Country Life
Roxy Music
1974
Album Summary
Country Life is the fourth album by English rock band Roxy Music, released in 1974 by Island Records. It was released by Atco Records in the United States. The album is considered by many critics to be among the band's most sophisticated and consistent. Country Life peaked at number three on the UK albums chart. It also charted at number 37 in the US, becoming their first record to crack the top 40 in the country. The album includes Roxy Music's fourth hit single, "All I Want Is You", which, backed with the B-side "Your Application's Failed", reached number 12 on the UK singles chart. An edited version of "The Thrill of It All", with the same B-side, was released in the US.
WikipediaNow I know what this album sounds like I can confirm that my dad just had this for the baps
This album was more than just appealing for its album cover. The songs on this album were unique and caught my ear. I've never heard of this group or the album or any songs on it. I would listen to this album again.
When I listened to For Your Pleasure by Roxy Music two days ago, as part of this challenge/list I concluded by saying I need to hear more of the band. Well my request was answered and I got Country Life by Roxy Music. This is an altogether better album than For Your Pleasure which was in itself great. The thing about this is that the band's music clicks with me and I am now a fan. I never go to listen to this growing up, God knows the reaction my strict father would have had to the baudy artwork. By the time I was old enough to seek them out for myself, to my own detriment I wasn't bothered. I can see now why this band is so influential. Along with the Sparks that same year, Roxy Music transcended glam rock with this album and sewed the seeds of British punk and New Romantic that would follow
Just think of some of your favorite bands, the ones who bring you the most pleasure… and then glam ‘em all up, heavily, and top it all off with a hot mound of pure hedonistic decadence. Now you’re listening to Roxy Music’s 'Country Life.' For example, the jaunty rockin’ n’ rollin’ ‘Casanova.’ What is that if not a glam take on the Rolling Stones? I can absolutely see the Stones covering this, in 70’s drag. ‘All I Want Is You,’ is what happens when glam and Led Zepplin mix it up. Hey, before you dismiss this as silly, take a listen to the driving, pounding drums Paul Thompson lays down on this song and tell me if that’s not Bonham in bra and panties? (By the way, I mean all this in the most complimentary way- I’ve been a Roxy Music from way back, turned on to them, actually, by a DJ spinning records for an apres ski club in Aspen, CO during the 70s. But that’s another story.) The closer, ‘Prairie Rose,’ offers a double cross dressing with the outer wear being a glam Eagles look, but finally stripped down to the concluding chorus, given plenty of time to develop and gradually fade out to end, which struck me as a very Beatles-esque move to make, like a glam ‘Hey Jude.’ Again, I loved it. And while its true that risk sometimes involves failures along the way, I wouldn’t call the glam blues number at the end of side one, ‘If It Takes All Night,’ a failure, necessarily; but, I will profess my own for glam endurance. This is a lot of glam coming at you, and it makes a fella a little woozy from time to time. Let’s talk Bryan Ferry for a moment. The Pepe Le Pew of pop, resplendent in vocal affectation and lyrically reveling in purely decadent hedonism. ‘Something's got to give,’ a sexually exasperated Ferry cries on the opening, ‘The Thrill of It All,’ and I believe him. He’s not gonna make it for the remaining nine songs on this LP. Somebody needs to attend to this. ‘Casanova, is that your name or do you live there? I know my place is here with you, tonight, but not together (‘Casanova).’ That’s rather sad, don’t you think, the recognition that the cure is not going to necessarily eliminate the dis-ease? Sadder still, he makes the choice nonetheless. Well, as Smiley the bartender (another employee of said Aspen apres ski club) once proclaimed publically, and delivered with pathos (or just plain pathetically, as others perceived it), ‘I’m so horny the crack of dawn isn’t safe.’ I mean, for cryin’ out loud, Ferry actually makes the claim on the LP’s closer that the very state of Texas is seducing him! Or is this just some slick double entendre? Side two begins in contrast to the ascending fun of the first with a descent, creating the feel of the later stages of an all-night party, when the amount of unconscious individuals has overtaken the ones still functioning. ‘Bitter Sweet’ features a Ferry vocal that sounds as if he’s from the earliest decades of 20th century America, and Germany, to boot. ‘To taste, both sweet and dry. These vintage years! Lovers you consume, my friend, as others their wine.’ It’s very sad, and very good. Then, ‘Triptych,’ unbelievably, thrusts the traveling listener to none other than Calvary. Yes, Roxy Music also manages to glam up Easter, but with an innocent heart, paying homage to rather than mockery of, even if in their own unusual way. They simply added a pair of high heels to rest alongside the cast off burial shrouds laying on the dirt floor of the empty tomb. And, the minor key for the duration of the song properly ended in a major, something I don’t typically enjoy, but in this case it worked, conveying the final joy of the resurrection. From there we return to the fun of ‘A Really Good Time.’ Super camp, over the top hedonistic, but never threatening, betraying the fierceness of Ferry’s bark to be greater than his bite? Whatever, it all works. Guitarist Phil Manzanera, saxophonist Andy Mackay, and keyboardist Eddi Jobson all get turns blaring out raucous solos. And John Gustafson travels hither and yon on his bass, yet always returning home, as on ‘Out of the Blue,’ for example. These guys are operating on all levels, lassoing a musical tornado like Pecos Bill and riding it out to the end. Hey, we might as well camp up Texas, too. Roxy Music certainly sings her praises. ‘If I were you,’ Ferry purrs on ‘Out of the Blue,’ ‘I would stay for a little while.’ And then follows with this lil’ tease: ‘If you were me would you walk out in style?’ Thus is the glam yin/yang of Roxy Music’s 'Country Life.'
As a Brian Eno fan, I’ve heard and enjoyed the first two Roxy records, but they never really made their way in my rotation, aside from a few songs hear and there. Never really took the time to listen to Roxy Music without Eno until now (except for Avalon, which I do not care for). Country Life is a solid and enjoyable art-rock record with some fantastic high points. Opener “The Thrill of It All” goes hard out of the gate and feels a bit like a sister song to “Remake/Re-Model” from their debut. If you’ll excuse the comparison, “All I Want is You” has a Bowie-esque swagger that sits comfortably between Bowie’s glam-era and plastic soul-era and probably had some influence. Things get psychedelic and funky on “Out of the Blue”. “Prairie Rose” closes things out in style with slide guitars, funky bass and horns and great double tracked guitar solo courtesy of Phil Manzanera. The album dips in the middle for me. There are excursions into boogie rock, medieval tinged prog and some shouting in German that don’t really work for me, but the band’s playing and ability still carries the songs well. I don’t consider them bad songs, by any means…just not for me. This record is a high 3/5 for me, but I’m rounding up today, so let’s call it a 4. RIYL: Bowie circa Aladdin Sane/Diamond Dogs, Brian Eno’s “Here Come the Warm Jets”.
Naw, I wasn't about to use that lame US album cover. This cover is much more interesting. "Country Life" is Roxy Music's fourth album and is named after the glossy British magazine with the same name. This album is regarded by some as their most diverse with styles in funk, country, blues, psychedelic, medieval and some of chanting in German. I definitely appreciated all those styles as it made for a great album. Although, I will say that you know it is Roxy Music in every song with their distinct sound. That was never totally lost. The original album cover of German models, Constance Karoli and Eveline Grunwald, was censored in some countries including the US and Spain with a different cover put in its place. Lyrically a lot of songs are about women or relationships but not all. Bryan Ferry seems to at times compare music to women or at least leave that intrepretation open. "The Thrill of It All" starts off the album and was the first single. The song is fast paced with the band thrusting forward. Great drama with the big sound of Roxy Music. "Out of The Blue" is one of my favorite Roxy Music songs. It starts slowly and softly and quickly ignites as the band kicks in. Great drumming and bass. And a spiraling, psychedelic ending highlighted by Phil Manzanera's guitar. "Casanova" amps up the funk for the group and is one of their more unique songs. Actually, this whole second side is unique with songs about the crucifixion of Jesus, the state of Texas and that song with the German chanting. This is my second Roxy Music album to come up in the 1,001 along with their debut. I would give the slight edge to the debut for its more experimental nature. But, "Country Life" is an outstanding album and a great listen.
Quite an interesting listen at times, bridging the gap between Pop and Prog The highlights include the tender but odd 'Bitter Sweet', 'Three and Nine' with interesting chord changes and spooky backing, 'Out of The Blue' which interchanges uptempo rock and trippy instrumental interludes whilst 'Triptych' almost sounds medieval at times. All in all, it's a very weird but enjoyable album, probably best sampled with a beer or three. Shame about the awful cover because it actually has put me off listening to this fab record. A Roger Dean designed cover would have been much more apt.
Such a fun and brilliant album. First time I had heard any of it, but hugely enjoyable from start to finish. Not a record done by half measures - the band throw everything at every song. It occasionally sounds a bit too busy, but it's hard to begrudge them making the absolute most of every single number. And not one track without something interesting going on. Tempted to give this a 4, what with it being new to me, but sod it.
The thrill of it all is just so overwhelming. It came out of the blue, my enjoyment of this record. I cannot rate this from anything between three and nine. There was no way they would have stopped their prior triptych but they did. It was bittersweet knowing that it had to end, for Country Life made this casanova had a really good time and I ended up feeling as though I were a prairie rose. I would be more than happy to tell one of the ladies on the cover that "all I want is you", even if it takes all night.
Great mix of sound, really tried alot of different music and nailed alot of it
It rocks! Bryan Ferry and Brian Eno arguing over how to spell their name.
Surprisingly good. I especially liked some of the more subtle touches underneath what could pass for pretty standard rock-fare on a superficial listen. The cover art is pretty weird for a music album - I wonder how it affected sales numbers.
It’s crazy how ahead of its time this album is. It’s both glam and Proto-new wave. They were playing around with sonic vibes and FX that wouldn’t get popular for another 10 yrs. Lots of big sounds, electronic soundscapes. The guitar solo that sounds like violin on Out of The Blue is epic. Rocy music has such an interesting vibe, they seem to take themselves half seriously, but sound like the coolest kids in the room at a club, most of the time it works for them, other times it lands a bit too goofy. DEVO owes everything to Roxy Music. This album, like many of their albums has a lot of great songs and a few bad ones. I like Roxy Music a lot but they never hit that, perfect album echelon IMO, however they’ve got a sick greatest hits album library. Brian Eno would go into to better things and 5 rated albums in his solo career, but this doesn’t get there: 4.
Country Life by Roxy Music (1974) This is my first experience with Roxy Music, and I can’t help but observe that British art rock from the 1970s is well represented in this lushly composed and arranged treat—a nice demonstration of how good a group can sound after saying ‘no’ to Brian Eno (who left the group in 1973 to do his laundry—yeah, look it up). I guess excellent rock has room for only one oversized ego. Songwriter/lead vocalist Bryan Ferry’s lyrics are thoughtful and inventive enough, treating standard themes, if one can take one’s eyes off the cover in order to read the words while listening (I had to play the album twice. Well, three times. Thank God for only giving women two hands). There’s lots of flanging, phase shifting, chorus, echo, synth, and other effects deftly adding color to the soundscape (listen to “Out of the Blue”—this, kids, is how it’s done). Easy on the ears without being ‘easy listening’ elevator music. Lovers of thrash, punk, and head-banging rock will probably think this album is not that good, but I would invite them to consider the musicality of Roxy Music. At least try to be impressed. For those who like the history of avant-garde (oxymoron?), there’s “Bittersweet”, a Bertolt Brecht/Kurt Weil-styled kiss-off to a failed love. Well, at least it’s not violent. Listen to “If It Takes All Night” and hear what a saxophone sounds like when it’s in tune (with a dazzling solo on “Prairie Rose”). Of course reed horn player Andy Mackay was also an oboist, hence he had both ear and embouchure, but I listened hard for oboe and could only hear it on the aforementioned “Bittersweet”, a really really cool track. We hear superior guitar performances by Phil Manzanera, such as on “All I Want Is You”, “Out of the Blue” (wow!) and “Casanova”. And there are very nice orchestrations, (especially on “The Thrill of It All” and “A Really Good Time”, where the strings save this song from being the album’s only clunker). Listening to this album for the first time, I can only lament missing out on it when it came out. I think I bought something by Three Dog Night instead. Silly me. 4/5
Theatrical, orchestral, campy and nothing like what I expected from the album cover
More rocking than one expects – especially the opener and the sizzling solo on “Out of the Blue” (one can hear Ultravox and early 80s guitars that were on the way). And just great fun all the way around (“If It Takes All Night,” “Casanova”). A lot more than meets the eye beyond the cover (which was a favorite and first stop on visits to any record store in any mall for this teenage boy).
My favourite Roxy albums by far are the first four. This was the 4th, the 2nd without Eno. It’s not full of great songs but it does well enough. The Thrill Of It All, Three And Nine & All I Want Is You are the standouts for me. As are Ferry’s lyrics throughout the album. He’d already released his 2nd solo album a few months before this, complete with dress suit & bowtie on the cover, and that would be the Ferry we’ve watched for almost 50 years now. No surprise then that, except for Cole Porter (who was always in a dinner suit), he’s the only songwriter I’ve come across to use the phrase “that old ennui” (If It Takes All Night). Favourite lyric though is from Casanova : Now you’re nothing/ But second hand/In glove. Great to hear Ferry attack the harmonica a couple of times on Side 1. The band are all fabulous. Not their best album, but in the running.
Good first and last tracks - the rest was a little disappointing. His vocals are hard to love, although some good lyrics popped out. Some of it sounds quite dated (the bluesy chug in the middle) but if you compare it to any music from the 60s it must have sounded very modern in 1974, and it's clearly influenced a load of arty alternative bands from the 80s onwards.
This feels like a disgraced Tory MP is trying to reinvent himself by restarting the band from his old Uni days and is trying hard to come across as a bit "edgy" an mysterious.
boobs, hehe. uglavnom na ovom albumu nisam našao ništa što mi pravo paše. krenuo je taj neki niz niskog rejtinga, možda je aplikacija prepoznala da dajem dobre ocjene šakom i kapom.
I tried to like it. Even listened to it twice. But it just sounded like a near retirement school disco band badly covering other songs.
Really dug this one. They have one of my favorite weird finds that was featured on Mindhunter
Love Roxy Music with or without Eno. The godfathers of art-rock. So ahead of their time.
The height of glam rock, and my favorite Roxy album so far! "Bitter-Sweet" is epic!
Country Life is arguably the best album Roxy Music ever made. The band has refined a lot of the more experimental/proggy aspects of their sound here, resulting in a really stylish, richly composed group of songs. But it's also still really musically diverse and full of all kinds of surprises. The band uses all the elements you might find in more mainstream music at that time - the bluesy piano, the saxophone, the guitar solo, the funky bass, the soulful vocals. But the band is painting with different brushes here. Their sound is more dramatic, artful, sensual, campy and strange. It elevated expectations for what you could do in in a rock or pop record in ways that changed how music would sound for years. This is the kind of album you can listen to endlessly and never get bored with it. Fave Songs (All songs, from most to least favorite): Out of the Blue, Casanova, The Thrill of It All, Triptych, Bitter-Sweet, Prairie Rose, A Really Good Time, All I Want is You, Three and Nine, If It Takes All Night
A really good album, it was a great plasure too listen to it… Thanks 🙏🏽
While I’ve always heard about them, I have never listened to a Roxy Music album before. I’m impressed! The music is wonderfully complex, with orchestration and complex rhythms and arrangements. Some songs feel almost like show tunes. Really great! I’m impressed!
OK. I've never been a fan of Bryan Ferry's voice and really was't looking forward to the Roxy Music albums I knew we'd have to listen to as part of this project. The glistening ladies on the cover weren't helping with my dread either. But then...I loved it despite myself. I'm still not enamored with the vocals but this is bold and theatrical and I want to hear it again. I also want to give the cover models some towels and some warm, comfortable clothes.
The best Roxy Music album here yet, by a long shot. Fun, focused, great songs, great production, this was everything I wanted an old school art rock album!
I just bloody ruddy love this album. Bryan Ferry's voice is so good and the songs go all over the shop, you have no idea what's gonna happen but it all comes together perfectly. Whack a harpsichord in there, woah, it sounds great!
Clearly, the best British band ever with the best lyrics ever in general. Consensus back in the early 90s or so seemed to focus on the first three Roxy Music albums as being the ultraclassic albums. Only found out ten years later that Stranded and Siren and Avalon are 5* star alums too, and consensus seem to have changed in the meantime.
Production: 14/20 Songwriting: 13/20 Innovation: 14/20 Bangers: 10/20 Emotional response: 15/20 =66 Lovely stuff Ferryman
Virtuosic performances and good songs that stuck with me after just one listen--what's not to like? Maybe Brian's voice, but I like it.
немного слушал их раньше — довольно заходило. Сейчас только утвердился в этом. Хз, мне такое нравится прям, вроде и есть элементы устаревшего дженерик роцкенрола и психодела, но че-то так поданы прям пиздато. Звук хороший опять же. Ну и экспериментальные моменты однозначно присутствуют. Вообще подумывал сначала и девяточку дать, но всё ж If It Takes All Night значительно попортила настроение, вообще не коррелирует с остальным альбомом, лучше б убрали. И немного странные цирковые вставки в Bitter Sweet оптимизма не добавили, ибо звучало как ранняя Агата Кристи. Но в остальном прям очень хорошо иногда было, на 8 тянет, думаю вернуться погонять ещё для себя потом.
It's a really solid album that shows Roxy Music could do commercial music whilst keeping true to their original image.
The Thrill Of It All, Casanova, Out Of The Blue, If It Takes All Night, A Really Good Time
Fantastic album. Need to listen to this some more. Really like the sound and the overall vibe.
I liked this album more than the previous album on the list "For Your Pleasure". Still not a perfect album though, strange ending.
There is something unique about Roxy Music. It's definitely rock and roll, yet it has those Eno avant garde vibes, a bit of glam English camp... Always works for me.
I'm just here for the album cover. Solid album, solid vibes, solid titties. Big fun.
Count Dracula & the Grave Diggers made a pretty fantastic record. This one took a minute to set in, but I think I get it, and I think I love it. It's pop music but with enough oddity and risk and satire to be called art rock. Maybe. Doesn't matter. The groove is there. The band is messy. It's a hit. 1001 doesn't require criticism but unprompted there's still a track or two that's not for me due to that English baroque circus nightmare aesthetic that leans heavily on harpsichord and tuba. I VANT to VASH your VINDOWS. I VANT to GIVE a FIVE but. A
Hace muchos años, cuando de niño iba a Mixup, odiaba a Roxy Music porque cuando veía su disco significaba que ya había checado todos los de Roxette y no había nada nuevo (sin internet era la única forma de saber si había novedades). Creo que en parte por eso jamás había escuchado más de una o dos de sus rolas y ninguna de este disco. Me pareció un disco muy entretenido y que se va rapidísimo: lo puse creo que tres veces y ni cuenta me di. Te hace mover un poco, tatarear un poco y en general gozar de música agradable.
I really enjoyed this. I was more familiar with Roxy's musics first two albums (with their wild Eno-isms and sideways approach to art-rock), and the later Ferry-led super-slick radio hits. This album, I really enjoyed. Great recording, still rockin', a bit of weird edge, great tunes. Track highlights; Thrill OF It All, Casanova
Nisam ovo očekivao, album je tako jebeno krenuo i prve 4 pjesme su melem za uši, druga polovica se morale cak 2 prebacit jebiga, navučena četvorka iako nije, al zbog prve polovice mi žao dat išta manje.
Somehow a big gap in my 70s rock knowledge is/was Roxy Music. I think before this all I knew was their later single "Love is The Drug" and their - to me - very tepid "Avalon" so my impression before putting this on was that it would be smooth crooner type songs. Obviously right off the top "The Thrill of It All" is a high-energy rock tune which although may not be exactly ground-breaking, is just a good rock song. After that "Three And Nine" changes gears a bit - there's the Bryan Ferry as crooner I sort of expected. This is an odd one - almost at first listen it seems "normal" but there's a lot going on in each song. e.g. "Out Of The Blue" is a rocker but takes a few weird directions closing with a weird synth? (electric violin type sound) solo closing it out. I like it. "Bitter Sweet" has some unsettling Peter Gabriel meets Gong vibe to it. "Casanova" is a compelling funky galloping swaggering beat matched with Ferry's odd Bowie-like vocals (which i like much better than Bowie). Sum: weirdly diverse early 70s art-rock album. I feel like this is gonna take a few listens to sink in (or not) which I'm willing to give - I'm not yet sure what to think but this is far more than I'd expected which is always nice. 7/10 4 stars.
i debated on giving this a 3 or 4 but when else am I going to give something i’ve never listened to something high? I really enjoyed this album. It was new but nothing completely crazy; I just thought it was a good vibe overall.
Unfortunate cover, unexpectedly heavy; the mix is extraordinarily fresh and the arrangements rich and well-crafted, with great playing and exciting sound Harmonies are sometimes surprising and memorable It doesn't sound like an album released in 1974, but maybe in the '80s or even 90s There're twists even in the blues songs; some proggier songs on side B
I actually liked it , thought I wouldn't Also damn those bodies are hot ngl 4/5
An album I knew more from the cover than the music inside, but it was fascinating to hear the burgeoning soundscapes of Eno and Ferry forming into the distinctive Roxy Music style.
As good as the two Eno Roxy albums are, the next two after he left are better. Overall I think 'Stranded' is better than 'Country Life' (although I prefer this album cover!). Still tonnes of great songs on this one though. 'The Thrill of it All' is an incredible album opener. The second half isn't as strong as the first and 'If It Takes All Night' and 'Bitter Sweet' are weak moments . Interested to see what other Roxy albums appear on this list, as it could be most of them. The later 70s albums might get given a bad time but they sound like a bunch of bands who were big in the last decade. And I'll always have time for 'Avalon'.
POP! ART!! POP ART!! Rushing headlong through a glamorama, Ferry is gloriously arch in front of a wonderful backdrop of sounds
Reading about this album introduces me to the genre title “British art-rock”, of which I have heard before with David Bowie, The Smiths, etc. This is the first I’ve listened to Roxy Music. I enjoy the combination of distorted guitar sounds and punk influence in these more traditional types of written songs. “Out of the Blue” stuck with me as a standout track, really improving on all the things that make this record great.
Very good, top guitar work and not as arty or as wanky as I expected it to be!
This is the third album from Roxy Music that I get on this list and it's very impressive how different they are from each other. This one it's absolutely the best one. Very sharp melodies and good experimentation without loss of quality on the songs where they are more "classic". I probably need to go back and listen to again "Roxy Music" and "For Your Pleasure", just to check if I lost something the first time because this band really rocks (apparently)!
First time listening to a Roxy music album. Really enjoyed this good mix of catchy and weird songs and a mix of types of music, I assumed this was an 80’s album even more impressive it came out in 1974 clearly ahead of its time.
Liked it alot more than I liked the Last Roxy Music Album. Pretty solid.
Very solid and enjoyable. Songs are varied, layered, and have a great rock energy. Casanova, Out of the Blue are some of the most enjoyable. Bitter-Sweet and Triptych are a little strange, but still have their positive aspects.
Very enjoyable to listen to; favorite songs: Three and Nine and Out of the Blue
Something drew me to this album...can't quite put my finger on twat it was though