Roxy Music – Roxy Music (1972)

Roxy were a strange mix and on this debut certainly eclectic enough.  The hit single, pure rock and roll of ‘Virginia Plain’ seemed to present them as traditional rockers with a ‘glam’ touch but they were actually far more adventurous.  The instantly recognisable louche vocals of Brian Ferry, the jazzy brass of Andy Mackay and the synth keyboards of Brian Eno created a weird mix, which was very appealing.  This was ’72, the year of Ziggy Stardust and T Rex and Roxy seemed part of this new wave of innovative rock and roll.  This debut however was quite a mixed bag with a few memorable songs and a couple of almost duds.  Still, at the time it seemed new – and with the glamorous sexy model on the cover (first in a series of glamorous album sleeves) it portrayed something both old and new.  The band went on to worldwide success and a slew of hit singles as they veered more and more into a mainstream sound.  I also like ‘Ladytron’ and ‘Sea Breezes’ on this debut – but playing it again after all this time apart from ‘Virgina Plain’ it sounds quite dated.