Bryan Ferry – The Elephant's Trunk

This is Week 39 of Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag and we are
being asked to choose a song by a group or solo artist whose
name begins with the letters Q or R. This is my choice.

Roxy Music became a successful act in Europe and Australia during the 1970s with the success of their 1972 self-titled debut studio album. The band was formed in England in 1970 by Bryan Ferry … who became the lead vocalist and principal songwriter … and bassist Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone and oboe), and Paul Thompson (drums and percussion). Other members included Brian Eno (synthesizer and “treatments“) and Eddie Jobson (synthesizer and violin).

In 2011, Roxy Music played a series of 40th-anniversary shows and in 2019, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In 2022, the group re-formed for a tour to mark the 50th anniversary of their debut studio album.

My featured song today is “Avalon” from their final studio album of the same name; it was certified Platinum in the United States on December 2, 1992 … exactly ten years after its release in 1982.

On the cover photo of the album Avalon, we see the back of a knight’s helmet; resting on his hand is a falcon. They look out over clouds and what seems like the rising sun to a strip of land in the distance – a goal so prized it might as well be Avalon, the paradise where the knight could find rest. And comfort. Even, perhaps, love.

Bryan Ferry was always a ladies man, that is, a man who lived for love. The dark suit, the white shirt, the hair cut just so across the forehead. It’s all atmosphere, all sensuality. The ethereal saxophone. The rhythm that redefined “sultry”.

This is “Avalon” by Roxy Music.

Lyrics

Now the party’s over, I’m so tired
Then I see you coming, out of nowhere
Much communication, in a motion
Without conversation, or a notion

Avalon

When the samba takes you, out of nowhere
With the background fading, out of focus
Yes the picture’s changing, every moment
And your destination, you don’t know it

Avalon

When you bossa nova, there’s no holding
But you have me dancing, out of nowhere

Avalon

Avalon
(Ooh, ooh, yeah)
Avalon
Avalon (Ooh)
Avalon (Ooh)
Avalon (Ooh)
Avalon (Ooh)

Avalon (Ooh)
Avalon
Avalon
Avalon (Ooh)
Avalon

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Bryan Ferry
Avalon lyrics © BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited

Mixed Music Bag 2024 – week 39 – In the picture

Big thanks to Glyn for hosting Mixed Music Bag every week. Please be sure to follow the link and check out Glyn’s site.

Thanks for joining me today and spinning some tunes.

See you on the flip side. 😎

Whether solo or with Roxy Music, this is one of the few Bryan Ferry tracks that cracks a wide smile, sending up his jet-set image while celebrating it at the same time. Originally recorded by soul singer Dobie Gray, “The “In” Crowd” often gets confused for a Motown number, thanks to the label’s arranger Gene Page, who gave the single the Motown touch. Before Ferry tackled the tune, Ramsey Lewis Trio recorded a live instrumental version in 1964; later, Cheap Trick performed a cover of Ferry’s cover. Confused yet?

In the US, Gray’s powerful version, complete with brass section, reached #11 on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chartand #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 20, 1965. Outside the US, “The “In” Crowd” went to #25 on the UK Singles Chart and #8 in Canada.

Bryan Ferry’s 1974 singles release reached #13 on the UK Singles Chart. His album cover for “Another Time, Another Place”, which featured “The ‘In’ Crowd”, is one of the coolest in a James Bond kind of way.

By Dobie Gray in 1964, here is the original “The “In” Crowd”.

And this is what it sounded like when Bryan Ferry recorded it.

And just because it’s my post and I can do whatever I like 😄 this is the Ramsey Lewis Trio showing us how to do jazz right.

That’s today’s Twofer Tuesday plus one! Thanks for stopping by!

See you on the flip side. 😎

Tag: Bryan Ferry

Sultry Rhythm Redefined

Twofer Tuesday 5.14

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