Roxy Music – Bryan Ferry & Sirens (Siren tour 1975)
Introduction
In 1975, Roxy Music released their fifth album. Siren marked the end of Roxy Music’s first era. The band had released five albums in just three years. The story of the final chapter of Roxy Music ‘classic’.
Roxy Music
Roxy Music had released four albums in two years, Bryan Ferry had released two solo albums, and still the time had come for yet another record. As had been the case with predecessor Country Life, the other band members contributed to the songwriting. The band stayed in a London studio during the summer of 1975 to record Siren. The album was originally scheduled for release in September, but in the words of Andy Mackay, “The lyric machine was a bit late”, meaning Ferry needed more time for writing the lyrics. However, the UK tour for Siren had already been planned for October 1975. This meant the audience was introduced to six tracks from Siren before the album had even been released.
Roxy Music – Siren
Siren
On October 24, 1975 (at least in the Netherlands, according to the authoritative vivaroxymusic.com it was October 31 in the UK), Roxy Music released their album Siren. The album’s subtitle was The Fifth Roxy Music Album. It marked a stylistic shift from the earlier albums. The experimental side of art-rock had made way for a confident, somewhat safer sound. The music was warmer; the ‘cool’ of earlier albums had been replaced by emotion, sentiment even.
After its release, the album reached the top 5 of several charts, though it failed to reach number one, in the UK as well. Nevertheless, it sold well, and the album’s first single, Love Is The Drug, brought many new fans to the band.
Siren marked the cautious start of a new direction, more warmth in the music, the art-rock ‘cool’ was exchanged for a poppier, smoother sound. Because of this, Siren is often seen as the last major achievement of the original Roxy Music, some regard it as the starting point of the band’s decay.
Roxy Music – Siren – Cover compilation
Album cover
Bryan Ferry already had an idea for the album cover. Naturally, it had to feature a beautiful, glamorous woman, but this time in the form of a Siren, referencing the demigoddesses of Greek mythology with the body of a bird and the head of a woman. Sirens lured their listeners with singing or seductive sounds that men couldn’t resist, in order to kill them.
Ferry passed his ideas to fashion designer Anthony Price, who created a costume. Ferry had also chosen the location: a rocky outcrop near South Stack, Anglesey, in Wales. Price visited the site and found it perfect. Given the color of the sea and vegetation on the rocks, the costume was made green.
When the crew, including model Jerry Hall, arrived at the location a week later, the color tones had completely changed, the sea was calm, and the sun was shining brightly. Green turned out to be the wrong color, so the night before the photoshoot, the costume was dyed blue. Photographer Graham Hughes took photos of Hall in various poses. A classic album cover was born.
Not long after the shoot, Bryan Ferry and Jerry Hall began a relationship that lasted two years. In 1977, Hall left Ferry for Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger.
Roxy Music – Siren – Ad (US)
Reception
As was the case with Country Life, the reviews in the UK and especially the US were very positive. Contrary to the Netherlands, where a lot of the reviews were quite negative.
Below are some key remarks from British, American, and Dutch reviews. For full reviews, see the sub-article Roxy Music – Siren – The reviews.
It’s a superb album, striking the listener immediately with a force and invention reserved only for the most special musical experiences.
(Melody Maker, October 5, 1975)…with a result that’s actually quite pleasant.
(Trouw, November 1, 1975)While listening to Siren, you keep wondering why everyone was still eating out of Mr. Bryan Ferry’s hand less than a year ago.
(Algemeen Dagblad, November 4, 1975)Bryan Ferry and his mates are musically at a dead end.
(Limburgs Dagblad, November 8, 1975)Another beautiful woman on the cover, again beautiful music on the record inside.
(Nieuwsblad van het Noorden, November 14, 1975)Roxy Music sounds more motivated and enthusiastic here than on the previous LP “Counrtry Life”.
(Het Parool, 15 november 1975)…Yes, it can happen that even Roxy Music delivers an album that’s mostly boring.
(de Volkskrant, December 19, 1975)Siren is exciting, exhilarating, and beautifully made.
(Village Voice, December 29, 1975)Good album.
(Robert Christgau, 1975)…less synthesized clutter, fewer sound effects, more straight solo trading.
(Rolling Stone, January 1, 1976)It is Roxy’s masterpiece.
(The new Rolling stone record guide, Dave Marsh, 1983)
Nowadays, Siren is often seen by critics as one of the highlights of Roxy Music’s career, on par with earlier albums, with and without Eno.
Roxy Music 1975 – Atco promo
Roxy Music on Siren
Shortly after the release of Siren, Bryan Ferry was very positive on the album:
I think that it is the best album we’ve done. It has the energy of the first two and the professionalism of the last two. The advantage of making a lot of albums is that you acquire the expertise to make each new one sound more and more professional. In the end though, you get problems of knowing how much to put on each track. For Country Life we used a 24 – track studio, this time we used a 16-track. Everyone now is keen to play on every track so there has to be a certain amount of discipline. There comes a time when you have to say diplomatically what you want to add on would be very nice, but it might detract from what’s already there.
Bryan Ferry 1975/1976
In 2015, saxophonist Andy Mackay was less enthusiastic.
It is very interesting that it is so well regarded in the U.S. I have to say it is my least favourite Roxy album. This may be because we were as a band running out of steam. Phil, Paul and I had tried to keep enthusiasm for Roxy up. But really since Eno left, the sense that we should all as individuals push our careers as Bryan spectacularly advanced his became more dominant.
…
It does sound like an album of individual songs. There was pressure for the band to get more song writing credits and indeed to contribute more directly to composition. In any band, publishing royalties make huge differentials in income particularly when start-up costs, recording and touring are recouped from record royalties alone. Apart from needing to use the best songs, we collectively had available we needed to get a fairer split of real income. Hence the ‘Ferry / Mackay / Manzanera / Jobson’ credits. I don’t think we thought of the record as being any less ‘experimental’. We maybe felt more pressured and the fifth album is always a tricky one.
Andy Mackay, The Quietus, September 28, 2015
Roxy Music – Love Is The Drug – Video
Review
I’ve written about other Roxy Music albums before, and I hold them all dear. My absolute favorite remains Viva! Roxy Music, and Stranded is my favorite studio album. That hasn’t changed. However, Siren features some of my all-time favorite Roxy Music songs.
The album opens with Love Is The Drug, one of the band’s best-known tracks—Ferry’s personal anthem?
Oh oh, get that buzz
Love is the drug
I’m thinking of
Oh oh, can’t you see?
Love is the drug for me© 1975 Roxy Music
End Of The Line and Sentimental Fool (with its gorgeous extended musical intro) are vintage Roxy Music. Whirlwind is a hard rocker, followed by the most experimental track, She Sells, which is characterized by three distinct rhythms.
Could It Happen To Me? would have fit perfectly on Country Life. The highlight Both Ends Burning is clearly influenced by disco, both in rhythm and synthesizer usage. A fantastic track, which found its ultimate form live on Viva! Roxy Music.
Now my course is plain as day
Running bold at work and play
Both ends burning
With a strange desire
That feeds the fire in my soul tonightI will dance the night away
Living only for today
Both ends burning
While you’re counting sheep
Hell, who can sleep in this heat this night?Both ends burning
Burning
Burn© 1975 Roxy Music
The album closes with the beautiful proto-Roxy track Nightingale and the forward-looking Just Another High.
Just like Country Life, Siren is slightly less than Stranded, but it still holds enough gems. Especially Love Is The Drug, Sentimental Fool and Both Ends Burning are among my all-time Roxy favorites.
Siren wraps up the first, majestic era of Roxy Music beautifully. It’s also the fifth album in just over three years, an incredible feat, especially by today’s standards. All five albums were (and still are) must-haves for any music lover, and by then Viva! Roxy Music had still to come. Mind-blowing!
Roxy Music – Siren – Singles
Singles
The album produced two singles:
- Love Is The Drug
(released September 26, 1975) - Both Ends Burning
(released December 19, 1975)
Roxy Music – Siren – Back cover
Songs
All songs written by Bryan Ferry unless stated otherwise.
- Love Is The Drug (Bryan Ferry, Andy Mackay)
- End Of The Line
- Sentimental Fool (Bryan Ferry, Andy Mackay)
- Whirlwind (Bryan Ferry, Phil Manzanera)
- She Sells (Bryan Ferry, Eddie Jobson)
- Could It Happen To Me?
- Both Ends Burning
- Nightingale (Bryan Ferry, Phil Manzanera)
- Just Another High
Roxy Music – Siren – Tourbook
Musicians
- Bryan Ferry – vocals, keyboards, harmonica
- Andy Mackay – oboe, saxophone
- Phil Manzanera – guitar
- Paul Thompson – drums
- Eddie Jobson – violin, synthesizers, keyboards
- John Gustafson – bass
Roxy Music – Siren – Ad
After Siren
The UK Siren tour ended before the album was released. Starting in November, the tour continued in the U.S. After a short European break, the American tour resumed and ended in March 1976. The band decided to (temporarily?) split and released the magnificent live album Viva! Roxy Music on July 24, 1976.
After releasing solo material, the band regrouped in 1978 to record new music. Manifesto was released in 1979, showcasing a ‘reborn’ Roxy Music. Songs like Angel Eyes and Dance Away (in a re-recorded version) leaned into disco, easy listening, and smoothness. I bought the single Trash at the time, a new-wave track. Roxy Music was still searching for their definitive new sound. A year later, Flesh + Blood followed. It featured big hits like Oh Yeah, Over You, and Same Old Scene, but as an album, it was less convincing.
After a one-off single, John Lennon’s Jealous Guy, a tribute following the murder of Lennon in December 1980, the band released their swan song Avalon in 1982. It was a huge success and a brilliant album. Avalon featured crystal-clear production and strong songwriting. The tour for Avalon resulted in a second Roxy Music live album and video, The High Road, both released in 1983. Next, Roxy Music disbanded.
Roxy Music 09/13/2001 concertkaartje
Eighteen years later, the band reunited in 2001 for an extensive world tour. I saw Roxy Music play on that tour and it was beautiful and emotional. The band has reunited several times since, mostly for tours and live shows. New music was recorded but considered not good enough for release.
In closing
What’s your take on Siren? Let me know!
Video/Spotify
This story contains an accompanying video. Click on the following link to see it: Video: Roxy Music and the story of Siren. The A Pop Life playlist on Spotify has been updated as well.
