November 28th, 2021 - Leaves Falling In Avalon

 

Good afternoon!  The Meista here today on this lazy Sunday with a more mellow pairing to start the day... Roxy Music's "Avalon" and a Fallen Leaves Lager from the fine folks at Fisher Brewing Company!


Album Info:

• Artist: Roxy Music
• Title: "Avalon"
• Recorded: 1981 through 1982 at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas and The Power Station in Manhattan, New York
• Release date: June 1st, 1982 (8th studio album by Roxy Music)
• Record company: E.G. Records / Polydor
• Production: Rhett Davies and Roxy Music
• Album cover art: Peter Saville
• Personnel: Bryan Ferry (lead vocals, keyboards, and guitar synthesizer), Andy Mackay (saxophones), and Phil Manzanera (lead guitar)
• Additional musicians: Paul Carrack (piano), Yanick Etienne (backing vocals), Neil Hubbard (guitars), Neil Jason (bass guitar), Jimmy Maelen (percussion), Rick Marotta (drums), Kermit Moore (cello), Andy Newmark (drums), Alan Spenner (bass guitar), and Fonzi Thornton (backing vocals)
• Musical style: Synth-pop, pop rock, art pop, sophisti-pop with elements of jazz, soul, and R&B
• Sound: Having completely abandoned their glam rock sound, with "Avalon" Roxy Music delved deep into the synth pop sound of the early 1980s.  The album is melancholy in sound with layers and mellower grooves than previous works.  Mackay really shines on this album as does Ferry as he delves into crooner style of singing.  Of the album, Manzanera stated: "By the time you get to Avalon, 90 per cent of it was being written in the studio. That album was a product of completely changing our working methods."  
• Major themes: Of the album's lyrics, Ferry stated: "I've often thought I should do an album where the songs are all bound together in the style of West Side Story, but it's always seemed like too much bother to work that way. So instead, I have these 10 poems, or short stories, that could, with a bit more work, be fashioned into a novel. Avalon is part of the King Arthur legend and is a very romantic thing, when King Arthur dies, the Queens ferry him off to Avalon, which is sort of an enchanted island. It's the ultimate romantic fantasy place."  Themes include relationships, romance, love, lust, death, sadness, truth, life, etc.
• Tracks:   

1. "More Than This"
2. "The Space Between"
3. "Avalon"
4. "India"
5. "While My Heart Is Still Beating"
6. "The Main Thing"
7. "Take A Chance With Me"
8. "To Turn You On"
9. "True To Life"
10. "Tara"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Fisher Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: http://www.fisherbeer.com//
• Brew: Fallen Leaves Lager
• Style: Vienna Lager 
• Serving: 32 ounce crowler can
• ABV: 5.0% 
• Pour: The Fallen Leaves pours a fairly clear, deep copper hue with an off-white, 1+ finger, very frothy head with great retention and lots of sticky, intricate lacing.
• Nose: The nose is malty, bready, grainy, and grassy.  There are aromas of barley, crackery biscuit, light grassy hops, cereal grains, and soft caramel. 
• Taste: The taste of the Fallen Leaves follows the nose with lots of malty, light grassy, and hearty bready flavors.  There are notes of toasted barley, biscuit, hearty bread, light herbs, and soft caramel.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and moderately carbonated, the mouthfeel is very smooth and crisp with a dry, clean finish.

Overall pairing: The malty aromas and flavors of Fisher's Fallen Leaves Lager is great for the mellower synth pop tracks found on Roxy Music's "Avalon"!  The sweeter bready and malty notes go great with Ferry's emotional vocals, while the crisp lager notes are great for the saxophones and guitars!

Cheers!