Friday, November 13, 2020

Play the whole album: Roxy Music - Avalon


If you have a Spotify or any other music streaming service that lets you listen to entire albums in one go, I've got some homework for you.

Although I had known of Roxy Music's earlier work, when Avalon was released in 1982, it was a revelation. One of the most romantic albums I had ever heard, the songs shed some of Roxy's earlier soul vibe and adopted a more smart pop mood.

'More than this' did well on the charts. 'The space between' is definitely in line with the new wave music that was being shown on MTV, in fact, this song could easily have been Spandau Ballet or Prefab Sprout.

The title track 'Avalon' is my personal favourite. It's where the romanticism comes in. 'India' is a beautiful instrumental with a rollicking rhythm that you just never want to end, but the way it does is perfect.

'While my heart is still beating' gets us back to the crooning that Bryan Ferry is famous for. 'The main thing' gives a subtle reminder of the soulful playfulness that Roxy Music is capable of.

'Take a chance with me'. Wow. Those guitars, if you haven't been paying attention to them so far, really set the mood here. Rarely do you hear a song with such a long, deliberate introduction, but it does a great job of setting the stage. "As they say, two can play. Keep that song away from me."

'To turn you on' is pretty self explanatory. Bryan Ferry is such a romantic. Moving on.

So, when the rain is falling and you just need someone else to set the soundtrack to your day, this is the album to bring up and play from beginning to end.


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