo, i love all roxy music's albums a lot; this is just how they shook out this week.
1. Stranded
2. Manifesto
3. Flesh + blood
4. Country life
5. For your pleasure
6. Roxy music
7. Avalon
8. Siren
Joe I have to say I like how different your ranking is to alot of other ranking so I do give u appreciation for that
The live album recorded on the 2001 tour is one of the best live albums of at all time. I came to Roxy only after that time and so regret missing that tour. Saw them on their final tour and they were good but that 2001 tour sounded amazing.
1. For Your Pleasure * * * * *
It’s at number 45 on my favorite albums list, and In Every Dream Home A Heartache is one of my ten favorite tracks of all time. Pure genius.
2. Roxy Music * * * * 1/2
3. Sirens * * * *
4. Country Life * * * *
5. Avalon * * *
Never got around to listen to the other ones.
Stranded is pretty good, up there with their best work l feel. Manifesto and Flesh and Blood not as strong as Avalon, OK in parts is the best you could say.
My list:
1. Stranded
2. Siren
3. Roxy Music
4. Country Life
5. For Your Pleasure
6. Avalon
7. Manifesto
8. Flesh + Blood
My favorite is Debut!
However , Country Life should be a 5 star on Album Cover alone...
I like many of their albums. Definitely a unique group.
You're killing me guys. Avalon (Kram!) and For Your Pleasure (Joe and Jason!) are my two favorite Roxy albums. And I love "Bogus Man." But I'm an Eno fan.
Another enjoyable video and great pick. Lots of great comments from all and find it hard to disagree apart from the Eno hate from Joe.
I know that Ferry and Eno were very competitive in not only band concerns but sexual conquests. Sheppard's Eno bio On Some Faraway Beach gives a very interesting account of the Roxy years. Ferry felt quite threatened by Eno who was becoming a bigger draw from audiences than Ferry due to his flamboyant stage presence. Ferry also sidelined many of Eno's ideas wanting full control of the band. The clash of Egos between Eno and Ferry helps make Roxy so interesting in the early years - especially on the second record. They had completely different visions of what they wanted. Eno was also bored with live performance and found himself "thinking about the laundry on stage". He wasn't sacked by Ferry, but Ferry did want to be centre stage - Jobson was a good fit in this regard as it allowed Ferry to leave the piano at the side of the stage and assume position as front man.
For me the first four are the best and very hard to rank. After Country Life I'm slightly less keen but still rate all their albums respectably.
1) For Your Pleasure -The dark masterpiece in which Dame Judi Dench makes a cameo! ""You don't ask. You don't ask why" -5 Stars
2) Stranded - In truth I like this one as much as FYP but I gotta rank 'em. Mother of Pearl is my favourite Roxy song - 5 stars
3) Country Life - 5 stars
4) Roxy Music 5 stars
5) Siren - Both Ends Burning was the first Roxy song I loved as a kid. I remember 1975 like it was yesterday, having a cassette player and recording Both Ends Burning from the radio. 4.75 stars
6) Manifesto - 4 stars
7) Avalon - 3.5 stars
8) Flesh and Blood - 3 stars
Hello, wavelength mate! Mine ranked almost exactly the same as yours and “Mother of Pearl” is also my favorite Roxy song.
Great list. You guys should review Bryan Ferry solo albums next.
1981 after I graduated college, my last great friend John turned me unto Roxy and Bryan Ferry solo. Was 2nd row theater Bryan Ferry doing a solo album tour in the mid-80’s the one after Bete Noir. I got Roxy then. Post-modern ahead of their time serious but not serious at the same time like a put-on
Excellent review of For Your Pleasure Kram.
One of those great "hard to define" bands. The more you listen to their music the more it draws you in. Uncompromising yet accessible. Country Life is probably my favorite followed by Stranded then For Your Pleasure. Their live records are well executed. I love their version of Neil Young's Like a Hurricane.
A discography without flaws - through the years and changes they kept their high level and one-of-a-kind image, even when they moved from innovators to performers. A band high on the top shelf of my collection since decades.
Equally impressive is the output of their members outside of the band. And, of course, Brian Eno has established himself meanwhile as part of the rock pantheon being one of the most influential artists ever (but this is not his discography, even if he left his early mark of genius here as well).
50 years after the debut, their music still sounds new, unique and exciting on the same old scene...
8. Avalon 4,0 (There is no "worst" album here, this is their 8th best, better than most anybody's greatest hits album.)
7. Flesh + Blood 4,0
6. Manifesto 4,0
5. Siren 4,0
4. Country Life 4,0
3. Stranded 4,5
2. For Your Pleasure 5,0
1. Roxy Music 5,0 (My # 2 AOTY in 1972 and it needed one of the top 5 albums in rock history to keep it from winning...)
Great list and totally agree with your summation of them . A great , great band
So, just reverse order of when they came out. Makes sense for you. - Joe
@@TastesLikeMusic I have a large disappointment for you: Phil Manzanera has an excellent solo-discography with albums that I rate 5 stars, 4,5 or 4 and I can assure you that you will like not a single one of them...
I think you know that I’d like Diamond Head. So hopefully this is just a way for you to get me to listen to his solo records. - Joe
@@TastesLikeMusic Every good Manzanera album has ENO on it plus Robert Wyatt and all the other avant-garde guys you love.
I was a bit late to the Roxy Music discography having only had Avalon and a "Best Of" for years until finally around 2015 I heard the other records and really dug them. They're definitely a fantastic band:
1. Avalon (5 stars)
2. For Your Pleasure (4.5 stars)
3. Country Life (4.5 stars)
4. Siren (4 stars)
5. Stranded (4 stars)
6. Roxy Music (3.5 stars)
7. Manifesto (3.5 stars)
8. Flesh & Blood (2.5 stars)
For your pleasure was the first Roxy record I bought in 1995, Country Life the second. Shortly thereafter I found the excellent Thrill of it all boxset at a nearby library
1 Country life
For your pleasure
3 Stranded
4 Bryan Ferry - Boys and girls
5 Manifesto
6 Flesh + blood
7 Bryan Ferry - In your mind
8 Avalon
9 Roxy Music
10 Siren
Manifesto is my favorite, good call on the bass playing.
Just starting this video never watched any other videos by you guys but when Joe had "Roxy Music" self titled at #8 my jaw dropped lol Im excited to see where the rest of albums fall
#1 Country Life
#2 Siren
#3 Stranded
#4 For Your Pleasure
#5 Roxy Music
#6 Avalon
I love the really early stuff the best. The Eno era was so far out there. Lady-tron and Virginia Plain are so experimental.
The later albums besides Flesh + Blood really grew on me, and I think I now love the two other Roxy Music Mark 2 albums the most. It may not be their most provocative, but it’s probably their best-written and most listenable.
1. Avalon (1982)
2. Manifesto (1979)
3. Siren (1975)
4. Country Life (1974)
5. Roxy Music (1972)
6. Stranded (1973)
7. For Your Pleasure (1973)
8. Flesh + Blood (1980)
I think that the rhythm section with the bought in players is what makes the difference. Much improved over Mark 1.
I have been a casual Roxy Music fan since around 1975-6. Before this week I was very familiar with the last four albums, and somewhat familiar with the first four. Ranking these albums was difficult because there isn't a lot of space between them. Every play through I wanted to move something up, but that meant moving something else down. This is where I ended up.
1. Avalon - (5 star) Pure pop perfection. No edge whatsoever, this is an album for chilling in the backyard on a summer evening with an adult beverage and the love of my life. Relaxed, romantic, this one is almost a solo Brian Ferry record.
2. For Your Pleasure - (4.5 star) Biggest mover of the week for me. Innovative, incisive, lyrically sharp and modern.
3. Country Life - (4.5 star) More consistent than the previous albums and much improved over Stranded. Finally found themselves after loss of Eno.
4. Siren - (4 stars) Lots of great songs, but a little bit of filler worked in.
5. Manifesto - (4 stars) Like Siren, has some tremendous songs, but a bit of filler also.
6. Stranded - (3.5 stars) Really felt the loss of Brian Eno here. Starts great, but fades on the back half.
7. Flesh + Blood (3.5 stars) This was the biggest fall of the week. I used to really love this album in the 80s, but not so much now.
8. Roxy Music - (3.5 stars) Great debut. And they only went up.)
I think you're underrating the debut. To me, it's their most consistent album top to bottom. "Sea Breezes" is the only track I don't care for. Nice list, tho!
@@AbbeyRoadkill1 I liked the debut very much. I just felt they got better in every way afterward. But these rankings are fluid. Every play-through resulted in movement. In a few months it could be in my top 3.
My ranking:
1. Avalon (8,5/10)
2. Country Life (8,5/10)
3. Siren (8/10)
4. For your Pleasure (7,5/10)
5. Stranded (7,5/10)
6. Roxy Music (7/10)
7. Manifesto (6,5/10)
8. Flesh+Blood (6/10)
Greetings from Canary Islands
I love the variety of opinions! With Roxy Music, I can’t choose! Manifesto, Flesh+Blood, and For Your Pleasure are all tied for No. 1.
As predicted, everyone's ratings in the comments are all over the place. That's typical, but I think it's more extreme with Roxy Music.
I was only aware of their last three albums and only listened to the earlier ones once for this, but this is where I came out. I probably like Avalon more than most Roxy Music fans. I think Bryan Ferry is unique and very talented. His solo work is just as good as his RM work
1. Country Life - 4.5 stars
2. Avalon - 4.5 stars
3. Flesh and Blood - 4.5 stars
4. Manifesto - 3.5 stars
5. For Your Pleasure - 3.5 stars
6. Stranded - 3 stars
7. Roxy Music - 3 stars
8. Siren - 3 stars
Gene: Glad you are hearing Flesh and Blood like I do!
Can't explain why I love Siren so much. I know it's getting a tad bit more later Roxy, less experimental than the earlier 4.( love them all) but Just Another High? Come on, it's just heart breaking. So, 1) Siren, 2) Stranded 3) For Your Pleasure,4) self title 5) Country Life. I like Avalon but drop off with the rest. Thanks guys for doing my second fav artist next to Bowie! Joe, u broke my heart with the Eno thing.
Their first four albums are my top favorites. It always switches between those four, but if I HAD TO pick one, it’s probably be the debut
Phil manzanera’s 1975 solo album Diamond Head is a treat. Also his work with 801. Brian Eno sings a great Tomorrow Never Knows.
and a great Miss Shapiro from Eno too. I quite like Baby's on Fire .
@@phillipanderson7398 Baby’s On Fire.. such a great song! Sounds almost like the birth of post punk
A very hard catalogue to rank . It's hard to argue with any of the lists because of the distinct eras . I saw them on the Avalon tour in 1983 , and they were fantastic .
They played a little bit of everything from every era . It all worked beautifully .
Anyway , here's my list in order of preference :
Stranded
Country Life
Avalon
Siren
Roxy Music
Flesh & Blood
For Your Pleasure
Manifesto ( I still really like this album , but there had to be a number 8 )
Cheers !
Great episode guys! ✌️🇨🇦❤️
My list:
For Your Pleasure
Stranded
Country Life
Roxy Music
Manifesto (saw them live in Chicago '79)
Siren
Flesh & Blood
Avalon
Joe on Siren - "It doesn't give me exactly what I'm looking for." Maybe you should appreciate it for what it is instead of focusing on it not being like other Roxy music. (Sorry, I'm picking on you today!)
I still haven't found what I'm looking for!🤠....maybe he keeps saying it as there's a U2 discography coming soon?
One of my favorite 💿 Boxsets is the 4 💿 The Thrill Of It All by Roxy Music. Very well compiled.
I agree. And the video compilation of the same Title is very good too.
Grey lagoons!!! My fave. Glad that got a mention already Jason. Shame you don't like the dark side....as you can guess I totally revel in it...
1. Roxy Music (1972) 5/5
2. For Your Pleasure (1973) 4.5/5
3. Country Life (1974) 4.5/5
4. Avalon (1982) 4.5/5
5. Stranded (1973) 4/5
6. Siren (1975) 4/5
7. Flesh & Blood (1980) 3/5
8. Manifesto (1979) 3/5
CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER:
5.0 Roxy Music (1972)
4.5 For Your Pleasure (1973)
4.0 Stranded (1973)
4.5 Country Life (1974)
4.0 Siren (1975)
3.0 Manifesto (1979)
3.0 Flesh & Blood (1980)
4.5 Avalon (1982)
About 15 years ago I went through a phase where I was listening to Roxy Music a lot (and it's been that long since I've heard some of these albums so it was fun to rediscover them.) I love how all-over-the-place their musical style is- a little R&B, a little country, a little rock, a little progressive, a little pop, a little ambient. There's a strong argument to be made that their first 2 LPs represent the most exciting/groundbreaking music they made. But even so, they kept putting out quality albums as their music (slowly) moved away from art-rock and started including more pop elements. The 3 "middle period" albums made in the wake of Brian Eno's departure are more than worth the investment of time (I find 1974's Country Life to be the best of them.) After a hiatus following 1975's Siren, they returned in 1979/80 with Manifesto and Flesh + Blood. By this point, the 3-dimensional collaborative brilliance of the first 2 albums was completely gone and they'd become a pretty straightforward pop act- which makes the appearance of their final album, 1982's Avalon, something of a pleasant surprise. A mature masterpiece, Avalon is one of those long-term growers that gets better with age. I consider Roxy Music to be one of the more important bands of the 1970s and they'll probably show up somewhere in the bottom half of my all-time top 100 list. A few things hold them back from being in my tippy-top tier: not too many of their hits translated that well to my side of the Atlantic Ocean; I like Bryan Ferry's singing but can't say I totally love it (his vocal "quivers" can grate on me); and I think there are times when the band's playing (and Brian Eno's "treatments") outshine the songs themselves.
MY RATING SYSTEM:
5.0 = major classic (consistently great *and* stratospheric highs)
4.5 = minor classic (consistently great *or* stratospheric highs, but not both)
4.0 = great (more than 50% is worth revisiting and it's an essential record for this artist/style - passes my "it'll make a fan out of someone who's new to this artist" test)
3.5 = seriously good (more than 50% is worth revisiting)
3.0 = nominally good (less than 50% is worth revisiting)
2.5 = decent (competent but uninspired - not worth revisiting)
2.0 = poor (difficult listen)
1.5 = awful (can't finish it)
1.0 = historically awful (musical apocalypse)
*Note: "Consistently" does not mean "flawlessly." I allow for a few clunkers if the rest of the songs are good enough. Also, I don't go below 1 star because once I'm in the realm of the truly terrible I don't care to differentiate anymore.
I think you summed up Avalon perfectly- a "mature masterpiece." Almost adult contemporary, yet still has great playing and a few surprises. Not for turning up in the car with the windows down and screaming your head off, this is the album I put on when the wife and I are out back having a nice, relaxing evening. In those situations, it is perfection.
The solo lp by Phil Manzanera - Diamond Head is brilliant.
Saw them live in Ferry's home town Newcastle UK on the Country Life tour . Do the Strand was the one encore that got everyone invading the stage !
Saw Roxy on the Country Life tour and they were amazing, but Stranded is the masterpiece! My 3rd favourite album of all time!
Also included my conversion to a 10 point scale
Stranded - 5 stars (10)
For Your Pleasure -5 stars (9.9)
Siren - 4.5 stars (9.3)
Roxy Music - 4 stars (8.6)
Manifesto - 4 stars (8.5)
Flesh and Blood - 4 stars (8)
Country Life - 3.5 stars (7.5)
Avalon -3 stars (6.6)
One day we shall rule the galaxy together (fellow /10 ranking people)✌️👻👍
Country Life and Avalon are my favourites, I think it is possible to like the styles at either end of their output.
Avalon is NOT American Adult Contemporary MOR radio stuff, it's actually quite European with the introspection and even minimalist touches.
Roxy is tough to rank. The albums are consistent in their inconsistency. Included some solo Ferry:
13. _Viva! Roxy Music_ - the live album. A powerful band at it's zenith - loses points for the weak song selection.
12. _Manifesto_ - A reformed Roxy in the Punk era, middle-aged & uncertain. But "Dance Away" is untouchable radio Pop, "Ain't That So" is a sexy dream, & "Angel Eyes" is Disco heaven.
11. _In Your Mind_ (Ferry solo) - Underrated. "This Is Tomorrow" is a real banger.
10. _Siren_ - a "Love Is The Drug" single with eight b-sides. "She Sells" & the sweaty, druggy "Both Ends Burning" are 🔥
9. _Boys & Girls_ (Ferry solo) - sumptuous.
8. _Flesh + Blood_ - surprised by my own ranking after a re-listen. "Same Old Scene", "Over You", & "Oh Yeah" are Yacht-Rock classics while "No Strange Delight" & "My Only Love" are elegant warm-ups for _Avalon._ The rest is obnoxiously uninspired.
7. _Let's Stick Together_ (Ferry solo) - Ferry re-records Roxy hits. Improves many of them.
6. _For Your Pleasure_ - Roxy's _Ok Computer._
5. _Stranded_ - a band confident in it's powers. "Mother Of Pearl", "Just Like You", "Song For Europe" - discography high points.
4. _Country Life_ - the "stadium filler". Roxy's _Aladdinsane._
3. _Roxy Music_ - perfect. Roxy's Glam _Nevermind The Bollocks._
2. _Bete Noire_ (Ferry solo) - bloody love this album.
1. _Avalon_ - holy music.
Interesting commentary/comparisions . . In Your Mind a 5-star album for me. A hidden masterpiece. Every song is fantastic. Would love a Bryan Ferry discography if the Boys ever did one.
@@NaughtyVampireGod In Your Mind is my #1 Ferry album as well. If I were to rank it into the Roxy Music discography it would be #4 between Stranded and Country Life (but I think that Ferry solo and the band are very different animals and probably should not be mixed).
@@roxannewalsh Ahh. Glad to hear you have In Your Mind as Bryan's best album. (Got a favorite song of his?)
Yep. I wouldn't rank Bryan Ferry solo with Roxy Music - distinct musical entities - unlike, say, Adam with or without the Ants . . 😀
If you're gonna mention solo Ferry, The Bride Stripped Bare is excellent. As Time Goes By is a beautiful collection.
Stranded, Avalon, For Your Pleasure, Roxy Music, Country Life, Siren, Flesh + Blood, Manifesto. I saw them live on their 2011 reunion tour.
Alan Spenner's base playing on Same Old Scene is incredible. So sad he died at such a young age ❤
Everything about that track is "on point", such a great song.
🎶 Nothing Lasts Forever , Of That I'm Sure 🎶
@@theasphaltworld849 it’s my favourite Roxy Music song 😃
@@davidellis5141 now you’ve made an offer, I’ll take some more… 🎶 😃
Agreed. It's probably the best song on that album. His bass playing was also great on the track Manifesto.
I just got into Bryan Ferry's 1988 album. This is interesting can't wait to watch!
Safe to say Roxy Music are one of my all-time favourite bands.
8. For Your Pleasure (1973) ★★★★
7. Roxy Music (1972) ★★★★
6. Flesh + Blood (1980) ★★★★
5. Manifesto (1979) ★★★★½
4. Stranded (1973) ★★★★½
3. Siren (1975) ★★★★½
2. Avalon (1982) ★★★★★
1. Country Life (1974) ★★★★★
★★★★★ - Masterpiece
★★★★½ - Really great
★★★★ - Great
★★★½ - Really good
★★★ - Good
★★½ - OK
★★ - Bad
★½ - Really bad
★ - Awful
½ - The worst
1. FYP
2. Stranded
3. Country Life
4. Roxy Music
5. Avalon
6. Siren
7. Flesh & Blood
8. Manifesto
It's a good job that people don't always have the same opinion 👍🏻
@@John-et9yl Roxy Music is one of those few bands where they don't really have one "definitive" album or one that everyone dislikes, they are just so consistent!
A band I've liked for some time. First album I heard was "Siren" which I got due to a 5 star review in the Rolling Stone Record Guide as well as an A- from Robert Christgau.
My order:
1. Country Life - 5 stars
2. Siren - 5 stars (the beginning of change of direction, but it still resonates with me)
3. Roxy Music - 4 1/2 stars - love the craziness!
4. Stranded - 4 1/2 stars
5. For Your Pleasure - 4 stars
6. Manifesto - 3 1/2 stars
7. Avalon - 3 1/2 stars - just too clean
8. Flesh and Blood - 2 1/2 stars
I would be curious to hear Joe listening to Eno's rock albums of the 70's - Here Come the Warm Jets, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy), Another Green World (which bridges the gap between rock and ambient music beautifully), and Before and After Science. A great foursome of albums.
Christgau also gave Avalon an A-. I agree tbh. Avalon is my favorite Roxy Music album. It Hm has the sound that I want from them and not that weird strange-for-strange’s-sake sound of the first two albums.
Christgau also gave Avalon an A-. I agree tbh. Avalon is my favorite Roxy Music album. It Hm has the sound that I want from them and not that weird strange-for-strange’s-sake sound of the first two albums.
8. Manifesto 6
7. Flesh + Blood 6.25
6. Country Life 7
5. Roxy Music 7. 5
4. Siren 8
3. Avalon 8.5
2. Stranded 8.75
1. For Your Pleasure 9.5
Glad two out of three chose country life as their number 1. Although Stranded reaches some breathtaking heights especially on Amazona during the maniacal guitar and science fiction synthesizer battle in the middle, Country Life has it all! Don’t know why but apart from being one of my
Most Favorite bands, Roxy always makes me want to do the French Can-Can. I just can’t help it when I’m listening to them alone. Gotta listen to Manifesto some day. Never tried it. The guy on the upper left made some great observations about their sound which are pretty spot on. This was a great episode.🙏🏼🤗
This was an interesting week for me. I really only knew Avalon and the bigger songs as I have a greatest hits compilation but never went any deeper. I had expectations that I would love them more than I did and maybe those expectations changed how I heard things. I liked everything and there are very tiny margins between my top album and my bottom album. I really never aimed to have a controversial ranking as that is never my approach but this is just how things fell for me. I am thinking maybe I should go back to my bottom picks in the future and see if anything changes. Still a very interesting discography and I found lots of great songs I really enjoy from all eras. I've always loved Bryan Ferry's voice.
8. Stranded - 3.5
7. Country Life - 3.5
6. Siren - 3.5
5. For Your Pleasure - 3.5
4. Manifesto - 4
3. Flesh and Blood - 4
2. Roxy Music - 4
1. Avalon - 4
i did not know much about roxy music back in the day , but when i did , they grew upon every listen! I believe the more you listen the more you will like them! Phil is amazing ! When i listen to this day , i hear things i didnt hear before! The band so tight!!🐯🐯
@@bengalgangster I definitely need to listen more, hopefully I will appreciate them more in the future. 🙂
By far they have one of the best discographies of all time, top 20 for sure. Only my top 1 is definitive, top 2-5 change a lot:
1. Roxy Music - 10/10 (one of my top 10 albums of all time)
2. For Your Pleasure - 10/10
3. Stranded - 10/10
4. Siren - 10/10
5. Country Life - 10/10
6. Avalon - 8/10 (one of the most overrated albums ever)
7. Manifesto - 6.6/10 (mediocre but the title track and Still Falls The Rain kinda save it)
8. Flesh + Blood - 4.5/10 (pretty bad, their only real miss)
100% agree. Your list would be my list. Manifesto and Still Falls the Rain the best tracks on Manifesto.
Finally, a proper list!
I agree that Roxy Music made consistently great albums without any being perfect, although they all contain some brilliant moments:
8. Flesh And Blood (3.5 stars)
7. Manifesto (3.5 stars)
6. Roxy Music (4 stars)
5. Stranded (4 stars)
4. Siren (4 stars)
3. For Your Pleasure (4.stars)
2. Avalon (4.5 stars)
1. Country Life (4.5 stars)
Hi Bryan - Hope you doing well, my friend. How''s 1991 coming along? A packed year for me. As to Roxy Music, we are in basic agreement except for Flesh and Blood. We both have Country Life at #1 - - - it's a five star album for me. Overall I think we are hearing them about the same.
@@NaughtyVampireGod Thanks Naughty - good to hear from you. I stopped working on my list for 91 to give all the Roxy albums a listen but I will be getting back to that. You are right, my friend, it’s another fabulous year and there are several strong candidates for my SOTY. As for Roxy Music, there isn’t much to separate all of their albums in my view but Country Life just edges it.
I didn’t see your post for 1990 - do that get added over the weekend? If so, I will go back and search for it again. Cheers.
@@bryanbyrde8338 - I posted my 1990 list on Sunday. (Yeah - just like you I took a break from 91 for Roxy Music.) REM is back in 91 after two years without a studio album. That's a lot for them: a studio album for every year from 83 to 88. But at this point I have no idea as to my SOTY. REM was my AOTY (Out of Time) but there were also great albums by Siouxsie & the Banshees, Pere Ubu and of course Nirvana. Plus Queen's swan song . . Lots to consider.
I agree that Roxy Music has a very consistent discography. Country Life is my clear favorite but it's terrific when the least fave is 3.5 stars.
Anyway, Bryan, I'm interested to see what you have as their top songs. 😀
I'm liking this so far. Half way through. Manifesto not mentioned yet except in passing. You know it's the best one lads. Manifesto trifecta. I can feel it a coming.
I've only listened to "Country Life" and gave it 3 stars. I'll probably check out songs on your lists tomorrow to determine if I want to listen to other albums
Great album, but like most of their albums it has one or two weak tracks, Tryptich for example.
My favorite is also Brian Eno's "Stranded" One of my top five favorite bands. I saw them in Oakland durring the Manifesto tour.
Loved how much respect you paid to Roxy's bass players, there are pure class! I'm also happy that you all highlighted Casanova, it's definitely one of my favorite Roxy songs (please, do check out Bryan Ferry's solo version of that track from Let's Stick Together, very different but really cool, if not cooler than the original).
Both Eno and Ferry have done some amazing solo stuff, sometimes even together! I am eager to see what Joe thinks of Fripp and Eno's No Pussyfooting.
Your brief mention of Ferry's solo work prompted me to comment on the cover of The Stones' Sympathy for the Devil from his These Foolish Things album. It's one of my favourite Ferry covers among many including The In Crowd and Smoke Gets in Your Eyes from Another Time Another Place, an album I've always loved.
@@keithjones7390 I agree, really good album! My favourite cover from it is probably Funny how time slips away
He wrote the title track which is another highlight of ATAP. The title track to These Foolish Things is another great one, his unique vocal style lends itself ideally to many of of his wonderful covers.
Siren is the best of all aspects of the band with the best songwriting, but Stranded may have the strongest single side of music…side 1. The reason Siren is so satisfying Kram, is that because it’s the full banquet. By the way, Manzanera did a brilliant solo album which Eno does vocals on, called Diamond Head. Underrated album
Diamond Head was my #5 AOTY for 1975, a 5 star album. It sits in the same category as Eno's early solo albums or Robert Wyatt's Rock Bottom and Ruth is Stranger Than Richard (Robert Wyatt also plays on the Manzanera album). Those are all albums that led into Bowie's Berlin trilogy and by that into the music of today...Those who underrate these albums are those who better keep their mouths shut about music.
Jason list is really cool cause he as debut up high , yet has newer stuff alittle high good mix man
For Your Pleasure - 5
Country Life - 5
Stranded - 5
Siren - 5
Roxy Music - 5
Avalon - 4.5
Manifesto - 4.5
Flesh + Blood - 3.5
Wonderful band, so looking forward to this 😊👍🏻
"Oh Yeah" is not only one of their greatest songs, it's one of the greatest pop/rock songs ever written. Yeah, I said it.
Tend to prefer the middle period. All good to great records though, tough to rank:
1. Country Life
2. Siren
3. Roxy Music
4. Manifesto
5. Stranded
6. Avalon
7. For Your Pleasure
8. Flesh + Blood
Ha! I was about to suggest this. Thanks! 😺👍🏻
1 Siren
2 Country Life
3 Avalon
4 For Your Pleasure
5 Stranded
6 Roxy Music
7 Manifesto
8 Flesh and Blood
Yea! Thought I was alone in Siren. Cheers Jim.
Always subject to change, but here’s my current ranking:
8. For Your Pleasure
7. Stranded
6. Avalon
5. Manifesto
4. Roxy Music
3. Flesh + Blood
2. Country Life
1. SIREN!
Well I have 3 albums at 8.5....one of them being Flesh and Blood (good 4 stars) so I agree with that point Jason. Not much to tell several of the albums apart.
Stranded is my #1 followed by Country Life but there great tracks on all the albums and I think history hasn’t given them their due for their creativity
Siren is their pinnacle. Stonecold classic. FYI, Avalon, besides being one of the top make-out albums of the early 80s….it was, along with Ricki Lee Jones debut, Dire Straits and Alan Parsons Project’s Eye In The Sky, one of the common albums used in stereo stores to showcase the early period audiophile stereo systems that took off in that decade. Superb production.
Yeah, as Jason said, it sounds phenomenal, and although Joe thinks it sounds too '80s, it was really at the forefront of that particular '80s sound.
The original EG cd sounds like a demo disc, much like Steely Dan’s Aja. Based on sound quality it sounds peerless.
The first two albums are quirky, strange and fun.
My preferred albums are the next three. Stranded, Country Life and Siren. Avalon is a pleasant listen. However, I miss the weirdness and the edgier romanticism of the previous three.There are certain tunes I like on Manifesto and F&B but as albums they don't do it for me. To be honest, I never got into Roxy Music during the 70's. I discovered their catalogue in the 90's.
I wanted to check out bands and artists that were not too familiar to me when I was growing up in the 70's. They were certainly ahead of their time. The live album Roxy Music Live from 2001 is really good. The concert video of that tour is wonderful. Ferry's voice is not as strong as I'd like it to be, but musically it's solid. Lucy Wilcox and Julia Thornton are among those who provide support. All in all, it's one of my favorite concert DVD's.
Country Life probably just my no 1, For Your Pleasure is no 2. Grey Lagoons absolutely rocks!
Great discussion, Siren is peak Roxy Music for me
Like Velvet Underground and other avant-garde, artsy bands, Roxy Music takes a while to really appreciate. At first listen much of their music -- especially on the early records -- sounds strange, dissonant and even unaccessible. Ferry had some exotic influences ranging from 20's Jazz Age to Bossa Nova (Avalon!). This is perhaps why they never truly broke into the pop mainstream except with their brilliant last album. But, once it clicks, the brilliance shines through intensely and you see why they are so revered by other musicians and so influential.
Love Roxy Music so looking forward to this. Of the albums I've heard I think I love their debut the most. Wonder if any of you have heard of Sparks, who started around the same time. Edgar Wright just did an excellent documentary on them last year (The Sparks Brothers) and I've been a fan since 1974. Maybe some year you guys can rank their 25 albums. 😁
You should become a Patreon supporter, great perks! And you can suggest artists :)
Also I enjoyed your Sparks ranking video!
Hi Larry!
Sparks will definitely happen. If we had been better organized we would have done it right when the movie came out. - Joe
Yeah, I like the Sparks albums that I know. (Their first 5 and last 3 or 4) Obviously I'm a big fan of the debut with Todd producing. I saw the documentary and it made me want to explore the rest. However, they're a band I'd probably be pushing a lot harder for if they didn't have so many albums. I'm sure we'll get to them someday though. They are pretty heavily requested. -Jason
@@TastesLikeMusic Thanks Joe. Whenever it does happen, I would love to promote it beforehand on my channel, maybe with a live chat or pre-recorded live chat. Just keep that in mind. 🙂
01 Avalon
02 Country Life
03 Siren
04 For Your Pleasure
05 Stranded
06 Roxy Music
07 Manifesto
08 Flesh And Blood
I understand the pioneering aspects of the early stuff I do like the experimental Brian Eno parts it gave them a unique edge coming out of the gate kind of like an andy Warhol approach to
doing things for the time ,but i actually feel they got better not song to song but record to record as they went along and I think Avalon is one of the great musical rock albums and highly influential albums of all time ,I get it that some people hear it as a bit Yacht rocky but it has great emotional , melodic and harmonic depth to the sounds to the direction and had great timing for moving with the times at that point splitting up the band seemed appropriate sadly enough because it was clearly leaning on Bryan Ferry's vision on which you can can hear on his next solo album boys and girls in which was very good for that time .I haven't listened much to his early solo efforts between Roxy records , plenty of catching up to do at some point.
"deep in the night flying very strange cargo our soul ships pass by solo trips to the stars in the sky gliding so far that the eye cannot follow where do they go we'll never know"
Love all 8 Roxy albums. Very surprised to see manifesto at number 1 as it's also my favourite. The first 4 albums are also amazing . Love the eno atmospheric first 2. Very hard to rate these.
The first and second albums are exceptional. Art rock!
Glam art rock.
Thanks, interesting perspectives, which is great, and entertaining. However, it kind of reminds me of friends at school when the first Roxy album was released - they just didn't get it because their reference points were always 'rock' (or equally prog in those days) (p.s. I dig prog and rock and whatever too, but the whole context(s) is/are way different. I think they originally didn't cross the Atlantic too well, until they gradually became more conventional.
Top band who were seen as too polished & arty at times but they have stood the test of time well & my worst to best is...
8 - Avalon
7 - Manifesto
6 - Flesh & Blood
5 - Stranded
4 - Roxy Music
3 - Country Life
2 - Siren
1 - For Your Pleasure...