Roxy Music-Flesh+Blood (1980)

"Flesh+Blood," Roxy Music's seventh album, was one of their biggest commercial successes, but it was also, along with its predecessor "Manifesto" (1979), that generated some controversy among critics of the time and some of their more orthodox fans, as it leaned towards conventional art rock, leaving behind the subversive and defiant style of their earlier work. While the previous album was essentially a Bryan Ferry solo project under the Roxy Music label, "Flesh+Blood" represents the quintessential 80s sound, but executed with mastery and leaning towards the so-called New Romanticism. Here, for the first time, the band dared to include covers of classics such as Wilson Pickett's "In the Midnight Hour" and the Byrds' "Eight Miles High", performed with refinement and respect. On the other hand, in the pop-rock track "Same Old Scene", the melodic "My Only Love", and the new wave "Over You", Bryan Ferry delivers a masterclass thanks to his warm and unmistakable voice. The mid-tempo track "Running Wild" or the latent "No Strange Delight" also argue for themselves why Roxy Music sacrificed sophistication for a more refined, accessible style clearly oriented towards radio formulas.