STREET LIFE: 20 GREAT HITS

The first thing that come to my mind when I hear this record is evolution. From the amazing background effects that Brian Eno achieve to the calm atmospheres on Brian Ferry's 80's songs this record could be the ultimate collection for such a great singer who was able to take songs that wasn't written by him and turn'em into his own. The covers are just perfect, specially "Jealous Guy" released right after Lennon's dead, the lyrics in "Oh Yeah" are pure Ferry at his best, and even if I don't like the disco mood in "Angel Eyes", the other 99% is so solid as it could be: Outstanding Pop music with innovative arrengements.

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.

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Whether this is an accurate, or indeed fair reflection of Roxy Music's music is questionable. As the title suggests, it concentrates exclusively on the band's (plus Bryan Ferry's solo) output which enjoyed commercial success in the singles market, completely ignoring any of their more complex album tracks.

Roxy Music were of course extremely successful in singles terms, enjoying far more success than the vast majority of the bands on this site. They combined the fledgling electronic sounds of the period with glam rock and strong pop melodies, to create some highly memorable songs.

This compilation was released over 20 years ago in the early days of the compact disc. At the time, it offered superb value as the 20 songs it contained would easily fill a double LP. Ferry's solo works are mixed in with the Roxy Music songs in pretty much chronological order. As Ferry was the de-facto leader of Roxy Music and the principal song writer, this is a logical approach. Songs such as Ferry's fine covers of "A hard rain's a-gonna fall", "These foolish things", and "Smoke gets in your eyes" sit well alongside home grown band successes such as "Virginia plain", Love is the drug", and "Street life". Interestingly, Ferry claims the song writing credit for "Let's stick together" despite the fact it is clearly an interpretation of the old blues standard "Let's work together", a hit single a few years earlier for Canned Heat.

The set closes with the band's tribute to the late John Lennon "Jealous guy", surely one of the finest cover versions of any song, ever.

This set delivers exactly what it says on box, Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry's "20 great hits". This does not necessarily mean that it contains their 20 best recordings, but for those wishing to obtain a concise summary of their chart successes, this fits the bill nicely.

Review Nº 757

"Street Life: 20 Great Hits" is a compilation album of Roxy Music that was released in 1986. This is a very special compilation album because it features music of Roxy Music and music of the band's lead member and singer Bryan Ferry as a solo artist. And this is even more special because the songs that belong to the Roxy Music's repertoire are songs that were released as singles. This isn't really a very strange thing, because we all know that Roxy Music always was a singles' band where many were more successful than the singles of the majority of the bands on this site, indeed.

"Street Life: 20 Great Hits" has twenty tracks, fourteen from Roxy Music and six from Ferry. About Roxy Music's tracks, "Virginia Plain" was their debut single. Originally, it wasn't recorded on "Roxy Music". After the success of their debut, it was included on the later reissues. It was released as a single, together with "Pyjamarama", in 1977. It's an interesting song made to be released as a hit single. It has good appointments by Eno. "Pyjamarama" was never released on any of their studio albums. It was released as a single to promote "For Your Pleasure". As I said before, it was also released as a single, together with "Virginia Plain". Like many of the early Roxy Music's tracks, it's fantastic and rocks nicely. The guitar work is great. "Do The Strand" is from "For Your Pleasure". It has a fantastic vocal work by Ferry that sings some curious lyrics. It has also great guitar, keyboard, and saxophone performances, well accompanied by strong and vigorous drums. This is a great song plenty of energy. "Street Life" is from "Stranded". It's a song in the pop/rock style, enjoyable and composed in the commercial vein. It's well performed and Ferry's vocal style is good. "Love Is The Drug" is from "Siren". It's an incredible song, melodic and with great quality. It has an incredible performance. MacKay and his saxophone are really great, Manzanera and his guitar work is great too and Ferry's vocals are fantastic, as always. "Dance Away" is from "Manifesto". Despite it has nothing of progressive, it has good and simple lyrics, a fantastic melody and a great dancing rhythm. I always loved this song. For me, it's one of the greatest pop songs ever written. "Angel Eyes" is also from "Manifesto". It's a pop oriented song featuring a rock style. It's better than many of the songs on "Manifesto". It's well performed in spite of be a normal and simple song. "Oh Yeah" is from "Flesh + Blood". It's a catchy pop song, well made and that improves the good commercial quality of the song writing on "Flesh + Blood". "Over You" is also from "Flesh + Blood". It has a high melodic guitar work, supported by pulsating drums and bass. This is a catchy pop song well made reaching its objectives well. "Same Old Scene" is also from "Flesh + Blood". It has a strong bass line, nice vocals, great keyboards, and especially, a fantastic saxophone work by MacKay. This is a great Roxy Music's song. "In The Midnight Hour" is also from "Flesh + Blood". It's a cover song of Wilson Pickett and Steve Cropper originally performed by Pickett in 1965 and released on his 1966's studio album "The Exciting Wilson Pickett". I don't know the original song, but from what I read, this is a different version. It's a good song with a cool sound that has become a classic Roxy Music's song. "More Than This" is from "Avalon". It's a good commercial pop song made for an easy radio listening. We may say this is a perfect hit pop song of the 80's. "Avalon" is also from "Avalon". It has good lyrics and the music is perfect and invites you to dance slowly like when the party is over. The voice of Ferry is fantastic and the female chorus is warm with a nice touch. "Jealous Guy" is a cover song of Lennon. It was originally released on "Imagine" of Lennon in 1971. It was only released as a single, and was made after the dead of Lennon as a tribute to him. This is a great version of a fantastic song, a perfect fit for Ferry's persona and Roxy Music's adult rock.

About Bryan Ferry's tracks, "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" is from "These Foolish Things". It's a cover song of Bob Dylan. "These Foolish Things" is also from "These Foolish Things". It's a cover song of Harry Link, Holt Marvell and Jack Strachey. "Let's Stick Together" is from "Let's Stick Together". It's a cover song of Wilbert Harrison. "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" is from "Another Time, Another Place". It's a cover song of Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach. "Sign Of The Times" is a Ferry's song of "The Bride Stripped Bare". "Slave To Love" is also a Ferry's song of "Boys And Girls". I know very well all these tracks. They're all great, but since they aren't progressive, I'm not going to review them here.

Conclusion: "Street Life: 20 Great Hits" is an interesting and curious compilation album of Roxy Music. It's a hybrid compilation with a great collection of songs with good quality. As the title suggests, it's concentrated exclusively on Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry's most commercial successful tracks, ignoring completely their more complex, creative and progressive tracks. About Roxy Music's tracks, almost all their studio albums are represented here. Unluckily, "Country Live" isn't. So, almost their entire career is represented here. Nevertheless, half of the tracks belong to their less creative and progressive phase. However, the tracks of those albums are, in general, good. About Ferry's tracks they're good, but we can't say that they're properly progressive tracks. Regardless, this is a good compilation album.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)