The Best of Roxy Music
Roxy Music appeared to have beamed in from another planet when they appeared in the early '70s. Impossibly alien and exotic, they bucked trends by being kitschy, avant-garde, and unashamedly pop.Bryan Ferrywas the sensual frontman,Brian Enothrew his deconstructionist spanner into the works, and they played songs that sounded like demented, sexy logarithms. After Eno left in 1973, frustrated that Ferry was marginalizing his input, Roxy became a different beast entirely, developing a suave, sophisticated pop-soul sound and abandoning the art-rock niche to enlist a wider audience. This lush compilation, released to accompany their reunion tour (minus Eno), captures both sides of Roxy and, true to the subversive spirit that informed their early years, does so in reverse order. This anti-chronology means they open with the languid, supper-club croon of 1980s hits "Avalon" and "More Than This," plus the beauteous cover ofJohn Lennon's "Jealous Guy," then peel back the years through midperiod gems such as "Dance Away" and "Love Is the Drug," before closing with the hyperventilating, superbly twisted bubblegum of "Pyjamarama" and "Virginia Plain." The sequencing may be bonkers, but this is an essential souvenir of a band in a million.--Ian Gittins