#336: Avalon
Revisiting Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” (2020)
In 2020, in the depth of the pandemic, I took on a project of reviewing all 500 of Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” It was an excellent distraction from the state of the world at the time. I am making my way through the list again, from #500 to #1, this time sharing my reviews of each album.
Roxy Music, 1982
Roxy Music’s final studio album leads with the excellent “More Than This,” which is straightforward 80s pop-rock. The rest of the album is a great set of songs with a smoother, adult contemporary sound. Guitars weave in and around keyboards, sax, and synths, Brian Ferry’s voice is excellent as always.
“More Than This” is a new wave staple. I’ve heard this hundreds of times over the years in movies, on 80s compilations, on the radio - but I was surprised at how much I still like it, and just how good it is. The gradual addition of each instrument is fantastic, and when Ferry’s voice starts in, it’s a new level. And it holds up extremely well nearly 45 years later. Many of the contemporary British synth pop bands don’t make it out of the decade, and the singles from this time period are firmly throwback songs. But “More Than This” does not sound out of place in 2026.
Brian Ferry sings the hell of out this song, but Mary Ramsey comes close:
Side 1 continues to amaze. “The Space Between,” “Avalon,” and the instrumental “India” are appetizers for the rest of the album. The last track on the first side, “While My Heart is Still Beating” starts to intensify before Side 2.
I say “intensify,” but “intense” is not the adjective I would use to describe this album or Brian Ferry is any way, unless he’s intensely adult contemporary. Which, fair: he is. The second side begins with “The Main Thing,” and it has a more rhythmic (synth) bass line to it. It’s very close to a Talking Heads beat, at least until the synth comes in and Ferry starts singing. “Take a Chance With Me” is another groove, with a Peter Buck-like guitar jangle to it. Guitarist Phil Manzanera gets a co-write on this one, and it’s about as guitar-forward as this album is going to get. “To Turn You On” is next, and it’s a classic Ferry song - vocals at the fore, ringing guitar in the background, slight rhythm underneath.
It’s the penultimate song that clinches this album as an all-timer for me. “True to Life” is nearly perfect in every way - every chord, each tone, Ferry’s vocals, are perfect. It starts with a slight, nearly vibrato synth rhythm, Manzanero’s guitar swirling around the the backbeat. The synth rhythm continues throughout and Ferry nearly matches the vibrato with his vocals, so delicate that they might disappear. It’s a perfect song. I can, and have, listen to this dozens of times in a row. It will never get tired of it.
Avalon is one of the truly great swansongs in rock history. Abbey Road is the most famous, but The Beatles’ true swansong was Let It Be, which was released after; it is incredibly difficult for a band or artist to plan a swansong, as, usually, once a band knows that the next recording will be their last, the band itself is in a state of disrepair. Roxy Music achieves it here, and creates a legacy that stands the test of time.
It's funny how albums remind you of things. As a pre-teen getting into d&d, this album just brings me right back there. Great stuff.
Big Roxy fan over here in Canada. My only live show? Well it was at the Quebec City Winter Carnival in ummm 1974 or 75? Help. Then their Toronto show in 2022 celebrating a whole bunch of years. 50? Help again.
Then another celebration of Roxy at the Apollo, still on YouTube. And Brian singing on Babylon Berlin’s first season. Or live at the RAH from 1974, released in 2020. Truly amazing.