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The incredible second album from Roxy Music – picking up right where the self titled album left off – ratcheting up the excitement even more thanks to Ferry's extra dramatic songs, Eno's unpredictable synthesizer and tape manipulations, and a driving approach to the performances by the rest of the group! The songs range from fairly straight forward fiery glam rock, to more complicated, evolving structural tension. We hear strains of this record in so many great rock albums that followed, from the punk era all the way up to post millenium indie rock – but as influential as it is, it's an amazing experience all its own! Titles include "Do The Strand", "Beauty Queen", 'Strictly Confidential", "Editions Of You", "In Every Dream Home A Heartache", "The Bogus Man", "Grey Lagoons" and "For Your Pleasure".

Quite possibly the biggest early moment of US fame for Roxy Music – thanks to the classic "Love Is The Drug", which kicks off the album and is easily one of the group's best-known tunes of the 70s! The album tightens things up slightly from the sound of Country Life before – not as many dark corners, but still plenty of the offbeat styles that make these early Roxy Music albums so great – with none of the softer styles that took over during the early 80s years. Other tracks include "End Of The Line", "Sentimental Fool", "She Sells", "Could It Happen To Me", "Both Ends Burning", "Just Another High", and "Whirlwind".

A standard-setting debut – with amazing early electronics from Brian Eno, sublime vocals from Bryan Ferry, and offbeat classics that never get old – like "Remake/Remodel", "Virginia Plain", "2 HB", "Bitters End", "Chance Meeting", and "Ladytron".

The fourth album from Roxy Music – and quite possibly the best to date! The album has the group moving strongly past the Eno years, into a tighter framework that still contains many of the darker themes of earlier records. Ferry's lead vocals are incredibly majestic – rising to heights to match the European greats of years past who were his inspiration – and the group's tight blend of reeds, guitar, and moody keyboards gives the whole album an off-kilter sense of instrumentation that really sets it apart from the pack. There's an artfulness here that's never overdone, and the whole thing comes together with a magic that's impossible to describe, but which is Roxy at their best. Titles include "Out Of The Blue", "The Thrill Of It All", "Three & Nine", "Triptych", "Casanova", and "Prairie Rose".

The incredible second album from Roxy Music – picking up right where the self titled album left off – ratcheting up the excitement even more thanks to Ferry's extra dramatic songs, Eno's unpredictable synthesizer and tape manipulations, and a driving approach to the performances by the rest of the group! The songs range from fairly straight forward fiery glam rock, to more complicated, evolving structural tension. We hear strains of this record in so many great rock albums that followed, from the punk era all the way up to post millenium indie rock – but as influential as it is, it's an amazing experience all its own! Titles include "Do The Strand", "Beauty Queen", 'Strictly Confidential", "Editions Of You", "In Every Dream Home A Heartache", "The Bogus Man", "Grey Lagoons" and "For Your Pleasure".

A brilliant little comeback album for Roxy Music – their first album in 4 years after Siren, and a well-done departure that takes off from older records without losing any of their greatness! In a way, the set's almost the group's Lodger – a similar effort to Bowie's record from the same time that reflects a move away from heavier styles of earlier years, but never loses the edge of the group's best work. Manifesto also reflects some of the lessons learned by Bryan Ferry on his solo records – a bit leaner and cleaner presentation of the songs – but the album itself is also strongly a group production effort, and certainly feels that way in its use of Phil Manzenera's great guitars and Andy Mackay's horn arrangements. Titles include "Ain't That So", "Stranger Through The Years", "Trash", "Manifesto", "Angel Eyes", "Spin Me Round", "Cry Cry Cry", and "My Little Girl".

A brilliant little comeback album for Roxy Music – their first album in 4 years after Siren, and a well-done departure that takes off from older records without losing any of their greatness! In a way, the set's almost the group's Lodger – a similar effort to Bowie's record from the same time that reflects a move away from heavier styles of earlier years, but never loses the edge of the group's best work. Manifesto also reflects some of the lessons learned by Bryan Ferry on his solo records – a bit leaner and cleaner presentation of the songs – but the album itself is also strongly a group production effort, and certainly feels that way in its use of Phil Manzenera's great guitars and Andy Mackay's horn arrangements. Titles include "Ain't That So", "Stranger Through The Years", "Trash", "Manifesto", "Angel Eyes", "Spin Me Round", "Cry Cry Cry", and "My Little Girl".

Weird instrumental grooves from composer Sandro Brugnolini – played by a small combo that almost has a sound library feel! We know Brugnolini most from his soundtrack work, and this set's got a similar flair for odd sounds and weird rhythms – played here by a group that features organ, two guitars, bass, and drums – plus lots of unusual effects that make the whole thing sound strange and trippy! The music is a weird amalgam of funky jazz and soundtrack modes – familiar at points, but really offbeat at others – with a few key groovers mixed with mellower, more atmospheric numbers. Titles include "Cromaton", "Amofen", "Celluin", "Andrie's Dream", "Roxy", "Simanite", "Brain", and "Cortex".

A totally great project from Bryan Ferry – completely unlike anything that he or Roxy Music have ever done in the past – even though the whole thing is a tribute to the glory days of the group! The tunes are all famous 70s tracks by the group, but they're redone here as jazz instrumentals – not just jazzy takes on the music of Roxy, but work with a much older vintage – really 20s-styled versions of the tunes – with instrumentation that's completely faithful, as is the production – so that you'd honestly think you're listening more to a collection of older 78s from the days of acoustic recording – even though the songs are oddly familiar. The vintage jazz mode prevails so much that the core melodies of the tunes aren't even apparent at first – they kind of sneak up on you with a nice sense of surprise, and only after a bit do you actually catch the song – but even then, marvel at the way that the older melody has this sinister sound that still comes through amidst the blend of trombone, clarinet, guitar, and skittish rhythms. A brilliant set – far more charming than we would have expected – and titles include "The Bogus Man", "Love Is The Drug", "Do The Strand", "Don't Stop The Dance", "Virginia Plain", "This Island Earth", and "Avalon".

A tome to the legacy of Island Records – the pretty amazing journey of a record label that began with the goal of bringing reggae to the masses – and in it's heyday, grew to be home to some of the most creative artists in modern pop music of sprawlingly broad styles! From Bob Marley to U2, Roxy Music, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, PJ Harvey, Tricky and so many more! Includes a preface by Chris Blackwell, and this book is quite beautifully illustrated. . .lots of full color photography, album art and more. 222 pages.

An overlooked gem from Blue Note – a special live performance that brings together some of the label's funkiest and most soulful artists of the 70s! The set's somewhat unusual for Blue Note at the time – especially given the label's increasingly studio-driven approach to jazz, with projects by the Mizell Brothers and others – yet given that bent, the whole thing's a great illustration of the vibrancy of all these artists always from the studio – playing live and extremely funky! As the title implies, the set was recorded live at the Roxy in LA – with players who include Donald Byrd, Ronnie Laws, Gene Harris, Bobby Hutcherson, and Alphonse Mouzon – all coming together in warm unity to show that the spacious sounds of Blue Note could also be crafted in a live setting, and not just under closely-watched studio help arrangers and producers. Carmen McRae sings on a number of tracks, and the album overall does a good job of presenting the material in concert-like setting – and some of the longer tracks feature some mighty nice jamming solos. Titles on this second volume include "Music", "Them There Eyes", "You're Everything", and "Paint Your Pretty Picture" by Carmen McRae; a medley of Brazilian tracks by Earl Klugh – including "Like A Lover", "A Felicidade", "Manha De Carnaval", and "Samba De Orfeu"; and a long track that involves all the artists as the Blue Note All Stars, on "Blue Note 76".

Weird instrumental grooves from composer Sandro Brugnolini – played by a small combo that almost has a sound library feel! We know Brugnolini most from his soundtrack work, and this set's got a similar flair for odd sounds and weird rhythms – played here by a group that features organ, two guitars, bass, and drums – plus lots of unusual effects that make the whole thing sound strange and trippy! The music is a weird amalgam of funky jazz and soundtrack modes – familiar at points, but really offbeat at others – with a few key groovers mixed with mellower, more atmospheric numbers. Titles include "Cromaton", "Amofen", "Celluin", "Andrie's Dream", "Roxy", "Simanite", "Brain", and "Cortex".

A great set of arty pop, or intellectual rock, or post glam whatever you feel like calling it – a completely unique record all the way through! The set is one of Eno's classics from the 70s, with his wry take on music and lyrics, and a nice dark edge to the proceedings. Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera figures heavily in the band, and the 10 tracks here are about as great as anything you'll find on another record issued that year – including "Burning Airlines Give You So Much More", "Back In Judy's Jungle", "The Fat Lady Of Limbourg", "Mother Whale Eyeless", "The Great Pretender", "Third Uncle", "Put A Straw Under Baby", "The True Wheel", "China My China", and "Taking Tiger Mountain".

A kitschy cover, but a great little record – as you might guess by its visual link to the Sonny Rollins albums for Contemporary Records at the end of the 50s! The group's a trio, of the sort that would have made Rollins' proud – searing tenor from Jon Irabagon, pushed forward boldly by the bass of Peter Brendler and drums of Barry Altschul! And although Rollins is definitely the starting point of inspiration for the music, the overall sound has a lot more bite, too – loads of circular lines from Irabagon, rolling out over the equally hypnotic basslins of Brendler, and given a surprisingly strong bottom-slap from the drums. Titles include a whole host of "Doxy"-like numbers – including "Foxy", "Proxy", "Biloxi", "Boxy", "Chicken Poxy", "Roxy", and "Epoxy".

A totally great project from Bryan Ferry – completely unlike anything that he or Roxy Music have ever done in the past – even though the whole thing is a tribute to the glory days of the group! The tunes are all famous 70s tracks by the group, but they're redone here as jazz instrumentals – not just jazzy takes on the music of Roxy, but work with a much older vintage – really 20s-styled versions of the tunes – with instrumentation that's completely faithful, as is the production – so that you'd honestly think you're listening more to a collection of older 78s from the days of acoustic recording – even though the songs are oddly familiar. The vintage jazz mode prevails so much that the core melodies of the tunes aren't even apparent at first – they kind of sneak up on you with a nice sense of surprise, and only after a bit do you actually catch the song – but even then, marvel at the way that the older melody has this sinister sound that still comes through amidst the blend of trombone, clarinet, guitar, and skittish rhythms. A brilliant set – far more charming than we would have expected – and titles include "The Bogus Man", "Love Is The Drug", "Do The Strand", "Don't Stop The Dance", "Virginia Plain", "This Island Earth", and "Avalon".