Transcendent thirty years ago, now, and forever.

Mrs Squid and and Mr Squid were celebrating a wedding anniversary at a higher-end restaurant in Dana Point California a few years ago. We were assigned a beautiful blonde waitress in her later '20s. You'll never guess what her name was? She was only a little embarrassed to admit that she was told that her parents named her after the song that was playing while she was conceived. How else should one rate such a song?

After all these years I still get goosebumps when I hear Yanick Étienne's backup vocal.  Wordless because she didn't speak English. I understand she passed last year. May she rest in peace.

Since Roy Orbison passed away, Brian Ferry & Chris Isaacs are the only crooners left!  Different styles, but both are great!!

Ha! I was in art school (Academy of Art, SF) and listened to this for late nighters as well. Hey RP -- how about spinning up Slave to Love off the same album? (Played that one at my wedding).

I used to listen to this album while pulling all-nighters in the art studio during college... it brings me back there again while I burn the midnight oil for work 40 years later! 

I used to listen to this album while pulling all-nighters in the art studio during college... it brings me back there again while I burn the midnight oil for work 40 years later! 

 

Ferry had stayed up that Saturday night and composed what would be the lyrics to "Avalon." Then, happenstance would provide “Avalon” with one of its most memorable elements: the interpretive vocal contributions of Yanick Étienne. Sunday was usually a down day at the Power Station, so the studio would let local Haitian bands come in to do demos when there wasn't much happening. It was then that Davies and Ferry, on a coffee break in the hallway, heard Etienne singing.

“Bryan and I could hear this girl from the Haitian band next door singing, and we thought, 'Wow! What a voice! We've got to get her singing some backing vocals on "Avalon."' That was Yanick Étienne, who didn't speak a word of English. She came in with her boyfriend/manager and we described to him what we wanted and she sort of sang the choruses and the [word] 'Avalon' — the great sound that is on there. Then we said, 'Can she try and do something free at the end?' and we ran the end of the track and she did absolutely nothing. So I said, 'No, we want her to sing anything that she would want to sing, totally free.' So the second time we ran the tape, she sang exactly what you hear on the record at the end.

“Bryan then went straight out and re-sang his vocal properly, because he was so inspired by Yanick's singing. I remember Bryan's manager walked in the room and Bryan was just finishing his vocal. We were doing the playback and I'd never seen the look on his eyes before. He went, 'Jesus f**** Christ! That is incredible!' Well, we knew it was a really high point of the evening. I remember going, 'Wow! We have really created something special here.' That is how I felt. Then we mixed it the next day with Bob [Clearmountain].

"It was one of those turnaround things, where the original track was just about to be thrown in the can. And then suddenly, we did a completely different version of the song that just made the record for me," Davies concludes. "I thought, 'That's it. That completes the record!' I remember we had dinner a couple nights later, and I asked Bryan, 'What are you going to call the album?' and he said, 'I'm going to call it Avalon,' and I thought, 'Yeah. Of course.'"

Yanick Étienne's backing on this sends shivers up my neck part. I always assumed it was Jerry hall but then I'm very stupid 

Tout simplement superbe !!! Simply great !!!

Mrs Squid and and Mr Squid were celebrating a wedding anniversary at a higher-end restaurant in Dana Point California a few years ago. We were assigned a beautiful blonde waitress in her later '20s. You'll never guess what her name was? She was only a little embarrassed to admit that she was told that her parents named her after the song that was playing while she was conceived. How else should one rate such a song?

Yanick Étienne's backing on this sends shivers up my neck part. I always assumed it was Jerry hall but then I'm very stupid 

Wow. Look at the photo.  Back when men's fashion meant something! 

Apparently Yanick Etienne sang backup on this. 

Can someone confirm who the female vocalist is on this song..?

Being an avid reader of the RP comments...I have deduced that every single female vocalist in the world reminds someone of Kate Bush.  

Weird, but true...

Sounds like Kate Bush on harmony  vocals.

Mrs Squid and and Mr Squid were celebrating a wedding anniversary at a higher-end restaurant in Dana Point California a few years ago. We were assigned a beautiful blonde waitress in her later '20s. You'll never guess what her name was? She was only a little embarrassed to admit that she was told that her parents named her after the song that was playing while she was conceived. How else should one rate such a song?

Hmm, 1982 or '83 - it's fortunate that "Abracadabra" or "Maneater" was not playing at the time.

There's the story of Eno and Ferry hearing Yanick Étienne, a Haitian musician coincidentally doing some singing in an adjoining studio with other musicians when Eno and Ferry were working on the engineering of Avalon one night. She blew them away from down the hall. They played her what they had so far and asked her to improvise. She nailed it in one or two takes. 

Transcendent thirty years ago, now, and forever.

I want to believe that including this in this set is a World War Z reference:

"I called it Victory at Avalon: The Battle of the Five Colleges.

The name, Avalon, comes from some stock footage one of the students had shot during the siege. It was the night before their last, worst attack, when a fresh horde from the east was clearly visible on the horizon. The kids were hard at work—sharpening weapons, reinforcing defenses, standing guard on the walls and towers. A song came floating across the campus from the loudspeaker that played constant music to keep morale up. A Scripps student, with a voice like an angel, was singing the Roxy Music song. It was such a beautiful rendition, and such a contrast with the raging storm about to hit. I laid it over my “preparing for battle” montage. I still get choked up when I hear it."

Wow. Look at the photo.  Back when men's fashion meant something! 

Yanik Etienne alone rates a 10 (perhaps "Goddess like" mote apropos) - add the rest of the band and Mr Ferry and this soars beyond 11.

Mrs Squid and and Mr Squid were celebrating a wedding anniversary at a higher-end restaurant in Dana Point California a few years ago. We were assigned a beautiful blonde waitress in her later '20s. You'll never guess what her name was? She was only a little embarrassed to admit that she was told that her parents named her after the song that was playing while she was conceived. How else should one rate such a song?

I cannot tell you how many babies were made with this album playing.

Excellent show in Toronto recently by Mr Ferry.  Great band, which includes Chris Spedding and a female multi-instrumentalist who could easily have been on one of the early Roxy album covers.  Riveting.  The only hitch was that Slave to Love was 10 bpm fast, which given that it was played to a click had to be on purpose.  If you get a chance to see him, grab it.

A guilty pleasure, a lovely tune 

Mrs Squid and and Mr Squid were celebrating a wedding anniversary at a higher-end restaurant in Dana Point California a few years ago. We were assigned a beautiful blonde waitress in her later '20s. You'll never guess what her name was? She was only a little embarrassed to admit that she was told that her parents named her after the song that was playing while she was conceived. How else should one rate such a song?

Mrs Squid and and Mr Squid were celebrating a wedding anniversary at a higher-end restaurant in Dana Point California a few years ago. We were assigned a beautiful blonde waitress in her later '20s. You'll never guess what her name was? She was only a little embarrassed to admit that she was told that her parents named her after the song that was playing while she was conceived. How else should one rate such a song?

Cool song.

Looking at the lyrics "When the samba takes you/Out of nowhere," my first thoughts were about the open source project, and not the Brazilian music/dance style.  I really need to get away from the computer a bit more...

Man, this has aged well.

Manzanera on that linear melodic guitar line, MacKay without his usual abrasive honking but still managing to contribute that pretty little interlude. And Ferry in his Italian shoes, the party over, he's so tired.

Excuse me while I put your report aside and chair sway for 3 minutes.

Mrs Squid and and Mr Squid were celebrating a wedding anniversary at a higher-end restaurant in Dana Point California a few years ago. We were assigned a beautiful blonde waitress in her later '20s. You'll never guess what her name was? She was only a little embarrassed to admit that she was told that her parents named her after the song that was playing while she was conceived. How else should one rate such a song?

Mrs Squid and and Mr Squid were celebrating a wedding anniversary at a higher-end restaurant in Dana Point California a few years ago. We were assigned a beautiful blonde waitress in her later '20s. You'll never guess what her name was? She was only a little embarrassed to admit that she was told that her parents named her after the song that was playing while she was conceived. How else should one rate such a song?

 

"Avalon" is a greatest-hits album, as far as I'm concerned. Shame that albums were only about 35 minutes in those days....

Absolutely a quintessential song and album. Brilliant at all levels....
 

They'll get over it.

 Truly, I always loved this, but hear it too much & may need to lower my rating just because of that.  Would this be fair to Roxy Music?

over-played....

The backup vocals are the only thing that keeps this song from sinking below a 3.