Bryan Ferry: Frantic
Review by David Cheal
Daily Telegraph, 27th April 2002
Although Bryan Ferry's new album contains only
seven new songs out of 13, four of which were co-written with Dave Stewart, by
his standards this constitutes a raging torrent of creativity. And the remarkable
thing is that, unlike the clanky and unmelodic things that occupied his last album
of new material, 1994's Mamouna, these are thoroughly listenable and at times
exhuberently tuneful pieces of music (Goddess of Love is a delight - warm, rich
and majestic). Further cause for celebration comes in the form of I Thought, co-written
by Ferry and Brian Eno. And very beguiling in a languid Eno-ish way it is too.
The rest of the album is taken up with cover versions, one of which, Bob Dylan's
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue is such an improvement on the original as to be almost
definitive: brash, urgent and upbeat, The voice is beginning to show its age -
stretched, thin, like old catgut. But it's to Ferry's credit that, rather than
trying to hide it behind the production, he makes a virtue of it. Growing old,
but with style (and) dignity: how very Bryan Ferry.
Text copyright 2002 Daily Telegraph, used without permission.
