On their debut, Roxy Music appear to have stumbled upon a unique take on art rock: it’s borderline prog at times but Ferry’s songs and croon are just way too rooted in popular music conventions (whether they subtly overturn them or not) for this to be mistaken as King Crimson or some Canterbury scene band or what have you.
On the other time, the artiness is in full assault: Eno, Mackay and Manzanera are all really trying to impress upon you how much they like avant garde jazz and other esoteric things like that.
It’s a unique fusion of ideas that not only cannot be mistaken for the prog rock of the era, but also isn’t The Doors or David Bowie or any of the art rock that came before. It’s very much its own, new thing, and it’s fantastic.
9/10