Music / Siren (1975)

"Catch that buzz!"

Siren, released in 1975 through Island Records in the UK and Atco Records in the US, is the fifth album by English Glam Rock group Roxy Music. Released following the band's American breakthrough with Country Life the previous year, the album sees the band turn down the remaining experimental elements from their earlier work to an even greater degree, offering a more straightforward sound in a bid to further their place among the US market. At the same time, the band's members felt increasingly pressured to offer more evenly-distributed songwriting credits after three albums penned mostly by frontman Brian Ferry, leading to a more collaborative songwriting process that sees Andy Mackay, Phil Manzanera, and Eddie Jobson co-writing around half of the record.

The result paid off for the band's commercial prospects, with the album reaching No. 4 in the UK and earning their one and only hit single in the US with leadoff track "Love Is the Drug" (though the album itself only hit No. 50 Stateside). The album would later be certified gold by the BPI. Despite this, inter-band relationships remained tense, exacerbated by their inability to generate a real profit throughout their careers despite having multiple UK hits. Consequently, the band decided to go on hiatus after the supporting tour for Siren wrapped up in 1976, regrouping without Jobson two years later with an even more commercial sound under their belts. In the interim, Ferry would release three solo albums, while Manzanera would rejoin his former bandmate Brian Eno as part of the supergroup 801.

Siren was supported by two singles: "Love Is the Drug" and "Both Ends Burning".

Tracklist:

Side One

1. "Love Is the Drug" (4:11)
2. "End of the Line" (5:14)
3. "Sentimental Fool" (6:14)
4. "Whirlwind" (3:38)

Side Two

1. "She Sells" (3:39)
2. "Could It Happen to Me?" (3:36)
3. "Both Ends Burning" (5:16)
4. "Nightingale" (4:11)
5. "Just Another High" (6:31)

You're a trope that never fades:

• Alliterative Title: "Both Ends Burning".
• Animal Motifs: "Nightingale" compares a partner with the titular bird, ending with a sampled recording of an actual nightingale.
• Book Ends: The album begins and ends with Love Is a Drug songs: "Love Is the Drug" portrays the highs of scoring with girls, while "Just Another High" showcases the post-relationship withdrawal.
• Break-Up Song: "Just Another High" is narrated by a man contemplating a recently-terminated relationship.
• Epic Rocking: Both "Sentimental Fool" and "Just Another High" surpass the 6 minute mark.
• Fading into the Next Song: The outro of "End of the Line" segues into the intro of "Sentimental Fool".
• Intercourse with You: Par for Roxy Music's course, most of the album's songs focus on seeking and maintaining sexual relationships.
• Literary Allusion Title: "Nightingale" takes its name from the Hans Christian Andersen short story "The Nightingale".
• Longest Song Goes Last: The album closes out with the 6:31 "Just Another High".
• Love Is a Drug: "Love Is the Drug" (natch) and "Just Another High" compare romantic relationships to recreational drug use. The former describes the narrator seeking new opportunities to get lucky as if trying to get high, while the latter parallels a breakup with a post-high comedown and withdrawal.
• New Sound Album: While the band already made their sound much more straightforward after Brian Eno left, Siren strips out much of the remaining weirdness and brings in elements from the burgeoning disco movement, particularly on tracks like "Love Is the Drug" and "She Sells".
• No Ending: "Sentimental Fool" abruptly cuts off in the middle of the bridge.
• One-Word Title: Siren, "Whirlwind", "Nightingale".
• Questioning Title?: "Could It Happen to Me?"
• Sexy Packaging: Keeping with Roxy Music's standards, Siren depicts model Jerry Hall— Ferry's girlfriend at the time— posing nude as the title creature; she's angled in just the right way to hide her breasts and butt, though the sultry pose still raises eyebrows.
• Shout-Out:
  • "She Sells" is titled after and lyrically references the famous tongue-twister "she sells seashells by the seashore."
  • "Nightingale" is titled after and repeatedly alludes to the Hans Christian Andersen story "The Nightingale".
• The X of Y: "End of the Line".

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