My first encounter with Roxy Music was on a weekend after a night out. I was
watching a late night rock music show. Back then we had limited options for music on
TV so when Midnight Special or Don Kirshner's Rock Concert came on we watched. Rock
was big for us. We were always listening, telling stories, and debating, and
anything new became a hot topic. So there in my room, on my small portable B&W TV,
was Roxy Music. Wow! James Bond in a tuxedo? A vampire playing oboe? Is this legal
in rock and roll? I had no idea what i was watching but had to have more.
I grabbed the first album i could find, Viva! Roxy Music, but eventually found my way
to their self-titled first album. I had been immediately attracted to the look and
style, but this debut was crazy unique and unclassifiable.
ROXY MUSIC
VIVA!
COUNTRY LIFE
Listening today, Roxy Music is an unlikely mixture of elements for sure. Hopelessly
romantic lyrics, futuristic synth and tape loops, squawking woodwinds, and angry
guitar runs over a Bonhamesque back beat. Elton John-like ballads morph into
prog-rock jams. Appalachian country meets 1001 Arabian Nights. 30s torch to 50s
doo-wop to 70s glam. Casablanca to 2001 A Space Odyssey. It was rebellious, cool,
weird, and corny (castanets in Ladytron?).
Initially it was pegged as glam/prog rock, but Roxy Music created it's own genre. It
peaked at #10 in Britain with not much fanfare (initially) in the states, but the
influence it had on 70s and 80s music, style, and rebellious experimental spirit is
pretty obvious now. It remains fresh to me and the style seems less unusual today,
which is another testament to it's impact. And it takes me to a great place so,
"here's looking at you kid."