L.A. Scene 2008-12-12
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Bryan Ferry is one of those artists that is well-known among European music fans, but in the United States - Ferry's career has almost gone unnoticed. Ferry achieved success as the lead singer for Roxy Music - who also had established themselves in Europe, but not in the United States. During his Roxy Music years, Ferry also had a parallel solo career going In 1983, for all practical purposes - Roxy Music would split up and Bryan Ferry would focus on his solo career. Ferry's solo career would also continue a level of success in Europe and not garner much attention in the United States. Ferry would build a reputation as "suave" and "smooth" from both his vocal style and his looks. In fact to some extent, it is safe to say that Ferry can be considered a modern-day crooner. After eleven solo albums, Ferry would take a radical change and record an album of cover songs. These cover songs would be songs made famous by the legendary Bob Dylan. As many know, Dylan is nearly on the opposite end of the spectrum when one compares this to the "suave and smooth" style of Ferry. While Ferry does put his own spin on these songs, Ferry does a good job at preserving the essence of the music made famous by Dylan.
One thing I will go on the record and say is that I am not a Bob Dylan fan. I'm not going to knock Dylan or his talent. I simply do not care for Dylan's Folksy Rock sound, nor do I care for Dylan's nasal-sounding vocals. That being said, I still was very much intrigued by the curiosity of listening to Ferry's spin on these songs. The net result is that I enjoyed how Ferry covered these songs - and it gave me a better appreciation for some of Dylan's music as a result of this.
Here is a synopsis of the tracks:
"Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues": On this opening track, I heard some "cracks" in Ferry's usual "smooth and suave" vocals, yet I think this worked perfectly. However the melody on this song still has a smooth feel to it. Ferry tops it off with a beautiful harmonica interlude to pay perfect homage to Dylan.
"Simple Twist of Fate": This was definitely the strongest track of the collection. Ferry goes back to his trademark crooning "smooth and suave" style. There is a good balance of guitar and piano throughout the song. The harmonica once again plays a key role, but there also some good use of the fiddle-style violin that gives the song an edge.
"Make You Feel Your Love": This tracks starts off with a classical style piano and is highlighted by a subtle use of a string section. Ferry's crooning is in full-swing here as he employs a haunting-style to his vocals - something commonly heard on his previous collections.
"The Times They Are-A-Changing": Another great performance by Ferry. This is a classic Bob Dylan song. Ferry employs his "suave and smooth" vocals to this song. The bluesy sounding guitar work highlights the melody of this track. I like Ferry's cover on this much better than the original.
"All I Really Wanna Do": On the Dylan original, this song had a very simple sound to it. Ferry doesn't try to make this any more complex than the original. Combine this with his crooning vocals and it gives it a perfect feel.
"Knockin' on Heaven's Door": Same comments as on "The Times They-Are-Changing" - Ferry's crooning style of vocals produce a cover that might even be stronger than the original. Terrific use of the background vocalists on this track - they complement Ferry's crooning perfectly. More great use of the harmonica as well.
"Positively 4th Street": I like the use of the piano on this track. Like on "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues", Ferry "cracks" a bit from his "smooth and suave" style. The harmonica and string section interlude about 2 1/2 minutes into the track is great.
"If Not For You": This track has one a more folksy feels to it from a melody standpoint, but what I found most interesting is how Ferry would "croon" over this folksy melody. Nice use of electronic instruments supplement this sound.
"Baby Let Me Follow You down": This track also has a folksy feel to it, but Ferry employs some of the "cracks" in his voice heard on some of the other tracks. Once again, use of the harmonica is spot on.
"Gates of Eden": Ferry employs some of his trademark haunting vocals on this track. It is the haunting vocals that really give this song an identity. In fact the use of the harmonica is switched here and it also has a more haunting sound.
"All Along the Watchtower": Many artists have covered this track, but Ferry's cover ranks right up there with the best of them. I truly liked the "Rock Edge" that Ferry put on this song. It's a complete change of pace from the other tracks on this collection, and to some extent a change from Ferry's style. Great stuff.
The liner notes contain a nice write-up on the background for Ferry doing the covers of the Bob Dylan tracks. It s also worth noting that Ferry teams up with longtime collaborators - Rhett Davies (producer) and Bob Clearmountain (master mix engineer). Davies and Clearmountain have always found a way to get the most out of Ferry's sound - and even on this change of pace work by Ferry they find a way to do this. Overall, I found this album much more enjoyable than Dylan's original works - but then again, I did state that I wasn't a Dylan fan. However this gave me an appreciation for Dylan's music. I'd definitely recommend this.
