Bryan Ferry is best known and loved as the singer of Roxy Music and as a solo artist. This is his second album with his 1920’s styled jazz band, the Bryan Ferry Orchestra.
On the first Ferry was very much the maestro, neither performing on or playing on the album. It contained thirteen reworkings or earlier Roxy/Ferry tracks in a very authentic 1920’s style. This second set is more of the same though pleasingly Ferry adds his vocals to some of the songs. Prompted back into action by his involvement in the German TV series ‘Babylon Berlin’ this is a fitting and nice development from the original album released in 2012. As an aside I’ve had a tricky relationship with Ferry’s music over the years. I didn’t get into Roxy until their late 1970’s reformation, as a young child I found him somewhat creepy when viewed on Top of the Pops, but I grew into the later suave Roxy Music albums and not long after explored the earlier albums. He’s been a bit hit and miss for me solo, some great stuff but some that left me cold. The first BF Orchestra album, ‘The Jazz Age’ was very interesting but I longed for a vocal over some of the arrangements.
The Bryan Ferry Orchestra is a retro-jazz ensemble founded and led by Bryan Ferry.
So this album even before hearing it offers something more to me than it’s predecessor by having that vocal line on at least some songs. Opening with a vocal take on ‘Alphaville’ (originally from 2010’s ‘Olympia’, itself born out of abortive Roxy sessions) and it’s clear this is no rush job. The musical presentation is authentic without pandering to low-fi reproduction techniques and the vocal sits a little clearer than usual above the music. ‘Reason or Rhyme’ another ‘Olympia’ track follows in similar vein, with a nice underpinned trumpet line decorating the arrangement under the vocal. ‘Sign of the Times’ is the first fully instrumental track and is jaunty full of band arrangements, with different instruments coming to the fore and recreating the vocal melody lines. ‘New Town’ takes the mood down, a sombre viola led intro leading to Ferry’s delivery of the downbeat lyric. It lifts the pace as the track progresses, but the moody presentation gives the song a more contemporary feel than the previous songs. ‘Limbo’ has much more of a soundtrack feel in its low-key intro, very much a mood piece. ‘Title track ‘Bitter-Sweet’ follows, carried in on a heavier orchestral pomp, and is the first Roxy Music song reworked here (it’s from 1974’s ‘Country Life’). There’s quite a heavy German cabaret feel to it and the album is producing some variation whilst keeping to the concepts remit.
Album midpoint is reached with a jaunty version of Roxy pop-hit ‘Dance Away’, pleasant enough but much like the first album I’m left wanting a vocal that doesn’t come over the top. That shouldn’t distract from what is a strong and witty version though. ‘Zamba’ from 1987’s ‘Bête Noire’ is another vocal track with a fairly contemporary feel, heavy piano notes with a mournful string melody perhaps proving more difficult to bring a 1920’s feel to? Classic Roxy Music with ‘Sea Breezes’ is next up, a mournful string led take, very filmic, until a sort of Strictly type Charleston jaunt through the middle section kicks in. ‘Avalon’s ‘While My Heart Is Still Beating’ see’s Ferry step up to the mic again. Perhaps a little more pastiche sounding than what’s come so far though there is no let-up in the quality. ‘Bitters End’ returns us to Roxy’s debut album with a nice warm evening prairie home porch feel to it and is swiftly followed by its original album’s neighbour ‘Chance Meeting’, this time with the vocal intact. It’s a lovely understated arrangement with some in the distance trumpet punctuating the space in between vocal verses and a light-hearted closing passage. And then suddenly, we’re into album closer ‘Girls & Boys’, a moody picturesque piece with a classic Ferry vocal, the closing lyric (apart from the title refrain) is ‘Death is the friend I’ve yet to meet’, and it’s a suitable somber note to end the set with.
So, I have to say I prefer this album to its predecessor, the addition of vocal to many of the tracks gives the work a greater demand for attention. It’s hard to justify any of the recordings as an improvement over the originals but I doubt very much that was the aim. This stands up in its own right as a fully realised project, that Roxy and Ferry fans can enjoy as well as appealing to anyone with more than a passing interest in varied types of music.
Author: Ian, Romford store
