From: owner-avalon-digest@smoe.org (avalon-digest) To: avalon-digest@smoe.org Subject: avalon-digest V8 #151 Reply-To: avalon@smoe.org Sender: owner-avalon-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-avalon-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk avalon-digest Saturday, May 31 2003 Volume 08 : Number 151 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [AVALON] Roxy 'live' [Johnny Reece ] Re: [AVALON] Roxy in video game soundtrack shocker! [Susan Stekel ] [AVALON] ...I'm the honey All your money just can't buy... ["Chris Turner] [AVALON] Peakes. ["thom.wallace" ] [AVALON] Peaks (full and long posting) ["thom.wallace" ] To leave the list, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon-digest ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 30 May 2003 05:56:16 -0700 (PDT) From: Johnny Reece Subject: [AVALON] Roxy 'live' I've been listening to the new Roxy 'live' Album today, and it comes across really well. It's very heavily processed though, and lots of 'touching up' has clearly been done in the studio. Noticeable that Ferry's recent 2 backing singers are credited, who of course weren't on that tour, and they've clearly added backing vox in a few places, particularly on the end of Jealous Guy (an awful lot of wailing going on !). Soundwise, I actually prefer the Hammersmith DVD soundtrack, though the new CD does of course have the 2 'missing' tracks, More Than This and If There Is Something. Still haven't got used to Street Life being cut by a couple of verses, though ! Still, nice to have an 'official' tour document released on CD, at last. Reecey... . . __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Calendar - Free online calendar with sync to Outlook(TM). http://calendar.yahoo.com ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 30 May 2003 08:42:17 -0500 From: Susan Stekel Subject: Re: [AVALON] Roxy in video game soundtrack shocker! At 07:41 PM 5/29/03 -0400, you wrote: >Sorry about that last one, hit Send too soon. My son (15) bought that game >several months ago. For the uninitiated, it's a video game with a 1980s >soundtrack. And one day my son came in and asked me if Bryan Ferry did a >song called "More Than This" because it was on his new video game. In what capacity? Does it play when you steal a really hot car? Or when some gorgeous leggy bimbette trots across the screen? Jerry Hall lookalike, perhaps? S. (who isn't trying to infer that Jerry Hall is a bimbette) ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 30 May 2003 10:04:52 EDT From: Go2Sweeney@aol.com Subject: [AVALON] Roxy Music CDs to be won all next week, BBC music 6, Gideon Coe show. 10 am to 1 pm British time http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/ Goodie ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 30 May 2003 16:30:23 +0100 From: "Nigel Hollis" Subject: [AVALON] Glastonbury According to the official line up in the Guardian Review for Glastonbury, RM are not down to play on any day. I would assume that we have to believe the sponsors? N. ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 31 May 2003 00:07:50 +0100 From: "Chris Turner" Subject: [AVALON] ...I'm the honey All your money just can't buy... This was taken from the BBC site... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/2949636.stm That means the Sunday "golden oldie" slot - previously taken by the likes of Rod Stewart, Tom Jones and Tony Bennett - will be vacant after organisers said they could not afford Bryan Ferry. Chris ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 31 May 2003 03:02:39 +0100 From: "thom.wallace" Subject: [AVALON] Peakes. In reply to the posting from a few weeks back that stated that Ferry clearly was at his most popular in the 80's I'd have to say that in the case of the UK and Europe he was at his most popular between '72 and '77, with a reprise between '79 to '85. In many ways '85 was the beginning of his slide to near obscurity, even if he was marginally more popular in the US. Having said that creatively he was at his peek in the seventies. Even with the popularity of "Slave to love" and sales success of "Boys and Girls" the lack of judgement was starting to show. "Boys and Girls" sold well of the back of a hit single and the success of "Avalon", but round about where I stay it was seen as a disappointment in the sense that it was heavily over produced and didn't have much content, a trait that was continued with the non-arrival of "Bete Noire" and a fairly disappointing tour of large venues about a year later. A big problem with the tour was the band who didn't seem to understand what they were playing. Basically the problem for Ferry has always been that Roxy were by far more popular the he was as a solo artist. His solo career went along quite nicely as a side line to the band, but when Roxy went so in the end did his solo career. I remember years ago he described Roxy as having become sort of "Frankenstein's Monster", what he seemed to forget was that without the monster then who the hell was Frankestein. In a posting from a few days back there was a comment about DJ's mistaking Ferry tracks for Roxy, this has been a situation in many ways fostered by Ferry. For twenty years we have been faced with fairly poor compilations based on the merger of the two back catalouges, his solo material the bands and You can also contact me at: TomWallace@vivaroxymusic.com ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 31 May 2003 03:28:38 +0100 From: "thom.wallace" Subject: [AVALON] Peaks (full and long posting) In reply to the posting from a few weeks back that stated that Ferry clearly was at his most popular in the 80's I'd have to say that in the case of the UK and Europe he was at his most popular between '72 and '77, with a reprise between '79 to '85. In many ways '85 was the beginning of his slide to near obscurity, even if he was marginally more popular in the US. Having said that creatively he was at his peek was in the seventies. Even with the popularity of "Slave to love" and sales success of "Boys and Girls" the lack of judgement was starting to show. "Boys and Girls" sold well of the back of a hit single and the success of "Avalon", but round about where I stay it was seen as a disappointment in the sense that it was heavily over produced and didn't have much content, a trait that was continued with the non-arrival of "Bete Noire" and a fairly disappointing tour of large venues about a year later. A big problem with the tour was the band who didn't seem to understand what they were playing. Basically the problem for Ferry has always been that Roxy were by far more popular than he was as a solo artist. His solo career went along quite nicely as a side line to the band, but when Roxy went so in the end did his solo career. I remember years ago he described Roxy as having become sort of "Frankenstein's Monster", what he seemed to forget was that without the monster then who the hell was Frankestein. In a posting from a few days back there was a comment about DJ's mistaking Ferry tracks for Roxy, this has been a situation in many ways fostered by Ferry. For twenty years we have been faced with fairly poor compilations based on the merger of the two back catalouges, his solo material and the bands. Basically had he not put the bands material on there then these albums would have gone the same way as his solo offerings, to the bargin bin. After buying the records for so long it has become a bit of a habit for me, sadly over the years I've found that each album brings with it more frustration with someone who never quite delivers. I think that Ferry wanted to be something that he wasn't so much that in the end he lost what hae actually had. Now he seems to be marking out time touring without either the will to turn out a great album or the potential to turn out a great album. To quote Elton John "It's sad, so sad, it's a sad sad situation", sure I go to the shows, but it has become more of a case of reliving old memories and socialising than being excited by what to expect along the way. The next time is the best time, well maybe not any longer. Tom. You can also contact me at: TomWallace@vivaroxymusic.com ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 31 May 2003 00:50:59 -0400 From: "Keith Shockley" Subject: Re: [AVALON] Peaks (full and long posting) - ----- Original Message ----- From: thom.wallace To: Avalon Sent: Friday, May 30, 2003 10:28 PM Subject: [AVALON] Peaks (full and long posting) > In reply to the posting from a few weeks back that stated that Ferry clearly > was at his most popular in the 80's I'd have to say that in the case of the > UK and Europe he was at his most popular between '72 and '77, with a reprise > between '79 to '85. In many ways '85 was the beginning of his slide to near > obscurity, even if he was marginally more popular in the US. Having said > that creatively he was at his peek was in the seventies. > > Even with the popularity of "Slave to love" and sales success of "Boys and > Girls" the lack of judgement was starting to show. "Boys and Girls" sold > well of the back of a hit single and the success of "Avalon", but round > about where I stay it was seen as a disappointment in the sense that it was > heavily over produced and didn't have much content, a trait that was > continued with the non-arrival of "Bete Noire" and a fairly disappointing > tour of large venues about a year later. A big problem with the tour was the > band who didn't seem to understand what they were playing. > > Basically the problem for Ferry has always been that Roxy were by far more > popular than he was as a solo artist. His solo career went along quite > nicely as a side line to the band, but when Roxy went so in the end did his > solo career. I remember years ago he described Roxy as having become sort of > "Frankenstein's Monster", what he seemed to forget was that without the > monster then who the hell was Frankestein. In a posting from a few days back > there was a comment about DJ's mistaking Ferry tracks for Roxy, this has > been a situation in many ways fostered by Ferry. For twenty years we have > been faced with fairly poor compilations based on the merger of the two back > catalouges, his solo material and the bands. Basically had he not put the > bands material on there then these albums would have gone the same way as > his solo offerings, to the bargin bin. > > After buying the records for so long it has become a bit of a habit for me, > sadly over the years I've found that each album brings with it more > frustration with someone who never quite delivers. I think that Ferry wanted > to be something that he wasn't so much that in the end he lost what hae > actually had. Now he seems to be marking out time touring without either the > will to turn out a great album or the potential to turn out a great album. > To quote Elton John "It's sad, so sad, it's a sad sad situation", sure I go > to the shows, but it has become more of a case of reliving old memories and > socialising than being excited by what to expect along the way. > > The next time is the best time, well maybe not any longer. > > Tom. Tom, although your above comments may upset a lot of fellow fans and are certainly cause for discussion, I find myself agreeing with most of what you said. Ferry has made some good records over the years and even his last album Frantic had flashes of brilliance, but he has never delivered on the potential that we all know he has. I'm not a fair-weather fan. Roxy Music is my all-time favorite band. I still get "eight miles high" listening to the early albums, and I will still buy the next Ferry album, hoping that it's the masterpiece that I've been waiting for for all these years. But it probably won't be.......and that's ok. For even mediocre Ferry is still better than 80% of the new music out there today. The guy does have the "lounge lizard" act pretty much down pat, and he probably does it better than anyone. But Ferry owes me nothing....after all, he and the other original members gave me Roxy Music...and Bryan has given me some pretty decent music himself over the years. On the contrary, I owe Bryan Ferry. I owe it to him to be his fan, to give his music a chance.....like I gave For Your Pleasure a chance some 30 years ago without ever hearing a song before buying it. Yes I have the right to criticize him because I buy his music...the good and the not-so-good. But I will be there for the "next time", even if it's still not the "best time". keith NP: I Am the Fly / Wire ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 31 May 2003 01:59:49 -0400 From: "Pete Seely" Subject: [AVALON] Roxy peaks and Ferry valleys I found Tom's critique extremely well-written and accurate to the nth degree, and I concur with everything that both he and Keith said about Roxy. Living in America, it was always my impression as well that Ferry's peak in England was in the seventies, and in America in the eighties. As for America, I don't think his slight bump in popularity came because he suddenly released great albums with American appeal, like "Boys and Girls" and "Bete Noire." Rather, I think it was a case of Americans finally catching up with Roxy and Ferry, and to a large extent, buying those albums based on Ferry's past. Ferry and Roxy took much longer to catch on in America, and I'm not sure if they ever would have been fully discovered without the new wave movement, which helped bring their music into focus in the US. I particularly like Tom's point about the blurring of the lines between Ferry's solo output and Roxy. I agree that the compilations have contributed in large part to this confusion, but I think the issue goes much deeper. I believe that Ferry himself has deliberately blurred the lines, through the aforementioned compilations, but also through his insistence on playing Roxy songs like LITD, Do the Strand, IEDHAH, Avalon, Dance Away, etc., ad nauseum, precisely so he can reclaim them. A friend of mine asserts that he has every right to do this, because they are "his" songs. But would you call a song like "Ladytron," which he did on the Mamouna tour, strictly "his" song? As good of a tune as it is, how wonderful is it to hear without Andy Mackay's beautiful opening oboe, one of the greatest solos in rock music, IMHO. I like Ferry's solo output from "Boys and Girls" on, but like Tom, I have come to temper my enthusiasm about new Ferry releases. I think almost everything he does is interesting, and I think he succeeds as an artist more than most who have been around as long as he has, but his music no longer changes my life as it once did. Pete S. ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ End of avalon-digest V8 #151 **************************** ======================================================================== For further info, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: info avalon-digest