Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Roxy Music
Label: Polydor Records
Release: 1979
Duration: 42:33
Rating: 4/5
»Manifesto«, the sixth album from the cult British art rockers Roxy Music, who are surely etched into the collective mass consciousness as the band of incorrigible vocal charmer Bryan Ferry, came out after a break of almost four years, which is how long it had been since its studio predecessor »Siren« (1975). In that time, which was devoted first and foremost to promoting Ferry’s increasingly successful solo career, bassist John Gustafson said his goodbyes (on »Manifesto« he was replaced by Alan Spenner and Gary Tibbs, after brief live stints with John Wetton), and so did the brilliant violinist/keyboardist Eddie Jobson, whose spot went to ex-Warm Dust and Ace keyboardist Paul Carrack, the ‘man with the golden voice’ who later became famous as the superb singer of Mike + The Mechanics.
The rest of the band was, apart from the big boss Ferry and the ‘seasonal’ players Carrack, Tibbs and Spenner, ‘standard’, meaning it came from the original crew. That meant that one of the most creative guitarists of his day, Phil Manzanera, once again had plenty of room within the skeletons of the individual songs, while the unstoppable saxophonist/oboist Andy MacKay and the ever-reliable drummer Paul Thompson, for whom this was the last Roxy Music album, also had an important say.
The stylistic shift that happened in the meantime was more than obvious on »Manifesto«. They pretty much shook off all the old glam rock elements and soaked up a whole range of new wave and disco trends that were ruling the airwaves at the time. Ferry’s singing style also went through a noticeable change in the way he approached vocals and delivered individual lyrics, as he started leaning on gentler vocal harmonies more than ever before. That doesn’t mean »Manifesto«, which wore a cover typical of Roxy Music, all models and glamour, chosen by Ferry personally, has no short experimental moments, where their prog rock roots poke through amid half-dance rhythms, flirty guitar harmonies and playful saxophone arrangements.
The fact that Roxy Music were nowhere near giving up on ‘fussing’ over pentatonic rhythmic nuances can be heard already on the title track, by far the most experimental creation on the whole of »Manifesto«. The opening two minutes are entirely instrumental, featuring Manzanera’s wondrous guitar improvisations and the cheeky rattle of frenetic bass lines. The mysterious, slightly oriental-tinged atmosphere with its prominent bass lines doesn’t let up through the whole composition, even once Ferry’s sleepy and unusually irritated-sounding vocal kicks in. At the opening of the album there’s not the slightest impression that Ferry and the gang were out hunting for radio hits at the time.
The rather bizarre new wave/post-punk experiment »Trash«, convincingly the weakest piece on »Manifesto« with its silly lyrics about teenage hormonal fever, was picked as the album’s first single, which ended up backfiring on the band and delivering an unexpected cold shower. Its commercial reach turned out to be far below expectations. All the better, then, that the excellent »Angel Eyes« proved itself as a single, in a noticeably altered, much more rocking and disco-flavored version, where Ferry’s charming vocal approach finally comes into its own alongside disco rhythms and a mischievous sax. It reached number 4 on the UK chart and became the second most successful »Manifesto« single.
On the charming »Still Falls the Rain« too, where Mr. Ferry once again shines in his vocal act as the typical English dandy (he didn’t even have to act it, since that was his lifestyle), you can hear a new, far more radio-friendly face of Roxy Music, with dance and disco rhythms, ‘Caribbean’ percussion, playful sax passages and melancholic guitar passages. On the new wave treat »Stronger Through The Years«, one of the highlights of »Manifesto«, Roxy Music don’t skimp on art rock sonic tendencies, with plenty of rich improvisation on bass and guitar, while Ferry builds a powerful central melody over Carrack’s keyboard backdrop. The instrumental interludes, which include some synth effects that were advanced for the time, momentarily recall their early prog rock days. The somewhat dull »Ain’t That So«, a cross between pub rock and new wave with a nondescript chorus, comes off much less interesting, while MacKay’s mischievous sax variations sound far more inspired.
Next comes the superb pop rocker »Dance Away«, the big hit single that hit number 2 on the UK chart and is certainly the best-known song from this album. This unforgettable evergreen was originally supposed to come out on Ferry’s solo album »In Your Mind« (1977) and later on its follow-up »The Bride Stripped Bare« (1978), but through a chain of coincidences it landed on »Manifesto« and gave Roxy Music one of the biggest hits of the late seventies. Here all the songwriting, production and lyrical brilliance of ‘late’ Roxy Music comes into full bloom, as Mr. Ferry effortlessly shapes a hypnotic melody ruled by nostalgic vocal harmonies, melancholic guitar passages, complex bass lines and romantic keyboard arrangements. New wave, disco and prog rock elements are fused into a romantic, dance-pulsed pop rocker that still thrills today with its nostalgic atmosphere.
On the equally excellent »My Little Girl«, Manzanera and MacKay especially shine with their melodic variations, while Ferry’s vocal performance is once again in a class of its own. Even though the heart of this song is its nostalgic chorus and witty sax arrangement, which even a David Bowie wouldn’t have said no to at a certain stage of his career, it’s actually a rhythmically rather complex piece. The Saturday-night-fever dance starter »Cry, Cry, Cry« is a pure disco experiment with female backing vocal harmonies and solid commercial potential, even though it never came out as a single. It could easily have sat on one of Ferry’s solo albums too. The melancholic ballad »Spin Me Round«, with Ferry’s deeply self-reflective vocal showing and delicate symphonic arrangements, makes for a solid close to this stylistically rather schizophrenic, but still very good album.
»Manifesto«, the first Roxy Music record from their later, ‘new wave’ era, could also be called a transitional album. Mr. Ferry and the gang are still caught between the old and new sonic directions in places, yet they managed to pull off another top-notch art rock document that has held up fairly well over time. Ferry was a seasoned veteran of the game who, back then (the late seventies), still hadn’t quite gotten over Mick Jagger stealing his then-fiancée, the famous American model Jerry Hall, and was enjoying a big commercial boom in his solo career. Even so, neither he nor the other Roxy Music members expected that over the next three years they’d become a ‘household name’ worldwide and, both artistically and commercially, surpass everything they had created in the seventies.
Lineup
Bryan Ferry – vocals and keyboards
Andy MacKay – oboe and saxophone
Phil Manzanera – guitar
Paul Thompson – drums
Paul Carrack – keyboards
Gary Tibbs – bass guitar
Alan Spenner – bass guitar
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Rick Marotta – drums
Steve Ferrone – drums
Richard Tee – piano
Production
Roxy Music
Tracklist
1. Manifesto (5:29)
2. Trash (2:14)
3. Angel Eyes (3:32)
4. Still Falls the Rain (4:13)
5. Stronger Though the Years (6:16)
6. Ain’t That So (5:39)
7. My Little Girl (3:17)
8. Dance Away (3:48)
9. Cry Cry Cry (2:55)
10. Spin Me Round (5:15)
