Bryan Ferry's new album - WARNING!!

hjames

hjames

We are all just walking each other home.
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The Bryan Ferry Orchestra - The Jazz Age
2013 - BMG
Basically, its a '30s Jazz sounding album - think Louis Armstrong or something similar from the '30s,
except its modern tunes from Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music, redone in the sound of that era.

I had thought - oh, interesting - an album of remakes of many of his classic tracks as if they were Jazz Age standards, done with Colin Good and many of the players on Bryan's earlier 40s style album "As Time Goes By" (1999)

Musically, the playing is quite good - very cool vintage type takes on modern songs.

But - bloody hell, Bryan doesn't even SING on the album!! For a longtime fan of his work, that makes it pretty worthless to me. I am suitable NOT impressed!!

01. Do The Strand
02. Love Is The Drug
03. Don’t Stop The Dance
04. Just Like You
05. Avalon
06. The Bogus Man
07. Slave To Love
08. This Is Tomorrow
09. The Only Face
10. I Thought
11. Reason Or Rhyme
12. Virginia Plain
13. This Island Earth

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Hi Heather,

So, does someone else sing, or is it purely instrumental?

Thanks for the heads up,



Dennie :thmbsp:
 
Brian Ferry doesn't sing or play. He is the founder, leader and songsmith.
What he's doing is rather cool, if you are int jazz.
 
poppachubby said:
Ready for elevators everywhere...
Click to expand...
Have you actually HEARD the album??
Its not Avalon part 5 ...
Its NOT elevator music in any sense.

Its purely instrumental - well - there is some ambient chatter behind "the Only Face" -
the song about Garbo from Mamouna and Horoscope ...

And like I say, as a period piece, its cool - but Ferry has done vocals for such work before,
which is why I'm sad he didn't do any here.
 
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I just picked up a copy of this from a thrift shop for a buck, partly because I was so surprised to see Bryan Ferry's name on a CD called "The Jazz Age", with artwork clearly reminiscent of that ere (which, incidentally, was more the 1920's than the 30's). Think Cab Calloway without the funny stuff, and you'll be close.

Brought it home, listened to it, and then came here to post about it, but first searched to see if it was already posted, and found this thread.

Frankly, I couldn't give the proverbial rat's a$$ if Ferry sings on it. "Is it GOOD MUSIC?" is the question I ask. Tiny Tim could do a duet with Mrs. Miller, for all I care, as long as it sounds good (although I cannot imagine that actually sounding at all listenable :D).

And my conclusion after listening to this is... it IS GOOD! :music: I like a lot of the old, early jazz, but all too often it comes with the snap, crackle, pop and faded sound of old, battered 78 recordings. Half the time, you need to listen with a wee bit of imagination added, to get the effect that the original music must have had live. In contrast, this recording is, of course, refreshingly clear and listenable, because it is an all-new recording.

It's also surprisingly sensitive in the arrangements to the ethos of "the jazz age" era. Lots of muted brass, droning saxes, etc... at times almost like a New Orleans funeral. Very sensitively and decently done from a musical standpoint, especially since the underlying songs are all composed by Ferry himself (with one dual credit each with Mackay, Davies and Eno).



If I had imagined Roxy Music stuff re-done in a jazz style, it would not have been this. This doesn't sound at all like rock re-imagined. It sounds like really good old jazz written to be jazz in the first place, almost as if someone had just discovered a pristine copy of long-lost jazz-era music. To me, that is good arranging.

Although I've only listened to it once, and might change my mind after repeated listenings, at this point I'm giving this a "thumbs up", and putting it into rotation for whenever I'm in the mood for this (all-too-rare) genre. If you've ever heard 20's "jazz era" music that you liked, pick this one up and give it a listen. You might be as pleasantly surprised as I was!
 
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hjames said:
Have you actually HEARD the album??
Its not Avalon part 5 ...
Its NOT elevator music in any sense.

Its purely instrumental - well - there is some ambient chatter behind "the Only Face" -
the song about Garbo from Mamouna and Horoscope ...

And like I say, as a period piece, its cool - but Ferry has done vocals for such work before,
which is why I'm sad he didn't do any here.
Click to expand...

Love all Instrumentals!
Looking/listening to it as a "Change Of Pace" so to speak:):tresbon:
 
Sweet! I love Roxy/Ferry and 30s jazz so this will be right up my alley. I'll scrounge around for some samples and then order it up. Thanks for resurrecting an old thread that I missed Arkay.
 
Here's my real problem with this album & why it didn't work for me:

I was excited about the whole concept with period instruments, etc.
HOWEVER, in what I believe is a major production misstep, they applied all kinds of digital filtration and EQ in an attempt to get it to sound like a 78. The result is very artificial sounding.

So if you're thinking this will sound sort of like Squirrel Nut Zippers play Roxy (period instruments & mic techniques but good fidelity) you're going to be in for a big disappointment.
 
Naptown Rob said:
they applied all kinds of digital filtration and EQ in an attempt to get it to sound like a 78. The result is very artificial sounding.
Click to expand...

I'm only on the second song but I don't hear much other than the fact they limited the bandwidth to around 5k. Kinda sounds like one of my better Ellington 78s so far.

edit: Avalon is cracking me up. It played a large role in my wooing of Mrs. Scuzzer and I'm seriously enjoying this version.
 
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This is the first I've heard of this album. It's available on MOG so I'll give it a listen today.

cubdog
 
Ferry is not the only one who has done this, but I'm trying to recall which one I have and I am seriously drawing a blank. Was it Phil Collins? Somebody help me. Same exact kind of thing, their hit songs reinterpreted as big-band jazz numbers, pure instrumentals, you could basically recognize the song and otherwise totally different.

Speaking of elevator music, I did hear a Muzak version of "White Wedding" once in a Village Inn restaurant in Denver. Scarred me for life.
 
Man tough crowd here. I bought the vinyl the first week. I liked it. :dunno:

Speaking of Squirrel Nut Zipppers, I wouldn't mind seeing some reissues out there.
 
Of course, the other question is - have you heard the Great Gatsby Soundtrack featuring the Bryan Ferry Orchestra?

Track Listings
1. Young & Beautiful (Salon) - The Bryan Ferry Orchestra
2. Back to Black - Bryan Ferry & The Bryan Ferry Orchestra
3. New Orleans Bump - Jelly Roll Morton
4. Nick the Neighbor - The Bryan Ferry Orchestra
5. Empire State of Mind - The Bryan Ferry Orchestra
6. Let's Misbehave - Irving Aaronson & His Commanders
7. 100$Bill - The Bryan Ferry Orchestra
8. Crazy in Love - The Bryan Ferry Orchestra
9. Ain't Misbehavin' - Louis Armstrong
10. Love Is The Drug - Bryan Ferry & The Bryan Ferry Orchestra
11. Bang Bang - The Bryan Ferry Orchestra
12. Oh! You Have No Idea - The Bryan Ferry Orchestra feat. Andrea Martin
13. Daisy's Theme - The Bryan Ferry Orchestra
14. Can't Repeat The Past - The Bryan Ferry Orchestra

Its a far piece from his 1999 "As Time Goes By" album of period pieces ...
 
I gather it is probably pretty good in of itself and I never criticize anything I have yet to hear.

Still, this is Bryan Ferry, the man with the most ethereal and seductive voice around. Roxy Music was my go to for enteraining young ladies back in my single days. I would think he would want to sing on this genre.
 
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