Brian Eno is MORE DARK THAN SHARK

INTERVIEWS, REVIEWS & RELATED ARTICLES

Record Mirror OCTOBER 27, 1973 - by John Clegg

ROXY MUSIC

Cast aside the rumours, fear not the departure of Eno, get your ticket now: Roxy Music are back on the road with a brilliant new show that threatens to have the whole nation doing The Strand before it's over.

Ferry and friends (their glitter and sequins discarded) have returned with the same stunning originality to entertain with one or two oldies and some incredible material from the new album - aptly entitled Stranded. Bryan - lyricist extraordinaire and poet of decadence - has taken to white dinner jacket, shiny shoes and bow tie, and come up with more remarkable songs of minks and stilletos, charleston, and lipstick.

The lastest nostaglia from Roxy Music has reached new outrageous heights and the first priveleged audience to see it at Birmingham Town Hall raised the roof with approval.

Phil Manzanera never looked happier, and his guitar work has become more an integral part of the act: Andy Mackay (now resplendent in a three-piece suit) plays some amazing horn and the stage routine is captivating.

New boy Eddie Jobson from Curved Air failed to impress - awful violins and uninventive synthesizer - but his presence allowed Ferry freedom from the keyboards to concentrate on his camp Mick Jagger, which the audience loved.

Do The Strand, Re-Make/Re-Model, Pyjamarama, Virginia Plain and many other old favourites followed in rapid succession, but the new material impressed most.

Stranded may well turn out to be the best album yet - all the new tracks were brilliant musically and lyrically, especially Mother Of Pearl, Serenade, and A Song For Europe ("for the decimal freaks," quipped Ferry as he sang in fluent 1930's French).

Superlative will not suffice for this stunning performance.

They are the world's supreme, indeed only, satirical glamour band: once you've witnessed them live, it isn't hard to see why.