With everyone becoming more experimental, Bryan Ferry becomes slightly less. Not to say that there aren’t some great surprises and unexpected sounds. While Do The Strand and Editions Of You follow the same kind of thumping beat as Virgina Plain (with hard sax from Andy Mackay), other tracks are more like dark krautrock.
The Bogus Man has a pulsing repetitive beat over which Ferry intones sinister lyrics, building electronica notes as it goes. I looked up Kraftwerk, because the sound is similar; they began in 1970 but don’t really gain commercial recognition until later, so whether Ferry was inspired by them specifically is uncertain. Rather, both groups were inspired by the sound of Can, in different directions.
Although Mackay’s distinctive woodwind is present throughout, maintaining the Roxy sound, Eno is less prevalent than before (this is to be his last album with the group). He is most noticeable on the final track, For Your Pleasure, which becomes a swirl of phased sounds, and in little elements of synthesiser sound and manipulations.
It’s not as surprising and shocking as their debut album, probably because it does much the same kind of thing but a little toned down, and so any novelty has worn off. As music, however, it’s a pleasing mix of complexity overlaid on just good tunes.
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