4. Roxy Music – Avalon
This would be the record I’d take with me if it was just me on my own on an island. The sensuality of it gets right in your bones. It’s a hard job getting a performance laid down, the instruments recorded and sequenced properly, getting the lyrics to do what they need to do, getting all the ingredients into this perfect combination, and this album does it. It’s always fascinated me how that works. A sound mixer’s really important. I mean, it’s like cooking when you have all these incredible ingredients, but you still need a great chef otherwise they could taste all wrong. Or it’s like having a few printers who’ve got to work with the same negative. One’s going to be better than the others. Mixing is hard, believe me – technology is stressful! The trick is to try and get the stress out of it. Also, Bryan Ferry’s vocals… he just has this shimmer in them, that I’m sure would be impossible to reproduce. This album reminds me of old boyfriends and old times, and I like to listen to it when I’m skiing. I do! I love the feel of it when I’m going down a mountain.
