I can’t help but wonder what might run through the minds of a contemporary (i.e. younger) audience upon hearing this album for the first time.

“Country Life” is one of the most stylistically diverse, masterful and mysterious albums that I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing, but almost every element here runs against the grain of current ‘popular’ styles. Everything that makes this album great also makes it hard for me to promote it to an audience that has no patience for its idiosyncrasies.

Lyrics from the opening track, “The Thrill of It All”, virtually predict this complexity (“Every word I use, each crumpled page, strange ideas mature with age”). To further complicate matters, every track is stylistically different from one another. The album cover itself is provocative. Rather than celebrate youth, lead vocalist and songwriter Bryan Ferry presents a perspective that is much older than his years. In the realm of rock and roll, Ferry is an utterly unique character, combining ennui with curiosity, history with art, leaving the listener no choice but to confront his provocations. 

Even in its time, “Country Life” was a hard sell, but regardless of age, patient listeners will be rewarded one hundred times over if they stop and take the time to truly listen.

Featured Traks:

The Thrill of It All

Three and Nine

All I Want Is You

Out of the Blue

If It Takes All Night

Bitter-Sweet

Triptych

Casanova

A Really Good Time

Prairie Rose

November 1974 - Billboard Charted #37