Roxy Music [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Roxy Music | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 14, 2000)
• Original Release Date: 1972
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Virgin Records Us
• ASIN: B0000256KG
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,052 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #52 in Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > Proto Punk

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

With startling, boundless creativity, Roxy Music's juiced-up debut record put a subversive spin on mid-'70s conventions, embracing glam-pop and artsy electronics while harboring a deep love of classic rock songcraft. Brian Eno's stamp is all over the record, driving songs like "Re-Make/Re-Model" down strange, atonal avenues. Bryan Ferry's nightclub glamour-boy persona and wandering vibratos help make timeless epics out of molehills like the (originally non-album) track "Virginia Plain." Eno stuck around for one more record, 1973's For Your Pleasure, leaving Ferry and the band to embrace their less avant-garde leanings. This unpredictable, dangerous record might be a shock for those who associate Roxy Music with the silky sounds of later records such as Flesh + Blood and Avalon. It is nevertheless essential listening for all who care about boundary-defining rock, as well as the possibilities for profound innovation and redefinition that artists like David Bowie, T. Rex, and the New York Dolls promised, but never quite delivered. --Matthew Cooke

Product Description

Their 1972 debut.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Debut, August 5, 2002

By 

JOHN SPOKUS (BALTIMORE, MARYLAND United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Roxy Music (Audio CD)

One of the most powerful and important debut albums of all time,along with The Velvet Underground And Nico,The Stooges, and Beefheart's Safe As Milk. Roxy Music brings an edge with sophistication to the music. Part progressive,part early rock n' roll,part experimental, this material is almost unclassifiable."If There Is Something" is powerful and hypnotic."Virginia Plain" is like quirky new wave pop that brings to mind XTC,Devo,and The Cars, 5 years before such a thing existed. Phil Manzanera shows he can make some ear splitting noise on guitar, equivalent to Robert Fripp, though with his own trademark on cuts like "Chance Meeting" and "Ladytron". Andy Mackay may well be the coolest rock n' roll sax man of all time. Paul Thompson's drumming is powerful and solid throughout. Your 80's loving yuppie friends that think Roxy Music is about smooth product like Avalon need to hear this one instead; it will probably clear the room!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Weird and the Wonderful, April 9, 2004

By 

Michael Strom (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Roxy Music (Audio CD)

Nothing before or since sounds like Roxy's debut effort. It lurches all over the map, including bits of loud rock, odd tape samples, heavily ironic takes on pop music, 50's rock-n-roll & some stuff you can't even identify. Some times, all in the same song. Roxy Music probably paid a heavy commercial price the rest of their career for this album, since it indelibly tagged them as arty weirdos long after their sound changed completely. Nonetheless, it is terrific on its own merits. Anyone with a taste for the unusual (but not atonal) should consider this a must-have.

For those whose image of Roxy is the Siren-to-Avalon dreamy mood, this does not even resemble that band. Eno's influence was at its zenith on the debut. Not the ambient Eno, but the madcap cut-&-paste pop pastiche Eno. Plenty of loud guitar, greasy sax & Paul Thompson pounding the drums to leaven the mayhem. All in all, lots of fun interspersed with a serious dose of "what in the world was that?"

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Freakishly Brilliant Debut., May 23, 2005

By 

The Groove (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roxy Music (Audio CD)

In 1972, when groups like Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones were dominating the American charts and stadiums, another British rock band named Roxy Music released its debut album to an unsuspecting public. "Roxy Music" is the first of two albums to feature sound wizard Brian Eno, and it's quite a listening experience like no other. The album can best be described as art rock with a few ambient touches, with often brilliant results. Eno's electronic mastery, coupled with Bryan Ferry's piano and distinct voice, are well-backed by fellow musicians Andy Mackay, Phil Manganera, Paul Thompson, and Graham Simpson. "Ladytron" opens with a wash of eerie synths before it blasts into a full-blown rocker; "Chance Meeting" is a piano-flavored ballad perfectly set Ferry's pained vocals, and "2 H.B." is as smooth as Italian silk. From track to track, "Roxy Music" boils over with class and sophistication, making them peerless in the arena of avant garde rock. Those whose first Roxy album was "Avalon" might be in for a shock when they pick this CD up. But when listened with an open mind, its rare riches will win you over. A classic ahead of its time.