Inspired by completing this today (where Ferry gets much more of a roasting than is strictly necessary) and tuning into this from Mick over at Raiding The Vinyl Archive - I'm on a right ol' Roxy buzz.So how about the overlooked and underplayed great ' lost' single 'Pyjamarama' - apparantley the band never rated it and even Eno claimed ' Do The Strand' should have been released instead. Nonsense I say! 'Pyjamarama' is perfect pop - all fizz and glitter, like Motown gone glam, and conforms to Paul Morley's theory that all pop songs are truly great if...
"you can imagine them being sung by Elvis".
Roxy Music - Pyjamarama.mp3
And a Roxy refresher (like anyone who's read this far needs it!!)
How great they were...
Roxy Music - 'Ladytron'(1973)
And still are....
Roxy Music - 'Remake/Remodel'(2001)
10 comments:
You're right, 'Pyjamarama' is a lost single. I think it's main problem was having to follow 'Virginia Plain' - that was never going to be easy. Personally I agree with Eno that 'Do The Strand' would have have been a better choice (or how about 'Editions Of You'?)
BTW I can't get enough of that 'Remake/Remodel' clip.
I've got a real soft spot for 'Pyjamarama', but one/both of those should have been singles too.
Remake/Remodel is from the 'Live At The Apollo' DVD - which is so good that I've never got to the end yet, I'm constantly looping the first half. It also features a belting version of 'Out Of The Blue'
Have a peep at this demolition version of 'Remake' from the German show Beat Club points to watch for..
Andy Mackay's cheeky 'Deutschland, Deutschland Über Alles' (solo at the end.
Eno's spectacular bubble and squeak solo at the end.
Ferry's proto John Travolta look
Lovin the roxy tip there senior mondo... when roxy started playing live again they couldnt get the hundreds of weird sounds that eno had created for the recordings from his mad home made or ultra rare synths and desks. Also they wouldnt have lasted 2 minutes on the road being so old and fragile, in the end engineers had to spend months sampling the kit after it had been mended (as most where busted or worse had been raided for parts). They then triggered them from a keyboard.
Appearently its uncanny hearing them live because the sound is so authentic ... now you know why...
Bleech, I wouldn't be surprised if they just lifted certain parts (the synths at the end of Re-make/Re-model) straight from the masters.
The synthy squeaks and bleeps at the end of the 2001 clip of rm/rm are exactly the same as on record. The parts played were so random, even Eno couldn't replicate them at the time - check this clip from 73 to compare.
http://www.divshare.com/download/3906401-473
Sweet, I played some Roxy on my lil' radio show tonight....
...and that remake remodel beat club clip is pretty damn fantastic...
Thanks DD - I'll have to try and catch your show online
Yeah i agree ... some parts are SO 'hallmark' to the songs, that i would feel a bit let down if they didnt get them at least close live.
But i do have it from a reliable source (reguler stagecrew member)that enos huuuuuge stash of vintage kit was a big problem for their painstaking search for the authentic roxy sounds...
I love that single. In my opoinion it was what best summed up RM for me. I loved all the cool clothes too. I used to wear the same army shirt with me tie tucked in - bless. Great post Mondo baby. I'll guest blog sometime soon oncve I get my mojo back up and running full pelt. You can always do one on mine?
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