The Long Career of Roxy Music by Marcel Van Brienen
In 1972, an album appeared on the UK scene that captured the attention of many music fans. The album was eclectic and presented a significant departure from the common musical styles of the day. While the rest of the music world was slipping into the common early 1970's folk theme, the self titled album debut of Roxy Music was very, very different. Roxy Music drew its influences from all over the musical spectrum. These influences were on display in a brilliant debut and it truly did make music history.
Of course, not all of the work of Roxy Music should be spoken about in a historical sense.
In 2001, the entertainment industry saw a legendary band re-unite for a very successful tour. That band was Roxy Music and they are an enduring fixture on the music scene that has been around since 1972. Yet, despite their longevity, the Roxy Music discography is not as well known as other bands. Actually, that is not an entirely true assessment as Roxy Music achieved a solid degree of popularity in Europe. However, it did not have the significant worldwide appeal that other Euro bands achieved.
The Unique Sound
To a degree, Roxy Music did not receive all the credit it was due in terms of the band's influence on other bands. This is somewhat surprising since a number of legendary punk rock and new wave bands such as Devo consider Roxy Music to be one of their many influences. Then again, maybe it should come as no surprise since the type of music Roxy Music produced pre-dated the punk/alternative movement by many years. This is somewhat bittersweet - yet common - component of many band biographies; being ahead of one's time sometimes leads to not getting the credit one deserves. For many years, this was the curse of the Roxy Music discography
Brian Ferry's Contributions
Brian Ferry was the front man of the band who was a major factor in making Roxy Music popular. No, Brian of Roxy Music was not the only reason for the aforementioned success. The other principle members (Phil Manzanera, Andy Mackay, and Paul Thompson) all contributed greatly to the popularity of Roxy Music. However, it would be fair to say Brian of Roxy Music was by far the most influential member of the band. This is because he was the primary architect of the musical direction the band took. It was this specific musical direction that allowed the band to connect with its audience.
The Comeback
That is why the group was able to reform quite successfully many years after their original 1983 breakup. In 2001, the Roxy Music concerto returned to the stage for a very well received tour (the Roxy Music DVD chronicles many of these performances). Some doubted that the band would be a hit after such a long absence but those doubts were quickly quelled when the tour started. The reunion of Roxy Music has turned out to be an ironic new chapter in the group's history as the acclaim that had been denied them for so many years was finally achieved. This just proves that in the music world truly anything can happen.
Marcel van Brienen is a senior ezine article writer, and editor for an online community of experts on Gemzies.com. This article is written together with one of our Roxy Music fans of the Roxy Music Gemzies. This Gemzies page is an Online Roxy Music Community where fellow fans can share, rate and find websites, videos photos, books and news.
We have got some interesting content on Bryan Ferry, Brian Eno, and Phil Manzanera. We invite you to visit and join our Roxy Music Gemzies.
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