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Prog NOVEMBER 2022 - by Julian Marszalek

ROXY MUSIC: THE O2 ARENA, LONDON, 14/10/2022

Roxy Music may well be regarded as second only to David Bowie in the influencer stakes but that margin was always separated by only the thinnest of rolling papers. And while Bowie finally broke through in 1972 after years of reinvention with his fifth album, TThe Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, Roxy Music - who released their eponymous debut album on the very same day - arrived fully formed with a manifesto and aesthetic wholly their own. Moreover, with guitarist Phil Manzanera sporting his bug-eyed glasses, Brian Eno's outrageous feather boas, singer Bryan Ferry resembling a '50s greaser emerging from an explosion in a glitter factory flanked by sequined saxophonist Andy Mackay and drummer Paul Thompson, this was an art-rock band that looked like the advance party of aliens who'd already been on Earth waiting for Bowie to arrive.

Crucially, Roxy Music had the edge when it came to being properly out there. Devotees of The Velvet Underground, they created music that was at once sinister, alluring and oddly romantic despite flirting with narcissism as they simultaneously bound together the disparate twines of rock and pop. And even when they moved into sleeker and more chart friendly sounds with one eye on celebrity in the latter half of their career, it was their eldritch quality that kept them as a cut above the rest of their peers, who gradually fell away into obscurity and irrelevance.

What becomes immediately evident tonight is that Roxy Music still retain that sense of weirdness. Though they're celebrating their fiftieth anniversary with the release of another Best Of compilation, this is a performance based less on concession and more on the motivation that powered them in the first place. Plugging right back into their origins, opener Re-Make/Re-Model is played with a sincerity that sets the agenda for the evening. Manzanera and Mackay don't so much 'lock in' as 'collide' to create a glorious squall of sound, with the song pausing and starting over again to remind of their influences - a snatch of rock'n'roll, a honk of jazz, the opportunities of noise and a sideways glance at The Beatles' Day Tripper.

Out Of The Blue and a well- pruned The Bogus Man swiftly follow. Augmented by three backing vocalists, an additional percussionist, guitarist and three keyboard players, the sound is deep and rich with the bizarre characteristics of the songs refusing to compromise or pander. Granted, Bryan Ferry's once-velvet croon, if not crushed, is a little frayed around the edges, but for a man of seventy-seven years his presence and charisma is as strong as ever. Witness In Every Dream Home A Heartache, an ode to an inflatable doll against a background of material dissatisfaction that continues to unsettle and perturb. Ferry exudes a creeping mood of menace with music that shimmers and twists before exploding with Manzanera's six-string catharsis.

Elsewhere, Andy Mackay displays his central role in Roxy Music with a dizzying mastery of his saxophones and oboes. His solo during If There Is Something is simply exquisite as it unshackles itself from its origins to reach out and take flight. Haunting and utterly beguiling, this is music that soars into distant skies and beyond.

There are of course caveats. Ferry's vocal shortcomings are in evidence during Oh Yeah with the backing singers covering his tracks at the upper register, while the inclusion of Jealous Guy - replete with some howling, out-of-tune whistling - is a cause of consternation, not least as it appears at the expense of their own material, unnecessarily slowing the climax of the set.

Yet for all that, Roxy Music triumph. Editions Of You - backed by a stunning visual display of digital Andy Warhol images that include the iconic figures of Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Onassis - is a stomping joy that sees a mass separation of backsides from seats, while Virginia Plain proves its timeless qualities despite being rooted in a very specific time and place. Closing with a thunderous Do The Strand, it's hard to disagree that this fabulous creation deserves this celebratory victory lap. That Roxy Music continue to do so on their own terms is a testament to their original vision.