Bryan Ferry - Dylanesque Live: The London Sessions (DVD, 2007)

Ferry Does Dylan---Well!!!

Brian Eno and the other Bryan: Bryan Ferry, took the avante-rock world by storm in the 70’s in the guise of the band: Roxy Music. Ferry’s smooth looks and delivery (much like Robert Palmer) seemed in stark contrast to the disjointed Roxy Music tunes themselves. His latest release, “Dylanesque” are all 11 Bob Dylan tunes. This isn’t the first time he has covered Dylan songs. In 1973 he released a British single release only of “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall”, one of Dylan’s most hard rocking songs live.

The thing that first struck me about this new cd were the great guitar and harmonica jams during the middle and ends of the songs. Ferry has always covered everyone’s elses songs on his albums. His unique phrasing and semi-quavering voice gave a maturity to some great ‘shouted’ songs. Essentially, there is nothing that is not in his range of emotive ability in song.

In a word, these songs are elegant. They don’t have the folk feel of a Dylan album. Instead, they take each song further than the original writer did. The songs flow well one into another. Often cover albums tend to be disjointed and highly uneven. Not this one. The supporting cast : Ex-Squeeze Paul Carrack, Brian Eno, and famed guitarist Robin Trower help add the bottom needed to make the album lush like all Ferry solo albums tend to be. While some of Ferry’s solo projects lean at times to easy-listening renditions, ‘Dylanesque’ is anything but that. It has a wistful relaxed air, but it also maintains an indiscriminate edge.

For me, the highlights of the cd were: Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues, All Along the Watchtower, Knockin’ on Heaven Doors (extended version); and Simple Twist of Fate. If you are a Bryan Ferry fan, this MUST be in your collection. Yes, there are a couple of puzzlers here, but there always are on Ferry’s work. He has long regarded Dylan as one of the greatest contributors to both folk and rock. This album, in most every way, is a long overdue tribute to Dylan by one of the best song interpreters out today. I was totally pleased with the effort and am a huge Roxy and Ferry fan. I was ready to be mildly disappointed since Dylan’s songs are so well-known that additional recordings of them probably wouldn’t add much to the huge body of work that Bob has contributed over the years. It turns out, I played the cd three times straight: twice in the car, and once at home. To say the least, I was transfixed If you’re tired of today’s rock music and want something that sounds mature, classic rock, yet isn’t grunged out, then you’re in the right place with “Dylanesque.”

The DVD version is even more enthralling than the CD. It features the great contributions of Ferry's band. They are tight, don't overshadow Ferry's vocals, yet are allowed the 'live touch' with each of their instruments giving the studio songs more verve and intensity. Ferry even plays harmonica on some of the songs. I think the word to describe performance is mesmerizing: the listener just empties their other thoughts and links up with the concert innately.

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Many thanks and hope you enjoy and share the music!
Jeff Feezle of Macafeez