Hipsters,

Roxysiren makes a great point.

The original unreleased 'Alphaville' tapes were perhaps the last lyrically intense outing and the fact that they were nearly all co-writes with fellow Wearsider, Dave Stewart, begs the question as to wether our hero is at his best when he has some sort of caisse de resonance?

If our hero was sounding a lot, if not all, of his early work off the good Doctor Puxley, this would doubtless have played a significant part in The Bonny Lad's creativity.

Perhaps Puxley played Watson to Ferry's Holmes?

It would be great to hear the real story from the man himself and W2 hopes that the autobiography is well underway. We know that :

"Kiss and tell money talks
And love it burns
Kiss and tell give and take
We live and learn
Fever, the heat of the night
Dreamer, stealer of sighs"

But we need to have the story of one of the greatest lyricists of our time.

Salutations,

W2

Agreed, great thread. Sometimes, with the passage of time, it's easy to take some of this amazing work for granted and forget - even momentarily - its greatness. Just revisiting 'Country Life' for the first time in a while and reminded of the view I've frequently held that this is Roxy's finest hour. Is not this album utterly flawless? Every song an absolute gem and if the subtle change in lyrical style evident on 'Stranded' was BF changing gear, CL is him putting his foot down on the 'gas'. Such an inventive piece of work and the fact it was part of that 3 year period that spawned 7 albums makes it even more remarkable.

How to pick a song from such an incredible album, but the 'East, West' turn this thread has taken put me in mind of 'A Really Good Time'. More American references within, but also a song with the 'accessibility' that I associate with some of the bands later output:

"You've heard enough of the blues and stuff
You're pretty swell now 'cause you're pretty tough
But I don't have to tell you
How hard it can be to get by

You're never bothered about anyone else
You're well educated with no common sense
But love, that's one thing
You really need to get by

All your troubles come from yourself
Nobody hurts you they don't care
Just as long as you show them
A really good, really good time

All the things you used to do
A trip to the movies, a drink or two
They don't satisfy you, they don't tell you anything new

You know I don't talk much except to myself
Cause I've not much to say and there's nobody else
Who's ready and willing and able to know me, I guess

Listen to me I'm not finished yet
There's something to tell you that I can't forget
Just have a really good, really good, really, really good, really good time

There's a girl I used to know her face is her fortune she's got a heart of gold
She never goes out much, but boy when she does then you know

She's got no money, well maybe a dime
But she knows what she's worth
And that's reason why
She's gonna make it, she's got what it takes
You'll appreciate that she's probably late
But I know and you know, we all know
She'll have a really good time"

During a wonderful morning's listening spanning Stranded to Manifesto, I was reflecting on the whole lyric issue again. Like everyone I love the early wit and play on words that still surface now from time to time, but I guess the wider public know BF from the hits and it's lyrics like

"Yesterday
Well it seemed so cool
When I walked you home
Kissed goodnight
I said "it's love" you said "alright"
It's funny how
I could never cry
Until tonight
And you pass by
Hand in hand with another guy
You're dressed to kill
And guess who's dying?"

that have done more than anything else to seal BF's lovelorn image. That got me thinking of some of the songs that have tugged at the heartstrings over the years like

"Shattered by dreams, by your goodbye ah, scattered my hopes, they fill the sky
Desolate am I

Just another crazy guy playing at love was another high"

"Running wild
Like you do
When all your dreams fall through
I can always pretend that
I'll fall in love again
Running wild
Like we do
If only dreams came true
I could even pretend that
I'll fall in love again"

and more recently

"like flowers in the rain
I'm twisted up inside
I'll never be the same

I hear the same old lines
you played me for a fool
you really hurt my pride"

But really, why don't we put this thing to bed now with three little words:

'Song For Europe'

Has a sense of melancholy ever been captured in song more completely, soaringly and majestically than this? It's simply masterful.

[quote="UKRichard"] it's easy to take some of this amazing work for granted and forget - even momentarily - its greatness. Just revisiting 'Country Life' for the first time in a while reminded of the view I've frequently held that this is Roxy's finest hour.

Elegantly Ageing & Debauched Hipsters,

W2 finds it endlessly interesting that throughout this thread, the bulk of the praise for our hero's work references the first albums.

As somebody who first saw Roxy in June 1972, Windswept remembers listening to the performance (that first album was the set list) without having a clue to exactly what the lyrics were.

Although he was completely intoxicated by the whole thing it wasn't until a couple of weeks later that after buying the album (at Windows in Newcastle - of course!) that he had the opportunity to sit down, listen to the album on repeat and read the sleeve notes. It was then that the brilliance of the whole thing truly hit him and it was '2HB' that really did it.

The level of sophistication, feeling and sheer creativity in that song beggared belief as it does until this day and although one can always find exceptions, there is something about an artist's creativity between the ages of 25 and 35 that seems to see them at their peak:

"Take two people romantic
Smoky nightclub situation
Your cigarette traces a ladder"

Absolutment le meilleur n'est-ce-pas?

Salutations,
W2

John Lydon once referenced A Really Good Time as a gem. Also, MOP and general homage to "the words....those great songs" or some such sentiment. He took his time to acknowledge his fandom, unlike Steve Jones who always bigged up his RoxyLove.

Tu as raison, UKRichard, A song for Europe is something special. I was lucky to attend the RAH concert a couple of years ago and that song came out fantastically. Still we are waiting for a cd/dvd from the jazz tour, the best ensemble, in my opinion, ever.
Abour lyrics, surely it is fun with word plays and wit, and least for a while, but I prefer tje more sparse haiku like lines from, let`s say, Mamouna. Music and words goes so well together.
Salutations de Naxos!

Hipsters,

Peut être UKRichard a reason — more than this, you know there's nothing ?

'A Song For Europe' was really an opus but every time Windswept sits at this empty cafe, he thinks is it really better than 'Mother Of Pearl'?

Then darkness falls around his window pane and he thinks no, 2HB has it!

In fact, il est plus difficile de voir which is the best.

The only thing W2 knows for sure is that the best back to back trio of tracks ever to grace an album were Serenade, A Song For Europe and Mother Of Pearl and often, he just can't get past:

"Oh Mother Of Pearl lustrous lady of a sacred world
Thus even Zarathustra another time looser
could believe in you."

Maybe, this idea he has of achieving a Doctorate in Roxology is just a dream and he'd be better off studying something simpler like The Bay City Rollers contribution to '70s culture?

Salutations,
W2

Firstly what a great thread this is! I'm inclined to agree with some of the previous posts which cite Stranded as the album where Ferry peaked as a lyricist (JLY, Psalm, SFE, MOP and Sunset all brilliant).

Not sure if it's been mentioned yet (I think not), but I've always loved the lyrics to "Just Another High" (and the slightly tongue-in-cheek Ferry delivery):

"Maybe your heart is aching
I wouldn't know, now would I?
Maybe your spirit's breaking up
I shouldn't care, now should I?
Maybe you're thinking of me
Well I don't know, now do I?
If you only knew how I feel
Wish I could die, now don't I?

I'm just another crazy guy
Playing at love was another high
Just another high

Couldn't believe in my eyes
You drifted into my life
But marriages made in heaven
Can they survive in this life?
Surely it came as no surprise
Love was too hot to handle?
Well I really blew my cool and you
You just blew out the candle...

Didn't you try just another high?
Didn't you sigh as you waved goodbye -
"Just another high"?

I'm just another crazy guy
Playing at love was another high
Such a crazy high

Lately it seems so empty here
But I suppose I'm alright
Maybe tomorrow's not so clear
Still I remember that night
Singing to you like this is
My only way to reach you
Though I'm too proud to say it
Oh how I long too see you
Shattered my dreams by your goodbye
Scattered my hopes - they fill the sky
Desolate am I

I'm just another crazy guy
Playing at love was another high
Such a crazy high

Maybe I should start anew
And maybe I should find someone who
Will maybe love me like I love you
But maybe I'm too stuck on you
Yes maybe I got stuck on you"

I just love all those questions! And of course it's a great song too.

JAH is one of those "lost tracks" in the Roxy catalog that (yet again) demonstrates the amazing depth of the band and BF's lyricism.

My old friend Rocky (may he rest in peace) was an admirer of JAH and I remember him emoting on how much he liked the way BF pronounced "stuck on you" in the song's fadeout. Rocky's been dead almost ten years the last time we talked was over thirty years ago, but my memory of him and his commentary on JAH remains oh-so-clear.

Hipsters,

A great mention from India & DJC for another standout set of lyrics from our hero.

It is undoubtably another great song that should be on the shortlist and isn't it lovely that it reminds DJC of his friend? It's one of the great things about music being the soundtrack of your life - it provokes some great memories.

The lyrics from 'Another Time Another Place' always resonate with W2.
It reminds him of his dear departed friend Barry. A huge Ferry fan who used to work on the door at Sunderland's Club Annabel in the early '70s.

Great days:

" I knew there'd be times like this
When I'd sit at home and reminisce
Oh how one's memory slips
So I close my book
And sighing, take a second look
Sure enough, I'm quite alone
Still, there's no sound
So I spin- a- disc around and round
And slide the needle in the groove

RIP Barry

Salutations,
W2