"Love Is the Drug" (Roxy Music)

I only started exploring Roxy Music's catalog a few years back.  I'd find myself reading some article about glam rock, and along with the inevitable David Bowie or Marc Bolan references, there would be Bryan Ferry's name, big as life.  Then one day it hit me: I'd never actually heard anything by Ferry or the band.  So I felt like I had some catching up to do.

I'll say this: it's music that's not exceptionally easy to warm to.  It's odd, fractured art rock, often delivered with Euro playboy/lounge lizard greasiness by Ferry.  But, then again, that's also what's compelling about it.  It's pop made by a bunch of guys who had no clue how to write pop music, which gives it a freshly-hatched kind of feel.  

Perhaps the most accessible song they ever recorded is "Love Is the Drug" from 1975's Siren.  It's kind of a tongue-in-cheek exploration of clubbing and wookin' pa nub in the 70s.  In short, Ferry boils down the big hunt to nothing more than a junkie rush.  Scoring a date or scoring pharmaceuticals, it's all the same to him.

Being a sucker for a good bassline, I can never get enough of bassist John Gustafson's funky rumble throughout this track.  It's as much a parody of disco as it an homage.