[Feather Dusters Are] For Your Pleasure

Overall Album Score: 9.2 out of 10

For my money, this album is worth at least 30 bucks. And I paid, what, 14 dollars for it?

Not that I'm trying to be like one of those annoying salesmen in those all-plaid suits and the pearly white smiles and tell you that you are getting the deal of your life time with no interest down until 2004* Nope! I'm just telling you that "For Your Pleasure" is literal, and $14 is a very small price to pay for it. (You have to believe me ... see, I don't even brush my teeth, much less do I wear plaid suits! I don't even wear clothes!)

*(Oh my gosh! That woman in the leather outfit on the front cover is making me SO Randy!**)

**(Even though my name is Michael.)

I'll definitely take you a little while, though, to get accustomed to the album. The first listen (esp. if you are unfamiliar with Roxy Music, which I assure you is a very worthwhile band to look into) will not be your best. It takes a while to let these songs soak in and, after that, you'll enjoy this baby forevermore! (And albums that improve upon listening are, in my opinion, the albums that are worth getting the most.)

See... Brian Eno, master-pioneer in electronics in music was with Roxy Music for only two albums. The first was with the debut, and the second was with this album. So, this album, naturally, is quite innovative in the Electronics front! However, their next album is still surprisingly innovative with Eno's absence, but not quite as extreme. For Your Pleasure is very strange almost at the expense of the listener. I'm sure that if Eno had control of the band, it's not unconceivable to think that it would have been even less listener-friendly with all self-indulgent electronic bleepings!

But enough with the hypotheticals. We're here to talk about the finished product For Your Pleasure, and believe me when I tell you that you will not be disappointed! I already told you the album's weak points, but that's all they are: weak points. These are weak points that you don't even need to worry about. This is an album that ought to be for everybody! Not to say that everybody will like it, however. If you are a straight Michael Bolton kinda guy or gal, and like NOTHING even vaguely artistic, then stay away. Others? Jump on board!

The songs of this album is very decadent music and most have very nice beats (one predating the disco beat) and enough weird Eno-esque synth stuff that makes each and every moment a very interesting one. In fact, the song that sounds like disco is the best track on here because of Eno. (Mind you, Roxy Music didn't create disco, rather they predicted it ... and, ironically, this art-rock band turned into a disco band!) And all the other tracks are all very good as well! I'm only less-than-enthusiastic about one of these numbers ... and liking 7 out of 8 of the songs like a firstborn means this is a darn good record!

Overall Album Score: 9.2 out of 10 (Simply put, this is an album that must be in your collection unless your collection won't accept anything bizarre and innovative. It's a fun album, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it! But remember that it takes a little getting used to.)

Average Song Score: 9.0 (Hmm! A straight 9 for the songs! All these tracks are super and there's only one that I am relatively not enthusiastic about. There are some real gems here for music listeners who like weird experiments to go with their music.)

Album Tilt: 9.0 (At times, all of these experiments can get a little bit boring and overbearing. Other than that, this is a surprisingly fun album.)

Artist Tilt: 9.5 (This album is hugely experimental ... and for all these songs to be listenable and fun as well are any true musician's dreams! Roxy Music are ace in my book.)

Track Reviews

Do the Strand 10/10

If you don't enjoy this track, then all prospect of enjoying this album is lost. This is an excellent decadent, hard rocking song. You won't get it upon first listen, probably, but after a while, it'll bloom for you. This song almost sounds like a Jerry Lee Lewis song (or any old 50's song) done on its head! It has the same sort of 50's dance "style" but the instruments they use are fundamentally different. Eno's my hero! It encourages teenagers to "Do the strand" which, I'm guessing, is a kind of strange dance craze. While this song is certainly danceable, I'm wondering what the accepted dance to this song would be. (Hmmm... perhaps I ought to try uncovering some concert videos.)

Beauty Queen 9/10

Strange metaphors spice up the lyrics of this entirely unusual love song! Like the previous track, it takes what we'd generally think a love song would sound like and so weird things with the instruments. The rocking interlude in this song, however, doesn't quite match the stereotype. Still, this is a VERY good and VERY unusual song. It's something you'll eat up now and poo out later.

Strictly Confidential 6.5/10

I don't care for this song much. It's boring like your hamster. So I kilt it. (No! Not really! I love your hamster, but I don't love this song very much.) Still, its unusual combination of instruments turns it into a very strange listen, indeed! So, I listen to this one more because the almost chaotic instruments leave me curious. Other than that, the song is very slow, boring, and I don't like the melody. It does get better at the end, though. The lyrics here are very mystical and cryptic, therefore meaningless (not that meaningless lyrics are really a criticism!)

Editions of You 10/10

They used a very nice riff here! This track is thankfully more lively than that last one and, to top it off, it's nice and catchy. Apart from the invigoratingly chaotic instrumental passage in the middle of the song, it almost sounds conventional! (Geez! That Ferry guy can really sing!)

The lyrics--- ????

Too much cheesecake too soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!?

In Every Dream Home a Heartache 9/10

There is no way the beginning of this track would survive my critical eye if it wasn't for that weird and spooky synth background. See... Ferry just sings the same two bars at least 13 times. And then the instruments take over with their spookiness and scare the living bejeebus out of your mamma, who just spend the night in my bed. The lyrics have something to do with heartaches in dream homes. (I betcha couldn'ta figured that one out.)

Bogus Man 10/10

I'm not sure why the All-Music Guide didn't like this track and liked the previous track. Ah but you see their brains are made out of baloney! Yes. That would explain it. This track is described as having a disco beat, and I didn't even believe it at first! However, one time I happened to leave the room while this song was playing and my dad, who was there, asked me what I was doing listening to disco. "I'm shocked!" he told me. "Yo Mamma didn't raise no disco freak." Even though I had to calmly explain to him that this album was released in 1973 therefore couldn't possibly be disco, I then did finally discover that this was a disco beat. Although the song itself doesn't really sound like disco, so all you guys who wear "Disco Sucks Doodie" shirts can relax. This was a good bit of foreshadowing, though! The biggest attraction of the song is actually the beat, which is very mesmerizing, and the weird sounds the Roxy Music merged into them! Impeccable! Brian Eno's work, again, doesn't fail to impress! The lyrics are about a "bogus man" who chases after you and hunts you down. I don't know about you, but I'm damn relieved that this man is "bogus."

Grey Lagoons 9/10

More 50's sounding stuff on its head! Maybe this track is a little less memorable than the previous track, but the instrumental interlude is, indeed, monumentally interesting as it keeps changing around to different instruments, beats, and arrangements! It's also very fun, so I recommend it entirely. The lyrics are about gray lagoons. (Geez! The Brits to this day are STILL trying to impose their kooky way of spelling "gray" onto us Americans - it's as if we weren't provoked to kick their asses ENOUGH!)

For Your Pleasure 8.5/10

Wow! What's with those weird vibrating pianos?? Awesome! While this is still an enjoyable song, it lacks the addictive beat that made all the other songs so intensely mesmerizing. Still, can't complain about those awesome vibrating piano-like synths! The melody here is slightly more refined, too. The major flaw here is that it gets boring. I think only music buffs are capable of fully enjoying the song. (I think the very end of this song is awesome! It sounds very apocalyptic!!! I think it could either be depicting Earth being invaded by aliens or Hell. Both sound good to me.)

Hello! Does this album pleasure you? Leave your comments here!

palacerevolution2000@yahoo.com (Chelsea) received April 10, 2007

Glad you like the early Roxy too. (BTW I hope this site is still alive and this actually goes somewhere) Second Roxy is almost better than the first. I think music critics have some kind of saying about a curse on second sophomore album. It's too bad this was to be the last one with Eno. Although the next 3 albums are still considered part of 5 of the finest series of relases by any band, there is a marked difference between first 2 and the other 3. Nobody, I mean nobody heard what Eno was hearing AND was able to put into actual recorded sounds in 74. Like you say "The Bob" is it;s own peculiar animal with that hypnotic groove and those bizarre lyrics but Eno takes it over to the other side. This song got even better on the live treatment on "Viva". "Do the Strand" and "Editions of You" are two of the most commercial rockers, tongue in cheek by Bryan. His words are so cool, so glam, so Euro, so trashy. Many inside jokes that allude to Britain, Europe, Cold War. The big hit became the eerie masterpiece "In Every Dream Home " that also turned into a showstopper on stage. "...but you blew my mind: BAM! BTW the chick on the cover was rumored to be a man. :) Amanda Lear