In a grandiose live recording from 1974, the leader of Roxy Music revisits Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and many others... Bryan Ferry
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While fronting Roxy Music in the 1970s and early '80s, Bryan Ferry devised a blueprint for art rock, and as a solo performer, he brilliantly updated the parameters of the pop songbook. Although Ferry's solo career has included several excellent self-penned tracks, he's best-known for his adventurous interpretations of songs from the rock and pop canon. Combining a studied, wry, lounge-singer persona with a genuine passion for everything from Motown and Bob Dylan to the Great American Songbook of the 1920s and '30s, Ferry's performances add a post-modern gloss to pop standards. Following rumors of a reunion, Roxy Music re-formed in 2001 and did several tours during the ensuing decade.
Born September 26, 1945 in Washington, England, Ferry, the son of a coal miner, began his musical career as a singer with the rock outfit the Banshees while studying art at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne under pop conceptualist Richard Hamilton. He later joined the Gas Board, a soul group featuring bassist Graham Simpson; in 1970, Ferry and Simpson formed Roxy Music.
Within a few years, Roxy Music had become phenomenally successful, affording Ferry the opportunity to cut his first solo LP in 1973. Far removed from the group's arty glam rock, These Foolish Things established the path that all of Ferry's solo work -- as well as the final Roxy Music records -- would take, focusing on elegant synth pop interpretations of '60s hits like Bob Dylan's "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil," and the Beatles' "You Won't See Me," all rendered in the singer's distinct, coolly dramatic manner.
Roxy Music remained Ferry's primary focus, but in 1974 he returned with a second solo effort, Another Time, Another Place, another collection of covers ranging from "You Are My Sunshine" to "It Ain't Me, Babe" to "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes." His third venture, 1976's Let's Stick Together, featured remixed, remade, and remodeled versions of Roxy Music hits as well as the usual assortment of covers. Released in 1977, In Your Mind was Ferry's first collection of completely original material; the following year's The Bride Stripped Bare, a work inspired by his broken romance with model Jerry Hall, was split evenly between new songs and covers.
Ferry did not record another solo album until 1985's Boys and Girls, a sleek, seamless effort that was his first "official" solo release following the Roxy breakup. For 1987's Bete Noire, he was joined by former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr on the shimmering "The Right Stuff," and notched his only U.S. Top 40 hit with "Kiss and Tell." Another covers collection, Taxi, followed in 1993; Mamouna, an LP of originals, appeared a year later, and in 1999 Ferry returned with a collection of standards, As Time Goes By. After a brief tour in support of As Time Goes By, there were rumors of a Roxy Music reunion. The next summer, the practically unimaginable came true when Ferry joined Andy Mackay and Phil Manzanera for a tour of Europe and the U.S. It was a celebration of hits, and the band's first jaunt out in more than a decade.
In summer 2002, Ferry returned to his solo career for the electrifying Frantic. Dylanesque, a set of Bob Dylan covers, followed in 2007, featuring assistance from several longtime associates (including Brian Eno, Chris Spedding, Paul Carrack, and Robin Trower). Ferry signed with the Astralwerks imprint for the release of 2010's Olympia. In 2012, he assembled the Bryan Ferry Orchestra and recorded The Jazz Age. This completely instrumental album featured his band re-recording some of his biggest hits in a 1920s jazz style.
Ferry returned to the studio with longtime collaborator Rhett Davies in 2014 to record his 14th studio album. The resulting Avonmore -- which included guest spots from Johnny Marr, Nile Rodgers, and Marcus Miller and revived Ferry's mid-'80s sound -- appeared in November. In the spring of 2017, after embarking on a major world tour, Ferry made his debut at the legendary Hollywood Bowl amphitheater, performing nearly the entire set backed by a full orchestra. That same year, he also appeared as a cabaret singer in the 1930s set drama Babylon Berlin, for which he also contributed several songs. Those tracks were then included on a full-length album recorded by Ferry and his jazz orchestra, 2018's Bitter-Sweet. Ferry continued to tour into the last years of the 2010s, a period highlighted by Roxy Music's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. The archival set Live at the Royal Albert Hall, 1974 appeared early in 2020.
© Jason Ankeny /TiVo
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Vocal Jazz - Released January 1, 2010 | Virgin Catalogue
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The Unusual Suspects
Bryan Ferry invests considerable time and energy in cover albums (he should, considering that they compose a good portion of his solo catalog), treating them with as much care as a record of original material. He's always found ways to radically reinvent the songs he sings, so it's easy to expect that his collection of pop standards, As Time Goes By, would re-imagine the familiar. Instead, As Time Goes By is his first classicist album, containing non-ironic, neo-traditionalist arrangements of songs associated with the '30s. That doesn't mean it's a lavish affair, dripping with lush orchestras -- it's considerably more intimate than that. Even when strings surface, they're understated, part of a small live combo that supports Ferry throughout the record. He's made the music as faithful to its era as possible, yet instead of rigidly replicating the sounds of the '30s, he's blended Billie Holiday, cabaret pop, and movie musicals into an evocative pastiche. Ferry is at his best when he's exploring the possibilities within a specific theory or concept; with As Time Goes By, he eases into these standards and old-fashioned settings like an actor adopting a new persona. Since Ferry has always been a crooner, the transition is smooth and suave. He makes no attempt to alter his tremulous style, yet it rarely sounds incongruous -- he may sound a little vampirish on "You Do Something to Me," but that's the rare case where he doesn't seamlessly mesh with his romantic, sepia-toned surroundings. On the surface, it may seem like a departure for Ferry, but in the end, it's entirely of a piece with his body of work. True, it may not be a major album in the scheme of things, but it's easy to be seduced by its casual elegance.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Rock - Released January 1, 2010 | Virgin Records
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Sélection Les Inrocks
There are two headlines for Olympia, Bryan Ferry’s 13th solo album. The first is that it’s Ferry’s first collection of primarily original material since 1994’s Mamouna -- of the ten songs only Tim Buckley's “Song to the Siren” and Traffic's "No Face, No Name, No Number" are from another author -- the second is that among the many collaborators here are Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera, and Andy MacKay, all original members of Roxy Music, their presence suggesting a return to the chilly art of Roxy’s earliest records. Neither headline tells the real story: Olympia is Ferry’s most seductive album since Avalon, a luxurious collection of softly stylized sophistication. Instead of pushing into new territory, Ferry focuses on refinement, polishing his signatures -- primarily songs so slow they seem to float, and also the occasional high-end piece of pristine pop-funk -- until they’re seamless, the textures shifting so subtly that when the chorus of “Heartache by Numbers” turns eerie, the change in atmosphere is almost subliminal. Such command of mood is a tell-tale sign of a quiet perfectionist, but Olympia doesn’t feel fussy; it’s unruffled and casually elegant, its pleasing familiarity reflecting the persistence of an old master honing his craft.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Rock - Released February 7, 2020 | BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd
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Only a year after the release of the first Roxy Music album, Bryan Ferry also put out his first record. A frenzy of material which allowed the British dandy to satisfy his passion for performance, plain and simple. On These Foolish Things (1973), the leader of Roxy Music covers Dylan, The Beatles, The Stones, The Beach Boys, The Four Tops and Elvis, whereas Another Time, Another Place (1974) sees him revisiting Dylan but also Sam Cooke, Ike Turner, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Joe South and a few gems from some 60s girl groups. Unpublished until now, this live recording from the Royal Albert Hall in London in December 1974 is essentially made up of these two solo albums. Irony, mismatch and the exuberance of the glam philosophy shine out during every second of this grandiose and bombastic concert which sees three members of Roxy Music join him on stage: the guitarist Phil Manzanera (insane!), drummer Paul Thompson and bassist John Porter. With a smoking jacket, flares, and long hair, Bryan Ferry delivers a performance as decadent as they come, kicking tradition to the kerb. Champagne, bubble bath and rock’n’roll! © Marc Zisman/Qobuz
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Vocal Jazz - Released November 30, 2018 | BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited
Bryan Ferry is the ultimate dandy, the singer that never gets old and who does as he pleases. The former boss of the flamboyant, decadent and glamourous Roxy Music has a profound passion for jazz, and particularly jazz from the ‘20s and ‘30s. He released his first solo album in 1977, These Foolish Things, then in 1999 the magical and charmingly old-fashioned As Time Goes By, and three years later he brought us his vision of The Jazz Age, both instrumental and vocal, of the aromas of Cotton Club, the legendary dancing of Harlem during the Prohibition and anthems from the Roaring Twenties. The dandy Ferry revisits this sepia-coloured jazz with a unique and timeless elegance thanks to his slightly husky, velvety voice.Bitter-Sweet journeys through the past, both in his vocals and instrumentals, sometimes swinging, sometimes melancholic, set in the ambiance of another era. His inspiration this time came from the German TV series Babylon Berlin based on detective novels by Volker Kutscher set in the 1920’s - the ideal setting for a blend of jazz, ragtime and blues. He revisits old songs from his solo albums and from Roxy Music (While My Heart is Still Beating and Dance Away) surrounded by expert musicians from his Bryan Ferry Orchestra. The ex-Roxy is an elegant, stylish and top-class performer - it’s hard not to get caught up in his travel through time. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz
Rock - Released January 1, 2004 | EMI Marketing
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Along with Queen, Roxy Music started life as a glam band with a heavy prog rock edge before embarking on a long and successful career that saw a variety of musical styles touched upon. And while quite a few single-disc Roxy Music compilations have been released over the years (the best probably being the 1986 collection, Street Life: 20 Greatest Hits), most die-hard Roxy fans would argue that there were far too many highlights that fell through the cracks due to the limitation of a single disc. Hence, the 2004, triple-disc set The Platinum Collection. In conjunction with his Roxy work, singer Bryan Ferry also issued solo albums (which were quite stylistically similar to one another), and both are included in hefty portions here. Although never the superstars in the U.S. that they were in the U.K., Roxy Music and Ferry certainly had the tunes -- the early classics "Virginia Plain," "Do the Strand," and "Love Is the Drug" -- while latter day tracks as "More Than This," "Avalon," and a cover of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy" (the latter of which was a U.K. chart-topper) showed the group eventually mature into a more mainstream band. The Platinum Collection bridges the gap between the countless single-disc Roxy compilations, and the exhaustive Thrill of It All box set. © Greg Prato /TiVo
Along with Queen, Roxy Music started life as a glam band with a heavy prog rock edge before embarking on a long and successful career that saw a variety of musical styles touched upon. And while quite a few single-disc Roxy Music compilations have been released over the years (the best probably being the 1986 collection, Street Life: 20 Greatest Hits), most die-hard Roxy fans would argue that there were far too many highlights that fell through the cracks due to the limitation of a single disc. Hence, the 2004, triple-disc set The Platinum Collection. In conjunction with his Roxy work, singer Bryan Ferry also issued solo albums (which were quite stylistically similar to one another), and both are included in hefty portions here. Although never the superstars in the U.S. that they were in the U.K., Roxy Music and Ferry certainly had the tunes -- the early classics "Virginia Plain," "Do the Strand," and "Love Is the Drug" -- while latter day tracks as "More Than This," "Avalon," and a cover of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy" (the latter of which was a U.K. chart-topper) showed the group eventually mature into a more mainstream band. The Platinum Collection bridges the gap between the countless single-disc Roxy compilations, and the exhaustive Thrill of It All box set. © Greg Prato /TiVo
Rock - Released January 1, 2000 | EG Records
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When Slave to Love: The Best of the Ballads was released in 2000, there hadn't been a true Roxy Music compilation in print for years. Street Life and More Than This were both grab bags of Roxy Music singles and material from Bryan Ferry's solo career. While it's logical to assume that fans of one artist would certainly be interested in the other, the approach never made for a unified compilation -- Roxy Music's sound shifted quite a bit over the years, and their earlier, edgier singles never sat well next to the smooth balladeering of Ferry's companion career. However, Slave to Love is the first Ferry/Roxy grab bag to make internal sense, because it's thematically limited to the Roxy material that most resembles Ferry's crooning solo style. By the time of 1982's Avalon, the gap between the two had narrowed so much as to be virtually indistinguishable, and this compilation captures the elegantly romantic sound that came to be inextricably linked to Ferry. Slave to Love shouldn't be taken as comprehensive, even in this narrower vein (there are several excellent late-period Roxy Music singles missing), but as an encapsulation of one specific part of their appeal, it makes for a strong listen. © Steve Huey /TiVo
When Slave to Love: The Best of the Ballads was released in 2000, there hadn't been a true Roxy Music compilation in print for years. Street Life and More Than This were both grab bags of Roxy Music singles and material from Bryan Ferry's solo career. While it's logical to assume that fans of one artist would certainly be interested in the other, the approach never made for a unified compilation -- Roxy Music's sound shifted quite a bit over the years, and their earlier, edgier singles never sat well next to the smooth balladeering of Ferry's companion career. However, Slave to Love is the first Ferry/Roxy grab bag to make internal sense, because it's thematically limited to the Roxy material that most resembles Ferry's crooning solo style. By the time of 1982's Avalon, the gap between the two had narrowed so much as to be virtually indistinguishable, and this compilation captures the elegantly romantic sound that came to be inextricably linked to Ferry. Slave to Love shouldn't be taken as comprehensive, even in this narrower vein (there are several excellent late-period Roxy Music singles missing), but as an encapsulation of one specific part of their appeal, it makes for a strong listen. © Steve Huey /TiVo
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Rock - Released January 1, 2007 | Virgin Records
The greatest -- indeed, only -- irony of Bryan Ferry's 2007 album-long tribute to the Bard is that Dylanesque never sounds "Dylanesque." There are no solo acoustic guitars, no swirling organs, no thin, wild mercury music, nothing that suggests any of the sounds typically associated with Bob Dylan. No, Dylanesque sounds Ferry-esque: careful, precise, elegant, so casually sophisticated it sometimes borders on the drowsy. There are no new wrinkles, then, apart from a small but crucial one -- unlike his other records, this was recorded quickly, over the course of a week with his touring band in tow. This does give Dylanesque a comparatively loose, off-the-cuff feel, which is a bit of a welcome relief after several decades of cautious, deliberate conceptual albums, and gives the album its understated charm. Since Ferry never radically reinvents the songs -- apart from the sleek, sly propulsion of "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" and a spare, haunting piano-and-strings version of "Positively Fourth Street" -- this is an album where all the pleasures lay in the subtleties, whether it's how Ferry phrases his delivery, how his road band feels supple yet muscular, how Eno electronically enhances a few tracks or how Robin Trower tears into "All Along the Watchtower." These are the details to savor upon repeated listens, but upon that first spin it's immediately apparent that the Ferry who made Dylanesque is an assured, relaxed vocalist who isn't sweating the specifics, he's simply singing songs with a band that offers sympathetic support. They may not push him, the way that Roxy did in its prime, nor does this have the meticulous ambition of his original work, but again, that's the charm of this album: Ferry has never felt quite so comfortable as he does here, and if that may not be exactly what all listeners are looking for when they listen to his work, this is the quality that will make Dylanesque a small understated gem for certain segments of his die-hard fans.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
Rock - Released January 1, 1995 | EG Records
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Rock - Released January 1, 1986 | EG Records
The first compilation to attempt an all-encompassing overview of Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music's career, Street Life was originally released in 1986, four years on from the band's break-up. And, across four sides of vinyl, it represented one of the most lovingly compiled tombstones any band could receive. Subsequent compilations have, of course, undermined it a little, but still it's difficult to criticize a collection that wraps up every significant hit single that the two parties enjoyed, from "Virginia Plain" and the oft-overlooked "Pyjamarama" through to "Jealous Guy" and "Avalon," via "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" and "Slave to Love." The packaging is distinctive, with tempting stills from long-ago TV appearances mingling with all the relevant LP sleeves, and if you should ever be looking for a one-stop reminder of the combo's unerring brilliance, this is it.
© Dave Thompson /TiVo
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Rock - Released January 1, 1999 | Virgin Records
Much like his contemporary David Bowie, Ferry consolidated his glam-era success with a covers album, his first full solo effort even while Roxy Music was still going full steam. Whereas Bowie on Pin-Ups focused on British beat and psych treasures, Ferry for the most part looked to America, touching on everything from Motown to the early jazz standard that gave the collection its name. Just about everyone in Roxy Music at the time helped out on the album -- notable exceptions being Andy Mackay and Brian Eno. The outrageous take on Bob Dylan's "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," with Ferry vamping over brassy female vocals, sets the tone for things from the start. All this said, many of the covers aim for an elegant late-night feeling not far off from the well-sculpted Ferry persona of the '80s and beyond, though perhaps a touch less bloodless and moody in comparison. In terms of sheer selection alone, meanwhile, Ferry's taste is downright impeccable. There's Leiber & Stoller via Elvis' "Baby I Don't Care," Lesley Gore's "It's My Party" (with narrative gender unchanged!), Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' "The Tracks of My Tears," and more, all treated with affection without undue reverence, a great combination. Ferry's U.K. background isn't entirely ignored, though, thanks to two of the album's best efforts -- the Beatles' "You Won't See Me" and the Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil." Throughout Ferry's instantly recognizable croon carries everything to a tee, and the overall mood is playful and celebratory. Wrapping up with a grand take on "These Foolish Things" itself, this album is one of the best of its kind by any artist.
© Ned Raggett /TiVo
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Rock - Released November 17, 2014 | BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd
On the album art of Avonmore, the record he released when he was a year shy of 70, Bryan Ferry showcases himself as a dashing young man -- a portrait of an artist not as a glam trailblazer or distinguished elder statesman, but rather caught in an indeterminate time between the gorgeous heartbreak of Roxy Music's Avalon and the meticulous solo work that came immediately in its wake. This is Ferry's prime, a moment when his legacy was intact but yet to be preserved in amber. Avonmore consciously evokes this distinct period, sometimes sighing into the exquisite ennui of Avalon but usually favoring the fine tailoring of Boys & Girls, a record where every sequenced rhythm, keyboard, and guitar line blended into an alluring urbane pulse. Ferry isn't so much racing to revive a younger edition of himself as much as laying claim to this particular strand of sophisticated pop, one that happens to feel a shade richer now when it's delivered by an artist whose world-weariness has settled into his marrow but is yet to sadden him. This much is apparent on Avonmore's closing covers, an oddly appropriate pairing of Stephen Sondheim's "Send in the Clowns" and Robert Palmer's "Johnny & Mary" that are both given gently meditative electronic makeovers, but much of the record explores the other end of the Ferry spectrum, where he's making music to dance away the heartache. He's no longer on the floor himself, preferring to watch with a bit of a bemusement, but this reserved romanticism suits him perfectly, particularly because Ferry and his co-producer Rhett Davies -- a steady collaborator since 1999's standards record As Time Goes By -- place an emphasis on mood but not at the expense of the songs. Naturally, what is first alluring about Avonmore is its feel -- it's meant to be seductive -- but the songs are what makes this record something more than a fling.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Jazz - Released November 26, 2012 | BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd
Over the last 40 years, singer Bryan Ferry has established himself not only as the frontman of one of rock's most iconic bands, but also as a unique interpreter covering the songs of others. The songwriters he's covered have been transformed into something wholly other by him. Ferry's ability to find and reveal what is hidden in a lyric, a musical phrase, or even a key signature is uncanny. The Jazz Age finds Ferry covering himself in radical fashion: he doesn't sing. He is credited as co-producer (with Rhett Davies) and "director." The Jazz Age celebrates Ferry's 40th anniversary in music by re-recording some of his classic tunes -- from the 1972 Roxy Music album to 2010's Olympia -- inspired by the sounds of '20s jazz. Ferry's looked deeply into the past before -- 1999's As Time Goes By paid tribute to the music of the '30s, an album of sung standards from the era -- but not his own. This set was performed by many of the same British jazz musicians who performed on that record under the musical direction of Colin Good. Musically, Ferry and these musicians drew on the influences of Louis Armstrong's Hot Sevens, Duke Ellington's Orchestra, Bix Beiderbecke's Wolverines, and the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. But they also found inspiration in the heady historical era before 1929 detailed so intensely in the novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Michael Arlen, and Ernest Hemingway. All 13 of these tunes have been wildly revamped and offer interesting textures: a bass clarinet and baritone saxophone are used instead of a double bass to carry the bottom end, but the music here is played so well, it doesn't feel gimmicky. All of the original melodies have been left intact, though tempos are often completely reset. The sprightly "Do the Strand" features piano, brass, reeds, banjo, and drums all competing for dominance (they were recorded live in the studio), and swings hard. "Love Is the Drug" is played as a moaning, bluesy dirge, while "Avalon" retains its sense of melancholy even as clarinets, trumpets, and piano commingle in a midtempo dialogue on different aspects of the melody. "Virginia Plain" is a fingerpopping dancefloor jaunt that recalls flappers doing the Lindy Hop. Given that Ferry doesn't sing on The Jazz Age, the appeal for casual fans is debatable. But for the faithful, trad-jazz heads, and open-minded listeners, the musical quality -- from expert arrangements, virtuosic playing, and the brilliant concept -- offer something wholly different and rewarding.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
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Rock - Released January 1, 2002 | Virgin
Frantic manages to touch upon virtually every musical style of Bryan Ferry's career. Ferry has proved to be as interested in covering other artists' material as penning original songs, and he straddles a smart mix of originals and covers here. Two brilliant Bob Dylan songs appear among the opening tracks: "It's All Over Now Baby Blue" sees a return to the eclectic, energetic experimentation of Ferry's early albums with Roxy Music as a lush modern swirl of instruments mingles with the singer's stylized vocals and throwback harmonica; "Don't Think Twice It's Alright" completes the Dylan pair, as Ferry intones with confidence and again takes up harmonica over Colin Good's rolling piano. The reverent Leadbelly cover "Goodnight Irene" reimagines Ferry as a kind of blues troubadour. "One Way Love" sees the Drifters' song reworked as a squall of distorted guitars and keyboards. Almost half of Frantic's songs originated from late-'90s sessions with Eurythmics' Dave Stewart, and Stewart is given a co-writer credit for these songs. Though the Stewart songs tend to favor edginess over songwriting, a few of them manage to break through the bombast. "Goddess of Love" is probably the best song about Marilyn Monroe since Kitchens of Distinction's "When in Heaven," and there's a passing musical resemblance to that great song. "Hiroshima" works like an ominous take on Roxy Music's synth-heavy Avalon period, with raging guitar dynamics contributed by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood. Roxy Music fans will find more reasons to rejoice with the superb album closer, "I Thought," which was co-written with Brian Eno, who sings backing vocals and plays keyboards. Some listeners might suggest that an album this varied has an identity crisis, but with standout tracks as glorious as the Dylan covers and the Eno closer, Frantic is a fascinating addition to Bryan Ferry's accomplished discography.
© Tim DiGravina /TiVo
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Rock - Released January 1, 1999 | Virgin Records
As Roxy approached its mid- to late-'70s hibernation, Ferry came up with another fine solo album, though one of his most curious. With Thompson and Wetton joined by U.K. journeyman guitarist Chris Spedding, Ferry recorded an effort that seemed as much of a bit of creative therapy as it was music for its own sake. On the one hand, he followed the initial formula established for his solo work, looking back to earlier rock, pop, and soul classics with gentle gusto. The title track itself, a cover of the fluke Wilbert Harrison '60s hit, scored Ferry a deserved British hit single, with great sax work from Chris Mercer and Mel Collins and a driving, full band performance. Ferry's delivery is one of his best, right down to the yelps, and the whole thing chugs with post-glam power. Other winners include the Everly Brothers' "The Price of Love" and the Beatles' "It's Only Love," delivered with lead keyboards from Ferry and a nice, full arrangement. On the other hand, half of the album consisted of Ferry originals -- but, bizarrely, instead of creating wholly new songs, he re-recorded a slew of earlier Roxy classics. Fanciful fun or exorcising of past demons? It's worth noting that most of the songs come from the Eno period of the band, and consequently the new versions stear clear of the sheer chaos he brought to the original Roxy lineup. As it is, the end results are still interesting treats -- "Casanova" exchanges the blasting stomp of the original for a slow, snaky delivery that suggests threat without sounding too worried about it. "Re-Make/Re-Model," meanwhile, turns downright funky without losing any of its weird lyrical edge. Others have subtler differences, as when the stark, stiff midsection of "Sea Breezes" becomes a looser, slow jam.
© Ned Raggett /TiVo
Pop - Released January 1, 2009 | Virgin Catalogue
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Most Bryan Ferry compilations divide their time between his solo recordings and Roxy Music hits, so 2009’s The Best of Bryan Ferry is noteworthy in how it focuses entirely on his solo work, running from the ‘70s and into the new millennium. At 21 tracks, the collection is generous, so it’s not a surprise that it contains all the hits and staples, from “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” and “Let’s Stick Together” to “Slave to Love” and “Kiss and Tell,” with the deluxe edition going one step further and collecting 28 music videos, including many singles that don’t show up on the CD. This DVD is an enticement for the diehards who already own everything on the CD, but seen as just an aural collection, this is the best overview of Ferry’s solo recordings yet assembled. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
Most Bryan Ferry compilations divide their time between his solo recordings and Roxy Music hits, so 2009’s The Best of Bryan Ferry is noteworthy in how it focuses entirely on his solo work, running from the ‘70s and into the new millennium. At 21 tracks, the collection is generous, so it’s not a surprise that it contains all the hits and staples, from “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” and “Let’s Stick Together” to “Slave to Love” and “Kiss and Tell,” with the deluxe edition going one step further and collecting 28 music videos, including many singles that don’t show up on the CD. This DVD is an enticement for the diehards who already own everything on the CD, but seen as just an aural collection, this is the best overview of Ferry’s solo recordings yet assembled. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Rock - Released January 1, 1999 | EG Records
When Jerry Hall, front-cover model on Roxy's Siren, left Ferry for Mick Jagger, his response was this interesting album, not a full success but by no means a washout. In part Ferry returned to the model of his solo work before In Your Mind, with half the tracks being covers of rock and soul classics. Thus, Sam and Dave's "Hold On (I'm Coming)," Al Green's "Take Me to the River" (which arguably sounds like a strong influence on Talking Heads' near contemporaneous version) and even the Velvet Underground's "What Goes On," among others, take a bow. Unfortunately Ferry's backing performers, mostly drawing on studio pros like Waddy Wachtel, don't seem to have the real affinity for the material like his earlier solo-effort cohorts did. If anything, though, there's also the sense of Ferry channeling his romantic gloom through a number of the songs, giving them a strong personal bite. The guitar and bass-only version of the traditional folk tune "Carrickfergus" works best of all, its lovelorn sentiments and slow pace connecting just right. As for Ferry's originals, his sentiments are all the more clear, right from the abbreviated charge of the opening "Sign of the Times," its fractured sentiments of disturbed, vicious romance matched by the clipped punch of the music and Ferry's own brisk delivery. The other originals don't cut quite so bloodily, but the sense of loss and confusion is all there, from the opening line "Well I rush out blazin'/My pulse is racin'" on "Can't Let Go" to the lonely sense of mystery on "This Island Earth," the album's conclusion.
© Ned Raggett /TiVo
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Rock - Released November 18, 2019 | BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd
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Rock - Released January 1, 1999 | Virgin Records
Another Time, Another Place isn't as immediately thrilling as Ferry's solo debut, but still is a great listen. The same core band that backed Ferry up on the earlier record stays more or less in place here. If, like Roxy over the years, this collection is a touch less frenetic at points in comparison to Ferry's earlier solo stab, the opening blast through "The 'In' Crowd" doesn't show it. Porter's guitar rips along as intensely as Phil Manzanera's can, and the whole thing makes Dobie Gray's original take seem pretty tame. Beyond that, things will be familiar to anyone who's heard These Foolish Things -- same general atmosphere, same overall approach of Ferry taking classic originals and putting his own proto-lounge-lizard stamp on them, mixing energetic versions with far calmer ones. A very intriguing development is his inclusion of efforts from up-and-coming country writers and singers -- thus, a loud and groovy cover of "Funny How Time Slips Away" by Willie Nelson and another of Kris Kristofferson's "Help Me Make It Through the Night." Other country atmospheres slip in here and there via another nod to Elvis ("Walk a Mile in My Shoes," originally by Joe South), while other classics get tapped with versions of "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and Sam Cooke's "(What A) Wonderful World." The album as a whole feels a touch more formal than its predecessor, but Ferry and company, plus various brass and string sections, turn on the showiness enough to make it all fun. A harbringer of solo albums to come appears at end -- the title track, a Ferry original.
© Ned Raggett /TiVo
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Rock - Released January 1, 1999 | EG Records
With Roxy Music set aside for the time being, Ferry took the solo plunge with an album of totally original material. As such, the underrated In Your Mind makes a logical follow-on from Roxy's Siren, especially since usual suspects -- Thompson, Manzanera, Wetton, and many more -- assist him in the brief eight-song effort. While lacking early Roxy's long-gone freakouts In Your Mind still burns more fiercely than both the later solo and group albums, at least on certain tracks - like Siren, it balances between rockier and smoother paths, most often favoring the former. Ferry's lyrics remain in his own realm of intelligent, romantic dissipation, and are some of his best efforts. The strong opener "This Is Tomorrow" starts with Ferry and keyboards before moving into a big, chugging full band arrangement and a wistful chorus: "This is tomorrow callin'/Wish you were here." When Ferry aims for a calmer mood, rather than stripped-down melancholia, he lets everyone play along. Sometimes the arrangements almost swamp the songs, but "One Kiss'" combination of female backing vocals, sax, and straight-up rock for instance, make it a great woozy, end-of-the-night singalong before the bars close. There are a few blatant misfires -- "Tokyo Joe" has the chugging, dark funk/rock beat down cold, but the lyrics play around too much with Asian stereotypes (and let's not mention the opening gong and all too obvious attempts at "atmosphere" via the strings). On balance, though, In Your Mind remains the secret highlight of Ferry's musical career, an energetic album that would have received far more attention as a full Roxy release.
© Ned Raggett /TiVo
CD€2.29
Rock - Released December 6, 2019 | BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited
Artist
Bryan Ferry in the magazine
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Bryan Ferry rebranding rock'n'roll
In a grandiose live recording from 1974, the leader of Roxy Music revisits Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and many others... -
Dandy Man
Bryan Ferry is the ultimate dandy, the singer that never gets old and who does as he pleases.
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The Qobuz Minute #25
Presented by Barry Moore, The Qobuz Minute sweeps you away to the 4 corners of the musical universe to bring you an eclectic mix of today's brightest talents. Jazz, Electro, Classical, World music ...
