From: owner-avalon-digest@smoe.org (avalon-digest) To: avalon-digest@smoe.org Subject: avalon-digest V8 #177 Reply-To: avalon@smoe.org Sender: owner-avalon-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-avalon-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk avalon-digest Thursday, June 26 2003 Volume 08 : Number 177 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [AVALON] Live Album Review [chris.clare@bt.com] To leave the list, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon-digest ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2003 13:41:38 +0100 From: chris.clare@bt.com Subject: [AVALON] Live Album Review Saw this review of the Roxy live album on Amazon - sorta sums up the opinions passed around here recently and has more than finalized my decision to skip it completely... Chris ========================================= From Amazon.co.uk "When the Roxy Music reunion tour was announced I should have been very excited, but as only Ferry,MacKay and Manzanera did the prepublicity and no mention was made of other original members returning, I thought it would be worth missing: on their last tour even Paul Thompson was absent. Of course I was infuriated when it became clear that Paul was appearing but by then tickets had sold out. Now that I've heard the live album though, I'm not so disappointed: it is quite simply not a patch on Viva!, the first Roxy Live album from 1976. Why ? There were 13 musicians in the 2001 reunion lineup and only 6 in the classic Roxy lineup(s) of the early-mid 70s. On Viva!, you could say there are 8 musicians if you include The Sirens who provide backing vocals on 'Both Ends Burning'. They might have been out of tune but god could they screech and a bit of dirt is what this new album really lacks. The effect of this layering of session types on top of more authentic rockers results in a crowded mix that diminishes rather than increases impact. For example, the excellent Chris Spedding is brought in on second guitar behind Manzanera and we hear very little of either throughout this album, which is very bass and top heavy but lacks serious middle register. The tone colours are just to thin on much of this album. Maybe the sound was much better live, in which case whomever mixed this album should go back to recording school... The arrangements are also weak and limp in many cases (having heard Viva versions of Both Ends Burning, If There Is Something, Out of the Blue, Do The Strand and In Every Dream Home the versions on this album are non-events in comparison- Editions of You is also very poor, especially the awfully mannered vocals at the coda). Manzanera is particularly absent throughout much of the record and why chose the talented but generic Lucy Wilkins on keyboards and violin over Eddie Jobson (who was probably available) or even Hawkwind's Simon House (whose 70s style would have been more in keeping with the Roxy aesthetic). And where was the great unsung Roxy bassist John Wetton ? Less members but more personality would have made for better performances and more authenticity. It must be said though that Colin Good (pianist) does a lovely intro to 'A Song For Europe'. The album is not all bad (nice versions of 'Tara', 'For Your Pleasure' and 'A Song For Europe' are the highlights) but the post-Jobson stuff sounds as bland and inoffensive as ever: Over 8 minutes of the big nothing that is 'My Only Love' shows how Ferry's own judgement of his songwriting ability had faded by 1981. Be honest Bryan, the later stuff makes for nice pop songs but its not the groundbreaking stuff we loved from the first 5 albums. To sum up: most true Roxy fans would prefer CD issues of the live version of 'For Your Pleasure' (b side of Both Ends Burning) and ferry's best solo song 'As The World Turns' (b side of this Is Tomorrow') than this average live album. No wonder Eno didn't even guest at the London gigs..." ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ End of avalon-digest V8 #177 **************************** ======================================================================== For further info, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: info avalon-digest