Bryan Ferry

Listen to "Bryan Ferry From Roxy Music" on Spreaker. Every so often an album comes along that changes not just the rules but the game, opening new possibilities for music. In America in the late 1960s, The Velvet Underground & Nico was one such record. And in Britain, released on June 16, 1972, the self-titled debut album by Roxy Music would be another. From the first lines of the opening track, “Re-Make/Re-Model” -- “I tried, but I could not find a way, looking back all I did was look away” -- to the final “Should make the cognoscenti think” lyric of the closing song, “Bitters End,” it was immediately clear that Roxy Music’s first record was an album like no other. By the time the album was released, the band had fewer than ten gigs to their name, they had no two tracks in their repertoire that were alike, and critics simply couldn’t pin down their influences. As Richard Williams said at the time in Melody Maker, “If Roxy Music go very much further, they'll be one of the great success stories of modern times.” 45 years later, with the group’s involvement, we get an opportunity to assess the album and listen as Roxy evolved and developed. The 3CD/DVD Roxy Music box set, to be released February 2 by Virgin/UMe, provides a thrilling insight into the world of Roxy Music in 1971/1972, starting with the demo tape that caught the attention of writer Richard Williams that ultimately led to their deal with EG Management and then Island Records.