Customer Reviews

The Thrill of It All: A Visual History 1972-1982

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The DVD's contain:

Disc 1 (1972-1976)
'Re-make/Re-model' 06/72--Royal College of Art
'Ladytron' 06/20/72--Old Grey Whistle Test
'Virginia Plain' 08/24/72--Tops of the Pops
'For Your Pleasure' 11/25/72--Full House
'Do the Strand' 04/03/73--Old Grey Whistle Test
'In Every Dream Home a Heartache' 04/03/73--Old Grey Whistle Test
'Editions of You' (Live) 04/29/73--Golden Rose Festival
'Pyjamarama' 01/23/74--Musikladen
'Amazona' 01/23/74--Musikladen
'Psalm' 01/23/74--Musikladen
'All I Want is You' 10/04/74--Top of the Pops
'Both Ends Burning' 10/75--Empire Pool, Wembley
'Love is the Drug' 10/09/75--Supersonic
'The Thrill of it All' (Live) 01/23/76--Stockholm
'Mother of Pearl' (Live) 01/23/76--Stockholm
'Nightingale' (Live) 01/23/76--Stockholm
'Out of the Blue' (Live) 01/23/76--Stockholm
'Street Life' (Live) 01/23/76--Stockholm

Disc 2 (1979-1982)
'Dance Away' 04/16/79--ABBA in Switzerland
'Manifesto' (Live) 05/06&07/79--Manchester Apollo
'A Song for Europe' (Live) 05/06&07/79--Manchester Apollo
'Still Falls the Rain' (Live) 05/06&07/79--Manchester Apollo
'Ain't That So' (Live) 05/06&07/79--Manchester Apollo
'Angel Eyes' 08/79--promo video
'Trash' 1979--promo video
'Over You' 05/15/80--Top of the Pops
'Oh Yeah!' (On the Radio) 08/07/80--Top of the Pops
'Same Old Scene' 11/80--promo video
'Rain, Rain, Rain' 12/19/80--Rockpop In Concert
'Flesh and Blood' 12/19/80--Rockpop In Concert
'Jealous Guy' 02/81--promo video
'The Main Thing' (Live) 08/27/82--Frejus, France
'While My Heart is Still Beating' (Live) 08/27/82--Frejus, France
'Avalon'(Live) 08/27/82--Frejus, France
'My Only Love' (Live) 08/27/82--Frejus, France
'More Than This' 04/82--promo video
Bonus Track: 'The Main Thing' 1982--promo video
Bonus Track: 'Avalon' 1982--promo video

Roxy Music (1st album), For Your Pleasure, Stranded

Roxy Music was one of the most interesting bands of the 1970's. But they produced so many different kinds of music that they are a hard band to define. Initially, they were an art rock act (Bryan Ferry was an ex-art school teacher) and their first gig was played at an art school. Very few bands were or have ever been as artsy as Roxy Music c. 1973, and the early performances w/ Eno dressed in his infamous peacock feathers are revelations for the eye and the ear. But with the departure of Eno after the second album, they became another, and, for some, less interesting, kind of band. (Interestingly enough, Eno claims his favorite Roxy album is the third one, Stranded, the one they made right after he departed).

Country Life & Siren:

Rock critics tend to prefer Country Life 1974 & the mainstream record collector found Siren 1975 irresistable. These are both masterpieces. The thrill here is seeing the rarely performed "Nightingale" from Siren.

Disco Era: Intoxicating Spells

Inbetween Siren and Avalon were two forgettable waspy disco discs, Manifesto and Flesh & Blood. Disco was a pitfall for many bands in the seventies, but Roxy, on occasion, makes disco look like an intoxicating trap. Everything Roxy Music did was intoxicating, they were a band that wove spells in their listeners heads while making the body move. In this era they were still making good singles but overall the records are much too bland and the songs sound much better when performed live than they do on record or disc (ie: "My Only Love").

Avalon:

Massive critical & commercial success. Plus the tour (well documented here) that accompanied this album is equally tremendous.

Visual Style & Visual Pleasure

Telling the 'visual history' is appropriate as this was perhaps the most stylish band on the planet between 1972-1982. That word, however, is like a double-edged sword. On the one hand, its a compliment, but, on the other, its a slight. "Style" often means lack of "substance". That's occasionally true here. On disc one Roxy's sense of "style" (and irony) is outrageous & intriguing (they were not followers of fashion, rather they were crafters of new waves & trends). On disc two, the Roxy "style" loses some of its meaning and force (and the irony vanishes altogether). On disc two "style" means wistful romantic musing and slick, though nonetheless accomplished, sounds.

This band has always had an air of exclusivity. Early on it was an art school exclusivity and their campy brand of cultural critique was much more sophisticated than anything rock music usually offered; later on, as their lush sounds became fixtures on the posh cosmopolitan disco scene, they were exclusive for a different reason. Therefore, there's a galaxy of difference between the two kinds of visual style and visual pleasure on display on these two discs, but this is a visual history class that never fails to get a response from this viewer/listener. Personally, I prefer the early look and sounds (and humor & substance), but the later look and sound still draws me as well (perhaps because it is so decadent).

Nostalgia:

Bryan Ferry always had a thing for the look & feel & sound of the 1950's & Eno always had a thing for 1960's art & experimentation. This band was always nostalgic, the past was always part of its present, and this disc captures the postmodern aura of this band very well. If each Roxy record was a like new wave of Roxy Music, this two-disc collection allows you to stand back and enjoy the very pleasurable view from afar, and to feel the many sensations that each wave produced all in one sitting. This is really like a time capsule of the period, or the period seen through one of its most intriguing lenses. Many bands that started in the early seventies were finished before the seventies were over, and many other bands didn't get started until the late seventies. Roxy Music is one of the few bands that were around throughout the entire decade and one of the only bands that succeeded with every style of music that they attempted. The originality, especially of the early years, looks even more impressive in retrospect. Their stature, as music and fashion icons, only grows as new generations discover and emulate them.

This is a great double disc set of Roxy Music's two great ages. Not simply a rehash of the VHS "Total Recall," this set represents complete performances (many of which were new to this fan). Clearly geared toward anyone who has the Musikladen DVD releases, it contains none of those performances, but many from the Stranded album that have not seen the light of day (though, sadly, both do not contain "Street Life" that only appears on "Total Recall".) There is a heavy emphasis on certain gigs that contain the best sound (especially the "Siren" tour.) This is a collection for the fans with an eye on what you probably already own, with a few obvious and vital exceptions for any collection. It isn't an absolute completist collection, but it is a must-have.

Let me say that I have always been, and will always be a HUGE Roxy Music/Bryan Ferry fan, but I hesitated to purchase this DVD because I thought I had seen any live Roxy footage worth seeing. I WAS WRONG!!

The 1974 live performance of "Psalm" on the German TV show Musicladen will blow your mind!! This clip captures Roxy at the apex of it's creativity and originality, and Bryan Ferry's spirited and dramatic recitation of his spellbinding lyrics eventually drives the song into an exultant and surreal New Orleans funeral march. I dare you not to become a believer after viewing this gem!!

Is it possible to emit style AND substance? YES. And on the rare occasion when they converge - you have something truly sublime.

Don't Hesitate.

The concert footage is well worth the price of the disc. The 1976 material from the Siren tour shows Roxy at the top of its game. "Nightingale" is a real gem. But the other half of the DVD consists of only marginally interesting TV appearances and MTV videos (from the Flesh & Blood and Avalon eras) in which the band mimes to the studio soundtracks.

Yeh, groovy, video of Roxy Music from 1972-1976 (hot, arty, weird, thrilling) and 1979-1982 (smoothy, sexy, stylish, mature, very '80s). "Re-made/Re-model" from an u dated July 1972 session at the Royal College of Art in London shows the band in full swing. It's the first tune from their debut album and it is the only real glimpse of a freaky Bryan Ferry, showing him with thick eye shadow and long hair. The song is frantic and zany, with images, glimpses and colour. The song is strange, but traditional in the sense that there is a break for every member to get a solo (even Brian Eno gets a "treatments" solo). "Ladytron", from the Old Grey Whistle Test BBC show, starts out with green suit clarinet, then spacey jam, Eno in leopard print and sliver gloves, guitarist Phil Manzanera with bug sunglasses with embedded diamonds (they reappear in some 1982 footage). Eno gets crazy at the console. Bryan Ferry has shorter hair now and just a bit of eye shadow, and by the time of "Virginia Plain" for the Top of the Pops, he's looking pretty much like how we know him forever after: the slimy, vamping sophisticate. "For Your Pleasure" is weird, sparse Space:1999 music. "Do The Strand" vamps in suits, Eno in a silver boa jacket, while "In Every Dream Home a Heartache" the band is Kraftwerk-like, all sling guitars but don't play, robotic, only Eno plays gurgle, halfway through they rock out. Ferry like Elvis with Stratocaster as a prop, Ray Manzanarek on cherry red Les Paul, wailing. Eno with black feathers. "Editions of You", Eno with gold puff jackew with epaulets. Watching Roxy Music at this point is as much as hearing the music as checking out what the boys are wearing... except for the drummer, of course, who is meaty, always wears singlet, and looks like a young Glenn Danzig. "Pyjamerama" shows Ferry in a white tux, something we'll see much more of going forward, especially for the next three tracks, all recorded at Musikladen for German television, with the great SH IT sticker on the wall. By now, Brian Eno is out of the band, and the main eccentric is keyboardist and violinist Eddie Jobson (long-term brass and woodwindist Andy Mackay, with his mullet and green suits, doesn't really qualify as eccentric). "Amazona" has Jobson's great violin solo, and "Psalm" is a weird Nick Cve-like song, with Ferry buildup and sow-off vocals, cool funk vibe, Ferry looks like a young Harvey Heitel, and then someone trhwos him a tamborine. "All I Want Is You," a greaser Ferry, rockin band. "Love is the Drug", pre-recordef for Top of the Pops with a two-tier stage and backup singers, a real big-stage production for the first time - we'll see more of that later too. Ferry looks great with his eye patch. In "Mother of Pearl" Ferry goes nuts, saxophone sweater, guitar crazy, cool rhythm section, great lady keyboardist (oh, that's Eddie Jobson, actually). "Nightingale" is a bit of weird funk, while "Out of the BLue" is sharp and rockin' with great clarinet, and a great Jobson violin solo. The second disc shows off the band's 1979-1982 line-up, which is very big-sounding and suave stadium rock-ready, it also combines live footage with promotional videos. The first song is on the ABBA show, and Anni-Frid and Agnetha introduce them as one of their favourite bands (cool). The songs are good fun, and the musicianship is amazing. You get to see the evolution of the bass player, from a sluggish goon in the earlier songs to a full-on boppin', dancin' dude who's a very big part of the sound. Phil Manzanera is mostly doodling away on his Gibson Firebird, although at times he's on a Les Paul, and some other devices. Disc 2 is less interesting than the first, but it's still good fun. Yay.

To watch most of the "chapters" you have to fast forward a little as soon as you see the title, otherwise it skips to the next song. What's up with that?

Excellent compilation of promotional and live clips by the band. No annoying title cards or overlapping audio to ruin the package. It's a shame it took this long to get this out there for Region 1 buyers.

I thought the whole cd was very good. I. Like the quality of the older stuff the best. Over all very good.

..this is an A+ chronological video of ROX @ their finest...just quit fooling around & get it!...also for your girlfriend,friends,whomever...& then go back to Amazon & find that rare "Total Recall" on VHS to put right next on the shelf with...& see where these complete videos came from!

The real thrill of this release is that the Frejus material is in 5.1 sound.

I was surprised by how much of the material is lip synced.

But this is a great release for the price.

I bought the PAL version, but I'm sure the NTSC version has the same sound. My DVD player can convert PAL to NTSC.