Bryan Ferry - Dan Enright

RETROSPECTIVE: Bryan Ferry

- Dan Enright

(Mng. Ed. note: Bryan Ferry is on tour supporting his new Virgin release, Mamouna. For those who are unfamiliar with his career, we've given a little background on his career and his latest effort.)

If you are unfamiliar with Bryan Ferry's career, the first place to look is his "greatest hits" release Street Life. This 1986 compilation has twenty tracks from his Roxy Music and solo catalogue, ranging from the first self-titled Roxy release through his 1985 solo Boys & Girls. It captures the twists and genre-busting approaches to popular music that have always been Bryan's stock in trade.

But, back to the early Roxy Music works. Going back to these early albums remind me why I have followed Bryan's career for the last twenty (plus) years. The strangely twisted art/glam rock that marked his first Roxy release slowly absorbed and mutated the dance/disco of the late '70s, transforming it into the lush and sublime Avalon.

Simultaneously, he was interpreting his musical influences on solo albums that mixed his own material with songs by The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and JJ Cales (among others). Some of these covers are (in my opinion) the definitive versions of the songs. For instance, Take Me To the River (Al Green), In The Midnight Hour (Wilson Pickett), and Jealous Guy (John Lennon) all receive treatments that make them Bryan Ferry songs as well as establish those interpretaions as new standards.

A few of his own songs, especially from the Roxy Music albums, have become international hits as well. Songs like "Love Is the Drug", "More Than This", "The Thrill of it All", and "Dance Away" are among the best known songs, yet these are only the singles that received airplay. His albums are filled with treasures that make them worth repeat listening.

Throughout his career, he has created the image of a detached, jet-setting, man of the world; wealthy and worldly, chasing pleasure and decadence. That image is the focus of Mamouna. This album also marks a reunion, of sorts, of the original Roxy Music with contributions by Brian Eno (who hadn't worked with Ferry since the second Roxy Music album) as well as alumni Phil Manzanera and Andy Mackay. Mamouna picks-up where Avalon left off (and is being promoted as "a continuation of the journey from Avalon_"), extending that album's dense rhythmic lushness to a more densely textured level.

Ferry comments on the project: "In my records, the demos become the finished tracks. I work on them more and more, developing each song on the same tape until it becomes finished. It's like the same canvas is overlaid and overlaid until it gets to the point where it's right."

That layering is clearly evident on this album, but under that musical landscape lurks the lyrical tale of a man trapped by his life - the wealth and decadence have grown tarnished and the passions, hollow. It captures the self examination of a life that has grown meaningless and shallow, but is so tightly woven that escape or change seems impossible and overwhelming.

This album really requires headphones to appreciate because the production by Robin Trower and Bryan is so subtle and yet, at the same time, so perfect. It's rare that I notice an album's production because it is outstanding instead of annoying.

The live performances (Bryan's first in six years) promise to be even more impressive. With shows in relatively small and intimate concert halls and only a trio to back him, it will be interesting to see how he interprets this new material. His band is the core of Mamouna - Steve Ferrone on drums (played with Eric Clapton), Dave Williams on guitar (played with Madonna and Michael Jackson), and Guy Fletcher on bass (played with Dire Straits) - so this should capture the soul of the album.

As Bryan gets older, more introspective in his writing and more demanding in his production the time between albums and tours is sure to increase. If you're a fan of Bryan and Roxy Music this will probably be the last opportunity to see him in such intimate surroundings for several years. I'd take advantage of it.