Customer Reviews
The pleasure principle - By: russell clarke, 19 Jul 2008 
In the midst of reading the Eno biography "On Some Faraway Beach" -about page 120 if you are pedantic - i came to the section where the narrative deals with Roxy Music,s 1973 album For Your Pleasure. Described as a "gruelling & disquieting experience|" by Charles Shaar Murray on its release ( that was a compliment) Roxy,s second album is easily the best of their career melding Bryan Ferry,s art rock styling's with Brian Eno,s sonic sculptures & dissonant tweaks.
The Roxy line up at that time had the classic elements of Ferry , Andrew Mackay & Phil Manzanera along with the soon to depart Eno , bassist John Porter-who would soon depart also, Roxy going through bassist ,s like Spinal Tap through drummers & Paul Thompson on drums. The band were able to revel in the extra studio time they could spend on this album, certainly compared to the rush in which they recorded their first, .and were aided greatly by producer Chris Thomas who knew his way round a studio.
Opening track on the album "Do The Strand" is an urgent vociferous song in the vein of "Virginia Plain" but was curiously never released as a single in the UK, even though it saw the light of day in Europe & the U.S. ( It was eventuallly released as a single in 1978 to promote their best of album) The song features Mackay,s trademark squealing sax & rapid fire piano notes. The other more up-tempo track-"Editions of You" showcases attention grabbing interludes by Mackay, Eno & Manzanera.
It,s actuallly on the more sedate tracks that the true soniferous delights of this album emerge to tittilate the ears."In Every Dream Home A Heartache" - Ferry,s creepy ode to a blow up doll- fades out , then back in again with peculiar phasing effects on alll the instruments, like the songs beamed back in from another dimension. "Bogus Man" is acknowledged by Eno as having similarities to material by Can & it does furrow a Kraut -rock like groove although in a more sibilant manner. "Grey Lagoons" & the title track are sinister balllads , so much so that they have you looking over your shoulder for something that exists only in the imagination the music has given you.
Eno left soon after the making of this album & Roxy Music were never the same band after his departure ( some will feel they improved while others like myself will deduce otherwise) Eno went on to even greater things but while he was in Roxy Music , even though the urbane Ferry wrote the material his contribution was vital to their sleazy galmour. Never better illustrated than on "For Your Pleasure".
A Work of Art - By: Martin, 28 Oct 2007 Every once in a while an album comes along so wonderfully unique & bizarre, that it becomes an instant classic - this is one of them.
I came across this amazing record more than a decade after its original release, partly due to my age & also the fact that at the time Roxy Music had deteriorated into a mainstream band putting out slick sounding but largely irrelevant music.
When first listening to "For Your Pleasure" I was blown away & until this very day it hasn't lost any of its original fascination for me - it's rich & psychedelic. I often wondered, what might have become of them, had Brian Eno not left the band.
Anyway, if you're going to buy only one Roxy Music album, you should seriously consider this one.
The best album of the 70's - By: Tom the Bomb, 30 Jun 2007 This album still sounds original, even after 34 years. The first time i heard this album i could not believe how unique & technicallly brilliant Roxy Music were. Even the album cover is, i believe, one of the iconic images of the early 70's. Every track is a gem but we are introduced to this album with 'Do the Strand', which is still arguably the band's greatest song. Go buy this album, its wonderful!
Best album of the Glam era - By: John Pownall, 08 Jun 2007 How to follow the best debut album of the 70s? With an album of stronger songs & better production. At this stage, Roxy could do no wrong.
There is no weak track on this album, & the high points are "In every Dream Home a Heartache", "Beauty Queen", & the spellbinding "The Bogus Man". But there are no low points, & who can better the lyrical quirkiness of Ferry when he sings:-
"Sometimes I find a yearning for the quiet life
The country air & alll of its joys
But badgers couldn't compensate at twice the price
For just another night with the boys" ?
There is menace, madness, & sadness on this record, but also nostalgia,humour, & pastoral sweetness. It is English aristocrasy through a rock & roll prism;Browning meets the Beats;the poetry of Byron & the glamour of James Dean.
If you want any album from the glam era, buy this one; it's even better than Ziggy.
Roxy's tour de force - By: Magic Rat, 29 May 2007 After the seismic shock of the eponymous first album & the instant classic single that was "Virginia Plain", Roxy Music continued with their explorations into the bizarre, the beautiful & the often baffling. The dark, barely visible gatefold cover featuring model Amanda Lear with a black panther on a lead & a leering Ferry dressed as a chauffeur, contrasted with the "glam" poses of the band members on the inner side of the cover, alll playing guitars (even drummer Paul Thompson), while Brian Eno minced in feathers & nobody gave it a second thought. This was 1973 remember. The album is not quite as "dark" as some have suggested. "Do The Strand"; "Editions Of You" & Grey Lagoons" are impossibly vibrant, upbeat & poppy - alll swirling, parping saxophone from the mighty Andy Mackay, powerhouse drums, intoxicating keyboard riffs & Ferry's voice singing those ludicrous lyrics. If we knew what camp was, he would have been it, but we didn't.
On the other hand, the darkness came in the preposterous paean to an inflatable [...] aid, "In Every Dream Home A Heartache", the brooding "Beauty Queen" & "Strictly Confidential" & the three minutes too long menace of "The Bogus Man", which mystified most of us at the time. That was Roxy Music circa 1973 - outrageous costumes, tongue-in-cheek lyrics, fifties throwbacks, next century futurism, obscure dark sleaziness & bright, perfect three minute pop. All in one album. It would be the release of "Stranded" in late 1973 that cemented the band's position as masters of their art. For many, this was still an experimentation. Roxy had made their position clear, they were not chasing the "hit single as track one" cash flow either. Their perplexing hit of the time, "Pyjamarama" came not within a million miles of this album. That was highly unusual at the time - everyone put their singles on their albums, didn't they ? Yes. But this was Roxy Music.
