One of the most popular bands of the 70s, Roxy Music are almost unheard of to the generations of today. This is very unfortunate, because there is so much artistry in their music, and the sounds are still fresh even where the production isn't. Siren was Roxy's fifth album, and demonstrated that they would never do things half-heartedly; in fact you could quite easily argue that each one of their albums was a great success, depending on the flexibility of your taste. Siren received almost unanimous praise, and rightly so. "Love is the Drug" was heralded in being given a position in "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll", and this and "Both Ends Burning" are live favourites that are still performed to this day. While they are brilliant songs I would actually argue for the beautiful harmonies of "End of the Line", the intense brilliance of "Sentimental Fool" and the playful transpositions of "She Sells". It's difficult to define a pinnacle of Roxy Music's achievements, but this is pretty close.

Manifesto is always overlooked as a Roxy album, which is a crime. The world of music was going through a huge transition, in the form of punk, but Roxy were holding their place. Despite a three year gap, their longest break up until that point, their new music was as strong as ever. The opening track, also the album's name, seems at first to drag out the motif, but you soon come to love the space before the fast pace of the following tracks. The album has everything: classic Roxy that we know and love, such as the angular rock of "Still Falls the Rain"; the more arty side of rock, in the cool "Ain't That So"; and nods towards the coming "Avalon" era, in the harmonious "Spin Me Round". A good word to describe this music is "sophisticated": everything is well thought out, precisely placed and perfectly executed. This is also the last album that felt like Roxy Music, as they were then known to be. Buy it, you'll love it.