Like my parents did to me we’ve managed to indoctrinate introduce my daughter to the delights of old Hollywood musicals. Her favourite is Singin’ In The Rain (starring “Kene Gelly” as she pronounces it. Bless) which might well be the greatest movie musical ever made and has many, many pleasures to offer — not the least of which is the legs of Cyd Charisse. Lord, even her name was sexy.
I’ve recently discovered the Roxy Music live bootleg “City Hall, Newcastle 1974″ which is an absolute corker, parts of it ended up in slightly more polished form on their official live album “Viva!” two years later but overall this is a much better set.
Listening to early Roxy live performances it always strikes me how a group of (mostly) art school boys whose music relied so heavily on arty effects and highbrow concepts like post-modern artifice (and had a lead singer who wore a tuxedo!) could also rock out like a turbo-charged rocket hurtling towards a crash landing on Mars. Most “art-rock” bands leaned too heavily on the former but Roxy managed to find the perfect balance between the two, they made music you could write an essay about and jump up and down to. They don’t just raise the roof with these they burn down the whole damn building.
Download: Virginia Plain (live) – Roxy Music (mp3)
Download: Do The Strand (live) – Roxy Music (mp3)
Download: Editions Of You (live) – Roxy Music (mp3)
The great Delia Derbyshire at work. Maybe I’m weird but there’s something vaguely erotic about seeing such a well-spoken young lady playing with heavy audio equipment like this. JG Ballard could write a novel about that.
This is Delia’s most famous production. An obvious choice but it’s still fab. Composer Ron Grainer was so amazed by what Delia had done to his tune he said to her “Did I really write this?” to which she replied “Most of it.”
Download: Dr. Who theme – BBC Radiophonic Workshop (mp3)
