AVALON

"Avalon" is the eighth and last studio album of Roxy Music and was released in 1982. It was their greatest commercial success hitting the UK charts and staying there for over a year. "Avalon" is also the only Roxy Music's album to reach the platinum record in the USA. "Avalon" is one of their finest albums. Certainly, the lush and elegant soundscapes of "Avalon" are far removed from the edgy avant-pop of their early albums, yet it represents another landmark in their career. Ferry was never this romantic or seductive but "Avalon" shimmers with elegance in both its music and its lyrics.

The beautiful art cover of the album represents a figure wearing a medieval helmet and carrying a falcon, evoking King Arthur's last journey to the mysterious land of Avalon. The figure is Bryan Ferry's then girlfriend and future wife Lucy Helmore, a former model and London socialite, who posed as the cover model for the album, continuing the tradition of Roxy Music's albums to feature images of women on the cover artwork. The artwork was designed by Peter Saville too.

As on "Flesh + Blood" the line up are only the remaining three original members and some guest musicians. So, the line up is Bryan Ferry (vocals, keyboards and guitar synthesizer), Andy MacKay (saxophone), Phil Manzanera (guitar), Yanick Etienne (vocals), Fonzi Thornton (vocals), Neil Hubbard (guitar), Paul Carrack (piano), Kermit Moore (cello), Alan Spenner (bass), Neil Jason (bass), Andy Newmark (drums), Rick Marotta (drums) and Jimmy Maelen (percussion).

"Avalon" has ten tracks. All songs were written by Bryan Ferry except "While My Heart Is Still Beating" written by Bryan Ferry and Andy MacKay, "Take A Chance With Me" written by Bryan Ferry and Phil Manzanera and "Tara" written also by Bryan Ferry and Andy MacKay. The first track "More Than This" is the song released as the first single taken from this album and is of course one of the hits of this album. It's a great commercial pop song composed for easy radio listening. We may say this is a perfect hit pop song for the 80's. The second track "The Space Between" is a kind of a sexy song with clear influences of the disco sound, so in vogue at that time. It's a song that sounds to have been played in the night dance clubs all over the world in that time. It's a little bit repetitive and monotonous song. The third track, the eponymous title track, "Avalon", was the song released in the second place as a single and taken from this album. This is, without any doubt, a great song. It's a song with good and perfect classic lyrics and where the music is absolutely perfect and invites us to dance slowly like when the party is over. The voice of Bryan Ferry is absolutely fantastic and the female chorus is very warm and gives it a nice touch. The fourth track "India" is a very short and nice instrumental song with some influences of the oriental music. The fifth track "While My Heart Is Still Beating" is another great song. This is a very sophisticated art pop song with very interesting musical moments like the percussion and drums, the vocals and finally the sound of the saxophone. I think we can say this is the song on this album, more close to the original sound of the group. The sixth track "The Main Thing" is another highlight on this album. This is a song with a fantastic and very own musical atmosphere and where Bryan Ferry's vocals are some of the best on the album. It's a song with a great beat. The seventh track "Take a Chance With Me" is another great song of the album. It's also a song released as a single and was the last Roxy Music single released during the band's life. It's a very catch song with good and nice melody that sounds very fresh even today. The eighth track "To Turn You On" is a very simple and nice song that specially lives almost of the Bryan Ferry's voice. It's an interesting song with some tasteful guitar moments very well accompanied by piano. The ninth track "True To Life" is another interesting and nice song with good musical atmosphere and with a very calm rhythm. It has also different vocals by Bryan Ferry and good percussion all over the song. The tenth and last track "Tara" is another very short instrumental song like "India". It's a very beautiful song where the sound of Andy MacKay's saxophone is absolutely relaxing. This is a strange and beautiful way to end this album and is also probably a perfect and elegant farewell for this so special, interesting and unique prog rock band.

Conclusion: "Avalon" is, in my opinion, the most Bryan Ferry's album of the band. It's also their most well produced, most mature, most accessible, most commercial and the bestselling album of the band. This is really a unique album on the band's career that takes us to another musical dimension. It's true that "Avalon" isn't truly a progressive album but is only a pop rock album with only little reminiscences of progressiveness. However, of all the many pop rock albums made by many progressive rock groups in the 80's, like Genesis, Yes, Gentle Giant, Renaissance and even "Breakfast In America" of Supertramp, that I can remember, this is, in my opinion, the one that passed the test of time with best results. "Avalon" is a very charming album that still sounds fresh, cool and sophisticated after all these years and I can still hear it, even now, with great pleasure. So, "Avalon" is an album highly recommended for any art rock enthusiast.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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