Roxy Music: Avalon - 1982
"Bryan and I popped out for a coffee, and we heard a girl singing in the studio next door. It was a Haitian band that had come in to do some demos, and Bryan and I just looked at each other and went 'What a fantastic voice!' That turned out to be Yanick Etienne, who sang all the high stuff on 'Avalon'. She didn't speak a word of English. Her boyfriend, who was the band's manager, came in and translated. And then the next day we mixed it" - Phil Manzanera
This, Roxy Music's valedictory 1982 album, is, to be honest, probably as much a Bryan Ferry solo album with Roxy members guesting on it as it is a Roxy Music one - far more so than either of the other Roxy Phase Two offerings.
It is, however, a masterpiece of easy listening - full of immaculately recorded laid-back lounge bar rock of the highest order. The sound quality is truly excellent, setting standards at the time. Unlike many, though, I (perhaps unusually) much prefer the deeper, bassier 1999 remaster to the tinnier, flatter 2012 one - by far. Some of the album's intrinsic bass lines are just superbly defined on the 1999 remaster.
For many people, this is the only Roxy Music album they own. It is strange how the band's last album of a ten year career proved to be the one that really crossed boundaries and was bought by a wide spectrum of people. It is a fine album, and is certainly their most sonically perfect, but if you are looking for the true essence of Roxy Music it sure won't be found here. That said, for Roxy Music Phase Two it certainly is their pinnacle.
It's time to bossa nova....
There are two great, well-known singles here in the catchy pop of More Than This (similar to Over You from the previous album) and the simply sumptuous bossa nova vibe of Avalon with its unforgettable siren-like backing vocal from Yanick Etienne and wonderfully melodic Andy Mackay saxophone.Then there are a run of tracks which are so typically 'Bryan Ferry' - the delectable swish of The Space Between (which is indeed in the space between Over You and Avalon), the completely intoxicating groove of To Turn You On and just as sumptuous are the gently rhythmic strains of Take A Chance With Me.
Also, there is the similarly entrancing While My Heart Is Still Beating and the delicious, sensual The Main Thing - you know what I am talking about - that insistent, shuffling groove, expert backing and Ferry's easily delivered soothing vocal.
Much of this material is extremely similar to that which would be found on Ferry's 1985 big-selling album Boys And Girls. The foundations for the rest of Ferry's solo career were solidly laid down here, there is no doubt about that.
True To Life has a huge drum sound and an absolutely delicious rhythm to it. As with all the material on here, Ferry's vocals gently wash over you. Its mysterious backing vocals float in and out of the song, captivatingly. There's not actually a huge amount to be said about many of the songs, as with much of Ferry's solo work it functions as one actual whole.
Both India and the closer, Tara, are short instrumental mood pieces.
This is nothing like For Your Pleasure or Roxy's ground-breaking debut album and they definitely lost quite a few fans along the way, but they also gained thousands more. My wife, for example, wouldn't know The Bogus Man from Bitters End, but she knows this album back to front. She considers herself a Roxy Music fan. She has seen them live. Maybe she is. I shouldn't be such a pompous purist. This is definitely a good album, quality and polish oozes from its every pore. After all, a good album is a good album, isn't it?
The non-album 'b' side was Always Unknowing, which was the 'b' side to Avalon, and is a slow, brooding and atmospheric ballad with a deep Ferry vocal and some similarly deep Andy Mackay saxophone. It gets into its gentle groove and stays there. Had it been included on the album it would have fitted in perfectly.
