Roxy Music

This totally caught me by surprise. I didn't know much about Roxy Music except that they existed. 2HB is easily my favourite. Certainly an album that deserves more plays.

Ok, liked this a lot more than "Country Life" - maybe it's the Eno, definitely it's the weirdness! I think with more listens this might climb to a 5, but for now I'm thinking it's a figurative 4.5... Fave tracks - could be "Re-Make/Re-Model", or "2 H.B.", or "The Bob (medley)", or in fact "Sea Breezes"! Definitely more play throughs required!

Too artsy and pretentious for me. I found Bryan Ferry's vocals especially annoying with that vibrato thing he does. I guess I am just not appreciative of the "avant-garde"

Not a bad album! Gave it two listens. While I enjoyed it knowing a little more about Roxy Music than when I heard their other album on this list, it didn't really grab me lyrically or musically. Solid 3 for me.

This was cool. An musical era that I really like. Not huge on it.

Relatively interesting/enjoyable. I think I need another listen or 2. It could grow on me.

There are moments I love the kookiness of Roxy Music. But I never seek them out, best enjoyed randomly or in small doses perhaps.

way better than i expected in every way. wowee!

Weird. Every song almost felt like a different genre. Wouldn’t go out of way to listen again

Several great songs, and so different from their 80s stuff.

Alcune canzoni meglio di altre, ma molto noioso

Weird but pleasant enough.

A+ use of saxophone. But the cover art, yikes, if ever someone was begging for help with their eyes, this is her.

This album just confused me.

Idiosyncratic is good. Distinct musically. Clear talent on display. The artists' viewpoint is communicated. Simply a fun album to listen to. Love it. Adding to my library.

Very creative work of classic rock. I’m especially fond of ”Sea Breeze”, but the other tracks are all fun pieces of quirky pop-meets-experimentation in their own right

Såå episkt

Not awful, but its hard to understand why this is an essential album. Its OK. But its not much more than OK. 2/5

Velvet Goldmind soundtrack. It is not something I would have sought but in that context I enjoy many of these songs.

I don't get it. Roxy Music did some good stuff, but I don't get why this is hyped. 2 stars.

I think Roxy Music are one of the few prog/art rock bands that stand out from their contemporaries. I really like their oddball pop/rock sound

Weird, not neccasarily a bad thing, sometimes a great thing, sometimes not. Never really understood what Roxy were, or were about, still don't. It's Bryan Ferry isn't it? Kinda associate him with Ferry across the Mersey dont know if that's fair (or accurate). All I know is the mersey was larger than i anticipated, much wider than the Thames or the Siene. To say as wide as the solent, maybe taking things too far but it was big, ocean like. Made we wonder what made people think "I can cross that" before boats and shit?

Faded somewhat on the b side, but still an enjoyable and interesting listen. Virginia Plain is an out and out classic

Quite fun. Some good tunes in there.

I can't help but think of that Shooting Stars skit of Virginia Plain, Vic Reeves' doing Bryan Ferry, so funny! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su1gbmpFj0I

Roxy Music's first album is pure delight. They are eclectic but not proggish but created what others would call Art Rock later. Love it!

Still sounds very fresh. That Eno touch👌

Nothing special

Enjoyed this! A little odd but had fun listening.

I liked it. I've listened to some songs from them pretty recently. Definitely hit or miss for me.

Another Roxy Music album?? My opinion on them remains unchanged.

First album on this list I've actually really enjoyed. Some complex and interesting pop music. Lovely stuff.

It’s Roxy music!

Hmmm not bad

I'd kind of heard of Roxy Music, maybe heard Virginia Plain once or twice, but that's about it. Wasn't sure what to expect, but the result was very weird and unique. Never weird enough to become unhinged and unlistenable noise though. I can totally see how Brian Eno was part of the band. I don't quite know what songs I'd specifically save to my playlist from this album. It all feels pretty coherent despite its weird psychedelia, and I feel this album is greater than the sum of its parts. It's one I'd totally seek out on vinyl. Favourite: Virginia Plain

It has been a while since I was blown away by an album so immediately on first listen. The melodic sensibilities in tension with some more experimental impulses hit that perfect sweet spot for me. Makes me want to dive into the rest of their discography. Great debut album.

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 love this album! This band was amazing, nearly no misses for me. Iconic cover, great songs I can listen over and over! A fantastic album that shows what they’re about, what they have in store and what’s to come! 9 out of 10

🥰🥰🥰

Not Roxy Music's best stuff but nonetheless engaging with some interesting soundscapes. The quirkiness is much appreciated - it makes the band feel even smarter in their decision-making and musical layering because they don't seem to take things as seriously and by-the-book as they could. Never would have found this album otherwise, but glad I did.

B- Re-Make/Re-Model 2 Ladytron 4 If There Is Something 4 Virginia Plain 2 2 H.B. 3 The Bob (Medley) 3 Chance Meeting 4 Would You Believe? 3 Sea Breezes 3 Bitters End 3 I'm a big Roxy Music fan, but I only listened to Country Life before this. It doesn't reach the heights of Country Life, but it is still good.

This is a fun album with Standouts in Re-make/Re-Model, Ladytron, If There Is Something, 2HB, and Would You Believe?

This album might be 5* I listened to it about 2 months ago, which gives it an advantage against alot of the albums on this list. It sounded familiar and all the vibes I liked then shone through. Sea Breezes is outstanding. There is a sense of fear and dread that comes from this song, yet a loose feel that's hard to explain. The guitar work is very simple but seems complicated melodically. If There is Something is another song that stands out for its janky piano line, but still manages to have an eerie vibe. Overall I'm between a 4 and a 5

A classic album. It was so different to everything else at the time that it took me some time before I liked it. The original UK version of the album didn't include their hit single "Virginia Plain" but the US version did, as did later UK versions.

This felt like glam rock at its best. I really enoyed it.

This is not quite Roxy Music at their fullest potential, but there are glimpses of greatness and darkness on 'Chance Meeting' and 'Sea Breezes'.

While not reaching the same extreme heights of the follow up, the debut album by Roxy Music comes pretty close. Ferry’s vocals are haunting and crooning in all the right ways, the production is great and otherwise straightforward tracks like “If There Is Something” becomes anything but in the hands of Roxy Music. Once again Brian Eno, “ the balding, long-haired eunuch lookalike” as dubbed by Christgau, is there to steal the show time and time again. It’s so easy to hear how he helped shaped the sound that helped them break through. Those first Roxy Music albums really are something else.

not for me

I had previously dismissed Roxy music as not for me based on one of their other records. But this was such a continuous surprise of jazzy, unhinged rock music. Loved it! The biggest positive surprise of my 1001 project yet.

Do not dig this at all

some really cool horn layering throughout and some cool wacky synths. I enjoyed myself a lot but if I'm honest with myself that enjoyment definitely came from being able to hear the amount of uppers they were on as opposed to good songwriting and structure. of which there was little...

His voice is so annoying. F**k me!

É possível perceber a importância histórica pela parte experimental e camadas variadas de um rock carregado de alegria.

Oh, this voice! I have no clue why this picture was chosen as an album cover though… But I know I’ll keep on listening to it.

Just listen to an Eno album of this era. The production is pretty much the same, but Eno's tunes are better and his albums are shorter.

Glam out your ass. All vibes, no thoughts.

Good album, has kind of a country rock feel.

Sounded like a mixture of Bowie and the Velvet Underground, with honkey-tonk piano. I was expecting less musicianship and more glam. I don't think there was actually any glam rock that I could hear. I liked the first half better than the second half, but it was all not bad.

I listened to a different Roxy Music album a couple of years ago and didn't think much of it. This one I actually liked, even though the last couple of tracks were downers. The first track, Re-make/Re-model was my favorite.

HL: "Re-Make/Re-Model", "If There Is Something", "2HB", "The Bob (Medley)", "Chance Meeting" The mixing in some of the songs is a bit odd, thought my speakers were broken during "Sea Breezes", the sparse drum and bass feels incomplete somehow "Chance Meeting" is better on re-listen, now that I'm anticipating that abrasive synth/guitar I'm starting to "get" Roxy Music with Brian Eno, he clashes musically with Bryan Ferry but some interesting chemical reactions occur June 18, 2023

This album came out two weeks after Ziggy Stardust. Ziggy clears. Decent album though.

LISTEN 1: just off the year & album art I can tell im gonna like this. im expecting dance pop, some shit like "head to toe" or "two of hearts". Fingers crossed. wow i was so wrong. opening track is giving major Talking Head vibes. sea breezes is so bad holy shit LISTEN 2: Ladytron and 2HB are kinda dope He rips Bob Dylan's signature vocals a bit too, this project didn't need to be made.

This is a criminally underrated album. I had this on my very first MP3 player. I think I saw a Behind the Music of it on VH1 when I was like 13. You've got SO MUCH happening across the runtime; the growing, thumping synths on Virginia Plain, the David Byrne-esque vocals (before Talking Heads formed), or how about the Sabbath-like grooves on The Bob right before it dissolves into war sounds followed by a jangly glam jam? This album is the definition of eclectic, and for some that's not exactly a good thing. Personally, I love being strapped in and along for this ride.

Spirits of art-, glam-, and avant-rock meld marvelously to craft a stunningly singular cocktail of particular intoxication.

If I have favorite Roxy Music album this might be it, or perhaps it's the one I dislike the least.

Remake remodel is a rocking tune. Bryan Ferry’s quavering Tiny Tim-like vocals get on my nerves after a couple tracks.

Strong start, kind of wanders at the end. I'd listen to it again.

This one is a little more out there and a little more avante garde than Country Life. But I don't like or dislike it any more because of it. It's fine.

Not terrible

Great

I can hear the influence to Bowie, Talking Heads, and more. This 1001 list is feeling more like the 1001 "influencer" or "original" list though. It's fine. But sometimes I'd rather listen to the great stuff that followed it. Roxy Music picked an original sound and feel, sure. But is an album that made it only to UK #10 in 1970 really one of the best 1001 albums of ALL TIME? *sigh* this project might be wearing on me. Also the list has a strong UK bias, which again is fine, as it reflects the author or editor's taste, just not all are 1001 in my own book. Saying all that. I appreciated this album. Never heard of Roxy Music before. But as a Bowie, Talking Heads, Duran Duran, etc fan, this felt like a fun listen.

Another band I've never hear of. Nice rock album. Enjoyed almost every song. Some of it had a real throw back 50s feel with the bari-sax.

I have never heard of this album or band before and frankly, I had low expectations but it's better than I thought it would .

Does nothing for me

This album surprised me. I thought I knew Roxy Music but I didn’t at all. It was far more challenging than I had expected. A good listen.

как-то совсем не зашло

настолько абсурдно и постмодерново, что влюбляет и умиляет

Обложка - ложный друг прослушивателя музыки. Я вот посмотрел, и первая моя мысль - "сейчас будет что-то в духе Bonnie Raitt". Вообще мимо! Взглянув на состав участников, увидел два знакомых имени: Брайан Ферри и Брайан Ино. Ну что ж, Влад нахваливал бесконечно второго, давайте прикоснёмся к легенде, пусть он и не был лидером в коллективе. Очень бодренький глэм-рок, с элементами Спэйс-рока. У Ферри прикольные мелизмы и вибрато голосом получаются, кайфанул в паре мест. Некоторые треки правда всё равно казались безмерно долгими, нехарактерно долгими для жанра. Но это можно опустить)

ПОСТМОДЕРН ВПЕРЕД!!!!

I enjoyed this album, has hints of different genres while still being New wave.

Favorite Song: Probably Virginia Plain because I’m basic. This album was neat, but didn’t knock my socks off. Definitely some crossover David Bowie/Pink Floyd-y vibes. It would be good background music at a mildly interesting party.

Really cool album. I dig the proto new wave. Not afraid to get weird but still being very listenable. Always nice to be exposed to an album you probably would have never found otherwise

brian eno’s debut album, and a surprise for me. it feels experimental but more listenable than i’d expect — you can feel the bones of ambient here, but with sparkly glam flesh. this metaphor may have gotten away from me. anyway, this album was great.

was aight

This was not good. It was eccentric. Thankfully it was relatively short.i was better than a one but not quite a two. I will round up.

Como hablan muchas reseñas el lado a de este disco es espectacular mientras que el lado b no lo es tanto. Me gusta la propuesta de rock un poco bastante diferente para los 70s. Igualmente es impresionante sentir la influencia de los beatles en este disco. A pesar de eso es un gran debut que pone en juego un sonido diferente 8/10

A good start from a great band, but sometimes the artifice is easier to admire than enjoy.

Great album. The first half is absolute magic. Although a star dropped off during the second half.

19th April 2023 Listened on the journey into work and in the office. Busy work day and guys and dolls in the evening. Eno has such a distinctive sound that this magpie of a record immediately made me think of Bowie.

Such a mediocre record. The sax playing was horrendous and the mix is bad. Will not be listening again.

Wel leuk, maar meh

If I could give this 2 and a half stars, I would. But I do like Virginia Plain

Thought I’d like this more than I did

A very strong debut album from Roxy Music, it sounds something from the late 1970s or 1980s but in fact it is an early 1970s album. A great mix of glam rock and art pop, it is really an enjoyable listen. The lats few songs falls flat a bit, so I'll give it a strong 4, but it is really a strong one.

Ug, for all I try I just can't get into this. To me it feels like 'look at me, I'm being zany!'

Way ahead of its time for 1972. Accessible and fun art rock. Probably my favorite Roxy album due to the presence of Eno. He provides a touch of chaos that makes everything so much more intriguing.

I mostly like the stuff Brian Eno is doing on this album, but overall not bad. It feels a bit of a contrived thing though, like everyone is kind of doing a routine and it's not super cohesive. Like a lot folks have their own little solo time, then the next part, etc. Not bad but could be much greater.

Probably deserves more than a 2. Better than I thought it would be. But I'm giving it a 2.

This was much better than I expected. I'm not a fan of glam rock in general, but the sheer quality of the rock music made up for that on the first half of the album. Things get a little more unusual on the second half where Brian Eno's experimentation gets added to the mix. I'm not a fan of Eno's solo work either. But combined with quality glam rock it somehow works. More of a 4.5 rounded up than a solid 5, but still I enjoyed this album a lot.

Certainly not one of the stronger albums

3.5

Going in, the only thing i knew is that Brian Eno was part of the band, and from the start you can hear his influences. Bold and experimental, even now the album feels fresh. A cross between proto-punk sensibilities and progressive rock that was wildly different from my expectations. The only reason I'm not giving it a 5 is because I don't want to round albums up to the maximum score.

Þessi er svokallað gateway drug, keypti hana í Hljómalind 1997 út af Brian Eno kom heim og hlustaði og varð fyrir vonbrigðum. Hlustaði aftur, og aftur, og aftur og alltaf sömu vonbrigðin. Svo gerðist eitthvað í fimmtu hlustun og ég hef ekki litið til baka síðan. Söngur Ferrys er ótaminn, hljóðheimurinn mjög töff og If there is something er á topp 100 bestu laga listanum.

ok

4st

I have never been a big fan of Bryan Ferry's voice, but I am warming up to it. It seems like a cross between David Byrne and Peter Hammill, but not in a good way. The sax seems all over the place. I can't tell if he's trying to be that way on purpose or not. If that's the whole punk idea they incorporated or not. I liked "If THere Is Something" at first, but then the mantra near the end got very repetitive. Probably my favorite songs were "The Bob" and "ReMake/ReModel." Listening to it a second time driving around today, I think the album is still growing on me more and more. Ferry's voice is sounding more and more likeable, but I shouldn't have to listen to it a few times for it to grow. on me, you know? There should be something there of interest on that first listen. Or maybe I was holding on to my pretensions from the first time I listened to this band, I don't know. Still, I am starting to like it more and more. Maybe it's the other band members who I do know? So I'm giving it a high 3, rounding up to a 4.

Ferry and Eno are weird. Still, there were some cool parts to this album. Re-Make/Re-Model was a great opener. Ferry's vocals were a bit too much on Ladytron. Maybe ditto for If There is Something, despite some cool musical stylings. And even though Ferry's vocals are prominent on 2 H.B. I thought it had an eclectic and cool sound. Virginia Plain was awesome and The Bob was a close second. The rest of side two was so-so in my opinion, though Ferry actually hit some admirable vocal highs on Sea Breezes. He ruined it with Bitters End though. All in all, a very cool but uneven album.

This is a great debut album. The opening track ,which is a rocker, shows just how skilled the guitarist Phil Manzanera is during the split speaker duet with saxophonist Andy Mackay. The most famous track on this album, “Virginia Plain”, was not on the UK version of the album since it was released as a single earlier (A Beatles throwback thing I guess). It’s also funny that my least favorite music critic, Christgau, thought that it was a drag queen on the cover and didn’t realize that it was model Kari-Ann Muller, who was also a bond girl in On her Majesty’s Secret Service. Side two is definitely not as strong as side one and a bit more experimental but still solid enough to give the album 4 stars.

Good stuff. I was familiar with several of these songs because I'm a fan of the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack (with Thom Yorke singing them instead, channeling his best Brian Ferry). That made me a little more drawn to those tracks (Ladytron, Virginia Plain, 2 H.B. and Bitters End. 2 H.B. is probably my favorite of those). Of the ones I didn't previously know, I really liked Re-Make/Re-Model (great guitar) and If There is Something (the warbly singing was a little much, but it's a good song and that ending is great). The album didn't blow me away, even after many listens, but I'd definitely listen again which makes it a 4.

I now know where Arcade Fire and other ( newer ) Indy bands get some inspiration from.

I didn't like or hate this album. It was just boring. Very weak three.

Last two songs were stinkers but I really enjoyed the album otherwise. Maybe it's just being home and not at work that has me in a good mood

I've always wanted an opportunity to get into early Roxy and here it is. Already love Mr. Eno and like later more pop-orientated hits but this is another world. A post-Modern eclectic world. This is seriously good. Dense, innovative with early 70's glam rock vibes but something else, something proto- Hit and miss, dead ends and quirky avenues. The sounds here are new and feel fresh even today. This is why this chart is such a good idea. Finding a gem amongst chaff.

BRILLIANT ALBUM!!!

Echt ein schräges Ding mit viel verschiedenem Zeug reingemischt. Trotzdem teilweise interessant

I've heard of Roxy Music and Brian Eno but have never listened to anything by either as far as I knew. Then I heard Chance Meeting and thought about how I could literally hear Roxy Music's influence on Trent Reznor. Aside from the vocals, I could picture this song on any NIN record so I did a quick Google search and found that Brian Eno and Reznor have quite the musical relationship. As for the whole album, I enjoyed it. I don't think this is something that will get added to a regular listening for me, but I found that musically, there were many times that felt completely timeless. For an album released in 1972 I found myself hearing a lot of modern sounds coming through. I'm glad I got this album.

I had to start listening to this album again after finishing it yesterday because I couldn’t decide if I liked it. I got about halfway. It’s certainly not bad and it’s got a cohesive vibe and is interesting. Kind of at a 3.5 but gonna round down because it just doesn’t have the it factor

An awesome debut from one of my favorite bands of all time. They sounded like no one else at the time. Still do.

I liked the first few songs a lot. Reminded me of a combination of David Bowie and The New York Dolls. After that it was just ok.

An ambitious and creative record, but one that I’d think is inaccessible to most people. You can definitely hear the Bowie and early rock and roll influences on this group (Remake/remodel is a good example)

Very much an album of two sides. The first half is far better than the second.

não chega a ser ruim mas não chamou muito a atenção

There is something very interesting, not all of it is worth unfortunately

Not for me, too art for art's sake. Very 80s sounding, but not in a good way. No thanks 2 🌟

Artier than mere glam, but much rockier than folks who know mainly Roxy’s/Ferry’s later work might expect. There’s lots of late glam chugging and the sax is strong. Nice, loose soloing all over the place (especially “If There Is Something”). "If There is Something" and "Virginia Plain" and “2HB” is a wonderful sequence of songs. “Would You Believe” manages to predict the ‘80s sound to come even as it harkens back to straightforward ‘50s rocking. This feels like a debut record, with a few rough edges and some filler, but its best bits are quite good indeed.

Roxy were very weird - generally a good thing…I think.

I like the instrumental parts. there’s some cool stuff with synths and saxophone on tunes like 2hb I don’t like the vocals for the most parts and it’s hard for me to get past. Would you believe is probably my favorite song. Pretty good rhythm section. I like Brian Enos later stuff and his ambient music and his production so was expecting to hear some more those elements and like this more. Sea breezes is so weird. 2.5

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??

You know when you meet someone and you know it’s not going to go well and then as the conversation progresses, it gets worse and worse. That’s what listening to this album was like.

Not great. As influential as RM is, I never seem to appreciate them at all. 1.5/5

don't get the hype

Squonky, freewheeling, innovative, exuberantly weird. I love it. Top-notch debut album that still sounds surprisingly fresh today. One thing I really love about Roxy Music is how every member plays full tilt on these songs. It's like each one is playing lead in his own head and don't tell him otherwise. The result is this really full and vibrant sound that keeps delivering, no matter how many times you hear it. I was going to go 4 stars, but boosting to a 5 for sheer creativity. Fave Songs (All songs, from most to least favorite): Virginia Plain, Re-Make/Re-Model, Ladytron, If There Is Something, Sea Breezes, Would You Believe?, 2HB, Bitters End, The Bob (Medley), Chance Meeting

Fun album! Very quirky, unconventional and original sounds, but at the same time entertaining and making it irresistible to move your feet to the beat. Whole album is on the same level, it doesn't peak up, but definitely it doesn't let you down at any point, just constant high energy stuff. The crazy thing is that this album is from 1972. It definitely sounds more like a band from late 80s, early 90s. If I were to change anything, I would maybe look into the vocalist, who at times felt like from a different story than the rest of the band. But overall, very solid record!

Eh, i like it but it kind of didn’t hold up after 4 tracks

Not what I expected at all and really liked it. I don't know what genre it is. Glam?

Can hear Brian Eno loud and clear on those synths, but seems overall a pretty roughly made record. Prefer RM's later stuff.

Deffo got better in the 80s but overall not too bad

Sounded like David Byrne from Wish.com. Didn’t give it much of a chance given how much of a state I was in, but it didn’t blow my socks off

Another one I was really looking forward to. But am worried I am becoming one of those people who only knows the hits. I loved side 1 of this - Remake & Virginia Plain have an amazing otherworldly every, yet are still somehow pop. And the atmosphere of Ladytron is also something else. But I found the flip side of this disappointing. It felt too indulgent and laboured, with an almost-Big Bopper rockabilly show band vibe thrown on top in places. Half an amazing album. 2.5 stars.

A hint at what was to come. The debut is decent, but also rambling. I struggled to make it to the end tbh. Virginia Plain carries an extra star for the level of BONKERS-ness.

better than country life - medley is kinda cool

This album was so confusing. Some really fantastic rock, jazz, and orchestral moments, but I felt like I was listening to the soundtrack to a movie that I didn't know the premise of. 60% of lyrics were incomprehensible. Super long songs with many different concepts and vibes. No idea how to rate this.

Gloriously OTT but I really enjoyed it. It makes me sad a little when I come across an album that has been out there all of my life and I’ve only just discovered it. But I guess, at least I have found it now. I’m going to give this a 4… but I will listen again and in time I can see this being a 5…

Reminds me of Franz Ferdinand a little bit. I like the wide variety of instruments on the whole album

Classic.

What must have this sounded like in 1972? Google the Virginia Plain performance from Top of the Pops to see how they looked like they'd descended from another planet. The instruments were plastic, the outfits sequinny and the haircuts held up with clouds of spray. It's the sound of the future, a soundworld completely artificial and ironic, but completely convincing. One of the best debut albums ever.

"If there is something" is one of my favorite songs. That alone adds a star. Otherwise, though I've never loved this Album, I have to respect it.

I expected this to be just 80s synthpop (I realized afterwards that this came out in '72 so it was really ahead of its time), but I liked the quirkiness - there were some DEVO vibes and the singer even channeled a bit of Jello Biafra from the Dead Kennedys (!) but ultimately not all of the songs and I didn't like Side 2 as much.

An original and interesting album, even after all these years. I do consider Avalon to be Roxy Music's best, though.

The only Roxy Music that I was familiar with before this was their final one, Avalon. I've always really liked that one. This one is light years different. It's interesting, and I see how it is influential.

More dreamy background music

Won’t complain if it’s on but nothing stood out

Rocky Horror vibes. Wouldn’t listen again though. I liked some of it, but there were songs that I wanted to skip a bad!

Prog rock/concept album feel

70s glam, dragged.

Best Song: Ladytron. At first this sounded like futuristic for a future I never want to visit (Mostly because of whatever instument (recorder?) carries the melody throughout the song). Eventually though, the part picked up by the rhythm section carried an energy that won me over. Worst Song: If There Is Something. Man went full sheep on this one. Bonus points for one of the worst solos I can remember hearing. Overall: Really quite awful. Theatrical in a cheesy way, over-indulgent, manic, blegh.

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.

Didn't know this band and enjoyed that a lot 4.3

Oh, I really didn't enjoy this one. Less than Country Life, for sure. Just weird in an unpleasant way.

I put this on last night as I crawled into bed. I didn't manage to make it through before I fell asleep. At the time, I wasn't overly enjoying it, but I didn't think it was so bad. Then today, when I listened again, I didn't really find anything about it appealing, and some was a bit irritating. I guess Roxy Music just isn't for me.

First listen, I didn't mind it. Seemed ok. And then I hit "play" again. And I did not have a good time. That and I spent far too much time and energy thinking about and talking about whether the cover was sexy or a joke. I'm back to disliking Roxy Music again.

I hadn’t really listened to Roxy Music much prior to this project, but now I’m on album #2 and it seems that I am quite taken by this eccentric band. The instrumentation is wonderfully wild (Castanets! Oboe solos! Wackadoo synths!). The odd, quavering vocals deliver some pretty interesting lyrics. At times I’m not sure what abuse the guitar is being subjected to to make those noises. Every time I listen I hear more and more. I love it! I’m a fan!

A pretty odd album that never really seemed to mesh together well. It felt like there were times when it was a more of a classic rock album but then other times it felt like a prog rock/psychedelic album with some odd instrumentals. I felt like the combination didn’t mesh well. Doubt I’ll revisit this one. 5.2/10

A quintessential Glam Rock and Art Rock group that had a hugely impactful debut album. This album has a lot going for it from the inventiveness of the orchestration to the surprisingly thoughtful lyrics. Roxy Music gets it right out of the gate and sets up their future impact in the process.

I'd never really given Roxy Music a chance and knew little about them. This album, with that in mind, comes as quite a pleasant surprise. While the songs often jump off the rails and lose cohesion, they are a continual feed of ear candy and dynamic shift. The second half of this album is definitely less cohesive and satifsying, but overall, what a debut album. I'll be listening to a lot more Roxy Music, that's for sure.

I thought I could hack this one. I was wrong.

I was stuck on who I was exactly listening to. I was confused that I might have been listening to a mix of Devo, Bob Dillon ( no disrespect to Bob ), and Jean Michael Jarre’. You definitely have to give them credit for Love Is a Drug but that is on a completely different album. Good Day!

Ok Roxy Music has no right to be this enjoyable. Knowing nothing about it except for the album cover I was expecting dated tracks I could appreciate but not be invested in; next thing I knew I had listened to the whole thing like 3 times 😅. I wish I had the technical or historical knowledge to explain why this record sounds the way it does: it reminds me of 50’s music but also of a lot of stuff that came after, even of music outside the U.S. like Sui Generis. I’m really looking forward to tackling “For Your Pleasure” and delving deeper into Brian Eno’s other musical projects.

Overall a little uneven for me, but holy cow Re-make / Re-model is fantastic! 5 stars for that song for sure, 3.5 for the album overall

It's Roxy Music's debut. Banging. This is the album I've actually listened to properly. Reading these reviews I hadn't realised how little cut through Roxy had to the (presumably) American market. Side A is absolutely impeccable. Every song, 6/5. Genuinely one of the best records ever.

Not terrible, wont listen to it again but it wasnt bad by any means

Sufficient ‘70s rock that does what it needs to do. Most of the songs meld together but I will say that meld sounds fantastic. Great guitar and smooth horns all coalesce wonderfully well but don’t standout.

The one with Virginia Plain, which is enough to merit being on the list. But it's also the one with If There Is Something, which turns out to be...wait for it...better than something. It's such a Goddamn great, epic song that bleeds right into the aforementioned Virginia Plain. Maybe the most impressive part of this album is that at no point whatsoever could you pinpoint the year it was released (unless you knew the year already, which would be cheating). This in no way sounds anything like 1972, or even 1982. It somehow sounds fresh. Turns out their debut album was as good as it ever get for Roxy. I'd give this thing a 5 if not for the debate over Virginia Plain not being on the original UK release of the album. Plus it does lose a little steam towards the end.

Had some interesting sound samples and synth-y sounds throughout. Unfortunately the songs were pretty forgettable for me.

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 has a really cool sound and I'm sure I'd like some of the tracks a lot if I had more time to delve into them but as an album I have to say this didn't especially grab me. I also found some of the sounds stressful on parts of this album but I am super irritable today so maybe it's my fault, hehe.

It's a classic! It's a banger!

I do love Roxy Music, this is a belter!

Held out for a long time - they were just too much in the 80s, but now seeing the genius of the early stuff

Why am i getting vietnam flashbacks 1 Not too bad 2

I like it, but it's nothing groundbreaking or anything. Just some cool glam-ish rock that sort of sounds like Talking Heads but with a slightly less annoying vocalist (sorry David Byrne).

Lead singer's voice is atrocious, I hate it. Instrumentals are cool though.

Not the sexy music implied on the cover

I've heard of this band before because it was the band that Brian Eno was in. I don't particularly enjoy Eno's solo work (gotten 3 albums so far) so I went into this with a lot of trepidation. It wasn't too bad. I didn't overtly hate it but I didn't love it. The album opens with a banger but goes down hill after that.

This one kicks ass! Some research reveals Brian Eno was involved in making this, which makes a ton of sense in hindsight. Band/album name & especially album cover had me nervous this was going to bore me, but instead it kind of re-sold me on the 1k1 albums project after what had kind of felt like some doldrums

First time listening to Roxy music. I actually really enjoyed it.

Ook zo'n plaat waar je niet warm of koud van wordt. Luisteren naar de wasmachine is ongeveer even interessant.

Less melodic and more chaotic than I was expecting. Felt like the intersection of punk and later art noise bands.

Thought I’d enjoy this more based on other songs. Kinda tough to listen through. Enjoyed one song. 1. If There Is Something

How many random instruments can you throw into one song? Messy experimental prog rock. I think I heard a zuzuphone in there somewhere, and I’m not even sure that’s a real instrument. Plus the lead singer’s voice, along with all of the vibrato, grates on me.

A surprising find, Roxy music is before my time so I was only familiar with their later work. This album starts strongly, great first side - edgy and new sounds The second side really lets it down though, it seems to lose it's way a little side 1 = 4* but side 2 only 3*

Fairly melodic but too off-the-wall quirky to stick together properly for these ears. They nailed it on the Avalon album I reckon.

I preferred Roxy Music when they got over their bizarre, quirky stage and made better use of Ferry's great voice. I appreciate the freshness of the sound though.

To me, it's a mystery why this group was ever popular!

A bit all over the place, but well put together. Must’ve been refreshing to hear when it came out.

Roxy Music had a totally different sound to any other band when they burst on the scene. Virginia Plain was brilliant in the 70s and still stands the test of time today. However the rest of the album was fairly average.....or perhaps that was just my mood. 3*

Meh.

love the vibes, some bangers, some stuff i wasn’t crazy about. all in all good!

Solid album better then their other one on this list.

Not my favourite but not bad. 5/10

Please decide what kind of music you want to create, as it is it's too diverse...

Never been the biggest Roxy Music fan but their debut album definitely still packs a punch after all this time. The contrasting Eno/Ferry dynamic seems to work in perfect synchrony here, but the reality is that both of them would go on to far better things afterwards. The second half of this album is dominated by Eno’s experimentalism and is all the better for it, but there’s no getting away from how influential this album has become. Hard to add much more, while I prefer their later stuff and am unlikely to return to this record any time soon, it has plenty to offer a wide spectrum of listeners.

Enjoyed the first half

Somewhere between Bowie and Talking Heads. Notes of post-punk too. Just didn't grab me at all. Favorite track: "Re-Make/Re-Model"

I had heard a few tracks from their 80s era work but that’s it, and very different from this. This is surprisingly punky and off-color. I don’t love the vocalist’s sound but that is my own personal taste. Pretty wild sound for 1972.

I'm a big fan of Roxy Music but didn't think this album highlighted their best work. If anything their later efforts showed it was addition by subtraction when Brian Eno - who would go on to co-produce U2's greatest albums - left the group. Burying Bryan Ferry's distinctive vocals didn't do the songs any favors; just compare where they are in the mix on most of the album vs. how forward they are on the post-Eno song 'Mother Of Pearl.' The standouts for me were 'If There Is Something' with its driving sax/oboe line and increasingly urgent lyrics and the Chuck Berry riffs/Jerry Lee Lewis licks in 'Would You Believe?'. I think we'll definitely see the band's final studio album Avalon on this list and suspect in listening to their more mature material it'll be clearer why the band is considered so influential.

Really surprised by this one. Lots of fun, really dynamic electronic sounds for the time and a nice bowie feeling to the performances.

There was some promise, but overall pretty inconsistent for me. I've heard of this band a lot as an influence for some of my favorite bands, and even heard some of their songs covered, but most of the time the album didn't really do it for me. Standouts: Ladytron, If There Is Something, Would You Believe?

This one is full of earwigs, most often (at least for me) triggered by that entrancing and insistent percussion. I could do with less tight Bryan Ferry vibrato, though.

When I saw the cover and heard the vocals, I grunted and thought of how unsexy this is. But then I heard the instruments. j i z z z

Difficult, wild, not my style.

Possibly something for David Byrne fans? Maybe a bit more erratic. This is the first time I've given Roxy Music a hard listen, but they've crossed my radar before – specifically "Country Life". Not totally sure what to grasp onto. Track I'll revisit: "Re-Make/Re-Model".

How have I never heard of Roxy Music? Even my Alex refused to play this album - "Do you want to hear rocket music on Pandora"? I do not. "Playing Avalon by Roxy Music". Closer. I had to listen on my laptop. What is this? 2005? But the good news is that using the Music app allowed me to see the bitchin' moving art work on the album cover. It's like we're living in Harry Potter land, if Harry Potter the offspring of Mick Jagger and, uh, I don't even know - some early rock saxophone prodigy. "Re-make/Re-model" made me happy; I have no freaking idea what it is, but wow that's catchy. And a short Beatles homage (pronounced without the 'h', of course) in the middle? Wow. But at the same time it's like they're saying "We ain't your grandpa's Beatles", except the Beatles weren't grandpas and were clearly on the top of their wave. I don't love every tune, but Ladytron and Virginia Plain are particular standouts. The rest can be a combination of the Partridge Family + David Bowe + 70's TV chase music, on acid. So I'm gonna let Alexa have her way and play "Avalon", which I learned is the band's last album. EDIT - I knew this reminded me of something, but I couldn't figure out what. Well, boys. I figured it out - it reminds me of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VsmF9m_Nt8 . This is an Italian dude in the 70's who wrote a gibberish dance song that sounds like English to non-English speakers. It was widely successful. Alright!

I can honestly say that if I heard any single one of these songs in any random streaming app I would get out my phone, open the app, and press skip.

neitakk

Likte kje så godt Roxy når eg va sånn 12, men no e da et av mine favorittband

Pop un tanto diferente. De estilo ochentero. No me ha aportado especialmente y tampoco hay ninguna canción muy reconocida

Me gusto mucho

Pretty cool instrumentals at points in this album, but lyrics and singing didn't do anything for me. Calling it plain or bland would be inaccurate, but it just didn't move me at all. Favorite track: Virginia Plain

Didn't really do much for me. Avalon is a far better album.

Interesting but could never get into Roxy Music

68/100: This wasn’t a stellar album, but it was fun, I’ll give it that. Something about the lead singer’s voice just screams that he’s having an absolute blast delivering each line—that paired with the fun sax solos and interjections just makes for a really lively and fun album. This album, though, feels to be quite literally all fun and games—there’s no room for anything else. It doesn’t seem to be very well produced, either, in that it feels like there are twice as many songs in here than there actually are. Most of the songs have breaks at seemingly random points throughout only for the band to kick off a completely different song within the same song. I get the sense there was a lot of cocaine involved in its production (maybe I’m confusing cocaine and fun in my analysis of this album, in which case I wouldn’t be the first person to make that mistake in life). I will say, I found one of my favorite parts of the album only about 3 minutes into the opening song, “Re-Make/Re-Model,” with their little nod to, or possible rip-off of, the iconic bass line in Day Tripper. Even if it was an intentional ripping-off of the Beatles, I think they pull it off well, adding a new flavor to the already well-known riff. Hearing the drums and guitar cease only for that bass line to playfully break the silence followed immediately by the guitar player vigorously returning to his solo with the drums beating back on in the background damn near gave me goosebumps.

Not my favorite Roxy Music album. but pretty good.

Cest correct , un peu psychedelique, je connais pas l'annee de parution mais ca sonne quand meme bien. 3

It was okay. I could see how some bands have pulled from this sound

The very last song was kinda fun. Probably just added last minute. Otherwise I didn't enjoy this album at all. Don't know why this is regarded as any good.

Nit really my jam to be honest

Great album. Not my genre of music but it was a vibe

Wow. This is one of the most exciting debut records I’ve heard. That opening track! It’s all over the place, it takes some pretty large leaps and, for me, absolutely sticks the landings. I will have to return to their subsequent albums to see if I have a new appreciation for them because this album was an amazing surprise.

The first time I listened to this I thought it was bizarre but interesting, especially because it's so different from Country Life. I felt it deserved a second listen, which may have been a mistake. Because it did not go well. This album makes no sense to me at all. Is it a joke album? I think it might be a joke album. Or perhaps all the band members were in different rooms when they recorded the songs? And had never heard them before? Is it supposed to be this discordant and irritating? Eno is definitely playing something only he can understand, and as the album progresses he seems to be ignoring everyone else and starting his solo career. I think I might hate this album. Sea Breezes nearly did me in. Why are there dueting oboe and electric guitar interludes over the sounds of waves crashing on the beach? And what the hell is going on with the drums? It's 7 minutes long and feels like 70. One track left. Now you might ask how you should wrap up an album this all over the place... apparently you do it with an homage to The Monster Mash with castanets and saxophone. Fuck me. This is original, I'll give it that. But it's also the kind of album that is responsible for me saying that I hate art rock.

Prefs: Re-Make/Re-Model, Ladytron, If There Is Something, Virginia Plain, 2 H.B., The Bob (Medley), Would You Believe?, Sea Breezes, Bitters End Moins pref: Chance Meeting (still good)

Not having heard their music, and basing my opinion on Bryan Ferry turning up on various family TV shows over the years, I had assumed Roxy Music would be a MOR croonfest. I was wrong. This is a weird album with a lot going on. It's a bit of a cacophony overall, but definitely not a boring croonfest. Rating: 2.5/5 Playlist track: Re-Make/Re-Model Date listened: 15/08/22

Enjoyed this great debut album deserves its place on the list.

Alot going on here. But I like chaotic/weird music so this is right up my alley. Great album in terms of the music. The band sounds GREAT here. Not a perfect album by any means, but really solid stuff here. It got better on my second listen. This is an album you have to be in a specific mood in, but I can see myself revisiting this.

I wish the second half was as great as the first half, oh well

Yeah...no. Didn't like it.

4.5

eh? ambivalent. i think they were fine but i waited too long to review

Not bad purdy good

Nothing grabbed me here.

Intriguing 80s fare

Never heard of them before. Pretty enjoyable.

This was another one that I haven't heard of before so I wasn't sure what to expect going in. It was weird. Not great, not terrible. Not really something I was really into. 1. 2HB 2. If There is Something 3. Chance Meeting

-Re-Make/Re-Model" is a great tune and the trade-off solos across a bunch of instruments is fun -"Would You Believe" starts off kinda boring but then kicks in and becomes a great tune. I like the old school distorted guitar -Rest of the songs were pretty dang plain. A very weak 4

I didn't give this the attention it deserved the first time around, so I skimmed through it again before writing this. My initial impressions were correct: Roxy Music is weird and wonderful. Honestly, I was thrown from the get-go, trying to come up with some sort of context while listening to the first track, "Re-Make/Re-Model," and I finally landed on "the Stooges meets Talking Heads." Granted, the Talking Heads came came after Roxy Music, but Ferry's vocals have a David Byrne feel to them at times. Things only got weirder and harder to categorize as the album continued, but this is clearly some high-level '70s rock, heavy on the glam. There's some fantastic guitar in here--and fantastic everything else, too. Discovering the Brian Eno was a part of the band at this time certainly explained some things. There's a lot to process here, and I'm going to dive in again in the near future. I'm impressed.

I love all of Roxy Music's catalog. This is definitely during their more experimental years with Brian Eno's strange compositions & Bryan Ferry's drug fueled cabaret style vocals. I deeply appreciate this band & their influence on rock n roll.

Never really spent much time at all on the music of Roxy Music. I will say this though, track one sure didn't win me over. A few tracks caught my ear, but for the most part it wasn't very memorable.

Some weird songs here, but I quite liked em.

I've always wanted to like Roxy Music but haven't gotten into any of their stuff. But I haven't heard this before. Let's see what's up: The album starts strong. Listening through twice, I like the feeling of all of it, but I'm not drawn in. And it's been so long since I listened to something new that really drew me in that I wonder if the problem is me. For sure I shouldn't be listening to this during work. Work is a real distraction. But I'll give this a few more listens when I can really listen. Maybe I'll end up liking Roxy Music after all. Aaaaaand now I see that Apple Music has screwed me again - I was just thinking "jesus this is a long album" and that was because of the 14 extra tracks tacked to the end of the album. Come on with this.

What a strange, curious and immensely enjoyable experience this turned out to be. Roxy Music treads a line between wry and weird that very few manage successfully - Sparks, perhaps? But more than that, Roxy Music is the questing sound of a bunch of outsiders pulling apart and examining tropes of rock and roll in real time. And, of course, the hand of Bryan Ferry means that there are moments of warped romanticism to be found, too. Heady stuff.

Enjoyed this. I've listened to Avalon and this one for sure sounds very different up front. Lots of energy. I get Talking Heads vibes here and there, but that's another band from this era that I don't know enough to really be talking about. And yet here I am! I want to give this one another spin now that I know what to expect. Suspect it could be a grower, not a show-er.

Cosmic Rock? Yeh. Would this be worse if you listen to the version without 'Virginia's Plain'? Also yeh. Did I enjoy this? Too bloody yeh.

Full disclosure, I have COVID, so I'm a bit grumpy. There is some good stuff on here, and usually I'm okay with it, but Bryan Ferry's mannered delivery was just getting on my nerves today. Like an unfunny Viv Stanshall. I'm bumping it to 3/5 because I feel like I'd give it one more on a day where I'm not locked inside with grotty lungs.

Classic British Rock. 4/10

Nothing stuck with me from this album other than: that was weird.

Meh

I didn’t HATE this but there’s no way I would listen to it again. Weird lyrics, a lead singer of a rock band with a vibrato? It was odd.

Not a fan of the vocals, but the music was very interesting and fun to listen to.

Wildly different from my expectations. I kind of think of RM as the band that brought me my favorite 80's song, "More Than This". Imagine my surprise to find this weird rock amalgam album. Not unpleasant, but also not the hoped for new hidden personal anthems.

Pretty cool album. Feels like a Wolf Parade precursor.

Upon hearing the first song, I thought maybe this was the missing link between VU and Devo! I should love this, right? The rest of the songs kind of sound like Sparks. I like the use of synthesizer and Mellotron. There are interesting sounds and a pleasant variation of tunes but nothing here quite sticks to my palate for longer than the length of each song. On occasion it veers into Rocky Horror Picture Show territory and that's where I begin to lose my appetite.

What a start to Eno's storied career. Roxy Music is brash , unforgiving, creative, and yet relatable. It doesn't take a music genius to hear what makes this album such a delight. Every bit of flavor on top of the beautiful vocals and driving guitars pulls this album up from being a 'pretty good' 70s bop to a greatest album of all time. rarely does it drag and in the times it does I can find solace in knowing it will be payed off. beautiful project. for starting Brian Enos career and still being a banger of an album. 9.9/10

Weak 3, I enjoyed this

Left me feeling a little coy. Six rums in may make it more enjoyable, but no lasting impresssion

Je serais prêt à parier que Brian Eno ne savait pas au moment de l'enregistrement de cet album qu'il composerait six ans plus tard la bande-son de tous les aéroports du globe.

Brian Eno tu commences a nous les briser toi et ton groupe de merde.

Today I learned ... My love for Brian Eno does not extend to Roxy Music. 'Virginia Plain' was pretty good and I used to listen to a band called 'Ladytron' but the song wasn't anything special... speaking of Tron, did you know they're making a THIRD Tron movie... ? That Daft Punk Tron soundtrack was waayy good. I hope they do another one like that for Tron 3, "One Day, I Got In.." or whatever they decide to name it. The Daft Punk album we had on this list really bites or, ahem, 'bytes' it's not the soundtrack, but has the song that Spike Jonze did the music video for. You know, the one that has the dog going into a liquor store and buying milk but won't get on the bus ...? Ugh, I hate that song, and that album really. This Roxy Music album is much better. Maybe a three.... tho it could be enhanced by a meaningless Spike Jonze music video... yep, it's a three. Three!

There are three Roxy Music albums on the list. I only have a vague recollection of disliking the first two. Nothing stood out. I wrote in one of the reviews that I didn’t like Bryan Ferry’s voice. And that’s my main takeaway from their self titled debut album too. There’s some not-too-objectionable art rock here, but Ferry repeatedly makes it unpalatable.

This happened and I listened

Still don't really get it. Glad Brian Eno got famous off this but his talents are best highlighted elsewhere. Probably better than a two but I rated the other Roxy albums a two and this one isn’t any better

I didn't like it as much as their other music I've heard

What amazing debut album. Perfect glam played by a band that looked the part and played the part unlike the other brickies in lipstick that doomed the genre. Four stars for this one though as it was in many ways a band still discovering their sound. The experimenting feeling disjointed stacked against Re-Make/Re-Model and Ladytron

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.

Foxy Music.

crazy like a rox

I liked this a lot more than the other albums I've had by them. I thought I gave both previous ones a 2, but apparently one of them got a 3. I don't remember that one at all, but I probably like this one better. 3.5/5

No bueno

wow...the band so nice we get them thrice. Yet I'm still not sold on them. Their first album we listened to, For Your Pleasure, is still my fav. This one felt closer to a David Bowie which I saw was some of their influence. Either way, I think they are using these fancy women on the covers to draw you in and possibly overcompensate for their mediocre melodies.

Dang, not quite back to back from Roxy Music but pretty close! I'd put this between the two we've had in terms of how much I like it. Doesn't pack as much of a punch as For Your Pleasure, but has that weird, whimsical edge that Country Life lacked (I'm guessing that's an Eno touch). This one's good, but it doesn't quite have the strength or staying power that I wish it did. I do like this band though, after hearing three albums I'd consider myself something of a fan (despite the mixed results). The singer has that wavering, alarming voice that I honestly enjoy. Cool band, very British, but cool nonetheless. Favorite tracks: 2 HB, If There is Something, Sea Breezes. Album art: That's three in a row from them featuring women on the cover. This one's less striking than the other two, but still pretty good. The lady looks pained. 3.5/5

It was fair, maybe just heard a bunch of others who followed in path.

Never heard them before. Started off really good! Then the yelping/yodeling/warbling vocal thing? Okay for a sort of “hey this was popular once.” A couple of tracks (like Sea Breezes) will be great on a mixtape. Not going to be listening en toto to this again.

I have no idea who the target audience for this music is. A bit more proggy that I was expecting and I liked the off balance bass work on Sea Breezes and obviously I'm happy that this is the version of the album with Virginia Plain on it. However, The Bob just makes me wonder who they were writing for. There ain't no faded glamour in that track. Ferry just about stays on the right side of bleating, so that was ok. Generally weird.

Great starter album - always thought this was Ian drury!

An ungainly beast, full of prog mannerisms (only just discovered Peter Sinfield produced it) and generally wobbly and uneven. "Remake/Remodel" is really the only thing on here I like without reservation; the rest of the album has moments but could be summed up as "Rewrite/Re-record" (which Brian Ferry apparently did on some of his solo recordings)...

super forgettable

Bit trippy for me

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.

Impossible to really rate an album on first listen alone so I am rating based on how interesting I find it and how likely I am to relisten to it and the band/artist's other work. Overall this album was very enjoyable. The mix of simple song structure with some more experimental sounds reminded me of David Bowie. Also got some King Crimson vibes from the woodwinds. 2HB, The Bob and Chance Meeting was the highlight for me. The drums in 2HB sound so good. Definitely giving this album another listen and checking out the band's other albums.

Not bad

Pretty good

Ferry goated

⭐⭐⭐

I have friends into Roxy Music and honestly was a little disappointed. Maybe it's a first album thing or I missed something.

glamorous rock indeed

Wow, I'm surprised how fresh this sounds despite being over 50 years old. Must have been unreal at the time. great use of non-musical sound effects without sounding too busy or gimmicky. Sea Breezes is a lovely change, showing the band's diversity. Holy shit, I can't believe this was a debut!

As a great man once said "I have no strong feelings one way or the other".

Interesting

It's good

It’s interesting. 2.5/5

The perfect debut - The first five Roxy Musis albums are all 5 star albums - this is one is a super 5-star album.