Stranded

"...one of the truly great albums by anybody, period....this is an absolute classic...Ferry's lyrics are his finest, his vocal performances superlative. One of the very few records I'd recommend to anybody..." Amazon.co.UK reviewer mr-terence

Stranded sleeve

Stranded: Roxy Music's two-sided album sleeve

Back in late 1973, teenage me thought that the cover to Stranded, Roxy Music's third album was just about the sexiest record cover ever printed. The fact that the Roxy Music Stranded title on the spine of the album was printed across the covergirl, Playboy's 1973 Playmate of the year, Marilyn Cole's groin only added to my appraisal. You see, Roxy's second album, For Your Pleasure had only been released six months prior, opening with the track Do The Strand, which had distinctly naughty allusions...and Marilyn did, indeed, look like she'd just been strand-ed!

Now, I don't mean to push the imagery/libido angle too far but Stranded is a huge leap from For Your Pleasure. Gone is the fey, tongue-in-cheek camp posing and the often instrumental meanderings. Instead, with Eno's dramatic departure in the summer of 1973 and the release of Ferry's fabulous first solo album, These Foolish Things, Roxy Music re-emerged on Stranded as a distinctly European pop band with serious, mature and sometimes, even religious leanings.

In fact, compared to David Bowie's paranoid and clever Aladdin Sane, released in Spring 1973 (the biggest album of the year), Stranded appears restrained and modest. That being said, it's aged considerably better than Bowie's album and now (recording limitations aside) appears timeless.

Further, with guitarist Phil Manzanera and sax player Andy Mackay sharing Roxy songwriting duties for the first time, the album's melodies are punchier and they sound like a band with a future for the first time.

So, the lyrical set-up is that Brian is a pop star out on the town, written about, talked about...

"...Hey good-looking boys gather around
The sidewalk papers gutter-press you down
All those lies can be so unkind
They can make you feel
Like you're losing your mind
Street Life ..."

Street Life

...and tantalised by gorgeous women, who always remain just out of reach...

"...You see, I know it sounds crazy
But what can I do?
I've fallen head over heels, over you
Chameleon colour
All phases of moon
The shifting of planets
And leopard spots too
As Destiny wills it
So seasons will change
Just like you..."

Just Like You

...but despite Bryan's heart-felt invitations...

"...The bell-tower rings
It tolls a hollow sound
But your castles in Spain
Still may be realised
In longings more profound....

...In Amazona everything is nice
Little one, come take my hand
I'll try to help you there
I'll take you there..."

Amazona

...the ladies just don't seem to make him happy and our troubador finds that he's increasingly turning to otherworldly questions...

"...With every goddess a let down
Every idol a bring down
It gets you down
But the search for perfection
Your own predilection
Goes on and on and on and on..."

Mother Of Pearl

...and so, at the heart of Stranded is Ferry's melancholy religious search. Whether anthropomorphosed as a woman in Song For Europe...

"...Though the world
Is my oyster
It's only a shell
Full of memories..."

Song For Europe

...with the two final verses spoken in Italian and French or directly as Christianity...

"...'Believe in me'
Once seemed a good line
Now belief in Jesus
Is faith more sublime

Head in the clouds
But I can't see the Lord
Short of perfection
I'll try to be good

I'll stand at His gate
I'll wait for His sign
Then I'll walk in His garden
When it's my time..."

Psalm

...And yet, for all his bible class earnestness, we get the impression that Ferry's true spiritual answers come from pondering Nature, as in the glorious Sunset.

"...Oh look at the sun, it's all a-glow
Slow burning star, sinking low...

...Sunburst fingers you raise
One last sigh of farewell, goodbye..."

Sunset

Roxy Music: Stranded

"...Wow. The album - wonderful. A Song For Europe. Where do I begin?

I grew up to this track. It brings back memories of Spain. Last holidays with parents. Girls to kiss and swim with. Moonlit beaches and love and romance that will last forever...or at least until the plane leaves for Manchester Ringway. A song to stay in the mind, bonded with every holiday romance:'...Here as I sit, at this empty cafe, thinking of you...I remember, all those moments, lost in wonder, that I'll never find again...'..Oh god I found a new way of living with this LP..." Amazon.co.UK reviewer paul50455

"...Although I've been familiar with several cuts from this album for over 20 years, I only recently purchased it. To hear the album in it's entirety is a wonderful thing, and serves to confirm the fact that this band was consistantly creating pioneering and ingenious music that was unrivaled in it's time..." Amazon reviewer B Poelman

"...Once Upon A Time............A Brit boy and an American girl fell in love......It ended.....Brit boy sent American girl a casette. It was played over and over again until it was worn to bits.......American girl looked for years and finally found the CD here........A Song For Europe........A song to remember...........Amazon reviewer D. Baldwin

"...This re-mastered CD is phenomenal and easily the best purchase I have ever made (I jest...not) and I am in possession of hundreds of CDs, across a broad spectrum of music. The copy I now possess is the 5th copy having worn out 3 LPs (remember those quaint 12" entities) and 2 CDs...Great...song writing skills...lyrics and a powerhouse display by all musicians involved...I cannot recommend this CD enough...truly inspirational and extraordinary.." Amazon.co.UK reviewer zippop "Carl"

Stranded sees Roxy Music metamorphosing to become Eno-less and considerably less experimental. However, in doing so, Ferry steps up to the plate and delivers his most mature, literal lyrics, creating an album still unlike any other. If it's not as exciting as For Your Pleasure, Stranded remains a high class, little known gem, very much worth owning.

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