For Your Pleasure
Roxy Music
1973
Album Summary
For Your Pleasure is the second album by English rock band Roxy Music, released by Island Records in 1973. It was their last to feature synthesiser and sound specialist Brian Eno.
WikipediaA reviewer described Bryan Ferry's voice as an "elegant, seductive croon." Umm... agree to disagree on that one.
My favorite Roxy Music album and Brian Eno's last album with band. Opening with "Do the Strand", the band launch into a crazy dance song (sure to replace the mambo) with and driving instrumental break in the middle. The second track "Beauty Queen" is a slower ballad but still contains an exciting instrumental break between the verses that features Eno and Manzanera. The third track "Strictly Confidential" is an easy one to overlook but after a few careful listens the desperation and guilt in the lyrics come through and show just how brilliant the song is. "Editions of You" is the rocking 4th track. This features a siren solo by Eno during the instrumental break which comes right before the lyric that references sirens. The end of side one and fifth track is one Roxy Music's greatest tracks: "In Every Dream Home A Heartache." A song about a man's love for his blow-up doll, it depressingly depicts a lonely twisted man that appears to live in a paradise but with a deep dark secret. Side two starts with "The Bogus Man", another often overlooked track on the album (mainly due to its length). The song seems to depict the point of view of a serial killer and the instrumental breaks in the song just add to the insanity of it. "Grey Lagoons", the second track on side 2 is probably the weakest track on the album but it's still a great track. Just a fun rocker between two serious and dark tracks. It's placement on the album helps keep the mood shifting and not remaining too dark for long. The final track on the album is the epic title track "For Your Pleasure." The lyrics to me talk of leaving your old life behind, perhaps with a bit of regret, hence the final lyric on the album "Ta-Ra" repeating over and over again as it fades until the Judy Dench voice at the end saying "You don't ask. You don't ask why." Roxy Music found themselves on this album and it is by far their most experimental. The risks paid off however.
Never heard of this band or album, but apparently Brian Eno was a member so I'm intrigued. We're back across the pond now, but this one's quite cool, innit? There's a strange urgency to the singer's voice that I really like, and the instrumentals are the dog's bollocks (that's a good thing). I'd honestly put this over both Bowie albums we've heard so far. It sounds surprisingly modern--if someone told me this was made in this century, I might have believed that. As I'm writing this, I just hit the "but you blew my mind" transition of "In Every Dream Home a Heartache." My god. I'm interested to hear more from this band. Given that they're British, I think this list will grant my wish. Favorite tracks: Beauty Queen, In Every Dream Home a Heartache, Grey Lagoons. Album art: Never seen this before, but I liked it straight away. The combination of photography and drawing is absolutely mental. The woman is real, but for how long? And the panther on a leash is a wild sight. I'm having a hard time looking away. I must note that seeing a woman on the cover, paired with the name Roxy Music, I thought we'd finally have an album by a female artist or female-led band. Alas, not yet. 4/5
Falls into the same trap as S/T before it - several stunners on here, but buried in between overlong ballads or operatic tracks that well overstay their welcome. Still manages to be much more entertaining overall than its predecessor, though
Used to think this was the worst Roxy album, sagging under the dumb bloat of Bogus Man and infantilism of Every Dream Home. While those two are still on the wrong side of prog, they're actually closer in quality to the rest of the songs than I remembered, which ocassionally reach very good but mostly coast around just-good. I get the sense Roxy sublimated their fun qualities to whatever they were trying to achieve here. Sadly, that means Ferry's voice isn't as bonkers as on the debut, Eno's weirdo effects play second fiddle to stolid rhythms, and the lyrics veer into absurdist settimentality just a few times, mostly on Beauty Queen, e.g. "Deep in the night / Flying very strange cargo / Our soul-ships pass by / Solo trips to the stars... in the sky". Maybe this should be a two, but I gave that to Tubular Bells which, to be honest, was totally whack and definitely much worse than this. So I'm gonna go three and get back to protecting my two stars from here on out.
Some interesting production from ENO but man is Brian Ferry’s voice annoying
What a striking album cover. An all-black white woman with a panther on a leash as if she can control one of the kings of the jungle. I like the album cover but I’m nervous about this album. It’s 70’s rock I haven’t heard of and it’s only 8 songs at 42 minutes so these will be longer songs it looks like. I already don’t like the first song. The band is called Roxy Music, I’m trying to see if they are British, as they certainly sound like it. “Oi Gov, we’re puttin out a’notha album?” “Yeh Mate, collin it for ya pleasha! The ladies will be drippin. A real saucy experience. Trus me.” “Right but..deres hundreds a rock bands out there…will anyone even listen to us?” “Camon mate, even a drop in the bucket gone cause ripples, innit?” “Oh sha tup, Brian, I’m sick o dis band. I bet we end up on some list where American pricks are saying how shite we are.” “Nah mate, were goin down in istory!” I imagine the conversation kind of went like that before recording this album. And despite that conversation being very silly, I still enjoyed writing it more than I did listening to this album. I’ll just highlight the Bogus Man and suggest they’d call this album the Bogus Album.
- this is good - yes - damn, cool !! - I listened to this 3 times in a row. Every time I found a new song to be my favorite. -another time the next day
Big fan of the early Roxy Music output. They were a brilliant band up until Eno left them, at which point they transformed into almost unlistenable.
Really interesting album. I never listened to this album before even though I'm familiar with some Roxy Music songs (e.g., Virginia Plain). I found it amusing that the 1001 Albums book describes In Every Dream Home a Heartache as "plain ponderous." I really enjoyed that track! Other standouts were The Bogus Man and For Your Pleasure. The sounds used in the latter track make me think a lot of Eno's solo work. Do the Strand and Beauty Queen have that classic glam sound. Love Phil Manzanera's guitar solos in Editions of You and Grey Lagoons. Bryan Ferry is a great and unique singer and I see he's credited with writing all the songs. There isn't a weak track in the bunch.
This was an unexpected delight. In many ways, it sounds like a seedy alternative to Dark Side Of The Moon. There's some decent songwriting, plenty of analogue electronic sounds with some complex arrangements and plenty of experimentation. It's albums like this that remind us why Prog-Rock was so popular in the early to mid 1970s.
Roxy Music never really resonated with me for some reason, although I can appreciate the talent, the uniqueness, and the production. I think it's Bryan Ferry's voice that bugs me. This is a good album though, definitely interesting. 3 stars.
I have to say this - never been a big fan of Bryan Ferry's vocals. I'm not sure why they are so off-putting to me, maybe because they are a cross between a crooner and Peter Hammill's. But I have never liked them. The instrumentation is unique, and I liked how the sax blends with the other instruments, but Ferry's vocals just turn me off to the rest. I don't know why, it just does. So 2.5 rounding up to...
Two Roxy Music albums within one week are just too much for me. The first one was OK, this second one feels a bit overwhelming already. Didn't feel like listening to it completely.
I really liked this album, very nice variation in songs yet very cohesive. Iconic.
One of my favourite albums ever. I loved the first album, it was so different from all the other artists out there at the time but this took Roxy Music to a higher level. Could not recommend it more. Would give it six stars if possible.
From '72-'75 Roxy Music recorded five classic albums; this is album number 2. Its widely known, so not much to say other that than it is yet another iconic pop album from the seventies, like practically every 70s album on this list. (From some reason, after 200+ albums, the generator is still feeding twice as many albums from the seventies than literally every other decade, and all these albums are way better than the average 21st century album on the list.)
Roxy Music is on my all time top five bands and this is one of if not their best. This is their second release and last with Eno. It shows the two directions Roxy was pushing. Ferry's more conventional song structures and Eno's more experimental pitch bending. Both to great effect and hugely influential, albeit different directions.
I listened to their self titled debut and HOLY SHIT I feel like I fucking transcended This album was a little bit different but still incredible and I love it just as much both these amazing albums are a 10/10 I don’t care much for the artwork, it feels like all their albums are just trying to bring in a horny audience and that’s why I went in with low expectations, but Jesus Christ they fucking sounded so much better than I ever could’ve imagined
A perfect introduction to Roxy Music! "Do The Strand," "Editions of You," "In Every Dreamhome a Heartache," and "The Bogus Man" are my fave tracks.
This was an album whose ideas formed two tribes, Brian Eno with experiments and synthesisers and Bryan Ferry’s glam rock direction and almost crooner-like style of vocal delivery. These two tribes fight with each other yearning for a split that was ultimately delivered after this album. These two distinct styles both did and did not work well together and that’s what makes this album incredible. The general unease of it all regarding subject matter, themes and instrumentation makes for a fascinating and unique listen that must be undertaken by anyone who considers themselves “into their music” at least once in their respective lives.
Great and weird, loved the saxophone, I particularly enjoyed "Do The Strand", "The Bogus Man" and "Grey Lagoons" I listened to this twice so yes I would definitely listen again
When I was about 15 I started collecting records, spurred on by my mate Lewis and my LP hoarding uncle. My dad, however, thought records were crap and belonged in the past where they'd been left. That's obviously changed seeing as he now has a Garrard and about 7 Kallax cubes. But there was a point right around the start when he saw the albums I was listening to and must have realised that I was just as impressionable as he was at 15... and it came to my 16th, (I think! Maybe I was younger...) where he gave me two albums, AM by the Arctic Monkeys and For Your Pleasure. Those who know my dad know he is quiet, outspoken, hard-working, but if you truly find something to share and talk about, you would be surprisingly endeared. I remember talking to dad about AM, why my uncle refused to listen to it, and I truly got the impression my dad thought it to be one of the great British Rock albums - like it truly defines a place and an attitude. He didn't exactly say that, mind you, the conversation was much more curt and pointed... but his quiet conviction made me believe that's how he really felt. I was really pleased to get the Arctic Monkeys. I fucking hated For Your Pleasure. I'm sure I told my dad I liked it, but I really wasn't for the SQUEEK SQUUUANK SQUORK that Brian Eno felt like he had to apply to the most basic harmonica, and Bryan Ferry's warbling, death bird cry. It's not an easy album apart from maybe a few songs, but I think how truly different it was made me want to understand it at some point, whether that was then or now. Now, I truly love it. When I was younger, I would tell myself I didn't like Rap, I didn't like Country, this, that... it's so easy to define things as being out of your wheelhouse if you're convinced they truly are bad. If I'd given For Your Pleasure even five minutes on Spotify when I was 15, I probably wouldn't be listening to Roxy now, but instead I had the LP and had to sit through every second of The Bogus Man. Fucking hell, I'm paying good money to hopefully see them play The Bogus Man in Glasgow tonight. These two LPs represent great change. Both bands created a mammoth of an album, and both bands had to change because it was the peak of what they could achieve in that form. For each group, a magnum opus, and in reality they had to fall apart and reform otherwise they would fail to reach the same great heights. To the same extent, I have changed and learned to appreciate more deeply things that sound bad... to the extent they become beautiful. I wouldn't have that if it weren't for my dad, and probably this album too. I love both, they are dear to my heart.
Roxy Music at their best. One criticism, I'm not sure the first 6 minutes of the bogus man have enough going on to justify the length.
What an amazing album, and such a unique sound. Very happy to have discovered this.
A lot of really good songs on here. Was very unsure if I'd enjoy Roxy Music, pretty delighted by it. "Do the Strand", "In Every Dream Home a Heartache" and the closing track, "For Your Pleasure", with its eerie fade-out
Very strong Eno in this iteration of Roxy Music. With his typical operatic flourishes which are always interesting to me, though not quite pop.
Super interesting! I'm still not sure if I enjoyed it but I'll give it more listens later on
Am I just a sucker for raunchy saxophones and sinister sounding music?
There is just something silly/fun about listening to Roxy Music. I enjoy this album, if just for ambience.
What a fun surprise this was! If Bowie & Elvis parented a child and named it Roxy this would be the genius result. The singer in Beauty Queen sounded like Elvis had entered the building. Super ziggy album cover. I feel like there were other songs they held hostage somewhere, to be released in the future, that represented the Killer Cat image. The strength of the panther totally subdued by the killer woman was so deep. Reversed power- very slick. I had several favorites: Beauty Queen, Gray Lagoon, Bogus Man, The Strand. Exceptional beat through out the album. Even if I stopped listening the the lyrics, I found myself tapping the beat. Definitely right up there with all that I enjoy of Bowie’s work. Well done Roxy.
Some very fun artsy and punky glam. And those synths are absolutely going wild!
Fun experience. Not a perfect album, but a couple of really cool tracks (The Bogus Man).
3.5.... but I think it's the first one in awhile to tip upwards on the scale. I just don't feel good about only a 3. It has that funky vocal style that's not too grating or in your face, good tunes behind it, really good album.
Sick album. Ferry is a genius. Great lyrics and a musical tour de force. I think this will only grow in my estimation.
Wonderful, reminds me Zappa. Oboe didn't quite fit my taste in the sound, but I really appreciated the ensamble.
Ahh classic Roxy with Eno and Manzanera before they sold out and started playing elevator music. The guitar solo after “but you blew my mind” In Every home a heartache and then the fade out/ reprise is a highlight for me. This was Roxy near its best, if this album had my fav track Both Ends Burning I would have given it a 5
The combination of Andy McKay on sax and Brian Eno on synthesizers gave them a different sound than most of the other bands kicking around at the time. Do the Strand and Editions of You are classics, and I remember them from back in the day. In Every Dream Home a Heart Ache is dark and eclectic, but I especially like the last 3 minutes of For Your Pleasure which gets quite experimental yet melodic.
Saugut weil nicht greifbar. Saugut weil quasi unfassbar, vor allem wie das 1973 stattgefunden haben soll… Was will das eigentlich genau sein? Vor allem zu Anfang steht hier nix fest; Anhobi/Anthony Hegarty muss sich bei „Strictly Confidential“ das kehlige abgehorcht haben. Sonst viel Glanzrock, aber ohne komplett auf Glitzer auszurutschen. Ab „Bogus Man“ krautet man irre um sich, dann schmatzt es mal wieder hedonistisch durch die „Grey Lagoons“, ehe diese sich durch die Rockgeschichte jammen. Finale: Just etwas for my pleasure?! Indeed !! Blew up my mind 4.1
Devo essere onesto questo è un altro di quei casi in cui ero partito abbastanza prevenuto. Non conosco il gruppo, forse solo di nome, però la copertina mi aveva subito suggerito un qualcosa di Glam un po' cringe, l'unica speranza era l'anno 1973 (invece che ottanta). Devo dire invece di essere rimasto positivamente sorpreso e di essermi divertito molto con questo album. Ho lasciato un po' di tempo prima del voto perché non ero sicuro ma anche riascoltando un po' di pezzi sparsi l'idea che mi sono fatto è di un album Glam come si deve, auto-ironico ma anche punk, non il Glam che non si capisce se si prenda sul serio e finisce per essere cringe (i Judas Priest secondo me, anche se ufficialmente non Glam, rientrano in questa categoria). Anche gli assoli di chitarra su questo album sono fatti bene riuscendo dove molti gruppi più pretenziosi finora hanno fallito. Per me è un 3.6 che promuovo a 4 per la simpatia e l'originalità.
Ho avuto una sensazione simile a quando ascolto musica anni '80 (pur non essendo di quel periodo), ma solo per i primi secondi! Alla fine si è rivelato un album bomba, un sax che qua per esempio non si accolla, ma comunque in generale l'uso di tutti gli strumenti, voce inclusa, mi è sembrato interessante. A tratti mi hanno ricordato i Queens of the Stone Age.
Some of it got a little out there for me but overall I really like this. It is a long way between this and Avalon but you can hear the seeds of that sound in here just a bit. Cool to hear.
Nice album, easy to listen to songs. Bit short, but that's the norm for that time period.
4/5. Favorite Roxy Music, Eno goes off. Ferry’s vocals are irritating still
Coming with no expectations, this was the album that introduced me to Roxy Music. It's nothing like their other albums, this one is quite avant-garde, gothic before punk came around, incorporating elements of free jazz and early synths, what I consider to be Eno's first masterpiece. I noticed For Your Pleasure tends to be critics' favorite, but it's not usually the pick by fans. That may go to Siren, Stranded, or even Avalon. However, this is actually my favorite Roxy Music album. I don't think I'm biased for it being my first. I love how chaotic and dark the songs are. The opener "Do the Strand" best exemplifies what I love about the album, from the unexpected and immediate opening line and sax, it grabs your attention out of nowhere. "Beauty Queen" is a great follow-up that reminds me a lot of their Avalon soft rock album. I really like how it feels like his voice has two personalities, a Jekyll and Hyde situation, which is carried on through the entire album. "Editions of You" picks up the pace, reminding us this is a glam rock band, with a sick sax / synth solo engrained in my mind. "In Every Dream a Heartache" is a peculiar highlight, and I'm surprised it's the most-played on Spotify. For three minutes, it's creepy monotonous vocals with atmospheric sounds, not really something to appeal to people compared to other tracks, but I guess by that 3 minute mark it just explodes into a spectacle, dies down, then the instrumental randomly picks up again. According to the Wikipedia, it's been covered a ton of times and featured in Mindhunters so that must be why. Deserves its place as one of their best songs, but still 8 million plays is unusually high. My favorite track is for sure "The Bogus Man." It's haunting and a bit claustrophobic. Love everything from the one-ear sax to the creepy echoey vocals that surround me to the exotic synth effects. It's my favorite blend of rock and free jazz. And it goes for nearly 10 minutes. Last highlight for me is the closing title track with the combination of the extended instrumental. It's a solid album, with no filler, appropriate track order, coherent theme, and an intriguing yet non-excessive experimentation.
Another of those bands that I appreciate are really good, really influential etc but never got into beyond the singles. This album is great and I don't recall having listened to it before. Wierd thing is I can hear how Bryan Ferry's voice influenced Nick Cave's vocal styling. A connection I had never made before. Really they are a band I should listen too more
maybe a 3.7 feels a bit like guys who feel like they're more in the know than most and a bit snobbish about it and music would like this. But I enjoyed listening to the album overall
Trudne do oceny. Nie znałem zbytnio Roxy Music poza paroma hitami. Mi się wokal podobał, album był na tyle eksperymentalny, że się nie nudził. Jednocześnie nie wiem czy do niego będę wracał często. Idealne byłoby 3.5, tutaj dam 4 bo jak na 1973 bardzo nietypowe.
Jak na swoje lata album wydaje się dość nowoczesny. Połączenie rocka popu i muzyki alternatywnej daje czasami ciekawe efekty. Ogólnie album dość specyficzny i nie na każdą okazję.
Mildly intriguing. I was impressed by innovative sounds as for the release year 1973. The album starts up shy, but as the tracks progress it gets much more interesting. I would also coin in provocative lyrics, delicate vocals as well as splendid saxophone and drums. The result is a solid album - definitely not for every occasion, but worthwhile. Highlight: In Every Dream Home a Heartache
I feel like I could copy-paste my review for Deep Purple here after just swapping a few song titles about. The album sounds pleasant, but is not a stand-out in any meaningfull way, except perhaps for the vocals, which I found very pleasant. 'Strictly Confidantial' is the high point for me. 4/5
"In every dream ..." really stands out still. Really like the "tension" of this song. The rest of the album is not what i usually listen to, but somehow it works for me. A special album. "..... is there a heaven... i´d like to think so....."
Eager anticipation for my first listen of a full Roxy Music studio LP having only previously heard a compilation album and focused on later songs like Oh Yeah. I only knew Strand here and enjoyed Editions equally. The slightly proggy other songs from Heartache onwards are great! A good listen.
Sleaze, vaudavilluan romp, ferry's voice vibrato can take some getting used to, but not so much I couldn't enjoy the stories. Sounds fantastic.
So much more experimental than I was expecting - really love the combo of that and more mainstream rock music
Great band! Super underrated in rock history. Great vocal display as well. I really appreciate how they sound new in the 70s, closer to 90s alternative than to 70s rock.
Well apart from singles I never managed to dig a Roxy Music record - and probably this is one of the least ‘singles’ record I came across - but it’s definitely a grower - first listen was hmm - but on second a lot of the hidden qualities started to turn up. I think I’ll grow to really like this one over time.
Classic Roxy - Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera and of course Bryan Ferry vocals. A great band that helped spawn incredible solo careers for all of these guys.
Some Classic songs from a classy band, The original line up with Eno is rather special, Love "Do The Strand" "Editions Of You" "In Every Home A Heartache" and the titular "For Your Pleasure" are great. Definitely on my list!
Even more attractive than the self-titled, initially, which had me making favorable comparisons to Bowie. The music's all a bit more low key, which keeps the B side from reaching 100%, barely. I was impressed by Roxy Music before and this listen ensured I won't forget about the band.
Brilliant album. Always listened to Roxy Music and enjoyed their style of music. Really enjoyed this album as well. Some songs weren’t they’re best which let it down a little but there were some brilliant ones in there. If possible I would give 4.75 stars
It's weird. It's kind of shit. "What if Sparks were Talking Heads", alright, that sounds fucking terrible and also brilliant. Would rather listen to either of those, but this does make sense. Blow-up doll song is stupid as hell. It rules.
Very cool new album experience. Very Bowie-esque glam rock with some cool longer form stuff in there
Roxy Music have always been hovering around in the outskirts of my musical interest. I have a couple of their records but I never truly made a deep dive into their discography; and I don’t think I ever heard this album in it’s entirety before.. But being a child of geniuses, Ferry and Eno, I’m a fool for not have done it earlier. Ferry’s vocal is absolutely breathtaking throughout the entire album; especially on the haunting and stunningly beautiful “In Every Dream Home a Heartache”. But even with a vocalist as strong and unique as Ferry every other aspect of the group has plenty of time to stand out. The presence of Eno is obvious throughout, while Mackay’s saxophone and Manzanera’s guitar never misses the mark. “The Bogus Man” is obviously way too long and “The Beauty Queen” does nothing for me, but with songs like “Strictly Confidential”, “Editions of You” and the title track I really don’t care that much.
Such an atmospheric and theatric record which sounds as fresh now as in 1973. Bryan Ferry's voice is instantly recognizable and truly gets to shine on the wailing and dramatic 'Strictly Confidential'. 'The Bogus Man' is a very early prototype for The Cure's more gothic phases, and the bombastic 'In Every Dream Home A Heartache' is the true highlight for me. This is also where Brian Eno really sets his mark on the record with background vocals and excessive phasing.
Great album, though there are a couple of weirder ones towards the end that keep it from being perfect.
I liked some of this, but Cheezus, too much saxamaphone. Really liked In Every Dream Home A Heartache.
A fine album full of great songs - Do the strand, In every dream home..., For your pleasure etc. Never heard Bogus Man before, what a revelation. Guessing this was the last album featuring Eno, and there are signs of the more mainstream direction that Roxy would travel in e.g. Beauty queen. Classy, eclectic, unique
C'est spéciale, mais il y a beaucoup de chanson que j'ai vraiment aimé le vibe. Cependant d'autres que je comprennais pas trop. J'ai quand même aimé la musicalité du band et leur style. 3J'allais mettre 3.85, mais je n'avais pas fini l'écoute. Every Dream home a heartache a fait monté la note à 4 au moins.
A cucumber stuffed right up to your mother's stomach. She is screaming like a cat in the wind.