Roxy Music

big up Virginia Plain. Literally no idea what any of these songs are about and I refuse to learn. vibes only

Debut album from Roxy Music and along with their next album "For Your Pleasue" are the only albums with keyboardist Brian Eno. Descriptions of this music and this album are avant-garde, innovative, experimental, glam...I would agree to all that; at this point, this music is hard to define. I hear jazz, prog rock, 50's and early 60's rock and glam rock. Their latter albums have a more distinct style, a "Roxy Music" feel. A thing you do hear throughout are major contributions from each of their members. Every member seems to standout at different times from the sax, drums, guitar, Eno's keyboards and Bryan Ferry's piano and voice. The lyrics are mostly about romance or some aspect of a relationship. This album is considered a major influence on future rock and punk. I do hear that. The album kicks off with "Re-Make/Re-Model" which has a lot going on. Fast drumming, interesting guitar and guitar solo and at times sounds like jazz. It also sounds like a song perfectly fitting on a late 70's Talking Heads' album. On the next song, "Ladytron", I hear a lot of Gary Numan. Brian Eno makes his synthesizers sound like outer space. One of the best songs on the album. "Chance Meeting" is another song dominated by Eno. The US release (not UK) had "Virginia Plain," one of my favorite Roxy Music songs, and their only single connected with the album. It's a more traditional rock song structure with the Roxy Music style you'd hear later that decade. This album is considered one of the best debut albums and I think rightfully so. It showcases an immensely talented band and their initial unique sound.

I can appreciate that this was ahead of the curve for 1972, and it deserves props for that. The issue is that I just didn't enjoy it. In fact I found it to be mildly annoying most of the time.

A classy album, this one. It's so classy, you can use the cover model's pubes as dental floss. But yes, this is a sophisticated album intended for we sophisticated cats. The ideal circumstance for listening to this album is whilst sitting beside a roaring fireplace, reading Nabokov's Pale Fire, lazily swirling some Rémy Martin around the glass and being fellated by the woman on the front of that month's Vogue. Indeed, that's how Bryan Ferry ends his Wednesdays. I'm quite a fan of Roxy Music. I love them in a similar way to how I love the Happy Mondays. I love their inventiveness, their oddball discernment, their magpie ransacking of any and all music trends that took their fancy, their unabashed hedonism (which led to both Roxy and the Mondays putting underdressed lovelies on their album covers; neither group could remotely be called feminist). Also like the Mondays, Roxy moderately pissed on their reputational chips with later demerits, leading T-Rex/the Stone Roses to nab more than their fair share of glam/baggy kudos. But this is their first album, so let's save that story for the last Roxy album on the list (Country Life, if you're wondering). Roxy Music gestated in that classic incubator for smart British bands, the art college. In fact, Roxy Music may well qualify as the quintessential art college band. Bryan Ferry, the son of a Geordie miner, was magnetically drawn to the Fine Art department of Newcastle University (not technically an art college, but it's not as if he studied chemical engineering). Under the tutelage of Richard Hamilton (who designed the cover of the Beatles White Album), Ferry became devoted to living a life governed by elegance, taste and flair, seeking to unite his idols Marcel Duchamp, Humphrey Bogart and Otis Redding. Brian Eno, the son of an Essex postman, immersed himself in the then-nascent postmodern attitude of questioning every assumption that British art colleges had fostered. Wielding a post-structuralist arsenal of hypotheses and approaches, Eno sought to put art theory into music practice. (One oddity about Roxy Music is that, for all their assertions that they were creating a new aristocracy, along with Bryan Ferry's latter penchants for foxhunting and Eton, the band members' backgrounds were almost all firmly working-class. The ony posh one in the group was public-school-educated guitar ace Phil Manzanera, the son of a man who worked for a British airline and who might have been a spy working throughout Latin America). Roxy Music was Bryan's baby, but though he was unquestionably the leader (one constant source of resentment within the group was Bryan's insistence that he be credited with "words and music" on the album, meaning he'd get the bulk of the royalties), Bryan needed the rest of the group to construct his vision. Also, Brian had gallons of ideas of his own, and though Bryan and Brian would battle in part over who had the biggest avant-garde chops (also, Bryan got miffed at the remarkable quantity of ladies who bounced upon Brian), on the first two Roxy albums one can feel how synergistic Bryan and Brian were. These ideas, which can't be attributed solely to Bryan or to Brian, include a pop-art derived rejection of high-low culture boundaries. In the first track, Re-make/Re-model, has each band member play an excerpt from another piece of music: Graham Simpson, the soon-departing bassist plays the riff from Day Tripper, Andy Mackay, the saxophonist and oboist (and son of a London gas man) plays Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, etcetry etcetry. This was at a time when prog rock was trying to build its own high-low culture barrier, putting itself on the high side. This is surely a reason to love Roxy Music: they pointed out, musically and comically, that those prog popinjays were a phananx of wankers. If I had to single out a curious factor from this album, it would be its romanticism. Yes, it's a romanticism that's been dolled up with camp and irony, but it's still romanticism under the cosmetics. This is due to Bryan, not Brian. Whereas Brian would nick prodigiously from the past because the very idea of such theft interested him, Bryan truly venerated the matinee idols and soul singers of his youth, and he was clever enough to clock that he could be simultaneously arch and sincere. So, we get his paean to Bogart (2HB), his three-part vignette on love discovered, consummated and recalled (If There Is Something), and his doo-wop pastiche (Bitter Ends). That said, Bryan's romanticism (which occasionally veered into chauvinism) is only one facet of this great album, and I wish I'd said more about Andy and Phil (I don't know what the drummer Paul Thompson's dad did for a living). But there's so much to devour here, and I've wittered on enough already, so why not find out yourself? Play this album, it's dead classy.

man I cant dig this. The lead singer sounds like someone yelled at him or punched him in the stomach before recording and he's holding back tears. Also it just sounds a little too boring for rock.

The first few songs have a bit of a Grateful Dead meets David Bowie feel before the prog/art rock really takes hold. Brian Eno’s contribution is immense and hints at his ambient music aspirations. Frankly this album absolutely blew me away. The suite like nature of the album plays best as a whole and the genre fluidity works very well for them. This album is way ahead of its time and parts of it sound like it could have been released by contemporary independent artists.

Exile on Main Street-stones Ziggy stardust-Bowie Pink moon-nick drake I’m still in love with you- al green Harvest- Neil young Eat a peach-allman bros Young gifted and black-Aretha All these albums came out the same year as this, why on earth is this on the list??

Solid 4 from a band I've never heard of. Feels ahead of its time in 1971

What, and I cannot stress this enough, THE FUCK. Everybody has those blind spot bands, right? You know the name, you hear it mentioned as an influential artist, but you can't listen to everything so somehow it bypasses you. You always meant to check it out but never got around to it. So this is my first exposure to Roxy Music. I assumed based on the name, the association with fashion, the groups they influenced, and the era, that I'd be queuing up some Bowie-esque glam rock. Hooooo buddy. How do I describe it? You know the scene in Spinal Tap where Nigel quits and they decide to do a jazz exploration at their next gig? Ever seen those videos on YouTube where someone overlays live footage of Phish with saxophone honks and random drum fills and out-of-tune guitar chord plucks? That's Roxy Music, friends. This is Grateful Dead on an off night after a bad trip. The last song sounds like a fucking jam band Monster Mash. This was so spectacularly unpleasant to listen to from start to finish that I'm kind of invested in solving the mystery of how the fuck anyone ever listened to it in the first place? Did you all just hang the cover on your wall and treat it as art? Did you accidentally put another record in the sleeve and spend the 70s confusing which band was which? Make it make sense.

I went to a house party with my mate Shawn once where everyone got a raffle ticket on entry, and there was a lucky door prize drawing later in the evening. Shawn won a vinyl copy of this first Roxy Music album. Not being a LP collector himself, he passed it to me. I very gratefully accepted, and I acknowledge his generosity in adding this excellent album to my collection. I love this first phase of Roxy Music (with and without Eno). Art rock that actually rocks. Everything is just a bit weird and sideways, without being completely off the wall. This album fits right into the pocket for me. It's amusingly weird without losing sight of the need to actually rock and have a few tunes you can sing along with. Side 1 (especially with inclusion of the Virginia Plain single on the CD and streaming versions) is particularly strong; it's more song-oriented than the more experimental second side. I dig both, although I need to be a bit more in the mood for side 2. The band is pretty powerful, and they can rock along in an unpredictable way without getting too clever-clogs. It's a got enough Eno in it to be surprising, without having completely disappeared up its own backside. The recording and playing is a bit ropey (they recorded the whole thing in a week), but I think that gives the album an immediacy and energy that really appeals to me. Bryan Ferry hasn't fully developed his lounge lizard persona yet, but his idiosyncratic vocal stylings provide drama and character. It's a smart record you can dance to, and it's hard to ask for more than that.

Loved the experimental and eclectic sound. Also loved the way that this album felt like a story without the use of skits, very cohesive and has musical through lines.

Great drums, great guitar, unique vocals, and uniqueness everywhere... what's not to like? Solid find for me.

I liked this for the most part. I had no idea what I was going into with this one, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The saying, "Don't just a book by its cover" doesn't usually apply to albums. Generally speaking, you WANT your album covers to give people an indication of what they're getting into. Before I hit play on this one, I had a definite idea of what I was about to be listening to. I was wrong. This was ... good. The Wiki article has this pegged as "glam rock" and "prog rock" but, to me, it felt like proto-punk. In a good way. I don't know. Whatever it is, I dig it. Docked a star because a lot of the second half is too damn Brian Eno for my liking. Also, WTF is up with that last track? It's a rip off of the damn Monster Mash. Why would you do that?

It’s one of the greatest debut albums of all time. It has one of the greatest opening tracks of all time, Remake/Remodel. It’s the album that introduced Brian Eno to the world. It’s experimental, ahead of its time, strange and boundary pushing. It rocks. How could I possibly rate it anything other than 5 stars?

It's so weird, I love it!

Okay in parts.

Mixing up genres and experimental, this is clearly different for it's time, but I prefer their second album, For Your Pleasure. This starts well, but gets weaker. I didn’t warm to the last two songs at all.

Discordant, falsetto and probably the reason I will require hearing aids in old age.

These kinds of albums are why I do this challenge. Crazy how one guy singing like a weirdo can accidentally spawn a whole genre 5 years later. This weirdo is incredibly fun and knows how to compose a damn good song, so he should keep being this weird. The instrumentals on the album are amazing and really make a great pair with the vocals. Every member of the band is great at what they do and they all have great standout moments throughout the album. The whole thing comes together to make the most unseriously serious album I've heard in a really long time and I loved every second of it. Bonus points for the saxophone, that always makes music better.

Cabaret for people who carry their underwear in their pockets on a night out, this forges hard left into a variety show populated by Grosz and compèred by Groucho Marx, the softer songs never relinquishing the arch wobbliness, the barnstormers swathed in sheets of Eno’s bonkers synth and wonky bursts of guitar and sax. This is another top-tier record I was too uptight for when I first heard it, though Bryan Ferry is still a prize berk.

A game of two halves. The first 5 comprise some of glam rock's finest and most inventive bangers; the back half lets Eno loose on a variety of odd extended soundscapes. Both excellent fun. Ferry's ability to turn a brief glimpse of a hot chick into a top tune is unrivaled. Mark - does Mao Tse-tung come to mind every time you hear "Virginia Plain"?

I'll keep it 100: from seeing the words "art rock" on this album's Wikipedia page, I got the feeling I wouldn't like this. Kind of a sense of dread, actually, that I'd hafta spend the next forty minutes with this. Y'know, I haven't had very good experiences lately with "artsy" music — particularly post-punk and some experimental music. I mean, if there's any impression I've gotten lately from music that's tryna be "artsy," it's that it's usually atonal, noisy and verging on unlistenable for nothing more than for the sake of being "uncommercial." As if actually being appealing to people is somehow the worst thing in the world. It's the kind of music I imagine some folk like just because it makes them feel like a smarty smart big boy to "get it," unlike all the other plebeians and "normies." Luckily, though, my fears were found to be unfounded — and as it turns out, completely irrelevant. Like, yeah, there's quite a few moments on here that fall into being atonal and/or noisy, but none of it's ever abrasive. Y'know, none of it screams out "LOOK AT HOW UNCONVENTIONAL WE ARE; CLAP FOR US, DAMMIT." In fact, I probably shoulda paid more attention to the first genre classifier Wikipedia had up: glam rock. 'Cuz this is actually way closer to what I like from glam rock than was on ELECTRIC WARRIOR — and again, that's a good album. But here, it's bigger, it's wilder, and it is **not** restrained. The way "Re-Make/Re-Model" trades off solos at the end is amazing. "Would You Believe?" has a lot of that old rock n' roll flair, and it's great. But even when it does get artsy, like with the oboe melody at the front of "Ladytron"... Gawd, it's vibes. So much of this album is vibes. It's really something how much this album, in vibes, reminds me of Brian Eno's ambient work — and I do love me some ambient. Just as much, it's incredible that these vibes don't feel out of place next to all the hard rockin' glam. They just fit together so well. Oh, and also, going back to the traded off solos on "Re-Make/Re-Model" — each one quotes a different piece of music, from "Day Tripper" to "Ride Of The Valkyries", and that was such a Frank Zappa move to my ears that that alone convinced me that this album was good, actually. So once again I've learned to not judge an album by its genre label on Wikipedia. ("Once again?" Has it happened before? Probably, but heck if I can tell you where or when. And it'll happen again, let's not kid ourselves.) It's a real good album — one that's obviously not aiming for big mainstream success, but at the same time not aiming to be a big, off-putting mess just for the sake of it. I would listen to it again, and I wasn't even thinking I'd give it that much. So, yeah, it's a... Mm, yeah, a 5. I'll say I was impressed enough for that. It's nice to know some good Roxy music that wasn't played by Zappa and his band, I tell yah. Goodness.

Haha wow this absolutely rips! I had no idea! I can’t believe it’s from the early 70s, too. Sounds like 1986. This is not the sort of thing I ever would have got into when I was younger. All roads lead to Eno I guess.

I talked about this before when I reviewed Roxy Music’s other album this is just a really incredible experience every song hits hard as fuck 10/10

This is a love or hate classic. This album won’t get to many middle scores because it is pushing the edges of taste. I love albums like this. At first listen, I was what the heck is this album trying to do? What is the thesis Brian and boys are feeling at this time and Space? But, then I listened again, and again, and again, and each time my mind captured a new look, a new feel, a deeper love for Roxy Music.

Nevrr listened to this before. I just don't know. Was it good? Was it bad? I think it kind of was good, but I'm scared. Let's say it was.

https://youtu.be/8E0qSTFIauw

Stellar

This album is really astonishing for the time when it was made. It sounds like a post-punk album but was made before anything but the earliest punk albums had been released. The music can be a bit much at times, but overall it's a really fun listen and sounds way ahead of its time 4/5

Really enjoyable

I don't really know what it is. Rock/punk? This one really can't be judged by its cover, but it is a solid 4 stars.

Loved this album! Can't believe I never got to it before. They must be an influence for Talking Heads.

Some sort of mix between Bowie and Pink Floyd. First half was very good, second half reminded me of The Wall.

Pretty cool and impressive stuff, especially for 1972, although probably not something I'll be playing an awful lot.

Roxy Music, at least in this stage of their career, seems to be a "weird-for-the-sake-of-weird" kind of band. The chaos of the opening track, Re-Make/Re-Model, is something pretty special – particularly with the brass and saxes. It sets up the music as being unpredictable, energetic, and highly dynamic within individual tracks (you love to see it!). Each song is almost its own proto-prog vignette. The genre is thrown around haphazardly, even tossed out the window completely in some cases. I mean, can you even begin to categorise the bass-heavy, oceanic "epic" that is Sea Breezes, the dozen completely distinct song sections of The Bob, or the combined horror movie and delightful end-credits sound of Virginia Plain? If these guys were trying to avoid fitting into one musical categorisation, they definitely succeeded. All that being said, I have some problems. The singing isn't great. It's wild, wobbly, and difficult to latch onto as a listener. There's little in the way of melody or catchy, head-nodding hooks. The vibes are fun, sure, but is this really something you'd want to put on for your friends? Does this music work in any setting, social or otherwise, other than scrolling through Spotify in search of quirky post-Summer-Of-Love oddities? I guess it could fit into the underground scene, but it also sounds a bit like punk (which is anything but underground) and perhaps art rock à la Brian Eno. The listener is left happy but confused. 3/5 Key tracks: Re-Make/Re-Model, Virginia Plain, Chance Meeting

i actually really dig the music but dear lord someone needs to go back in time and tell bryan ferry to put a sock in it

I like Roxy, but this is their early work, before they became "cool" later on in the 80s.

It's early for them, and it's not my fav. I don't think it's super interesting, maybe in that there are slower songs??

Nothing special. Some songs were ok, others were bad. Pretty forgettable, other than the parts I *want* to forget.

The woman in the album art looks like she gives teethy blowjobs. At first I thought it sounded like the rolling stones. Then he started singing and it was like Devo was fucking David Byrne. He sounds like he is being viciously shaken while singing. This guy definitely did acid in the sixties. The drummer on 2.H.B was fuckin jammin. Chance Meeting sounded like he was making up the lyrics on the fly. There were no lyrics on the youtube videos and I don’t think I understood one word. Most of the songs sounded like a mish mash of instruments interrupting each other while a man has a violent stroke into a microphone. 3/10

Dad rock. Virgin Records? More like Made by Virgins, lmao

Is it fair to dislike something for trying too hard? It’s a feeling I have towards a lot of progressive music, a sense that the music is secondary to the performance. But for a group like Roxy Music, who were only tangentially Prog? Is it reductive, missing the point to dislike Glam for being over the top? In the case of the two other great British Glammers, Bowie and Bolan, the answer is certainly a yes, but that’s because the style was mostly restricted to their image rather than the music. The music stands on it’s own without the costumes and pageantry; Bowie could have dressed in a potato sack and Starman would still have been a hit. Roxy Music are, to my knowledge, seen less as style icons, and so their music must stand on it’s own. And I don’t think it does. I read a description of Re-Make/Re-Model before I listened to the track, and it came over as so fan-wanky that I probably put myself off. It’s not a song, it’s a load of ideas smashed behind a piano beat. ‘Oh, what if the guitar just played single notes until the solo, when we just play chords?’ ‘Oh, what if the keyboard just played random notes occasionally?’ ‘Oh, what if we quoted The Beatles and Wagner right after each other? That’d show how cool and irreverent we are. Post-Modernism!’ Oh, and it distracts from the fact that we mostly just sing about girls. I’m not saying that every song has to be a State Of The Nation novel or a commentary on fame and fortune or everyday ennui: there is a place for love songs. I’m just not sure I want my love songs to quote Ride of the fucking Valkyries, or to be wrapped up in so many layers of irony and references that it becomes evident the composer is just trying to impress the listener with how clever they are. Recently, I’ve been watching Community while it’s still on Netflix, and what’s struck me is how little the various pop culture references actually affect the core of the emotional story the writers are trying to tell. Community’s reference humour is a way of presenting a love letter to culture, on top of a deeper story about a flawed man learning to accept his flaws by letting people into his heart. The irony is only skin deep, a reflection of Jeff’s character. Roxy Music’s irony is down to the bone, and as such it becomes very hard to appreciate, because there is no other substance to attach to

What a great record. *The* lodestar for a ridiculous number of punk and new wave bands.

It's a 5, because most of the tracks are 5s.

Excellent, but not my cup of tea

they were definitely trying to find their sound here.

I loved this

Da jeg gikk på ungdomsskolen kjøpte jeg Bryan Ferry-albumet "Taxi" for en tier på Rimi. Jeg husker jeg hadde sett reklame på TV for coveralbumet hans med Dylan-coverlåter og syns det låt kult. Jeg satt "Taxi" i spilleren og det var noe av det verste jeg hadde hørt til da. Jeg har heller ikke hørt albumet siden, og kanskje er det derfor jeg aldri har hørt et Roxy Music-album heller. Men dette var skikkelig kult. Det høres ut som det er på veien mellom King Crimson og Talking Heads, eller et sideprosjekt fra David Bowie. Kanskje jeg bør gi "Taxi" en sjanse til også?

Roxy Music – Roxy Music (1972) This album is like being invited to a glamorous 1970s party on a yacht piloted by a cyborg Oscar Wilde—and halfway through, the yacht catches fire, but everyone’s too fashionable to care. Rating: 4.7/5 Short Review: It’s art rock in a glittery fever dream—like Bowie, if he drank too much absinthe and got lost in a thrift store.

It makes me feel nostalgic for my hometown

It's got Brian Eno! It is Roxy Music! Two member of this band don't like each other so of course it's going to be a good album. It is also a pretty good example of what people thought art rock was like in the 70's. No reason this does not deserve a 5.

Great

Great

Great Eno album! This is the type of Eno that behind: wide ranging musical styles, cleverly bizarre lyrics, and haunting vocals. The first five songs are incredible. The next few distortion heavy songs are a bit of a step back to me (the Eno I don’t care for), but Chance Meeting and the whimsical Bitter End keep this firmly in the 5s

Holy smokes! What a debut. I was previously only aware of Avalon. From point A to point B, the contrast is amazing. I love the vibe on this one. Raw, organic, and expressive. I caught a Cramps vibe of the opening track. This was the hook that kept me engaged through out. Love the drums and keys here.

Yay! Heared some Roxy Music (Stranded was my guilty pleasure in my gatekeeping teenage years), but this one felt even better. This one got me excited from the first song and kept me entertained till the end of the album. I will definitely relisten to this again (actually already did). Second great discovery from this project so far.

Enjo

4.7

Amazing

roxy were making post-punk before punk

Fabulous music, fabulous artwork!

Fantastic art-rock, influential and full of influences, bridging between The Velvet Underground and Talking Heads. Yes, side 2 isn't quite as wonderful as the first half, but it's still a classic. Recommended reading: Re-make Re-model by Michael Bracewell.

One of my favorite albums of all time by my favorite band of all time. Just a classic avant-garde, glam album with amazing songwriting and experimentation that goes on a journey while not really being bloated like a lot of prog-rock (which this is not).

One of my all time favs. Love these guys and everything Bryan Ferry touches.

I love everything Brian Eno, what else can I say?

Glamourousness.

This such an eclectic mix of styles, yet it is so definitely commercial and poppy. Hard to describe. One of the few avantgarde pop records that are a pleasure and fun to listen to. Unbelievable for a 1st.

A really cool mishmash of sounds. I love Eno and his work here is fantastic and mixes with the rest of the band flawlessly to make an album that feels very futuristic even today.

Love Roxy Music. Ferry, Eno, Manzanera, Wetton, Mackay and Thompson plus many others are amazing musicians. Love their solo work as well. I have this on Vinyl it's a great pressing. Don't hesitate on this one you will love it.

Love it, awesome group and album

10 out of 10

8.5 brilliant album

Just a great first album. Some great lyrics and a proper style setter.

Je connaissais déjà plusieurs chansons de cet album, que je trouve absolument fascinant. Même si c'est du glam rock, il me semble que ça ne ressemble à rien d'autre, cinématographique, fiévreux, éclaté.

This is one album that is more than deserving of its place on here. Since I have been engaging with this sight there appears to be albums popping up that are more than questionable. Not this one. Mssrs Bryan Ferry , Brian Eno, Phil Manzerera.....etc.... Innovative, breaking the mould and more. Just brilliant

some things just come from God, we don’t know why

This one was kinda sick. I liked it a lot Will I listen to again: 100%

No idea what to expect. I know that they're a fairly popular band and are consisered influencial. Other than that I don't know if I've even heard any of their songs even if I know the name. I would consider myself a fan of Brian Eno's ambient work, though from the description I expect this to be anything but that. Feels like I've neglected a bit of music history by ignoring this band for so long. Re-Make/Re-Model Thick bass. The vocals sit strangely in the mix making them sound a bit muddled, especially noticable on the background vocals from the band. I really appreciate the ambitious experimental instrumentation. The squealing guitars and the erratic saxophone sounds really compelling. I love how diverse it is instrumentally and how much the track changes over the course of its five minute runtime. Great. 4.5/5 Ladytron That's definitely Brian Eno. Love how the bass is mixed. The vocals are strange and full of character. What an interesting way to take the track. Absolute insanity unfolding inside my headset. I don't know what to call this but I quite enjoy how full of ideas this is. Great. 4.5/5 Is There Something Don't like the vocal melody. The bass is a bit too loud. Great piano and guitar work. There's some crazy instrumental choices here, is that a woodwind? Extremely strange vocal delivery, can't say I dislike it, but it's strange none the less. Kind of loses focus in the middle. The final vocal passage is full of character. Really like how this song ends. Great. 4.5/5 Virginia Plain Structurally simpler than their earlier songs. The varied instrumentation really keeps me entertained. The excentric vocals really fit the bouncy rhythm. No complaints. 4.5/5 2HB The ambient intro could be its own song. The chilled out vibe is appreciated after the chaos that just unfolded. The mellow instrumental passage is just pure bliss. Cozy and relaxing. danny-devito-i-get-it.gif. 5/5 The Bob (Medley) Ominous, spooky, harrowing, other words for unsettling. Was not expecting this to turn into a glam rock track at this point. Extremely dramatic. Experimental. Absolute chaos. Satisfying bass/guitar combination. Spoken word? Need some time to digest it, but I think it might be amazing? 5/5 Chance Meeting Giving musical theatre. Now giving old horror movie. The lyrics sound disturbing with the unsettling noise in the background. Great. 4.5/5 Would You Believe? The vocals are a bit too quirky on this one. Love the energy and the classic rhythm tied with the diversity of the instrumentation. The changeup in tempo at the end comes at the right time to keep the song interesting. Probably the wakest track so far. Still good. 4/5 Sea Breezes Love me an ocean themed song. One of my favourite micro-categories. Love how the crashing waves are implemented. Theatrical, dramatic vocal performance. Really like the calmer sound. Has a sort of gothic energy to it. The instrumentation is absolutely fantastic yet again, love how strange it is. Satisfying ending with the reprise of the first verse. Challenging. 4.5/5 Bitters End Quirky and odd. Satisfying lyrics. Love the sax going crazy in the background. The background vocals are a fun addition. Like the short but sweet nature of the song. Great closer. 4.5/5 I'm amazed at this. Really strange and experimental, with tonnes of great creative choices and eclectic and inspired instrumentation. Charismatic vocals full of personality. And the theatrical performances really added some mystique and uniqueness to the sound. Great drama aswell. Can't say apart from a few patches of rough mixing that there is anything to complain about. Really want to return to this one and attempt to make more sense of the craziness. Might be influenced by my run of getting recommended really depressive and/or serious music from this app, but this was a breath of fresh air. Had so much fun with this. Right up my alley. 4.5/5 stars leaning closer to 5. Fave track. 2HB Least fave track. N/A

Bryan Ferry! Absolutely killer album.

Wow. I assumed Brian Eno's best work was predominantly in his solo work, but this is damn well up there. I listened to Country Life before by Roxy Music and felt generally lukewarm towards it. But each song was really a standout here. The beginning is slightly more impressive than the end, but otherwise a great listen. 4.5/5 -> 5/5

This album seems to be frequently compared to David Bowie's 'Ziggy Stardust' as they were apparently released within the same month and operated within the same general world of English glam rock at the same time. Both are considered groundbreaking and massively influential albums and I think the second charge is fair, but musically, one album certainly breaks a lot more ground than the other. Whereas 'Ziggy Stardust' moving of the cultural needle relies on lyrics that are so fanciful and outlandish as to occasionally evoke a children's storybook on an album that is otherwise pretty standard, 'Roxy Music' actually gets weird. A lot of the time it works -- often anchored by Brian Eno's snyths -- and a lot of the time it doesn't. But they are truly experimenting, synthesizing pretty traditional song structures that make up the backbone of songs like "Re-Make/Re-Model", "If There Is Something" and "Virginia Plain" and jamming them against strange loops of horns and flutes and god knows what else and crazy drums and synths -- the synths on this album!!! In its second half, the album goes less like rock songs made weird and even more off script. It is a wild ride... wild. All over the place. Never boring, though. I don't love every moment of this album, but I absolutely love the singularly creative vision that it executes. "2HB" is probably my favorite track. The saxophone throughout the album is fantastic, but there is also some really great drumming and creative, thoughtful, intricate work on synths to anchor this bizarre voyage. This is an album I probably wouldn't have given a chance outside of this project and I'm very glad I did. In short, it blows 'Ziggy Stardust' out of the water.

Staggering good. Way ahead of its time. A landmark debut and such a self assured album of brilliance. *****

Amazing debut album! If There Is Something and Virginia Plain are just amazing. I love the tempo and vibes of this album so much.

pretty chill. seems like itd be great to listen to on a road trip.

Weird that my group has gotten 2 Glam Rock acts in the past week, but I'm not complaining when it gives us songs like the ones on this album. Solid 5 Stars.

I’m at a 5. It just sounded really, really, really full for 1972, and I suspect that’s partially because of Brian Eno’s contributions to this album. I didn’t realize he was a part of this band until after I was done listening, and it truly explains a lot. This album has a super crisp mix, really deep percussion, and just a wonderful blend of genres and styles that feels innovative far beyond its years. A good number of these tracks truly sound modern to my ears, and while it’s partially in the audio quality being as good as it is, a lot of it is in the more manic production. This album is full of energetic drum fills and long instrumental sections that I can’t say I’ve ever really heard in stuff from 1972, and it’s just really, really cool. I could point to obvious stuff like The Beatles & David Bowie as two of the major inspirations that this album might’ve taken, but I just hear a lot of stuff in here – little bit of ska (on Would You Believe?), a little bit of electronica (on Ladytron), a little bit of industrial / grunge (on Chance Meeting), a little bit of big band jazz (also on Would You Believe?), and I can’t even really describe all of the things I heard in “Virginia Plain”. It’s just a rich and varied soundscape that kept me captivated on almost every track – the only real “meh” here is 2HB, which is, oddly, a Humphrey Bogart tribute track. I guess they really fucking liked Casablanca. Ultimately, it’s an album that I think deserves to be listened to, in order to really understand & truly *feel* the depth of the soundscape. I don’t think I can accurately capture it in words; it’s that good, and I’m deeply glad it’s on this list, because I don’t think I would’ve ever, EVER, stumbled upon it otherwise. It’s no lower than a 4 in my mind – maybe a 3 if you can’t stand the big bombastic feel on a few tracks, which this album tends to dip into quite a bit. For my tastes though, this just feels innovative beyond belief for its time, and I highly recommend it. Super easy 5 for me.

if you’re a velvet goldmine fan like me this album is already an established hit

I simply love this band. They are tons and tons of fun while also having really interesting stuff happening with the production. I think this album is owned by the sax player, especially.

I totally realize this is not for everyone. For the people who want to hear some cool influential Glam with the experimental beginnings of Brian Eno then put this and For Your Pleasure (which is also on the list). Love it. Can't wait to find a copy for my collection.

Really like this album. With Phil Manzanera on guitar and Brian Eno on synthesiser you can't go wrong. The first 4 songs are exceptionally good and the album gets 5 star for these alone. Favourites include re make re model and if there is something. British art house experimental rock at its best and still sounds futuristic now.

I’m a big fan of Roxy Music and I love these early albums.

- 1 9 7 2 -

The classic Roxy music record where everything is just perfect. Great music, good lyrics and some electronic experimentations. What else do you need?

To these ears, this album and its follow-up 'For Your Pleasure' are the greatest Roxy Music albums - before Eno got the heave-ho. Both albums are fabulous additions to the art-rock/glam genre, and were some of the strong influences on some of those post-punk bands that followed the great UK punk explosion of 76-77. The album is full of great tunes and (at times oblique) lyrics. I listened to the US release which includes the great single 'Virginia Plain'. What a stomper! This album is a clear 5/5.

Gold. True and Pure, never tire of listening to ALL THEIR ALBUMS

Never really dug in to Roxy Music despite being very in to most of Eno's career after Roxy Music. This album is excellent and a nice peak in to the earlier work of genius. Fascinating.

Pitch perfect art rock and proto punk debut.

As we gathered around Bitters End, there came plenty a chance meeting to take advantage of. If there is something to take note of, is that there is no shortage of love for Humphrey Bogart around these parts. Would you believe? Not long into the abundance of sounds buzzing amongst the chatter, the first chords of The Bob blared through the speakers and we were rollicking again. Our clothes, long and short and tailored and sequined and sharp and flat, underwent a re-make/re-model as though they were anticipating the Ladytron. Yet there she was, what's her name? Virginia Plain? Initially she wasn't supposed to be there but it's for the best that she was. If you come through for one of these gatherings, make sure of one thing: keep an eye out for the sea breezes.

What a vibe. Just perfect as always!