There's not really that much difference in their first 5 albums, with or without Eno.

the first two sound vibrant

the three after that are dead and lifeless, i guess Eno had much more input than just playing "electronics"

I think the first 2 albums they did without Eno are better than the last one they did with him.

are u high? stranded does NOT sound dead or lifeless. jeez put down the crackpipe

The closest album to dead and lifeless imo is Manifesto, which I honestly don't mind. Anyway with Eno leaving some of that experimention is taken away but I'd argue that Stranded, Country Life and Siren are more consistent in quality then the first two albums.

Roxy Music is one of my all-time favorite bands. I love every single album they've put out with "Avalon" actually being my least favorite - though it's my least favorite I still like it quite a bit.

My favorite albums by RM are the first two with Brian Eno. Roxy was at their best when Eno was in the band.

Roxy Music are my favourite band too would you have guessed? ;)

But seriously it's fun comparing their first album to Avalon just to see how much they changed in 10 years. One thing that I think about is what would Avalon have sounded like if Eno was still with them when it was released.

I think you should give Stranded another listen.

Up until Flesh and Blood Roxy Music's back catalogue is almost faultless. I say almost only because of Manifesto, which isn't quite on the same level. Flesh and Blood is awful, but Avalon is a return to form.

I've always felt that Manifesto was their worst album, with F&B as a better version of it.

I think most will agree that those two albums though are Roxy's poorest.