Cheap Roxy Music: Live at The Apollo (DVD) Price

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Customer Reviews of Roxy Music: Live at The Apollo

A Pajamarama
Most reunions smack of either desperation or poor judgement. It's a sad attempt to try and recapture lightning in a bottle. That isn't the case with this smart, sharp reunion concert by the four core Roxy Music members. Roxy Music roared out of the hoary cliches of the 60's with a smart, ironic sense of humor and a love of all things pop art. They could easily sail from irony drenched dispatches from the fringe of romance (Bitter's End)to sharpened pile driven riff rock full of desire (All I Want Is You) and still have time for tea.

The band's reunion tour recaptured the fire of their youth; the band sounded sharper than they had in years. Live At The Apollo cruches their last live video (The High Road) and album where the performances were lukewarm at best. By the end, it's clear that the band was weary of being Roxy Music. This great DVD captures the band revisiting their past without wallowing in it. Although it's missing a number of key Roxy songs, the songs that the band performs cover the highlights of their career. Bryan Ferry, Phil Manzanera, Andy MacKay and Paul Thompson manage to breath new life into these classic songs. While they don't stray too far from the original arrangements, there are a number of minor changes that make the songs still surprising.

Mother of Pearl, Out of the Blue, My Only Love all receive powerful performances. Out of the Blue in particular benefits from the added performance of keyboardist/violinist Lucy Wilkins (she more than fills the shoes of departed members Eddie Jobson & Brian Eno). Colin Good (who performed on both of Ferry's last two solo albums)mans the keyboards while guitar ace Chris Spedding (a contributor to a number of Ferry solo albums and a terrific guitarist on a number of overlooked solo albums)replaces long time second guitarist Neil Hubbard.

All the players do a great job. It's as if Paul Thompson hasn't been away all these years. Both Manzanera and MacKay sound great and are clearly having the time of their lives. While Ferry has lost some of his upper register, his ability to interpret the material has only grown. His delivery isn't always as smooth as it once was but he manages to find the right inflection every time. He's aged well and looks great on stage.

No solo album material is included just the core of the Roxy catalog. The only missing tracks that should have been included is the amazing The Thrill of It All, Prairie Rose, Just Another High, Pyjamarama and Angel Eyes. The sound quality is top notch and the 5.1 mix perfect. Ferry and company haven't forgotten the visual aspect of the show (always an important Roxy element). The nice visual touches only enhance the material.

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Must have for Roxy Music fans
Having seen the band a couple of months before this concert, I was very happy to find this concert recording. I was happier still when I saw and heard the DVD. Both the images and the sound are excellent. If you have a DTS home theater system, the sound is absolutely amazing. Of course none of this would matter if the performances were poor but here Roxy Music are splendid. The song selection is perfect and draws from all Roxy Music eras. Original members Bryan Ferry, Phil Manzanera, Andy MacKay and Paul Thompson are joined by other top notch musicians including Chris Spedding. Highly recommended for any Roxy Music fan.

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Roxy shines
a stunning, magical performance that captures all the glory of
these accomplished musicians.

The uniqueness of Roxy is yours for the tasting and like certain distinct vintages, got much better with time.

Love is the drug.