Roxy Music Avalon, and the Coolest Man In Town

Let us just get one thing straight: Bryan Ferry is the coolest man in Rock'n'Roll. And I actually say that with sincerity. Not only has he, in my opinion, made some of the most groundbreaking music of the last forty years, but has created a style and genre belonging to him and him only. A poetic lyricist, sharp tune smith, style icon, and suave performer indeed. Ok, so his recent Dylan covers album was shite. Accepted. But I can afford him that hick up. He's nearly old enough for his bus pass. The album that I really want to talk about - and the album that cemented this man in music's hall of fame - is Roxy Music's Avalon, released in 1982.

I had, during my University days, an obsession with Roxy Music's Live Performance The Highroad; I saw it as a kid at home one night and nicked it - my Dad's ancient video tape version - and used to put it on in the early hours when I got in pissed from the latest student party. I just love every minute of it. I reckon I've seen it over 1000 times. As a performance it is monumental, although it was also chiefly responsible for getting me into certain Roxy Music songs back at this time. Avalon was always a favourite of mine, confirmed by the superb version on The Highroad. I ended up hunting down the album of the same name, which swiftly became my favourite Roxy Music record. It is, up to now, their last studio release (since Ferry went solo for many years) although Roxy Music have been reunited and back on the road since 2001 as a live act. Avalon was said to be the 'adult' Roxy album; smoother and more sophisticated than the others, and a world away from the chaotic initial incarnation of the band ten years earlier.

It opens with one of Roxy Music's most admired singles, More Than This, which is classic art-school Ferry, fag in one hand and pina-colada in the other, crooning into the breeze as he sits soaking up the sun at a beach-side bar. Bloody hell, where did that come from? Maybe that is an example of just how evocative this music actually is. As a single it achieved mass critical and commercial acclaim, reaching #6 in the UK charts. The Space Between is smooth, led by a cool saxophone layered upon echoey lead guitar; very atmospheric and agile in its delivery. Avalon, the title track, is ethereal in every sense. The Bahamas, where the album was recorded, has obviously put its stamp on the final sound. The backing vocals are delightful, and the production second to none.

India is an interesting instrumental before While My Heart Is Still Beating, a Ferry/Mackay penned, tense number in the thick of the album. The Main Thing is a compelling heart-beat, driven by Paul Thompson's rock-solid snare, whilst the album's third single Take A Chance With Me, Ferry's ode to the departed Jerry Hall, is a magnificent requiem in which Ferry's suggestive lyrics glow: "As they say, two can play/But keep that song away from me/In my time too much love/Has made me sad for so long." And to have left for the rubber-lipped Mick Jagger? To Turn You On is Ferry's sensual side spilling out, whilst True To Life is an airy, synth-covered amble before the final chapter, Tara. This splendid, laconic instrumental, revolving around Mackay's elevated sax, is the like the closing scene of a moving film that you never want to end. An unusual but refined ending to a classy record.

So here is the surprising part. I've seen Roxy Music twice since their 2001 reunion - once on that very reunion tour in Manchester's MEN Arena, and a second time at the Liverpool Summer Pops in 2005. I don't think I'll be rushing back. It was great to see the original members - Bryan Ferry, Phil Manzanera, Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson - back on stage together. There were even glimpses of brilliance, admittedly. However, neither show lasted for much more than an hour and a half, which is practically half the length of a normal show for a legendary act, and Ferry looked almost uncomfortable on stage. I even jeopardised my A-Level P.E exam the next morning the first time by cram-revising all there way there and back on the coach! Maybe I'd set my sights too high having digested The Highroad for so many years. If you watch their 2002 release Live At The Apollo they are, in fact, brilliant once again. Maybe I just caught two ordinary nights, who knows. I have, however, nothing but admiration for this band -particularly Ferry, the craftsman of my favourite lyric ever (on Roxy's hit Dance Away): "Loneliness is a crowded room/Full of ope hearts turned to stone/All together, all alone." And Avalon, of course, is a classic album showcasing a quintessential British band at the peak of their powers.