Roxy Music - Heart Still Beating/The High Road (1983)

Dan:

Heart Still Beating was released on CD in 1990 and remastered in 1999. It documents a concert performance on August 27, 1982 in Fréjus, France during Roxy Music's tour to support the Avalon album. The remastered CD is a great companion to a DVD version of the same concert, titled The High Road, which includes 12 of the 14 songs from the CD plus two more. 

To complicate matters a little, The High Road is also the title of an extended play 12" record released in 1983 and attributed to Musique Roxy. The EP documents four songs played in concert in Glasgow, Scotland a month after Fréjus. 

It's hard to compare the Fréjus concert to Roxy Music's earlier live album, Viva! (1976) because it's like comparing two different bands. It's easy to divide Roxy into two eras - the 1970s and the 1980s - and the live albums showcase the difference. The music of the 1980s features a more polished and elegant Roxy, whereas the 1970s Roxy were more restricted instrumentally and not as glossy. I personally love them both.

I bought The High Road EP at Yardbird Records in Miami when it came out in 1983. "Can't Let Go" immediately became my favorite song with the cover of Neil Young's "Like a Hurricane" becoming my second favorite. The other two tracks on The High Road EP are "My Only Love" and John Lennon's "Jealous Guy." This new Roxy was a happy discovery to say the least. 

The audio CD of the Fréjus concert contained these four songs and much more. The instrumental "India" is used as a one-minute prelude to "Can't Let Go," and we're off through the concert in order of the performance. Included are a great version of "Out of the Blue," the Phil Manzanera feature "Impossible Guitar," and a spellbinding "Both Ends Burning." A gorgeous version of "Avalon" follows, showcasing leader Bryan Ferry at his suave best. The concert closes with Ferry crooning "Jealous Guy".

When I got the VHS, and the later DVD released in 2005, I was surprised at how much a video of the performance enhanced the musical experience. Ferry goes through a sweaty metamorphosis, marked by disrobing from his tux jacket and tie, rolling up his sleeves, and mopping his brow as the warm night progresses. Individual band members strut their stuff, and it's thrilling to see Manzanera play live. The other guitarist, Neil Hubbard, excels in his role, and drummer Andy Newmark exudes total energy throughout. But the biggest visual impression is made by the trio of background vocalists - Fonzi Thornton, Tawatha Agee, and Michelle Cobbs. Thornton's infectious smile and his suit jacket worn over his bare chest stick in my mind as ultimate cool. 

I would strongly recommend that the Fréjus concert be enjoyed with the better-sounding remastered CD and the visuals available on the DVD. It's a classic concert by a group better known for their studio albums. The glam posturing is nowhere to be seen or heard, and Ferry is glorious as a unique vocalist - at times the tortured soul, and at times the suave crooner - but always the heart and soul of Roxy Music.

Steve:

Although it's been decades since I last saw it, The High Road VHS/DVD concert remains fresh in my mind. It certainly is a different experience than hearing/seeing Roxy Music in their earlier glam-rock guise, and the new Roxy phase helped to guide the direction of the early 80s sophisticated/adult pop trend. Artists like Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon, Steve Winwood, and others were popular with boomers and GenXers alike. Younger "New Romantic" bands like ABC and Duran Duran also took cues from Bryan Ferry's debonair image and performance style.

"Can't Let Go" stands out in my memory from the show, and it's significant that it's not a Roxy Music tune per se, but rather a track from Ferry's solo album, The Bride Stripped Bare, released in 1978. That was the year before Roxy Music re-emerged from their hiatus for 1979's Manifesto. As an opener to the live show (after the "India" introduction, of course) it can be viewed as a prelude to the new Roxy Music style.