Since September 2010, this blog has recorded the journey of this music junkie as I attempt to listen to all the music in my CD collection. CDs revisited in their entirety from start to finish - no skipping tracks, no shuffle. Compact Discs only - no vinyl, no tapes, no files.

Friday, January 10, 2014

Roxy Music - Avalon (1982)


Note: this release was received as a gift as an LP, later replaced by a CD. This CD released using HDCD encoding.

Roxy Music was decidedly a more popular group in the UK than in the US, so it's not surprising that I hadn't heard of the group before my friend Jim gave me this album. The single was More Than This (it bubbled under the charts at 102 and the video received modest airplay on MTV), but the song that grabbed me immediately was the gorgeous title track. Initially, that track was the only one that got played at my place. After a few months, I ventured beyond the title track and found a lush album of rich, meticulously crafted tunes. There's not a weak track in the bunch. I never went back to discover the group's earlier catalog and I didn't keep up with Bryan Ferry's solo career; I just knew that nothing could measure up to this album.

I'm not alone in my admiration, this album is consistently found in lists of top albums of the '80s. A favorite line comes from a retro-review in the Spin Alternative Record Guide, where it received a 9 out 10 rating: "1982's Avalon remains one of the all-time great makeout infernos." Musical genius Nile Rodgers has often claimed that Roxy Music was the inspiration for Chic. If you need more of an endorsement than that, you're at the wrong blog, buddy.

Update: In its 2020 list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Rolling Stone ranked Avalon at #336.

Press of the time:
  • Trouser Press: "Avalon has the emotional brilliance of other Roxy Music LPS, and is even more chilling"
  • Robert Christgau (A-): "minor triumph" 
  • Smash Hits (8 out of 10): "Stately, sad and scrumptious all at the same time."
  • Record Mirror: "More than 'Avalon' there is nothing."
  • Stereo Review: "coolly intense"
  • Rolling Stone (★★★½): "takes a long time to kick in, but it finally does, and it's a good one"

Album chart peaks:
  • US Billboard Top 200: #53
  • Billboard Rock: #41
  • CashBox: #32
  • CashBox CD: #18
  • Rolling Stone: #15

Tracks:  The title track continues to be my favorite cut from this album and is one of my favorite songs of the '80s. Stunning, beautiful, and relaxing. Other top tracks include More Than This, The Main Thing, Take A Chance With Me, and To Turn You On.

For more information on the brief life of the CD longbox,
go visit The Legend of the Longbox.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

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1 comment:

  1. HERCJanuary 10, 2014 at 10:06 AM

    Long time Roxy Music fan here. Love Avalon.

    The only thing I change (sacré bleu) is adding Ferry's later solo hit "Slave To Love" (1985) to the playlist - fits like a glove, I say.

    Rather than makeout music, it is my go-to chill music and has been known to lure me into some of the most completely restful nights of sleep I have ever had. Because of this, I have to be choosey about opportune times to listen to this wonderful sonic masterpiece.

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