The Platinum Collection
Roxy Music
Virgin Records (USA), 2004
3 CD
Catalogue #: 71224
EAN: 0724357122429
UPC: 724357122429
You save: 25%
Liner Note Author: Michael Bracewell.
THE PLATINUM COLLECTION, a three-disc retrospective box set that puts Roxy Music's singles alongside frontman Bryan Ferry's solo work, illustrates how Ferry's sensibility, in many ways, defined Roxy Music from the outset, and determined its subsequent direction. The compilation proves Ferry a premiere art-rock conceptualist--the success of his style-conscious presentations, his penchant for soulful grooves, and his sophisticated, often orchestral approach to composition have been borne out by his long career.
Sequenced chronologically, THE PLATINUM COLLECTION begins with "Virginia Plain" from Roxy Music's 1972 debut and ends with Ferry's 2002 single "A Fool for Love." Even on the early glam material, Ferry's interest in American soul and R&B is apparent (see the quirky, gospel-ized version of Dylan's "Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," his first solo single). Roxy Music's later work (FLESH & BLOOD, AVALON) continues the trend, with an increasing allegiance to romantic pop, lush productions, and smooth crooning. Ferry's solo career, which paralleled Roxy Music's almost from the beginning, reflects these tendencies, whether in choice of covers ("Smoke Gets in Your Eyes") or his memorable originals ("Slave to Love"). All told, the 45 tracks assembled here are a definitive overview of Ferry's work and a testament to his vision and achievement.
Tracklist
Roxy Music
Like Bowie, Roxy Music delivered art-rock with a heavy dose of irony, a scarce commodity in the mid-'70s. Bryan Ferry's lounge-lizard persona meshed with Brian Eno's pioneering electronics and Phil Manzanera's highly textured guitar work to create a decadent but humorous sound that influenced many '80s new wave bands on both sides of the Atlantic, from the Cars to Duran Duran.
