Brian Eno is MORE DARK THAN SHARK
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INTERVIEWS, REVIEWS & RELATED ARTICLES

New Musical Express JUNE 24, 1972 - by Tony Tyler

ROXY MUSIC

In my opinion, Roxy Music - the newest band in the EG stable and by far the best - are a potentially enormous musical influence. They've still to develop but their ideas are already well-formed and come together very nicely, thank you, on this excellent first album.

What are they? Groping for comparisons, I used to say a cross between Hawkwind and The Wild Angels, but that's not really true. On about the eighth listening there's some of The Velvets in there as well as other stuff that's all theirs.

The album, beautifully recorded, was produced by Peter Sinfield - which explains why a touch of The Crimsoids can also be felt.

But it's really Roxy, and they're new, very electronic, very camp and very, very good. Best track by far is the superb Re-Make/Re-Model which uncannily reminds you of all the rock songs you ever heard until you listen for Eno's synthesizer. Their electronic feel and their absolute grasp of eeriness as a musical quality removed from spookiness is shown on Ladytron, a clean little piece with a rolling sequence and a witty oboe solo from Andy Mackay.

If There Is Something is less successful and I wish it weren't there because there's too much Crimson-quoting.

The remaining two best, tracks are The Bob (Medley) and Sea Breezes. Bob, a pastoral commentary on Second World War follies, is a major epic in its own right and can be further exploited at a later date. Breezes, the slowest and most beautiful track, contains lustrous electric piano from Bryan Ferry and superb lyrics, sung with a metre and a feel that I thought was gone forever since Dylan chose the path of least resistance.

Altogether, this is the finest album I've heard this year and the best 'first' I can EVER remember.


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