morganflag: ON THIS DATE (50 YEARS AGO) November 1, 1973 – Roxy Music: Stranded is released. # ALL THINGS MUSIC PLUS+ 4.5/5 # Allmusic 4.5/5 # Rolling Stone (see original review below) Stranded is the third album by Roxy Music, released on November 1, 1973. It reached #1 on the UK Albums chart, and #186 on the Billboard 200 Top LP's chart. The single "Street Life" reached #9 on the UK charts. The cover features Ferry's then girlfriend and 1973 Playmate of the Year, Marilyn Cole. Stranded introduced violinist Eddie Jobson, whose contributions slotted in perfectly alongside reed player Andy Mackay and guitarist Phil Manzanera. A sense of cohesion permeates the set, group members contribute lyrically, but there was no denying that this incarnation of the band represents Ferry's vision. Melodically strong, the album provides an ideal structure for Ferry's quirky intonation, resulting in a heady mix of experimentation and commercial acumen. It was the first Roxy Music album on which Bryan Ferry was not the sole songwriter as multi-instrumentalist Andy Mackay and guitarist Phil Manzanera also contributed to the album. Though it was also the first without Brian Eno, who had left the group after For Your Pleasure, he nonetheless later rated it as Roxy Music's finest record. Paul Gambacinni in a Rolling Stone review wrote "Roxy Music can no longer be ignored by Americans. They may not achieve the commercial success they have in Britain, where Stranded reached Number One, but their artistic performance must be recognized. Stranded is an eloquent statement that there are still frontiers which American pop has not explored." __________ ORIGINAL MELODY MAKER REVIEW By Michael Watts, November 11, 1973 Roxy: An Air of Lush Decay ROXY MUSIC "Stranded" (Island) Without intending to notch up critical scores, I still think little of Bryan Ferry's solo album and that his single is a good idea taken to inordinate lengths. I mention this because it seems to me that what he lacks in interpretive talent he more than compensates for with a highly idiosyncratic and original intelligence. It's not unreasonable, I think, to argue that he's the most interesting figure in British pop at present in that he and Roxy Music are offering an individual viewpoint that bears little relation to the work of their contemporaries or indeed rock artistes who've gone before. "Stranded" is Roxy's third album, and immeasurably the best so far, because it's more cohesive in outlook (understandable in view of the length of time they've now been together and the fact that the departure of Eno has removed a divisory influence). It's certainly not a masterpiece, but it's not that far from it. Moreover, it contains one track that most definitely is — " A Song For Europe" — which is a kind of rock chanson, voluptuous in its cadences of a remembered affaire and, expressive of the decaying grandeur of a fading camelia; for all it’s Parisian setting it could be subtitled " Death In Venice"; not only is the mood appropriate but Ferry exhibits the exquisite sensibilities of a Visconti without the stodge. It takes an Englishman to render accessible the accents -of Continental music, after all. As a whole, though, Rosy Music evoke on this album an impression of lush melancholy, full of elusive bitter-sweet fragrances. I can see why some critics find it hard to like them while appreciating what they do. Their music isn't warm or embracing; here it's suffused with an exotic, Poe-like quality that distances the creators from their listener, while Ferry's strange voice lends it the chill bloom of the corpse. This can have marvelously eerie results, as on " Mother Of Pearl," which begins with a fast, curiously elliptical riff that's almost Beetheartian and then blows chilly with Ferry near-reciting monologue that's as desolating as it's impenetrable. The same song also points up his phrasing and ear for nuance, as in the beautifully effete line. "I've been up all night, party time wasting is too much fun" — which could have come straight out of Aldous Huxley's " Point Counter Point" (it's stretching the literary parallels, but Ferry seems eminently literate for a rock musician). It's unfortunate that Warner Brothels haven't renewed their contract in America because Roxy Music would seem ideally poised for that kind of international expansion. Theirs is a baroque and inventive talent, and "Stranded," only fails to be a true tour de force because some of the inventive ideas don't quite come off. "Psalm," for example, is a very odd liturgy with its Blackpool pier organ and doctored harmonica sound, but its hard to sustain interest over eight minutes on the strength of bizarreness alone. Ferry's writing is wonderfully atmospheric, but his theme as a -lyricist is unclear. Still, as with all tales of mystery and imagination, doubtless it will one day be revealed. — MW __________ ORIGINAL ROLLING STONE REVIEW Two British bands are genuinely stretching the dimensions of pop music. One, 10 c.c., has already found a degree of popularity in the States. Roxy Music has been unable to cross the Atlantic so far, but that should change with this album. Stranded is one of the most exciting and entertaining British LPs of the Seventies. Roxy has constructed the modern English equivalent of the wall-of-sound. One instrument, either the guitar or a keyboard, will sustain or repeat a note, and the other instruments will build on top of it. Added to the thick mix is the unique voice of Bryan Ferry, who sounds alternately tormented ("Psalm"), frantic ("Street Life"), or about to sink his teeth into your neck ("Mother of Pearl"). He delivers his consistently clever lyrics in the most disquieting baritone in pop. Everwhere there is menace. Andy Mackay, whose searing sax made Mott the Hoople's "All the Way from Memphis" an American favorite, has written the tune for "A Song for Europe" -- the most impressive track on the album. It's an awesome example of self-disciplined hard rock. Instead of flailing frantically away, the musicians, including Ferry on piano, limit themselves to maintaining musical tension. Here is emotion without lack of control. Ferry's tortured recitation is supported by an eerie, pained musical backing. Mackay's sax is mournful, Phil Manzanera's guitar lines are expressive, and the drumming of Paul Thompson is dramatic. Like "Street Life," "Psalm" fades in, with an organ swelling slightly to introduce Ferry's half-intoned, half-sung ode to the Divine. As the group slowly joins in and increases volume, there's a bolero effect, and toward the end of the extended piece a Welsh male choir enters. Soon, the group sounds frenzied, yet not irreligiously so. Ferry is a possessed man offering a prayer, and this exceptional "Psalm" sounds like a wily demon's prostration before God. "Street Life," a highly enjoyable entry (and British hit single), opens with what sounds like a UFO coming in for a landing and ends with fading finger-snapping. Ferry spits out his literate lyrics to chaotic uptempo support. The references to "pointless passing through Harvard or Yale" as "only window shopping... strictly no sale" may draw a few Ivy League smiles. Only on "Amazona" does Ferry's cleverness get the better of him -- a couple of puns provoke groans. But the intriguing instrumental track, with its several shifts of mood, dynamics and tempo, helps save it. Roxy Music can no longer be ignored by Americans. They may not achieve the commercial success they have in Britain, where Stranded reached Number One, but their artistic performance must be recognized. Stranded is an eloquent statement that there are still frontiers which American pop has not explored. ~ Paul Gambaccini (May 23, 1974) TRACKS: All songs written by Bryan Ferry except as noted Side one "Street Life" – 3:29 "Just Like You" – 3:36 "Amazona" (Ferry, Phil Manzanera) – 4:16 "Psalm" – 8:04 Side two "Serenade" – 2:59 "A Song for Europe" (Ferry, Andy Mackay) – 5:46 "Mother of Pearl" – 6:52 "Sunset"