Best Bryan Ferry solo album?

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Might as well. The responses should be fascinating.

Poll Results

OptionVotes
These Foolish Things 7
Let's Stick Together 5
Boys and Girls 5
The Bride Stripped Bare 4
Bête Noire 2
As Time Goes By 1
Frantic 1
In Your Mind 0
Another Time, Another Place 0
Taxi 0
Mamouna 0
Dylanesque0


Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 01:09 (seventeen years ago) link

It may not be his best, but Let's Stick Together has always been my fave...

Naive Teen Idol, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 01:11 (seventeen years ago) link

It's my favorite.

Spencer Chow, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 01:21 (seventeen years ago) link

I voted for The Bride Stripped Bare (Greil Marcus' #1 album of 1978!).

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 01:27 (seventeen years ago) link

let's stick together, with boys and girls and frantic close behind

akm, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 03:33 (seventeen years ago) link

I love These Foolish Things, but there's just something about the sound/feel/mood of The Bride Stripped Bare that get's to me every damn time. So that's the one.

JN$OT, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 07:15 (seventeen years ago) link

boys and girls.

, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 07:43 (seventeen years ago) link

I'm probably the only one who votes for "Bête Noire", but for me that's sort of the top of perfection for him as a soloist. Slick and wonderful yuppie production, which he was always great at.

Geir Hongro, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 09:26 (seventeen years ago) link

These Foolish Things for about a thousand different reasons. The tough part for me is picking what's second best.

sw00ds, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 10:56 (seventeen years ago) link

Let's Stick Together. Wonderful Roxy covers.

zeus, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 11:19 (seventeen years ago) link

I dig all the other covers on Let's Stick Together, too (there's one or two on These Foolish Things that don't quite work for me) so I think I'm gonna jump on the bandwagon for LST.

But I have to put in a good word (maybe the only one?) for In Your Mind. The title cut, "Love Me Madly Again," "Party Doll" -- it's one of my favorites.

Dan Peterson, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 14:47 (seventeen years ago) link

Let's Stick Together has a few rubber donuts: "It's Only Love," "You Go To My Head," the "Sea Breezes" re-make/re-model. On the other hand, Ferry's updated "Casanova" smokes (there's a reason why he performs this version to this day).

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 14:53 (seventeen years ago) link

Let's Stick Together has a few rubber donuts: "It's Only Love," "You Go To My Head," the "Sea Breezes" re-make/re-model

Unless "rubber donut" means something positive, I have to disagree with you. Those are freshly baked trans-fat free donuts with imported Uzbek cinnamon in them.

Rockist Scientist, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 14:56 (seventeen years ago) link

"Freshly baked trans fat-free," yes, flavorful no.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 14:59 (seventeen years ago) link

Haha. If you prefer that rancid after-taste, I guess there's no arguing you out of it. (Okay now I have to put LST on as soon as the Miranda Lambert CD finishes up.)

Rockist Scientist, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 15:04 (seventeen years ago) link

LST is overall probably my least favourite of the '70s ones. I don't care too much for any of the Roxy remakes ("Remake/Remodel" is ok), and the choice of covers is in some cases just not interesting (could he have picked a crappier mid-60s Lennon-McCartney song?). That said, I think the two side openers are among his greatest performances, and the title track should've been a #1 single in America.

sw00ds, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 15:19 (seventeen years ago) link

As for In Your Mind, I'll take "Love Me Madly Again," maybe "Tokyo Joe" (he's performing both on his current tour) and "This is Tomorrow" and throw the rest to the wolves.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 15:24 (seventeen years ago) link

"Sea Breezes" is great. Ferry's voice is all over the place on that song, and meaningfully (evoking some weird sense of struggle).

Rockist Scientist, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 15:42 (seventeen years ago) link

"Shame Shame Shame" kind of sucks, but I generally don't love his semi-straight attempt at bluesy R&B kind of stuff.

Rockist Scientist, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 15:46 (seventeen years ago) link

(This album will forever remind me of boiling spaghetti in my first apartment.)

Rockist Scientist, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 15:48 (seventeen years ago) link

Really? Maybe Ferry's reluctance to use vulgar electric guitar on his eighties solo work makes "Shame Shame Shame" a welcome novelty, but I love it.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 15:48 (seventeen years ago) link

This cover of "It's Only Love" is great, and actually adds its own twist to the song. But I like the original to begin with, which apparently some of you do not. I like the horns in the beginning, kind of sound like something the Beatles might throw in (an album or two after Rubber Soul). I like the stateful little guitar line.

"You Go to My Head" is great! It's so Ferryesque! I actually prefer this to the 40s Billie Holiday version. There's so much going on vocally in individual words (e.g., "spinning").

(Sounds great on my new stereo too, so thanks for the inspiration to listen to it.)

Rockist Scientist, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 16:18 (seventeen years ago) link

If only, say, Jarvis Cocker would release an album called Ferryesque...

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 16:23 (seventeen years ago) link

I had forgotten all about the title of Ferry's new album.

Rockist Scientist, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 16:27 (seventeen years ago) link

I'm going with Bete Noire.

Joe, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 16:42 (seventeen years ago) link

Bump.

Rockist Scientist, Thursday, 10 May 2007 01:12 (seventeen years ago) link

Why Bete Noire. I'd genuinely like to know (despite the fact that a thread already exists).

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 10 May 2007 01:59 (seventeen years ago) link

I'm not so much a fan of the "slick yuppie production", as Geir puts it above, but I just love some of the songs that came out on that album: "Right Stuff", "New Town", "Day for Night", "Limbo"...

I was listening to Boys and Girls in the car today, and that's pretty great as well.

Joe, Thursday, 10 May 2007 03:55 (seventeen years ago) link

"Boys And Girls" is the one I would have voted for hadn't it been for "Bete Noire". Although "Mamouna" is also great and "Taxi" is the best of his covers albums. The rest of his solo albums I don't like much at all.

Geir Hongro, Thursday, 10 May 2007 12:15 (seventeen years ago) link

I love "Day for Night" and "Kiss and Tell," but there's waaaaaayy too much echo and thumping percussion. Ferry doesn't even bother enunciating syllables (a friend calls BN's predecessor Bryan Ferry's Cocteau Twins record).

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 10 May 2007 12:53 (seventeen years ago) link

Let's Stick Together. "Heart on My Sleeve" was on the jukebox at my college pinball place. Good jukebox.

ellaguru, Thursday, 10 May 2007 15:01 (seventeen years ago) link

results!

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 17 May 2007 01:38 (seventeen years ago) link

Given the responses I'm not too surprised Let's Stick Together did so well, and though I don't get Boys and Girls ranking so high it's not completely unexpected either. The pleasant surprise, I guess, is Bride Stripped Bare. I'll assume the As Time Goes By vote is a joke, even though I happen to like that album.

sw00ds, Thursday, 17 May 2007 03:19 (seventeen years ago) link

eight months pass...

This video for "This Is Tomorrow" is sick: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmqrTUNrWSM&feature=related

Naive Teen Idol, Friday, 18 January 2008 04:58 (sixteen years ago) link

If this thread started today I'd probably vote for Dylanesque.

da croupier, Friday, 18 January 2008 05:42 (sixteen years ago) link

The "Positively 4th Street" on that record is outstanding.

Naive Teen Idol, Friday, 18 January 2008 16:16 (sixteen years ago) link

I really like the whole thing! I haven't heard every Ferry solo album but those I have feel a lot more grab-bag and/or just buried in "atmosphere."

<i>Dylanesque</i> >>>>>>>> <i>I'm Not There</i> soundtrack, too.

da croupier, Friday, 18 January 2008 16:21 (sixteen years ago) link

The "let's get my live band and run through a bunch of Dylan songs" concept works in large part because Ferry's such an idiosyncratic artist himself, and one who normally stultifies everything with studio perfectionism. The relative (and I mean relative) tossed-off quality is really charming.

da croupier, Friday, 18 January 2008 16:23 (sixteen years ago) link

two years pass...

Alfred, I've been (slowly) listening to Scott & your discussion re. the Roxy/Ferry albums, and today listened to the Stranded piece. I thought what you said about "Psalm" being 70s-Elvis-style gospel missed the mark, because "Psalm" is more unrestrained than any 70s Elvis I know. But then I listened to Another Time, Another Place for the first time, and thought that the Elvis connections here were more clear, in particular with the 1971 album Elvis Country. That album is mostly a covers album, full of introspective country-folk songs that frequently venture into ennui. While ATAP isn't a country-folk album, it's not so far from one (and of course Roxy at the time played with country, cf. the opening of "If There Is Someone" and "Prairie Rose"). I'd say that ATAP is akin to that Elvis album, in the sensibility it explores. Heck, it even shares a song ("Funny How Time Slips Away"). I was surprised at how much I loved ATAP today---def. will be returning to it again soon.

Euler, Wednesday, 12 May 2010 14:28 (fourteen years ago) link

I thought what you said about "Psalm" being 70s-Elvis-style gospel missed the mark, because "Psalm" is more unrestrained than any 70s Elvis I know

You could be right. I've listened to maybe two albums' worth of Elvis in this period, and what made the comparison plausible was the way Ferry flitted between camp and sincerity using the restrained voice he essayed on For Your Pleasure's "Beauty Queen." A couple of my judgments were improvised. I'm pretty sure if I heard "Psalm" now I'd change my mind.

cool and remote like dancing girls (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 12 May 2010 14:45 (fourteen years ago) link

thanks for listening, by the way!

cool and remote like dancing girls (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 12 May 2010 14:45 (fourteen years ago) link

i grew up with Bete Noir and Boys and Girls being staples in my house as a little kid, and then got really into Roxy later in life. now I'm really pissed that I never heard Foolish Things until just now. was missing out.

surfboard dudes get wiped out, totally, Wednesday, 12 May 2010 15:14 (fourteen years ago) link

xp yeah, it's been interesting---I was looking for a way to structure/motivate my listening through Ferry's oeuvre in particular, and this is doing the trick.

Euler, Wednesday, 12 May 2010 15:15 (fourteen years ago) link

Trying to form thoughts on the B+G-Bete Noir period was my favorite part, actually.

cool and remote like dancing girls (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 12 May 2010 15:20 (fourteen years ago) link

two years pass...

"Don't Stop the Dance" from Boys and Girls sounds like the most amazing thing to me right now. I want to start a band and make music based on the way this song feels.

Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 17 July 2012 05:04 (twelve years ago) link

Incredible song.

_Rudipherous_, Tuesday, 17 July 2012 05:07 (twelve years ago) link

have you heard the 12" single?

a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 17 July 2012 10:59 (twelve years ago) link

Truly. Good fucking music.

Et tant pis pour Byzance puisque que j´ai vu Pigalle (Michael White), Tuesday, 17 July 2012 13:51 (twelve years ago) link

that Nile Rodgers slink-guitar stretched out gorgeously

a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 17 July 2012 13:56 (twelve years ago) link

three weeks pass...

Putting in a plug for my friend/sometime ILM poster sw00ds (couple of posts on this thread), who'll be writing about Ferry's cover albums this week at One Week//One Band.

http://oneweekoneband.tumblr.com/

clemenza, Monday, 13 August 2012 17:47 (twelve years ago) link

Here you go:

Eric Alterman – We Are Not One: A History of America’s Fight Over Israel

hat trick of trashiness (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 5 October 2023 19:13 (one year ago) link

lol

I mean: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_28Ja-xXn7c

hat trick of trashiness (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 5 October 2023 19:14 (one year ago) link

He's singing the melody line from "Mamouna."

hat trick of trashiness (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 5 October 2023 19:14 (one year ago) link

this is a 94 recording with 89 guide vocals though, not an avonmore recording with 94 vocals.

I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Thursday, 5 October 2023 19:17 (one year ago) link

Oh, I wasn't making that point again. I was posting the first track he released from the set.

hat trick of trashiness (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 5 October 2023 19:19 (one year ago) link

oh, ha

I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Thursday, 5 October 2023 19:21 (one year ago) link

My friend Andy Zax on FB:

Horoscope circulated internally at WBR at the time. (I still have my official in-house copy.) Everyone hated it, and for good reason. The version of “Mother Of Pearl” is an unspeakable horror.

Ned Raggett, Thursday, 5 October 2023 19:34 (one year ago) link

Needless to say I'm interested in Ferry invoking Cthulhu here.

Ned Raggett, Thursday, 5 October 2023 19:34 (one year ago) link

He's singing the melody line from "Mamouna."

Yes, it's the verse of "Mamouna" and the bridge of "Your Painted Smile". I imagine that, starting with these sessions, Ferry would do a lot of reconfiguration of parts of songs in the attempt to create finished masters.

Halfway there but for you, Thursday, 5 October 2023 20:03 (one year ago) link

i disagree that it's an unspeakable horror. It's interesting. Is it vital and necessary? no, but it's not a total embarrassment. On the whole horoscope feels unfinished, which it is; and Mamouna is an infinitely better finished product (my personal second favorite Ferry solo release)

I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Thursday, 5 October 2023 21:06 (one year ago) link

I remember, when Mamouna first came out, my friend suggesting that the then-unknown Horoscope must have contained eleven other Zodiac songs in the vein of "Gemini Moon".

Halfway there but for you, Thursday, 5 October 2023 21:08 (one year ago) link

The version of “Mother Of Pearl” is an unspeakable horror.

I had no idea such a thing existed so it was the first thing I checked out. Of course it pales next to the original, almost everything does, so remake/remodeling it was rather pointless, but it's a sultry groove and fun to sing along with. I didn't hate it.

Large, Complex, Detailed but Irrefutable POST (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 5 October 2023 21:17 (one year ago) link

There are also very few examples of Ferry remaking/remodeling pre-1976 Roxy in the post-1979 style. I’ve written before how incongruous certain aspects of the transition seem – in that sense, the Horoscope “Mother of Pearl” is a bit of a missing puzzle piece.

Naive Teen Idol, Saturday, 7 October 2023 04:35 (one year ago) link

So they have released the ‘89 instrumental and final versions of “Your Painted Smile” from this edition as well. The former, which appears to be all Ferry on keyboards, is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1FsWsme3pU

It seems the message is “Here is Bryan’s process for arriving at this record.” And it is indeed a very interesting process.

Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, 8 October 2023 00:21 (one year ago) link

it's cool because they haven't done this before with his solo albums; and this wasn't the obvious one to do (that would have been boys and girls; but maybe there isn't as much outtake material for that)

I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Sunday, 8 October 2023 02:20 (one year ago) link

I've long wanted a Ferry + synths/Ferry + keyboard Rick Rubin project.

hat trick of trashiness (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 8 October 2023 04:55 (one year ago) link

Andy Zax has been involved in solid reissues, but I truly don’t care about his personal opinions regarding music

beamish13, Sunday, 8 October 2023 05:37 (one year ago) link

His opinion about the re-made re-modeled "Mother of Pearl" isn't any better or worse than other assertions in this thread.

hat trick of trashiness (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 8 October 2023 12:47 (one year ago) link

I've long wanted a Ferry + synths/Ferry + keyboard Rick Rubin project.

Given the state of his voice, I would settle for a bunch of additional synth demos along the lines of “Your Painted Smile.”

One track on these sessions that I’ve always been somewhat intrigued by is “N.Y.C.” – which at first (or even second or third) blush is one of the most musically and lyrically enervated numbers in Ferry’s catalog. It doesn’t seem to go anywhere musically and trades on some seemingly tired lyrical cliches. Yet, behind Nathan East’s hammy slap bass octaves lurk these lithe little touches—the taut Maceo Parker sax riff and mildly dissonant descending progression when he sings “On the mainline/To Harlem” among others—that have always piqued my interest.

The Horoscope version of this (apparently titled “S&M”) suggests there was originally a bit more in store here, including additional lyrics that reference Birdland and “Take the A Train” – with the song sequenced to flow directly into “Midnight Train” (which went unreleased until Avonmore more than two decades later), forming a bit of an urban mini-suite. The instrumental demo on this deluxe edition may yet unearth more behind this seemingly slight number.

it's cool because they haven't done this before with his solo albums; and this wasn't the obvious one to do (that would have been boys and girls; but maybe there isn't as much outtake material for that)

I would think that the next most obvious candidate for this treatment would be Frantic, since, like Horoscope Sessions, we have the sessions for Alphaville and a similar half decade gestation.

Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, 8 October 2023 21:25 (one year ago) link

that would be great because Frantic is likely my third favorite ferry solo album.

I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Sunday, 8 October 2023 21:49 (one year ago) link

I wonder what else exists of the Roxy sessions that then morphed into the rest of Olympia

I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Sunday, 8 October 2023 21:54 (one year ago) link

four weeks pass...

Soooo great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75cRAMGGAIc

hat trick of trashiness (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 5 November 2023 15:51 (one year ago) link

Edit of Mamouna title track instrumental demo from 1989 and fading into the 1994 track now also available. I again enjoy listening to Bryan putz around on his ROMpler.

Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 16 November 2023 14:20 (eleven months ago) link

Raga and Mother of Pearl redux are both amazing.

I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Sunday, 19 November 2023 03:21 (eleven months ago) link

Yep. “Raga” was one of the first things I checked out. It was called “Blinded By the Life I’m Living” on the boot I had – but the Nth generation sound on that one completely obscured what an absolute corker it actually is.

Naive Teen Idol, Monday, 20 November 2023 01:40 (eleven months ago) link

I do not think "Mother of Pearl" is amazing.

The attempts to get "Your Painted Smile" and "The Only Face" right suggest he could've written first-rate instrumental music.

stuffing your suit pockets with cold, stale chicken tende (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 20 November 2023 01:42 (eleven months ago) link

The deluxe is a fun listen. Oddly, most of Ferry’s ROM-pler demos are richly atmospheric and more in keeping with the final versions on Mamouna than Horoscope, which while detailed and layered feel like they are missing a final layer of lacquer typically associated with most of Ferry’s work.

Some initial thoughts and observations:

“Gemini Moon,” likely a central tune to the Horoscope concept, is more a straight funk number there, absent the swampy Duane Eddy-ish guitar on the record proper.

The same is true of “The Only Face” which, according to Jonathan Rigby’s (excellent) Both Ends Burning book, had been kicking around since 1976 – its descending circular chord progression bears more than a passing resemblance to Roxy’s “My Only Love,” which Ferry also beat into the ground over the years. The sweeping demo and piano and vocal drafts included here are great.

Interestingly, the version of “Loop De Li” on Avonmore actually begins with an overdubbed version of the demo included on this – none of the mostly completed Horoscope version is used, including the vocal which may not be from 2014 but is certainly post-Frantic.

By contrast, “Midnight Train” here hews pretty closely to the completed version – again, the vocal may have been re-recorded for Avonmore but generally this sounds far more similar, albeit with a slightly less prominent disco rhythm guitar.

“N.Y.C./Desdemona” as noted upthread was clearly conceived as part of an urban suite here. The original sketch is pretty similar to the final version on Mamouna, albeit a bit more programmed and leaden, with most of the little touches—the whistling in the intro, the Maceo sax, the live drums—added as it progressed. It’s possible Nile Rodgers’ part was added later as well, tho he may be just mixed lower on the Horoscope version.

“Raga,” as mentioned, is terrific, particularly once it transitions from its languid opening section about 3:05 in. Why wasn’t it included or finished is a bit of a mystery. It may have been that the phrasing if it’s refrain was too similar to the “Tick tick time/It don’t mean nothing” of “Gemini Moon.”

Will try to add some more thoughts over the course of the holiday week.

Naive Teen Idol, Tuesday, 21 November 2023 15:03 (eleven months ago) link

We got Alfred review

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/bryan-ferry-mamouna-deluxe/

Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 29 November 2023 21:23 (eleven months ago) link

Hurrah!

stuffing your suit pockets with cold, stale chicken tende (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 29 November 2023 21:49 (eleven months ago) link

Great review!

SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Wednesday, 29 November 2023 22:49 (eleven months ago) link

Thanks! Labor of love

stuffing your suit pockets with cold, stale chicken tende (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 29 November 2023 23:08 (eleven months ago) link

I’ve never heard a note of this, & that review made me very intrigued. Very much enjoying so far. Nice slow burn on ‘The 39 steps,’ loving it.

BlackIronPrison, Thursday, 30 November 2023 00:32 (eleven months ago) link

Try this. Beautifully sung.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDHOLIvgD2E

stuffing your suit pockets with cold, stale chicken tende (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 30 November 2023 00:41 (eleven months ago) link

lovely review Mr. Soto

I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Thursday, 30 November 2023 01:39 (eleven months ago) link

That's a lovely review of Mamouna, Alfred. Always thought that the middle section of the album - 'Your Painted Smile' to 'Which Way to Turn' - could be Ferry's strongest solo work.

This run of goodness abruptly ends with 'Wildcat Days' - it didn't help that I originally misheard the title of the song as being 'W**ker days (and lonely nights)'. I know you're cultivating the image of the romantically frustrated lothario, Bryan, but have some decency, man.

Portsmouth Bubblejet, Monday, 4 December 2023 11:32 (eleven months ago) link

"Gemini Moon" is a nothing too. "Chain Reaction" tho is one of his strongest closers.

stuffing your suit pockets with cold, stale chicken tende (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 4 December 2023 13:03 (eleven months ago) link

Ah but “Gemini Moon” has this one sublime moment during the slightly atonal bridge just before the two minute mark where he sings about the “hangman card.”

Also, since we’re talking about them, I have just noticed that for some reason he’s swapped the sequencing of “Wildcat Days” and “Gemini Moon” on the deluxe.

Naive Teen Idol, Tuesday, 5 December 2023 06:27 (eleven months ago) link

Man I adore "Your Painted Smile". The live versions I've heard are fine but lose that studio crafted melancholy.

SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Tuesday, 5 December 2023 11:00 (eleven months ago) link

oh and thanks all!

stuffing your suit pockets with cold, stale chicken tende (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 5 December 2023 11:12 (eleven months ago) link

"Gemini Moon" is a nothing too. "Chain Reaction" tho is one of his strongest closers.


FWIW, I would say there are three kind of aimless tunes on this record where Ferry seems to be working overtime to muster up some tension: this, “Wildcat Days” and Al-fave “The 39 Steps.” Each feature a slightly malevolent groove, whoosh-y sonics and … not much else (tho the latter does try to spice things up with an airy B-section and a sort of reverse guitar solo).

I still find something interesting in each, but they def. form this album’s “Writer’s Block Trilogy” with “N.Y.C.” not lagging too far behind.

Naive Teen Idol, Tuesday, 5 December 2023 17:59 (eleven months ago) link

I'll save "The 39 Steps" for those reasons and for Ferry's double-tracked vocal; I'm a sucker for singers who overdub themselves singing in a higher register.

stuffing your suit pockets with cold, stale chicken tende (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 5 December 2023 18:17 (eleven months ago) link

We fans needed all the strange mid-90s Ferry could muster.

Also, bereft of the double tracked vocal, but a more illuminating window into Bryan and Brian’s then-resurgent partnership than the song they wrote together:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPh7EKKwDI4

Naive Teen Idol, Tuesday, 5 December 2023 21:41 (eleven months ago) link

Eno does his best to enliven "The 39 Steps" in that remix, but it's for naught. Ferry hasn't written a good one-chord song since "The Bogus Man", except maybe "The Main Thing". He claims to write all his songs on piano, how the hell do you write something like "N.Y.C." that way? Play a minor triad in 4/4 at mid-tempo and say, "OK, that's my song"?

His two-chord songs of this era can be good ("Which Way to Turn") or bad ("Wildcat Days").

Halfway there but for you, Thursday, 7 December 2023 16:08 (eleven months ago) link

The 39 Steps >> The Main Thing

stuffing your suit pockets with cold, stale chicken tende (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 7 December 2023 16:10 (eleven months ago) link

"The Bogus Man" may be the first song where he does the octave doubling on the vocal.

Halfway there but for you, Thursday, 7 December 2023 19:07 (eleven months ago) link

I've heard this now. Horoscope would definitely be the worst Ferry album if not for Dylanesque. None of the songs are better than their better-known versions, though "The Only Face" is an interesting alternate up-tempo take, and "Mother of Pearl" is such a strong lyric set that it can even survive being Milli Vanillified. "Raga" is so dull as a track that I'm surprised he bothered writing lyrics for it. There are some really poor sequencing decisions - "Desdemona" coming after "The Only Face", in the same key and tempo, makes me think I'm hearing the same song twice in a row every time I listen. Going for the thick layering of Mamouna was a much better decision than Horoscope's attempt to imitate Bête Noire's dancier/poppier sound.
I see that "Loop De Li" was originally titled "Your Love Has Died" on the earlier versions of the record, maybe he felt that was inappropriate in light of his then-wife's subsequent fate.
Sketches is a nice, evocative mix, with the two versions of "The Only Face" again the highlights.
Thanks Alfred for your review, but this had to make me laugh:

Some fragments suggest that Ferry could’ve eked out a sideline as a film composer.

Point taken about the atmospheric nature of the instrumentals, except they have to do usually in a couple of weeks what he takes years to complete. Any 1989 porn film composer could have cranked out "Robot" in an afternoon.

Halfway there but for you, Tuesday, 19 December 2023 18:04 (ten months ago) link

"Robot" gets tedious quick but it's still pretty cool coming from Ferry.

SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Tuesday, 19 December 2023 21:28 (ten months ago) link

nine months pass...

Posting Timothy White's original review of Bête Noire, an extraordinarily hyperbolic one.

https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Musician/1980/1988/Musician-1988-01.pdf

the talented mr pimply (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 24 September 2024 20:47 (one month ago) link

I'm surprised that afaict no thread has mentioned that new (to us) song "Star," which he created at least partly in collaboration with the Nine Inch Nails guys. Sounded ok, though Ferry felt a bit relegated to a supporting role.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71VQD8ohaUo

Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 26 September 2024 16:29 (one month ago) link

Happy birthday, Love God!

("Star" is okay)

the talented mr pimply (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 26 September 2024 16:30 (one month ago) link


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