Roxy Music – The Best Of Roxy Music (2001) [SACD 2003] SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Released to herald a reunion of the band and superseding several out-of-print predecessors, The Best of Roxy Music is an excellent summary of the group’s hits and album highlights between 1972 and 1982. There are really two editions of Roxy Music, the glam rock unit that achieved widespread U.K. success from 1972 to 1975, and the more polished one that was a broader international success from 1979 to 1982. The compilers have dealt with the dichotomy and the more lasting popularity of the later recordings by presenting the compilation in reverse chronological order, so that soft rock hits like “Over You” and “Dance Away,” which scored in America, come before U.K.-only hits like “Street Life” and “Virginia Plain,” which rock much harder. But all the major hits are here (only a couple of less-successful British singles chart entries are missing), augmented by memorable album tracks like “Do the Strand” and “Mother of Pearl.” In print or not, this is the best single-disc collection of Roxy Music, since it is more complete than earlier compilations like the 1977 Greatest Hits and 1983 The Atlantic Years (1973-1980) LPs, and, unlike later best-ofs such as Street Life: 20 Great Hits (1986), The Ultimate Collection (1988), and More Than This: The Best of Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music (1995) (the latter two U.K. releases), it is not divided between Bryan Ferry solo tracks and Roxy Music ones.

Tracklist:

01 – Avalon
02 – More Than This
03 – Jealous Guy
04 – Over You
05 – Same Old Scene
06 – Oh Yeah!
07 – Angel Eyes
08 – Dance Away
09 – Both Ends Burning
10 – Love Is The Drug
11 – Out Of The Blue
12 – All I Want Is You
13 – Mother Of Pearl
14 – Street Life
15 – Do The Strand
16 – Pyjamarama
17 – Virginia Plain
18 – Re-make / Re-model