#351: For Your Pleasure

Revisiting Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2020)

In 2020, in the depth of the pandemic, I took on a project of reviewing all 500 of Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” It was an excellent distraction from the state of the world at the time. I am making my way through the list again, from #500 to #1, this time sharing my reviews of each album.

Roxy Music, 1973

Roxy Music stands out from their peers specifically because it doesn’t seem to age. For Your Pleasure, released over 50 years ago, the same year as Aladdin Sane, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and Dark Side of the Moon, sounds like all of these and none of them at the same time. And while these three are immediately reminiscent of early 70s rock, Roxy Music doesn’t sound like that - maybe Bryan Ferry’s classical vocals takes it out of the common production of the time, or the ever-present saxophone, used for effect rather than as part of any particular style, messes with the mind’s datestamp. Then there’s Brian Eno, adding electronic ambience with youthful vigour.

I suppose it would classify as glam rock, but it’s hard to pinpoint where it lands. Because of its timelessness, it might not seem out of place if released today. “Editions of You,” in particular, could be a Wolf Alice song and “The Bogus Man” is straight up Geese. “Do The Strand” is the standout bonkers pop hit, and “Grey Lagoons” is an unlikely rocker. Ferry and Eno make magic on this album, and it’s indeed a pleasure to listen to.