STREET LIFE: 20 GREAT HITS

Excellent collection for those who want to get to know Roxy as a superb singles band, with some of lead vocalist Bryan Ferry's greatest hits thrown in for good measure. Their early glam period is represented by "Pyjamarama", "Do the Strand" and a few other lively tracks, but most of the space is devoted to the superbly glossy, melancholy pop of "More than this", "Avalon" and other late hits. Personally, I'll always love this band for the gorgeous "Over You", since I have ecstatic memories of dancing the night away to this catchy tune in the early 1980s. (I bitterly regretted the fact that "Over You" wasn't included in the colourful two-disc account of Roxy's recent (2003) reunion tour!)

On the other hand, if you want to get to know Roxy Music as a "prog-related" phenomenon, you'd be better off with the band's first three or four studio albums, which contain only two of the tunes included here, and which reveal a completely different (i.e. far more experimental) side of the band.