I'm not sure if anybody saw the Guardian piece on the new Roxy Box set last Sunday?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/se ... c-40-yearsIt seems to me that the writer, Simon Reynolds, was totally unsuitable to do a piece on the complete recordings, as he clearly only likes the first two albums!
I'd also be interested to know what the forum think of how Phil comes across in the interview?
A bit sour?
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Because music publishing operates according to an antiquated, pre-rock conception of composition that rewards those who write the top-line melody and lyrics, most Roxy tunes are credited solely to Ferry. "It goes back to Tin Pan Alley and the 1930s," says Manzanera. "Eno's synth part on Ladytron, Andy's oboe parts – that came from them. Each member was contributing to the music and to all the arrangements. I like to think that we produced the musical context for Bryan to put his vision into. But that's not reflected in the publishing."
It's all the more unfair because, according to Manzanera, from about halfway through For Your Pleasure and onwards, the band would write "the music first – all the music, including the solos. Then Bryan would listen to it and try to write a top-line tune and words.
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I thought it was gospel that in almost every case Ferry started the song on piano - structured the chords - directed the arrangement of solos etc, and only then would record a vocal?
It seems strange that the journalist not once praises Ferry's songwriting talents
Having read the article twice now, it seems to me that the guardian have done a stitch-up on Ferry...with him getting little credit for any of Roxy's creativity and lots of bashing.....?!
"as Ferry gradually asserts total control over the band, the music becomes less characterful."
"The same syndrome affects the lyrics: the verbosity and over-ripeness of the early albums goes, but so too does the imagistic vividness, the unclassifiably mixed emotions."
"In purely musical terms, Ferry's greatest invention is his voice on the first two albums"
"Rather than the players "backing" their singer/leader, then, it would be more accurate to say that Ferry fronted them: many of Roxy's greatest songs would never have been written in the absence of what had been generated first by the musicians."
IMO the piece seems rather one-sided, and very badly written...
The pitchfork review, however ticks all the boxes:
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/168 ... 1972-1982/Ferry Fan