I’m straight-up hetero, but there’s part of me that believes
Bryan Ferry could pitch enough woo to successfully get me to drop my trousers
like an uglier, hairier Country Life
model.
The ban from Wal-Mart would be justifiable and necessarily
swift.
And the gangs all here too: Phil Manzanera, Andy
Mackay-hell, even Brian Eno shows up-making this record as close to an Avalon follow-up as you could ever have.
What makes it more of an Avalon
or solo-Ferry effort than-sigh-a For Your
Pleasure follow-up is that he’s made a career out of this sort of pillow
talk cool to ever want to return to his art-school youth.
Besides, models are easier than the Camus-welding sect, and
they call for a driver to pick them up in the morning.
The guest list isn’t just restricted to Roxy-alumni and
cover girls (this time it’s Kate Moss). That
suave fuck Ferry managed to melt the hearts of David Gilmour, Johnny Greenwood,
Nile Rodgers, and Flea to help him give his new label’s promotional department
with an enviable amount of co-stars for the press release.
What you won’t read in the factoids is how two of Olympia ’s
tracks, “Alphaville” and “You Can Dance,” are leftovers from an aborted Ferry
album from the 90’s produced with Dave Stewart. The project was tentatively
titled Alphaville, and these
re-worked versions here are much more sonically pleasing than Stewart’s dated
production values on the original, particularly on the opener “You Can Dance.”
It could have easily been titled “True To Life.” like it was
originally known when it was first released on Avalon.
Thankfully, there are enough examples of modern-day lushness
to not put Olympia
entirely on the New Romantic revival bandwagon. You’ll hear moments of
weird electronics that pop in an out of the mix and small bits of dialogue
creep behind the layers of guitar, synthesizers, and perennial soulful female
backing vocals.
When he tackles Tim Buckley’s “Song To The Siren,” I’m weak
in the knees; there’s little within his version that can convince me otherwise
that Ferry is one of the best song interpreters in the business today.
By “Reason Or Rhyme,” Ferry’s voice displays toils from age
as he pleads, “Wherever you are/Whenever you speak/These are the moments in my
life/That I seek.” Yes, even when
groveling in front of love like a desperate, aged bachelor, he sounds
positively passionate in his sincerity.
Be still my beating heart.
This review originally appeared in Glorious Noise.
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