Flowing from start to finish, Roxy Music's eighth and final album announces itself as a major, sustained work. Although this 1982 disc features even more session musicians than 1980's Flesh + Blood, Avalon feels more like a proper Roxy Music album because of its sumptuous elegance, and because — more than any Roxy disc since Stranded — it takes serious chances. It dares to evoke high-intensity romance with low-key embellishment.

Despite Roxy's accolades and European success, none of its previous albums could go gold in America. Avalon's highest chart placement was a meager No. 53 (lower than the last four studio albums), but the disc nevertheless went platinum and became the band's best-selling album. Like classic records by the R&B crooners it emulates, Avalon is awash in sensuality, a make-out album par excellence for, once again, Bryan Ferry was smitten: A month after its release, he married model and London socialite Lucy Helmore, who wears the Arthurian helmet on its album sleeve. And once again, Ferry sings solely of love and its impact. Like Siren, Avalon is strikingly and almost thoroughly optimistic, although this time from a far more experienced perspective:

Sometimes I get so blue/ People say I'm just a fool/… read more »