It’s time to get back to my favorite decade. For the month of March, I’ll be looking back at some of my favorite jams from the 80s. These songs often came to me via MTV or the radio. NYC-area stations WDRE, WPLJ, WNEW, K-ROCK and Z100 introduced me to everything from irresistible pop confections to under-the-radar post-punk anthems. I would not be who I am today if it weren’t for the 80s. It was the decade when I discovered music can be a truly powerful thing. #31DaysOf80sSongs
Many bands have covered this song over the years. But one thing they haven’t been able to do is capture the unique sound of Roxy Music. This is a band that gave the music world an unusual, progressive rock tilt in the 70s, then elevated pop music in the 80s. “More Than This” was a prime example of the latter. You can’t copy Bryan Ferry’s vocals and you wouldn’t even try. And you can’t mimmic the intricate instrumentation because the soul of the song is Roxy Music, not just the melody.
Like many tracks from the Avalon album, “More Than This” is more akin to a gorgeous symphony than a rock song like the band’s early stuff. No one instrument overpowers the rest. Like lovers finishing each other’s sentences, each instrumental interlude seems to answer the other – from Manzanera’s understated guitar strums to Ferry’s airy synth arrangements to Mackay’s sax flourishes. Roxy Music’s “More Than This” achieves a delicate balance that no cover has been able to recreate.
“It was fun for a while. There was no way of knowing, like a dream in the night. Who can say where we're going. No care in the world, maybe I'm learning why the sea on the tide has no way of turning.”