WOULD YOU BELIEVE?
Three highlights from the extra discs
2HB (1971 demo version)
An extended oboe and drum intro emulates the sounds of the Casablanca souk as the Mk I Roxy take on Ferry’s homage to Humph. Almost three minutes longer than the released version, but surprisingly coherent, its oddest feature is an extensive duet between Mackay and a recorded version of himself, a measure of how tape manipulation was a Roxy mainstay from the off.
ViRgiNiA PlAiN (BBC session, 18 July 1972)
Days after recording their debut single, Roxy recreated it for a BBC session, the concise guitar break from the seven-inch morphing into a one-minute Manzanera solo, Johnny Thunders sloppy but utterly ecstatic. Roxy publicist Simon Huxley’s guide to decoding “Virginia Plain” is one of the highlights of an exceptional accompanying booklet.
SeA BReezeS (live at the Bataclan, November 26, 1972)
Five of the nine tracks on the DVD disc of this collection are readily YouTube-able, but a four-song live set taped for French TV is something a little bit different – have-a-go camerawork only adding to the period charm. Perhaps not enamoured of one of Roxy’s more ponderous songs, Eno enlivens the occasion with some extra-special analogue synth burbles. Guess why they fired him.