Customer Reviews

Early Years

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It took the record company more than 25 years to realize the well known fact to every Roxy Musics fan: You can't mix things of the band from the early 70s with titles from the 80s and Ferry solos. The music is different, the listeners are different. "Early years" includes titles from the 3 albums (Roxy Music, For your pleasure and Stranded) plus the 2 singles (Virginia and Pyjama). The collection is good and reflects well the brilliant music of the band in the years 1972-74. If you want to taste something else - try this. Virginia Plain sounds as green and fresh as it was almost 30 years ago.

This collection surprised me. The fact that it exists I mean. I love the early Roxy records but never thought I would see them compiled into a package deal. It actually seems a pretty well selected group of songs. At first I thought well, where is Country Life, but after Early Years you can buy that in its entirety, and on two discs you will have the best. (And if you want to hear what this era Roxy sounded like live you can get Viva). Pretty attractive trio of CD's that would be.

The disc editors eliminated some of the experiments of Roxy One but retained almost all of For Your Pleasure except for a jam or two and just half of Stranded. That is getting it just about right. Plus you get the hit Pyjamarama which isn't on any original record(save the greatest hits).

If you are new to Roxy Music, or like me, have all the old Vinyl but only a few Roxy CD's, this is the Roxy Music CD for you. Don't stop at Avalon (also an awesome Roxy creation). In my opinion, "The Early Years" is perhaps the best mix of older Roxy Music songs. Every title is an excellent selection for this compilation of audio-artwork from the early 70's. Don't let that date lead you astray - this music is as leading, alive and energetic as it was back then!

Songs like "Mother of Pearl" take you to the world of 801 (Eno/Manzanera) but adds the romance that Ferry brings all of Roxy's music. "Do The Strand" will have you dancing. "In Every Dream Home a Heartache" is classic Roxy Music that grabs your heart and makes you an instant Roxy fan forever!

If you went to Roxy Music's tour in 2001, you will find that this CD offers studio versions of most of the songs played in concert (add Avalon and "Love is the Drug" and you have the whole concert).

This CD breaks Amazon's 5 star rating model!

Few bands can lay claim to the the sort of creative run that Roxy Music had in 1972-73: in less than one year they released two extraordinary albums successfully integrating everything from vocal crooning to electronic experimentation into rock music. By the end of that first year, experimentalist Brian Eno's departure put the band onto a trajectory toward a much more conventional sound (and greater commercial success). These are the recordings of a young, aesthetically rambunctious, genre-busting band before they grew up and became pop stars. (And good ones at that.)

This compilation includes the highlights from the first three albums plus two singles. As another reviewer observed, there is no substitute for the first three albums in their entirety, but this is a great place to start. The tracks have been remastered, and those from the first eponymous album no longer sound like they were recorded in a shoe box filled with cotton.

There are a few recordings that I listen to and am continually astounded by how fresh and vital they sound, though they were recorded decades ago. The tracks here are among them.

I know this sounds like a cliche, but I am a quite eclectic music listener. From jazz to rock to blues to classical to electronica to dub to what ever you got, I love it all. And I must tell you, this CD is a godsend. You will truly have some of the greatest pop music of the century if you buy this CD. Think David Bowie is awesome, check out the aesthetic of Roxy and see if you still regard him so highly. The talent of Roxy's compostions is really quite an impressive feat, add to it the startling innovations of Brian Eno, the lyrics of Ferry, the singing of Ferry, the guitar of Manzanerra, Andy Mackay's Sax just everything about this band is amazing. Sadly neglected in the U.S., hopefully they will one day warrant more attention here. The highest compliment I can think of to pay Roxy Music, and specifically this CD, is the one often used by Duke Ellkington; I'll limit it to rock/pop music but, Roxy Music were and are truly "beyond category."

Good songs picked from Roxy's first few albums, but including "In Every Dream Home A Heartache," and "The Bogus Man" (at nine minutes long)? How could "Gray Lagoon" from For Your Pleasure been overlooked, or "Amazona" from Stranded?
I guess in the early Seventies singing about a blow-up sex doll was a novelty and might have made for an interesting song to be heard twice, maybe, but to include "In Every Dream Home a Heartache" on a greatest hits album is a mistake.