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Bryan Ferry

Dylanesque  Hear it Now

RS: 3.5of 5 Stars

2007

Play View Bryan Ferry's page on Rhapsody

Bryan Ferry – like the subject of his new covers disc – has one of the most recognizable voices in rock: A quavering, vulnerable tenor that can shift from totally-over-it to totally lovesick in a single elided phrase. Cut fast and loose with Ferry's touring band, Dylanesque dresses up Dylan classics for a night on the town with Avalon-style atmosphere (original Roxy Music sound wizard Brian Eno even adds "electronics" to the gorgeous "If Not for You"). Album opener "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues," "Positively 4th Street" and a heartbreaking "Gates of Eden" are reinvented as reverb-soaked lost Roxy classics; on "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down," Ferry even plays Dylanish harmonica and Farfisa. There are a few missteps: The jammy "Simple Twist of Fate" sounds like it was inspired by the Jerry Garcia Band version, and the closing "All Along the Watchtower" tries too hard to rock. And who thought hiring Master P to design the cover would be a good idea?



JONATHAN RINGEN

(Posted: Jun 12, 2007)

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