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Roxy Music

Stranded - Island 1973

Tracks: 1. Street Life / 2. Just Like You / 3. Amazona / 4. Psalm / 5. Serenade / 6. Song for Europe / 7. Mother of Pearl / 8. Sunset

Comments:

"Stranded" was Roxy Music's first album without Brian Eno; one of music history's great and original personalities. Reportedly it did not work very well with both Eno and Bryan Ferry in the group, so Eno started instead his long and multifaced solo career. It is often stated that the loss of Eno clearly can be heard on "Stranded" and that the group has become significantly more commercial; I really don’t think this is the case.

"Street Life" was the big single on the album - a great rock song that may well lead thoughts toward Britpop and Blur. "Serenade" is a song more or less in the same genre, and a song that could easily have worked as a second single.

The album has a nice pair of slightly quirky ballads, where especially "Just Like You" is a favorite. Also "Mother of Pearl" with its two very different beats is among my favorites. "Amazona" which Ferry wrote with guitarist Phil Manzanera has a great guitar riff; the track develops at a rather skewed direction before it returns to the starting point again - thankfully.

Some tracks may well be felt a little long; could be the case for e.g. "Psalm" and "Sunset" - perhaps also to some degree "A Song for Europe".

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