Roxy Music

小簡介
1971年，（Roxy Music）在藝術(shù)搖滾運動中應(yīng)運而生，核心成員包括主唱Bryan Ferry，吉他手Phil Manzanera，薩克斯手Andy Mackay和鍵盤手Brian Eno（73年離隊單飛）。由于對先鋒音樂與流行藝術(shù)的強烈喜好，樂隊成員對時尚的追求決定了這支樂隊的風格。雖然當時只有Eno一人化妝作性別模糊的中性裝扮，但他們令人目眩的奇異服飾和迷幻浪漫的優(yōu)美旋律使后人同樣把他們歸入了華麗搖滾范疇。
Roxy Music的迷人魅力與浪漫氣質(zhì)是70年代初期音樂的杰出代表，72年樂隊第一張同名唱片剛剛發(fā)行就打進英國排行榜Top10，這張專輯里有三首歌后來都被Todd Haynes用進他反映華麗搖滾的著名影片《Velvet Goldmine》。之后的兩張專輯《Stranded》和《Country Life》更是把這種唯美浪漫發(fā)揮了到了極致，他們早期的音樂被認為是藝術(shù)搖滾與華麗搖滾的混合體。之后Ferry逐漸把音樂風格轉(zhuǎn)向流行的迪斯科節(jié)奏，但82年樂隊的最后一張專輯《Avalon》，Bryan Ferry飄渺優(yōu)雅的聲線仿佛把聽者重又帶回香艷迷幻的70年代。洛克西音樂團于83年北美巡演后解散，之后樂隊成員在各自的音樂道路上繼續(xù)發(fā)展。
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Evolving from the late-60s art-rock movement, Roxy Music had a fascination with fashion, glamour, cinema, pop art, and the avant-garde, which separated the band from their contemporaries. Dressed in bizarre, stylish costumes, the group played a defiantly experimental variation of art rock which vacillated between avant-rock and sleek pop hooks. During the early 70s, the group was driven by the creative tension between Bryan Ferry and Brian Eno, who each pulled the band in separate directions: Ferry had a fondness for American soul and Beatlesque art-pop, while Eno was intrigued by deconstructing rock with amateurish experimentalism inspired by the Velvet Underground. This incarnation of Roxy Music may have only recorded two albums, but it inspired a legion of imitators — not only the glam-rockers of the early 70s, but art-rockers and new wave pop groups of the late 70s. Following Enos departure, Roxy Music continued with its arty inclinations for a few albums before gradually working in elements of disco and soul. Within a few years, the group had developed a sophisticated, seductive soul-pop that relied on Ferrys stylish crooning. By the early 80s, the group had developed into a vehicle for Ferry, so it was no surprise that he disbanded the group at the height of its commercial success in the early 80s to pursue a solo career.
The son of a coal miner, Bryan Ferry (vocals, keyboards) had studied art with Richard Hamilton at the University of Newcastle before forming Roxy Music in 1971. While at university, he sang in rock bands, joining the R&B group the Gas Board, which also featured bassist Graham Simpson. Ferry and Simpson decided to form their own band toward the end of 1970, eventually recruiting Andy Mackay (saxophone), who had previously played oboe with the London Symphony Orchestra. Through Mackay, Brian Eno joined the band. By the summer of 1971, the group — had originally been called Roxy but a name change was necessary after the discovery of an American band called Roxy — had recruited classical percussionist Dexter Lloyd and guitarist Roger Bunn through an ad in Melody Maker; both musicians left within a month, but they did record the groups initial demos. Another ad was placed in Melody Maker, and this time the group landed drummer Paul Thompson and guitarist Davy OList, who had previously played with the Nice. OList left by the beginning of 1972 and was replaced by Phil Manzanera, a former member of Quiet Sun. Prior to recording their first album, Simpson left the band. Roxy Music never replaced him permanently; instead, they hired new bassists for each record and tour, beginning with Rik Kenton, who appeared on their eponymous debut for Island Records.
Produced by Peter Sinfield of King Crimson, Roxy Music climbed into the British Top Ten in the summer of 1972; shortly afterward, the non-LP single Virginia Plain rocketed into the British Top Ten, followed by the non-LP Pyjamarama in early 1973. While Roxy Music had become a sensation in England and Europe due to their clever amalgamation of high and kitsch culture, they had trouble getting a foothold in the United States. Both Roxy Music and the groups second album, 1973s For Your Pleasure, which was recorded with bassist John Porter, were greeted with enthusiasm in the U.K., but virtually ignored in the U.S. Frustrated with Ferrys refusal to record his compositions, Eno left the band after the completion of For Your Pleasure. Before recording the third Roxy Music album, Ferry released a solo album, These Foolish Things, which was comprised of pop/rock covers.
Released in December of 1973, Stranded became the bands first number one album in the U.K. Stranded was recorded with new Roxy member Eddie Jobson, a multi-instrumentalist who previously played with Curved Air; it was also the first record to feature writing credits for Manzanera and Mackay. The album received a warmer reception in the U.S. than its two predecessors, setting the stage for the breakthrough of Country Life in late 1974. Sporting a controversial cover of two models dressed in see-through lingerie — the cover was banned in several stores, and it was eventually replaced with a photo of a forest in the U.S. — Country Life was the first Roxy album to break the U.S. Top 40 and became their fourth British Top Ten album. Following a tour with bassist John Wetton, the group recorded Siren. Featuring their first American Top 40 hit, the disco-flavored Love Is the Drug, Siren was another British Top Ten hit; in the U.S., it was moderate hit, peaking at number 50. Following the tour for Siren, the band members began working on solo projects — Manzanera formed the prog-rock group 801, and Mackay and Ferry both began recording solo albums — and announced in the summer of 1976 that they were temporarily breaking up. The live album Viva Roxy Music! was released shortly after the announcement of the groups hiatus.
Roxy Music regrouped in the fall of 1978 after spending 18 months on solo projects. Ferry, Manzanera, Mackay and Thompson added former Ace keyboardist Paul Carrack to the bands lineup and hired Gary Tibbs, formerly of the Vibrators, and ex-Kokomo Alan Spenner as studio bassists; Jobson and Wetton, who were not asked to rejoin the band, formed UK. Roxy Musics comeback effort, Manifesto, was released in the spring of 1979, and it boasted a sleek, disco-influenced soul-pop sound that was markedly different from and more accessible than their earlier records. Manifesto confirmed their British popularity, reaching the Top Ten, and became their highest-charting U.S. record, peaking at number 23 on the strength of the single Dance Away. Roxy Music supported the album with an international tour that featured Carrack and Tibbs; prior to the tours start, Thompson left the band after breaking his thumb in a motorcycle accident. Flesh + Blood, the follow-up to Manifesto, was recorded just by Ferry, Manzanera and Mackay, and a host of studio musicians. Released in the summer of 1980, Flesh + Blood became Roxys second British number one album on the strength of the Top Ten single Over You; in America, the album reached the American Top 40. In the spring of 1981, the bands non-LP cover of John Lennons Jealous Guy, recorded as a tribute to the slain singer, became the groups only British number one single.
Nearly two years after the release of Flesh + Blood, Roxy Music returned in the summer of 1982 with Avalon. Marking a new level in the groups production and musical sophistication, Avalon became their biggest album, spending three weeks at the top of the British charts and 27 on the U.S. charts, generating the British hits More Than This and Take a Chance With Me. It became the groups only American gold album, and over the years, it worked its way to platinum status. Following a successful supporting tour for Avalon, the group released the live EP Musique/The High Road in the spring of 1983. The Avalon tour turned out to be Roxy Musics final activity as a group. Ferry began to concentrate on his solo career, beginning with 1985s Boys and Girls. Manzanera and Mackay formed a band called the Explorers in 1985; the pair would record under a variety of guises, as well as pursue solo careers, over the next 15 years. The compilation Street Life: 20 Great Hits, which also featured Ferrys solo hits, was released in 1989. A year later, Heart Still Beating, a live album documenting a 1982 concert, was released.