Customer Reviews

Frantic (Hybr)

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

FRANTIC is almost an appropriate name for Bryan Ferry's most recent effort. I say "almost" because 'frantic' implies anxiousness and nervousness -- and Bryan Ferry could never be labeled either (he's far too meticulous and patient in his artistic determination). What FRANTIC displays, however, is a creator demonstrating his mastery over a variety of different styles. And this mastery is delivered with an organic energy that Bryan hasn't utilized since THE BRIDE STRIPPED BARE. Texturally, Bryan comes full circle with FRANTIC. Over the years Bryan has explored a very layered and controlled sound. AVALON was the apotheosis of this approach with Roxy Music, and MAMOUNA was clearly the ultimate distillation of that cosmically ethereal sound in Bryan's solo career (and MAMOUNA can never be topped -- it's just exquisite musical art). Bryan's next effort, AS TIME GOES BY took a 180-degree turn. Here was Bryan, stripped down to just his voice and traditional non-synthetic accompaniments, exploring staples from America's past. If anyone questions his talents as a crooner or the power of his voice, I simply refer them to his version of "Where or When" (it makes Sinatra's take on it seem like insincere drivel). Now Bryan turns it up a notch. Using the same organic approach, he fashioned a rock album in FRANTIC that explores Dylan, pop, funk, trip-hop, ballads, blues, and folk music -- and Bryan's foray into each territory is inspired. His voice has become smokier, but that familiar quiver -- symbolizing his yearning for the perfect, ideal love -- has matured into a curtain of passion that wraps itself around the listener. For me, "Hiroshima . . ." and "I Thought" are classics that triumphantly usher Ferry into the new century. The former is a hypnotic masterpiece that should have been released as a single to the trip-hop/Massive Attack crowd (it would have made Virgin Records billions had they been thinking). The latter is a brilliant, beautifully lyrical rumination on lost love; it begins with a funky Morricone-esque keyboard delivered by Brian Eno and escalates into a swirling mass of forlorn beauty. Forget Sting. Forgot Bono. Forget Josh Groban. Forget Peter Gabriel. Forget Andrea Bocelli. Forget Celine Dion. Forget Cher. There is only Bryan Ferry.

This is a great album! Bryan Ferry with his new album "FRANTIC", has regained the creative passion that initially made Roxy Music one of the most influential bands of the '70s. While much of his audience is probably over 40, I would guess much of this older fan base is very loyal, and probably considers itself fairly well educated musically. Once the word of mouth spreads, this album will have a solid chance to cross over to a more mainstream audience. Can we say Grammy award?

Bryan Ferry's early solo albums were often wonderful. He often drew on a mixture of top musicians and would also include some of his Roxy Music bandmates on certain tracks. He does that here and returns to some of his signature sounds and roots in "FRANTIC". Reminiscent in one respect, of his debut album of 1972, "THESE FOOLISH THINGS", he again uniquely covers a couple of great Dylan classics, "IT'S ALL OVER BABY BLUE" and "DON'T THINK TWICE, IT'S ALL RIGHT". There is much original new Ferry scored material here as well, including several strong up tempo songs co-written with Dave Stewart. One of which, an homage to Marilyn Monroe, "GODDESS OF LOVE" could become a hit single.

His collaborations here with various gifted muscians including orginal Roxy bandmates Brian Eno and Paul Thompson, the above mentioned Eurithmics co-founder Dave Stewart, guitar great Robin Trower and top session guitarist, Chris Spedding, not to mention recent Ferry touring musicians, pianist Colin Good, and bassist Zev Katz, make this a very solid affair.

When you think about it, Bryan Ferry has been one of the most prolific songwriter, bandleader, vocalists of the past 30 years. Roxy Music, of which Ferry wrote or co-wrote virtually everything, produced 8 original material albums, not including concert/greatist hits, and Ferry had 10 solo albums previous to this and not including collections, etc.

There is something for every Ferry fan here, a bit of every era of Bryan. The songs are varried in styles, that it is just a pure pleasure to experience. There are at least eight strong songs on this disk. It is one of Ferry's finest albums.

I have to admit - I really got started late on Bryan Ferry. I barely discovered Boys and Girls in the early '90's (though I had heard "Slave To Love" and "Don't Stop The Dance"), and my Roxy Music knowledge was very limited. It didn't take long after hearing Boys and Girls in its entirety that I was a Ferry devotee, and I soon explored the entire Ferry-RM catalogue. Siren and Avalon are masterpieces, and Boys and Girls remains my favorite work of his (I'm in my early 30's, so the 80's New Romantic sleek-and-stylish approach of Boys and Girls really grabbed me). Of course, "Is Your Love Strong Enough" remains my top Ferry tune. Anyway, we're talking about the new album, aren't we? Well, it's not as *cohesive* as Boys and Girls, as far as the overall sound goes, but the combination of varying musical styles works very well on this LP. At first, I thought that opening a 'new album' with a cover song seemed a bit strange, but "It's All Over" has such a strong opening, that I wouldn't have sequenced the album any other way. I will say that secretly, I was hoping to hear some sax on the album, but the harmonica parts are certainly a pleasant change (we don't need Boys and Girls 2 now, do we?!) The new single "Goddess Of Love" is a classic Ferry single. Sure, the hooks are nothing new, but the song is anything but recycled and stale. Naturally, the single, along with "Hiroshima" and "Cruel" is among my favorites on the album, reminding me of Avalon - Bete Noire-era material. I still have a tough time with some of BF's 70's solo material (too much of a 'Streets of San Francisco vibe going on there, and the tunes don't hold up as well). I know that a lot of diehard Ferry fans swear by The Bride Stripped Bare, but I was a child of the 1980's, so naturally my tastes fall more with the Avalon-Boys material. The follow-ups to Boys and Girls were good, but not great: Bete Noire has a couple of standout tracks, but is definitely not his most-inspired effort, and Mamouna has its moments, usually when the wah-wah guitars aren't too overbearing. Taxi and As Time Goes By are good covers albums, but the new release is one of the most satisfying CD's I've heard thus far in 2002. Highly recommended for fans of all of Ferry's albums. If you think about it, this album is almost a 'greatest hits' of Ferry's career, only represented by new covers and originals. Way to go, Bryan!

I seem to recall Bryan himself saying words to the effect that Mamouna had been stewing for so long it'd come out overcooked. I bought it, but bar a couple of promising tracks, I was never been hooked by it. I despaired that another old rocker seemed to be beginning the slide from the heights of fantastic artistry to...depths of mediocrity in his dotage. Then after an interminable wait during which I thought Bryan had given up and retired, out came As Time Goes By. The flame of hope rekindled! If only Bryan could take a corresponding magical formula and apply it carefully to some nice new original songs...

Well, along came Frantic. I approached the CD store with trepidation. However a few good reviews had propped up my courage, and I took Frantic home, sound unheard. A gamble, but what a payout! I can't stop playing this disc. As soon as I heard Track 1 I decided that Bob should have paid Bryan to sing all his songs, right from Day One. And Goddess Of Love could sit on a Bryan/Roxy Greatest Hits package right alongside Oh Yeah, Dance Away, More Than This, Avalon, etc.

I could keep the superlatives flowing all day. Suffice to say I'm hugely impressed with Bryan's success in making this album so eclectic yet so cohesive. Nearly 60? So what, the man has hip in spades, and the voice is still as lovely as ever. Yet another illustration of the fact that age should be completely irrelevant. This man should be in the Top 40 right now.

Once upon a time, albums like this and their spin-off singles used to litter the charts. Nowadays the music world seems to be on an endless downwards slide where artistry, musicianship, taste and quality are pushed aside in favour of appallingly mediocre talentless manufactured acts. Just as galling is the sight of once great artists desperately clinging to the last remnants of their bankability by appearing in charity concerts propping up/propped up by teeny boy and girl bands. Unfortunately, everything is reduced towards the lowest common denominator as the dollar takes over. But Bryan, I love you. You haven't sold out. Your integrity remains while you pursue your craft with dedication and class. What will I do when you're no longer around? Whose new records will I buy? Ronan Keating? Enrique? For God's sake.

Right from the beginning of the lead off track, a cover of Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue", you can tell Ferry is revitalized. It's difficult to pick any one track that doesn't belong on "Frantic", or a track that's weaker than the others. It's rare to find a cd with the quality that Ferry presents here. His choice to collaborate with Dave Stewart(Eurythmics) was a smart choice, and, oddly enough, so was the decision to have half the cd's songs written by other songwriters. "Frantic" ends up sounding fresh and vital, something that has been missing from Ferry's recent work. Perhaps it was the idea to incorporate acoustic guitar and push the synthesizers to the back that made "Frantic" a more immediate recording. Who knows? Ferry covers Bob Dylan very well on the tracks "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right". All The Dave Stewart/Bryan Ferry collaborations sound great as well. If I had to pick a weaker track it would be "Goodnight Irene" with its country flavor. I don't think that is Ferry's strength, but it makes for an interesting listen anyway. "Ja Nun Hons Pris" is like a short breather that separates the first half of the disc from the second--just like a great sorbet separates one course of a meal from the next. My favorite tracks include "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue", "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right", "Goddess Of Love", "Nobody Loves Me", "Hiroshima", and "One Way Love". Ferry fans will not be disappointed with "Frantic".

Bryan Ferry is, in my opinion, one of the most brilliant vocalists in the recording industry today. He manages to combine a music-hall crooner persona with some of the hottest licks out there, and "Frantic" is no exception. Two Dylan cuts on this album, "It's All Over Now Baby Blue" and "Don't Think Twice (It's All Right)" receive better treatment here than in their original versions. As usual, Ferry grabs you at the outset and doesn't let go.

The touchstone here for long-time Ferry fans (and it's hard to imagine who else buys his work at this point) is 1978's "Bride Stripped Bare." Like that album, "Frantic" includes a mixture of originals and covers, a more or less "rock" oriented backing, dry production with stinging treble and little sweetening, and Ferry himself inching as close to sincere as his persona will allow. Both even include a cover of a really old tune: "Carrickfergus" on "Bride" and "Ja Nun Hons Pre" on "Frantic." The late-seventies vibe is a welcome sign that Ferry has finally abandoned the ever more elaborate, ultra-shiek production that has marked his efforts since Roxy Music's "Avalon." That album was great, but the concept lost steam over the course of several solo efforts, and by "Mamouna" went down a blind alley. Perhaps Ferry recognized the problem even while cutting that baroque joke. If the line "lovey dovey on me" on "Mamouna's" last track wasn't self-parody, I'd like to know what qualifies.

Ferry's recent cover albums have been stronger. "Taxi" benefited from creative tune choices, while "As Time Goes By" found the singer in weak voice but provided a band so adept at reanimating `30s swing that it didn't matter. Both of these records retreated from the sometimes acidic irony Ferry brought to his cover projects in the 1970s, and "Frantic" extends this trend by offering its covers more or less straight. On 1972's "Foolish Things" Ferry deconstructed "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall" with almost maniacal glee; "Frantic's" two Dylan tunes are biting, direct, and completely free of camp. There's also a rendition of "Goodnight, Irene," that, despite the out-of-tune (a symbol of earnestness?) backing vocals shows that Ferry can sing the most primordial material convincingly. Ferry made half-ironic testimony to the pleasures of a "sim-ple tune" many, many years ago; now he walks the walk.

The arrangements are a bit literal: why bother playing harmonica on a Dylan cover? But Ferry delivers the lyrics effectively as always. Although he's a cult taste stateside, he's arguably one of rock's best cover singers. Who else could do both Dylan and Cole Porter convincingly (please don't say Bono). Ferry's approach strikes many listeners as overly mannered but it goes beyond mere irony or eccentricity for its own sake. Listening to "Don't Think Twice" you can see how the faux-French-cafe vibrato lets him smuggle in emotion without sacrificing style and control. A cover from the last decade or two would be nice, though. Maybe he'll do "Wannabe" or "Not Yet a Woman" when he's in a snarkier mood.

The originals on "Frantic" certainly punch harder than those on "Mamouna" or "Bete Noire," but none stand out vividly. By now Ferry's mined his subject-matter pretty thoroughly. It's not clear he has much left to say about the beauty of doomed, romantic love. There's little sense that he's seriously confronting aging (the liner photos seem to have visited the photoshop), that politics have suddenly began to matter to him, or that he's added a second hobby to "women." Two numbers toward the end (Hiroshima, San Simeon) reveal some uncertainty about his seventies direction: both would fit fine on Mamouna, although they're stronger than many of that album's tracks. Nothing's got the impact of "Can't Let Go" from "Bride," which comes closer to frantic than anything here. But it's good to hear Ferry abandoning sublime elevator music. He's got personality and musical intelligence to spare - enough to animate even middling material.

The eight year is finally over. After 1999s dissapointing As Time Goes By, one of my all-time favorite singers returns with renewed energy with an album that was almost worth the eight year wait.

If your expecting another Mamouna you might be in for a bit of a suprise as Frantic has a bluesier sound. It sort of reminds me of Michael McDonalds Blue Obsesssion CD.

It's Over Now Baby Blue begins this CD with a kick with a very country/rock twist. A great song to start of this CD. Cruel kind of continues the strange sounds of All Tommorrows Parties and Gemini Moon except this song is much more upbeat and not quite as eerie as those two but just as good as those two. Goin' Down is pure fun. It's a very upbeat bluesy song. Goddess Of Love features a harmonica, something I have never heard if Ferrys music before(I have not yet heard most of his pre-Boys and Girls material yet). Ferry has never sounded so good. We mellow down with Don't Think Twice, It's All Right. Don't Think Twice is a very simple piano ballad sort of like the beginning of These Foolish Things before the beat begins. Nobody Loves Me is a very rockish song with a bit of an early to mid 90s sound. Ja Nun Hons Pris is a pointless 35 second interlude with a female opera voice in the background. A Fool For Love is jazzier and moodier. A beautiful song. Goodnight Irene is very country sounding. Hiroshima is more rock sounding. San Simeon is haunting with a darker more cloudy even sound. One Way Love is a faster more upbeat song with a very sunny day sound. I Thought closes out this CD with a breezy country sounding song.

As a whole Frantic is a welcome return for the master of crooning. There is no 'New Town, Limbo or even Taxi'. This is a new Bryan Ferry. I doubt he'll top Bete Noire but Frantic is a CD worth checking out.

So far one of the best CDs of 2002!

...

Eden is to announce the release of Frantic, the highly anticipated new studio album from rock and pop legend Bryan Ferry. Frantic draws together 13 songs; principally brand new material and a selection of inventive cover versions.

Frantic presents Ferry at his most versatile and is guaranteed to thrill fans of all eras of an illustrious career which continues to musically and stylistically influence music today.

The album features several classic Ferry-esque love songs, enhanced by the inimitably luxurious production of Avalon and As Times Goes By producer Rhett Davies. Nowhere is this more perfectly captured than in the sweeping emotional drive of Nobody Loves Me, and the lilting Cruel and Marilyn Monroe-inspired Goddess of Love both co-written with Dave Stewart.

Yet, evolving and surprising as always, we also find a wholly new Bryan Ferry who has brought seductive elements of bluesy rock and country swing into his repertoire. It comes as no surprise therefore that Frantic includes versions of two Bob Dylan tracks Dont Think Twice and Its All Over Now Baby Blue which kicks off the album and reveals Ferrys superb harmonica skills. The Don Nix blues standard Goin Down continues the trend, whilst Leadbellys classic Goodnight Irene takes on a good ole drinking song quality accompanied by traditional Cajun musicians.

Further down the historical path is a beautiful interpretation of the medieval Ja Hun Hons Pris which leads into A Fool For Love, the former originally written by Richard The Lionheart. Co-producer Colin Good provides the Virginal keyboard parts whilst the soprano voice is that of Mary Nelson, also adding shimmer to the haunting San Simeon. Also highly notable is Hiroshima - a song inspired by the film Hiroshima Mon Amour which features Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood. Other musicians contributing to Frantic include Lucy Wilkins on violin and Sarah Brown on backing vocals, both of whom memorably performed on the hugely successful Roxy Music reunion world tour last year.

The tour also brought Roxy Music drummer Paul Thompson and Ferry back into the studio together for the first time in twenty years, on Fool For Love and San Simeon and Goddess of Love, and guitar parts on Frantic are provided by Chris Spedding who also played with Ferry in the 70s. Perhaps it is then entirely fitting that the album closes with I Thought the fascinating writing collaboration of Ferry with Brian Eno who supplies backing vocals and keyboards.

The title Frantic belies the time put into the making of this album, Ferrys first new song-writing album since 94. However he has notched up three Top 20 albums and two extensive tours in just the last two years.

Frantic firmly re-establishes Bryan Ferry as one of the most thrilling and distinctive performers of our time. The combination of his famous on stage charisma and this portfolio of new material makes his tour in June an exciting prospect.

Tracklisting: Its All Over Now Baby Blue, Cruel, Goin Down, Goddess of Love, Dont Think Twice, Nobody Loves Me, Ja Hun Hons Pris, Fool For Love, Goodnight Irene, Hiroshima, San Simeon, One Way Love, I Thought

...

Bryan Ferry is one of the great rock icons on the 1970s. The recent Roxy Music tour threw a shadow over this recent release. Most records by Bryan Ferry in the past twenty years followed the ideas put down on the last Roxy Music album, Avalon. Most of the his solo records don't veer too far away, until the As Time Goes By, recorded two years ago, when Ferry remodeled the songs of the 1930s. Even during the 1970s, in the greatest Roxy era, Ferry's solo records were often cover tunes of his favorite songs and influences, and on "Let's Stick Together" he even re-makes his own songs. Frantic is more like that last record that was done in 1976, right after Siren. Ferry collects thirteen songs and gets frequent Roxy collaborator Rhett Davies as the producer.

One senses how fresh this material is. Ferry seems rejuvenated after years of studied art. It opens up with Dylan's "It's All Over Baby Blue." His own "Cruel" sounds like the best Roxy Music song in a while. He also does a few blues numbers "Goin' Down" and "Goodnight Irene" which pay homage to Don Nix and Leadbelly and extends them further. He begins to sound on these like Nick Cave, who Ferry was a big influence on himself. Probably the best cover tune is Ferry's rendition of Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice." Ferry often reminds us how great he is on tracks such as these. I was like ten years old when I first heard Roxy Music in 1975. "Love Is The Drug" seemed like a mini-revolution at the time.

But there is a load of original material here too. "Goddess of Love" is a song about Marilyn Monroe (a reference to Britpop), and is much like songs from his Bête Noire. Probably better tunes like "Nobody Love Me" as well as "Fool For Love" are more memorable because of the appearance of guitarist Chris Spedding and Roxy Music drummer Paul Thompson. "Hiroshima" brings Ferry together with Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead. Radiohead has always been fascinated with the specter of Ferry, as they covered many of his songs in the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack. This is history.

Also the fact that Dave Stewart co-wrote many of the songs is a major factor after all. Songs like "San Simeon" are about the dark side of glamour. It is one of the more eerie songs on the album and sounds like the soundtrack to a thriller. "One Way Love" reminds me of the Flesh & Blood album and is a more upbeat song than most. More history being made at the end. The last song "I Thought" brings Ferry with Brian Eno for the first time in almost thirty years. Remember, Eno was kicked out of Roxy Music by Ferry after the second album. A song that is co-written by Ferry and Eno and even has them singing the chorus together seems like many years of loss and "what if" have been answered in a very gentle way. The song goes over with much knowingness and simplicity. A union made thirty years ago, responsible for over 30 albums and every musician that they influenced, has come round full circle.