I’ve never really been a big fan of Roxy Music. I know them mainly as the early glam/art rock band that launched Brian Eno’s career, and for having lurid album covers (especially the decidedly NSFW Country Life) that I have always had trouble believing would have been stocked in record stores in the ’70s.
This video, once again from the BBC’s irreplaceable Old Grey Whistle Test, shows the band in its earliest form, proving that oboe does have a place in a rock band. Or… at least… did.* And of course, don’t miss Brian Eno rocking the VCS3 off in the corner.
*Regarding oboe in rock music: Back in the ’80s, when I was about 10, I was a big Huey Lewis and the News fan. Big. And one of my favorite Huey Lewis songs was “Heart of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” There’s a line in that song where he sings “Well the old boy may be barely breathin’ / But the heart of rock ‘n’ roll / Heart of rock ‘n’ roll is still beatin’.” Until recently (really… like, within the last year), I always believed he said “oboe” where he says “old boy.”
David Bowie is not often considered “prog” but his long and winding road through the worlds of glam and art rock has certainly crossed paths with progressive rock, both in terms of style and in the fact that he has frequently worked with prog rock artists, including Rick Wakeman, who played on this album 3 years before joining Yes.
“Space Oddity” was David Bowie’s first hit, in the seminal year of 1969. When I was growing up I knew a much different “Major Tom” song, the one by German rocker Peter Schilling. But it wasn’t until many years later that I learned of David Bowie’s song, and its influence. Of course, eventually I did. And even though I’ll always have a soft spot for that ’80s cheez fest, this is a much better song. I especially love the soaring vocals in the part where he sings “Here am I floating round my tin can / Far above the world / Planet Earth is blue / And there’s nothing I can do.”
Today is the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch. For the next three days I will be featuring space-themed tracks. And as long as we’re talking Apollo 11, I can’t pass up the opportunity to mention my own EP recorded last summer, Mellotronic, which featured a track inspired by the first manned moon landing that I finished recording one year ago today.
