The lineup, and even the number of members, have changed from time to time, but the core of the band, in the early days, was:
Bryan Ferry: lead vocal and piano
Andy Mackay: saxophones and oboe
Phil Manzanera: guitars
Brian Eno: synthesizers and treatments
Paul Thompson: drums
and a different bass player every year
The studio recording of of this song comes from "Country Life", their fourth album. By that time they had replaced Brian Eno with Eddie Jobson on violin and keyboards, and John Gustafson was playing bass.
Here's a live-for-TV version from 1975, which gives us just a few glimpses of John and a couple of other moments that hint at why I love Paul so much. We will definitely hear more from Paul Thompson soon. (Holy moly! What a drummer!!)
Now a live version (audio only), from the album "Viva! Roxy Music". The five musicians in this photo are (left to right) Brian Eno, Andy Mackay, Bryan Ferry, Paul Thompson, and Phil Manzanera. As I was saying, they were the core of the original band but they're not the six who played on this track:
As you can hear, all three of the above recordings feature fabulous performances from Eddie Jobson. In my opinion, we need a photo of him here. It's too bad I can't find one.
The final jewel in today's crown comes from 2001, and here we'll see Bryan Ferry, Andy Mackay, Phil Manzanera, and Paul Thompson, with:
Chris Spedding: guitar
Colin Good: piano
Zev Kats: bass
Lucy Wilkins: violin and keyboards
Julia Thornton: percussion and keyboards
Sarah Brown: vocals
It's pretty sad when you need a second guitar player and the "best" you can get is Chris Spedding! Chris is an awesome player, but he's playing a supporting role here (in a long overcoat)! And I don't think I need to mention that Lucy's performance of the closing solo is spectacular! Or maybe I should say you're free to disagree with me about this, but you'll have to do it somewhere else.
(I find it unsettling to see that part played on a wooden violin, but I think I can manage.)
All your caresI'll leave you with a short anecdote. Some years ago, when I was an aspiring young musician, an acquaintance who was not a musician told me he was assembling a group of friends -- other non-musicians -- to form a one-off band to play one song at a talent show. I was a bit surprised but then I realized that there are plenty of songs which are so simple they can be played half-decently even by non-musicians. (I was thinking of the "Campfire Repertoire" and half of the worship songs ever written, but let's not get too far off-track.)
Now they seem
Oh, so far away
All your fears
I fear I once shared
Now I know
There's a future
For all of us
Not so long ago
I was so scared
You seemed so sad
I could see
Through your twisted smile
So unsure
Always confused
Pale blue eyes
Gazing down
From your ivory tower
Through the haze
All broken and bruised
Then out of the blue
Love came rushing in
Out of the sky
Came the sun
Out of left field
Came a lucky day
Out of the blue
No more pain
I don't mind
If it's only
A passing craze
Throwaway lines
Often ring true
If I were you
I would stay
For a little while
If you were me
Would you walk out
In style?
I recovered my composure enough to ask "What are you planning to play?" and I fell of my chair when he said, "Out Of The Blue". I'd been playing this song for a long time and I couldn't imagine how any non-musician could get any purchase on it at all.
Before I hit the floor I asked, "Do you need any help with that?" And I'm happy to say I dodged a bullet when he said, "No thanks, we're good."
This was before Dunning met Kruger, so nobody knew what to call their band. Good luck with that ending, boys!
