Roxy Music All But Reunite... Without Bryan Ferry

Well, they've got four out of five, and that ain't bad. It's just a bit unfortunate that the one absent member also happens to have been the lead singer. But hey, look at The Doors and INXS — lead singer lead schminger.

Keyboardist Brian Eno, saxophonist Andy Mackay and drummer Paul Thompson joined guitarist Phil Manzanera for an almost-there Roxy Music reunion on Manzanera's sixth solo album, 6PM. Past creative tension between Eno and Roxy Music lead singer Bryan Ferry not only saw Eno's original departure from the band, Eno was also the only notable exception during Roxy's 2001 reunion tour.

Ferry favoured a soulful sound with a Beatlesque art-pop influence while Eno was far more interested in the deconstruction of rock through Velvet Underground-like experimentation. Eno departed after Roxy's second album For Your Pleasure and the band would eventually become a vehicle for Ferry's vocal talents and subsequent solo career.

Face it though, if you want to hear a new Roxy Music album, 6PM is going to be as close as you're going to get. Manzanera, who joined Roxy shortly before their debut album in 1972, is also working on two other albums, including Coroncho, a collaboration with Colombian artist Lucho Brieva, and an album of unreleased material. The yet-to-be-titled album will contain four extra tracks not used on 6PM as well as some of Manzanera's other previously unreleased songs and should be out by the end of the year.

6PM will feature other guests as well, including Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour and Robert Wyatt, but it is Manzanera's collaboration with Chrissie Hynde on harmonica on "Wish You Well," that got 6PM off the ground in the first place. A tribute to music journalist/author Ian MacDonald, who committed suicide last August, "Wish You Well" also features a bass solo from MacDonald's brother Bill despite a medical condition that had prevented him from doing so for the past 25 years.

While working on the song, Manzanera found himself reminiscing about old times, which prompted more songs and the eventual realisation that this was to be a full album. It was then that Manzanera called on his old cohorts and production for 6PM officially began. While the album will be released on July 19 in the UK. No North American release dates have been finalized.