Much like Alice Cooper's Killer, Siren is an album that I own that is widely acknowledged to be a classic, and yet I had never listened to it until yesterday afternoon. So in addition to the joys of reviewing random bad records, this project is also motivating me to listen to my GOOD albums too. What an outlandish idea. At any rate, I am becoming more and more confident in my ability to determine if I will like an album on one listen (as I am of the opinion that it takes at least 3 listens to properly assess a record, at least to make fine distinctions about whether something is a 4 star or a 4.5 star album), and after about 10 seconds of hearing the bass intro to "Love is the Drug," I knew this record was a definite keeper.
There is something to be said for contrast, and indeed, Roxy Music's intelligent, dance-oriented sound which signals both towards New Wave (I had heard the stellar "Love is the Drug" on the radio before and would have guessed it was an early 80s single) and hearkens back to 40s and 50s lounge music as well, sounds especially great to my ears right after listening to Seals and Crofts. I especially like the voice of singer Bryan Ferry, who weirdly, reminds me of Antony Hegarty from Anthony and the Johnsons when he croons. I don't know that this album will become a masterpiece in my mind, as it at times is a bit too self-consciously weird, but I would still heartily recommend it.
No comments:
Post a Comment