Live [Enhanced]

Roxy Music | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 3, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Eagle Records
• ASIN: B00009EIO7
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #96,588 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Remake/Remodel

2. Street Life

3. Ladytron

4. While My Heart Is Still

5. Beating

6. Out of the Blue

7. A Song for Europe

8. My Only Love

9. In Every Dream Home A

10. Heartache

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Tara

2. If There Is Something

3. Mother of Pearl

4. Avalon

5. Dance Away

6. Jealous Guy

7. Editions of You

8. Virginia Plain

9. Love Is The Drug

10. Do The Strand

See all 11 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

When the news filtered out that Roxy (Bryan Ferry, Andy Mackay, Phil Manzanera, and Paul Thompson, but, alas, no Brian Eno) were reconvening, skeptics anticipated a nostalgia trip by superannuated globetrotters. How wrong they were. These 22 sonically excellent recordings (made in 16 auditoriums, from Stuttgart to Adelaide via Vancouver) exhibit an envious attention to detail (Lucy Wilkins supplants Eddie Jobson's violin on "Out of the Blue" and there are even revving motorbike noises on "Virginia Plain"), but are far from clinically sterile. The godfathers of glam still manage to stoke up a fire behind the likes of "Remake Remodel" and Ferry continues to sing like a man handling a poisonous spider or having his back scratched by a supermodel. Their influence is still palpable--Suede must have re-written "Street Life" three times over. Pretty much everything on Live--from the art-rock of the early years to the urbane sleekness of "Avalon"--sounds as fresh as the 6 o'clock news. --Kevin Maidment

Product Description

Evolving from the late-'60s art-rock movement, Roxy Music had a fascination with fashion, glamour, cinema, pop art, and the avantgarde, which separated the band from their contemporaries. Dressed in bizarre, stylish costumes, the group played a defiantly experimental variation of art-rock which vacillated between avantrock and sleek pop hooks. During the early '70s, the group was driven by the creative tension between Bryan Ferry and Brian Eno, who each pulled the band in separate directions: Ferry had a fondness for American soul and Beatlesque art-pop, while Eno was intrigued by deconstructing rock with amateurish experimentalism inspired by the Velvet Underground. This incarnation of Roxy Music may have only recorded two albums, but it inspired a legion of imitators -- not only the glam-rockers of the early '70s, but artrockers and new wave pop groups of the late '70s. Following Eno's departure, Roxy Music continued with its arty inclinations for a few albums before gradually working in elements of disco and soul. Within a few years, the group had developed a sophisticated, seductive soul-pop that relied on Ferry's stylish crooning. By the early '80s, the group had developed into a vehicle for Ferry, so it was no surprise that he disbanded the group at the height of its commercial success in the early '80s to pursue a solo career.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Live, Indeed!, June 6, 2003

By 

WTDK "If at first the idea is not absurd, the... (My Little Blue Window, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Live (Audio CD)

(This review is for the "Live" album released in 2002--NOT for "Live at Rainbow Music" which amazon has for some strange reason combined with "Live")Live

Culled from performances all around the world, Live captures the band having a blast with their past. Ferry, Manzanera, Mackay and Thompson are supplemented by Lucky Wilkins (more than ably filling in for former keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson), guitar wiz Chris Spedding, Colin Good on keyboards, Zak Katz on bass and Julia Thornton on backing vocals/keyboards.

Now, you may wonder, "why should I pick this up when I have the DVD Live at the Apollo?". Good question. Live at the Apollo consists of roughly the same songs (although the CD has very romantic reading of More Than This and a powerful, clever reading of their classic If There Is Something not available on the DVD), the performances are different. There aren't huge differences (Roxy's music was always very carefully arranged)but many of the solos by Manzanera, Spedding and Mackay differ significantly enough to make this a must have for a Roxy fan. Additionally, while I'm not usually a fan of compilation live CDs (they lack the organic energy of a single performance), the tracks selected clearly were among the best from thetour. I'm just sad that the band didn't select anything from their Northern California appearence.

This isn't a perfect series of performances or CD. Ferry's lost much of his upper register (not a surprise given the passage of time, number of recordings and tours he's done over the years). Still, range isn't everything. What Ferry has lost in range, he's more than made up for it his improved reading of the songs. Ferry was always a gifted interpreter of both his own and other's material. He gives a strong performance on this CD and the DVD.

Manzanera and Spedding are inspired throughout. Mackay's sublime sax playing particularly on the expanded version of Tara (featuring Lucy Wilkins' violin as a counterpoint to the piano and Mackay's sax)is among his most inspired performances. The backing vocals of Thornton, Sarah Brown and Yanick Etienne are nicely arranged (unlike the performance of "The Sirens" on the VIVA album fromthe 1976). Their lush vocals add a substanial amount of depth to Mother of Pearl as well as later period Roxy material.

The expanded line up works wonders. Because of the depth and variety of Roxy's back catalog, the band requires additional members to bring all their material to life. Admittedly, it really isn't required (their performances from their 1979 tour documented on a number of bootlegs and a legit live release with only a 5 piece line up is terrific), but it brings additional depth to some of the early material as well as the later, more layered songs.

The sound is uniformly excellent making this THE live disc to own. Since it's a career overview, it also touches on both hits (in both England and America)as well as key popular album tracks. I was thrilled to hear Street Life alongside Ladytron and Avalon. There is also a CD-Rom live version of Both Ends Burning drawn from the Live At The Apollo sessions as an added bonus.

While it isn't noted anywhere on the CD, this appears to be another SACD/HDCD hybrid as it has the dual layers and gold reflective coating that appears on those CDs.(which means it can be played on normal CD players but has enhanced sound on a SACD player). While I don't care for the digipak packaging, it doesn't detract from the overall quality of this release.

Most reunion concerts smack of an attempt to cash in on the past or, at the very least, playing on an audience's memory and good will. The Roxy 2001 tour presented the band in top form and they were clearly enjoying themselves which is aparent from the inspired performances and choice of material. Live presents the band reinventing themselves and not just strolling down memory lane. The only thing missing is some new material. Given Ferry, Manzanera and Mackay's outside interests, that wasn't a possibility. Perhaps they'll reunite and try their hand at collaborating on new material soon. Based on Live the old magic hasn't deserted them.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ah, nattering naybobs of negativism..., June 24, 2003

By 

William E. Pierce IV "wep4" (Mount Laurel, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live (Audio CD)

I think y'all missed the point when you compare 2001's LIVE to '70's-era VIVA: If Roxy Music music was unique for anything back in the '70s, it was in the ability to "feed the fire" while playing it cool. Thirty years later, for those of us who've grown and, along the way, re-defined the definition of "cool", Roxy Music overwhelmingly succeeded in their 2001 tour. Rather than take the tact of other "oldies" acts who tour these days in order to recreate (dredge up) the music, Roxy Music instead recreated themselves to fit a new era and fans' new definition of cool. Their fan base (and the world) certainly has higher expectations for concerts. Roxy Music still knows how to create a spectacle and to be spectacular. Best of all, they brought the music right along with them: it is still fresh and engaging. The musicianship was superlative, and the overall impact is actually more compelling than some studio versions of the songs. The support personnel only added to the spectacle. The speeded-up versions of songs only add to the excitement. This CD convinced me to buy the DVD, which convinced me to go see them when they tour again. We've seen a number of formerly-great rock bands hit the road over the past few summers. Most were content to stir fond memories. Roxy Music LIVE proves that the band set out to stir the embers until the fire re-ignited. In so doing, the new music and performances are memorable in and of themselves!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Roxy Music: Aging Gracefully in the World of Rock n Roll, June 6, 2003

By 

Amazon Jon "AJ" (Connecticut, United Staates) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live (Audio CD)

This long-awaited, double-disc set is the perfect souvenir of the now legendary, much-anticipated 2001 reunion tour of ROXY MUSIC. Besides being a wonderful live document of a phenomenal band, what these two discs do, more than anything, is reaffirm ROXY MUSIC's place as one of the most influential bands in rock and roll history.
Each one of the songs is taken from a dozen or so different shows along the tour. This adds to the energy and excitement of the performance. In fact, all in all, the band sounds more intense and refreshed (particularly Ferry) here than they do on the live DVD of the concert in London which came out last fall. Another treat not found on the DVD are two ROXY MUSIC classics heard here: "If There is Something" and "More Than This."
It's hard to believe that some of these songs date back over thirty years ago! They still sound as groundbreaking and wild as ever. In fact, some of the later, more mellow ROXY MUSIC songs ("Oh Yeah" and "Dance Away," in particular) benefit from some updating and sound even better than they did twenty-some-odd years ago.
On these discs, they sound much better than they did on "Heart Still Beating," a live disc taken from their AVALON tour of 1982. It's safe to say that Ferry, along with original members Andy Mackay, Phil Manzanera and Paul Thompson have acheived what most rock veterans only dream of- they have grown old gracefully and still sound amazing!
Though their landmark, 1976 live album, "Viva" still stands as THE perfect live document of the band, "Live" benefits from being a double-disc set and includes all their greatest hits.
As I type this review, it has just been announced that ROXY MUSIC is hitting the road this summer, yet again. Rumor has it that there are some dates in NYC lined up already. One listen to these two CD's should make any ROXY MUSIC fan want to pay top dollar to see them!