Customer Reviews

For Your Pleasure

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The second, and best, Roxy album, and the last before Eno left the group. For me, this choice is the most rooted in personal nostalgia. While I do think it stands worthy in a top 10 list, its presence here is admittedly partly because Roxy Music was pivotal for me, and this album more than any other. As an early teen, I was blindsided by this lush, complex, and defiantly sexy sound. Half from Brian Ferry's James Bondish presence, half from the experimental rock backing him, I was changed. I would lay in my room at night with headphones on listening to Roxy Music for hours. In Every Dreamhome A Heartache is simultaneously beautiful, silly, sexy, absurd, epic. It just dares you to not smile, and swoon.

Roxy Music's second album, and last with Eno, is quite possibly their greatest achievement. The entire album is wrought with tension and angst. Sonically its fantastic, with Eno treating the various instruments electronically, which leads to a very alienated feeling by the listener. This CD has no filler, 8 tracks 8 classics, but 8 very very different songs. Blue Lagoons is the closest thing to upbeat this album has to offer, and even that has its weird moments. However, songs like Do The Strand, Editions of You, In Every Dreamhome a Heartache and Bogus Man each show a VERY different side to Roxy Music, each very dark and deliberate in their delivery. The piece de resistance though is the closer/title track, which devolves from a sad song to a cacophony of delay feedback and warped piano tones.
Along with Country Music, this album defines what Roxy Music was about, what they could do, and why they continue to inspire musicians today.

"Had your fill of Quadrilles?" "Bored with the Beguine, the Samba isn't your thing?"....... and so on. Bryan Ferry wrote some of the wittiest and most urbane lyrics in rock and roll. "For Your Pleasure" was the group's second effort and it tops their excellent debut. Starting with the cover, you know that you are in for something out of the ordinary. Pictured is sex change superstar Amanda Lear wearing a skin tight black leather dress and walking a black panther towards Mr. Ferry who is leaning on a deep purple Cadillac dressed as a chauffeur while Las Vegas glitters in the background. Get the picture? Beauty Queens, inflatable dolls, plain wrapper babies, and heartaches in every dream home. It's an upscaled Ray Davies style attack on English complacency and alienation. Brian Eno was still around on this one and contributes some wonderful electronic noise. The remastering brings out all the subtle glory of a band that sounded like no one else ever could. A classic recording.

It wasn't until Roxy released their next album -- Stranded -- that we fully realised what a masterpiece 'For Your Pleasure' was. Nor did we appreciate how important Eno was until he had left. I would disagree with some of the comments made by other reviewers of this album, in that it is the long tracks of what was side 2 of the LP -- Bogus Man and For Your Pleasure -- which showed what the band was capable of creating, when given the space. There are some short, catchy numbers on side 1 -- ie Do the Strand and Editions of You -- but in the end, these can pall. Ferry wrote weird lyrics and played a mean piano -- most of the piano on Stranded is his -- but I don't believe he wrote many strong melodies. Increasingly Ferry would do cover versions of songs by stronger writers for his solo albums and subsequent albums by the reformed Roxy. Appreciating Roxy was all about their arrangements, their camp weirdness, and the perpetual enigma over why they could never retain a bass player for more than a couple of records. When Bob Harris introduced Roxy on the UK's "Old Grey Whistle Test" TV show at the time of this album's release, he said something like "Now this is a band I really hate." He just didn't understand.

"For Your Pleasure" marked an early peak for Roxy Music which they never matched again. The rough and ready style of the first album was honed to an alien elegance for this sophomore effort; every track is essential enough for analysis here: "Do The Strand" is a potboiler about an instant dance craze that is entirely fiction (but don't you wish it was real); "Beauty Queen" is a strong and almost straightforward ballad; "Strictly Confidential" slowly builds a harrowing Edwardian diary entry to a psych frenzy; "Editions Of You" offers five-and-dime philosophy advice to a rollicking beat and wild synths; "In Every Dream Home A Heartache" uses surprise humor to expose the indulgence of the upper classes; "The Bogus Man" adds overdub upon overdub to create a seething electronic soundscape that is at once hot and mellow; "Grey Lagoons" returns to the rock'n'rolling 50s and features a great harmonica solo; and finally, the title track blasts the listener into outer space using nothing more than a cryptic lyric and some Enossified reverb. These guys knew what they were doing and they did it with extreme taste *and* tastelessness, which made it all sound great somehow. Some people carp about the slow, lengthy instrumental portions which take up "The Bogus Man" and "For Your Pleasure" but the album wouldn't be the same without them; these two exquisite examples of aural candy are the mystical yin to the yang of the first side. For your pleasure, indeed.

1973's "For Your Pleasure" is the second and final album Roxy Music performed with Brian Eno, who left the British band over what seemed to be creative differences. As far as this reviewer is concerned, just about every Roxy Music album of the 1970s is a must-own, but "For Your Pleasure" is a standout in its own particular way. After their excellent self-titled debut, these guys could have played it safe, but they instead pick up where they left off and venture intro uncharted territory. Brilliant glimpses of bold avant garde rock highlight key tracks such as the brash and confident opener "Do the Strand," the elegant "Beauty Queen," and the signature cut "Editions of You." As any great band would, Roxy Music isn't afraid to get a little weird on us and test our patience; case in point is "Bogus Man," an instrumental that takes its sweet time during its 9 minute running time. But another distinguishing feature is Bryan Ferry, who succeeds in equal parts as both a suave singer and clever lyricist. In "Beauty Queen," he sings, "All of my hope and my inspiration/I drew from you/our life's pattern drawn in sand/but the winds could not erase/the memory of your face." While they were revered and wildly successful in Europe, Roxy Music never got the American recognition its colleagues Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin earned in the 1970s. Still, "For Your Pleasure" is a smashing record whose occasional strokes of genius must be acknowledged.

For Your Pleasure is an album that has something for everyone. It's the perfect Roxy album and a must for those who are interested in the later work, but unaware of where to begin. The self-titled album is a bit too experimental and unique to dive into first hand for those whom are only familar with 'More Than This' or 'Avalon'. For Your Pleasure is a great place to start because it is Roxy's tour-de-force album.

Do The Strand: Great dance song! Prefect for those upbeat, happier moments. If you want to put in a song and just have a good time, this would be the song.

Beauty Queen: A slower, classic Bryan Ferry ballad. The lyrics are beautiful and Bryan wears his heart on his sleeve when singing about his young, beatiful lover. You can just picture him so well while 'his starry eyes shiver', shedding 'coconut tears'.

Strictly Confedintal: A dark, brooding song with a definate rock sound yet distinct sax and keyboards. This is a haunting song that will strike you as creepy at first, but it will grow on you. It's similar to 'Stronger Through The Years' from Manifesto.

Editions of You: The classic Roxy hit! This one has a somewhat pre-punk upbeat rhythm to it and will leave you screaming for more. You'll love to rock out to this song and sing along.

In Every Dreamhome A Heartache: Where do I even begin with this one? Ferry wrote this song with inspiration from Orson Welles's Citizen Kane. Basically, it's about living in a huge house with everything you could ever dream of and still be lonely and sad. The song begins with the droning guitar and Ferry's deadpan voice, then eventually busts out into the essential Ferry warble and Manzanera guitar solo, which is one of the best!

The Bogus Man: A very keyboard driven song that has an Eno-ish sound to it and seems more early 80s art rock than early 70s. It has a quick pace but is a master of the synths.

Grey Lagoons: Similar to 'Bitter's End' on the self-titled album, this song has an old time 1950s rock sound, a sound that Bryan loves so dearly. The harmonizing background vocals and the lyrics give it that classic Lounge sound that Bryan is associated with but the guitar, sax and harmonica transform it into that art rock sound that is essential Roxy.

For Your Pleasure: This is one of my favourite songs of all time. Firstly, the keyboards in this are are pure genius and pure ENO. Eno fans, this is your song. You'll want to listen to it over and over again for the absolutely beautiful piano/synth. It has a certain startling, almost atonal effect as the song progresses and ends with a mysteriously haunting fade out. To me, this is the best song on the entire album.

I highly recommend buying this album first before any other Roxy albums. It gives you a complete taste of what Roxy's Music is. Not only this, plus Eno! Please enjoy For Your Pleasure, after all, that's what it was meant for. :]

I used to be a moderate Roxy Music fan. I had Avalon, Siren, and Flesh and Blood, as well as Bete Noire (Ferry solo) and liked the mellow feel of the music. Kind of late night, atmospheric music. And then...
I saw Rolling Stone list "For Your Pleasure" as one of the 50 coolest albums, so I picked it up. From the start with "Do the Strand" it blew me away. This is a Roxy Music I had never heard before. It really rocks in places, is experimental, and always musical. Kinda like Ziggy Stardust meets Peter Gabriel (in the old Genesis days). This one is much better than the Roxy Music albums I mentioned above.

In a way it's too bad, since listening to this CD has ruined my enjoyment of the others. This is just so much better, the others seem kind of flat in comparison. Too bad Eno left. (although I am grateful for his work with Bowie, Talking Heads, PG and others...also his solo "Another Green World" is worth checking out), but it is not as good as his work on "For Your Pleasure".

Great CD (and definitely one of the 50 coolest)

From model Amanda Lear looking pre-S&M on the cover, to the insane outfits of the band in the booklet, it was already obvious by the second Roxy album that this is a different kind of glam. Besides crediting their hair stylists and designers, Roxy Music were apparently a band pushing style as well as substance. Equally, in fact.
"Do the Strand" is a favorite, as it and "Editions of You" are the only real songs you could imagine hearing on the radio. Yet "Beauty Queen" is a ballad in classic Ferry tradition: "ooh the way you look/makes my starry eyes shiver". Bryan's almost-vampirish vibrato twisting about every phrase is something it takes time to get used to. If you have a sense of humor, it shouldn't take too long.
The masterpiece of the album however, is the one everyone has to mention. "In Every Dreamhome a Heartache" could probably beat out a Bowie glam tune out of sheer decadance and eerieness. "I blew up your body...but you blew my mind" is just one example of the essential couplets in this vaguely-psychedelic blowout.
"The Bogus Man" may be one of the strangest tunes, but definitely amazing. The lyrics may only last 4 minutes, but odd droning of the synths (courtesy of Eno), guitar from Phil, and heavy breathing gasps from Ferry for the next 5 minutes is pure 70s bliss.
The rest of the tunes, I suppose, are a bit difficult to describe. That's for you to find out.

Others have noted that although this album is close to 30 years old it still sounds like the future - and they're right. If your experience of Bryan Ferry is the clean sheen of albums like Avalon, then "For Your Pleasure" may not be where you want to go. Although lightened with some genuinely great pop songs, the overall feel of the album is defined by the brooding grind of deliciously chilling songs such as "The Bogus Man" that tap a futuristic goth vein that Roxy Music never really went close to again. Some make much of this being the last dance of Eno and Bryan working together but the truth is Eno never went here again either. For Your Pleasure is a one-off that is so far beyond the sum of its parts that it probably mystifies those who made as much as those who continue to be entranced by its dark but oh so alien caress.