(Virgin/Emi, 168 Minutes)

www.virginrecords.com

Thirty-eight music vids, rare television bits and concert clips fill this two-disc compilation from Brit art rock’s first Dada-ist ensemble. It’s strange that for such a visually influential band, this collection hadn’t been cobbled together sooner. But the legend of Roxy Music meant more abroad than it did the States. Most of its prime view-askew stemmed from its early days, of which too little was saved. The steamrolling 1973 take on “Editions of You” (Brian Eno’s last filmed bit, at Montreux’s Golden Rose Festival) is the collection’s most sought-after rarity, but that doesn’t make the ridiculous mix of monster heeled boots, greaser gear and flashy glam rock regalia that marked Eno and singer Brian Ferry in the 1972 “Re-make/Re-model” live Royal College of Art shoot chopped liver. The creepy electronic noir of “In Every Dream Home A Heartache” and “Ladytron” from episodes of the early-1970s Old Grey Whistle Test go beyond period curios into portraits of what televised musical mayhem could truly be. And that doesn’t mean 1976’s Stockholm shows (Ferry’s eye patch, soldier uniform and moustache period), their 1979 swing through disco balladry (a live “Dance Away” featuring Ferry in red leather) or every misty shadowy Roxy vid clip (their Lennon tribute “Jealous Guy” is particularly moving) isn’t lovely. But nothing beats the oddity of their avant glam art school beginning.

Special features: Promotional videos for “The Main Thing” (1982) and “Avalon” (1983) A.D. AMOROSI