The fourth Roxy Music album. The band always has that sound, but each record is quite different from the other. Perhaps due to the change of producer, but also I suspect that Phil Manzanera and Andy Mackay probably added new textures to the overall sound of Roxy Music. John Punter co-produced "Country Life" as well as it's engineer. It's interesting that a few years later he worked with Japan, a band who I think was profoundly influenced by Roxy Music.
The sound of "Country Life" is thicker and at times, mono sounding record-wise. If Phil Spector was half sane, and still at full-power, I can imagine this being his production. Compared to the previous Roxy Music songs, those on the album are very straightforward, and Bryan Ferry to my ears (and head) is losing his abstraction or New York school of poetry to focus on communicating on romance, and the world surrounding that emotional high. In theory a more commercial approach, but perhaps the after effects of Ferry's various solo recordings at the time - specifically his first two solo albums which are covers. I sense Ferry chose those songs, not only because he loved them, but interested in its structure and what makes a song a song.
"Country Life" is a great album. It's not a masterpiece compared to "For Your Pleasure" or "Stranded" (and never compare their brilliance on that first album!), but still a remarkable set of songs. The Jimi Hendrix inspired "Out of the Blue" is simply a magnificent guitar set-piece from Manzanera. "The Thrill of it All," the opening cut and the end "Prarie Rose" are bookends that resemble a wild storm, but somehow controlled by Ferry and company. It's a sandwich of sorts, with different tastes and textures between the opening and closing songs.
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