While sipping a fruity cocktail on the veranda of our summer beach house, my aural senses were awakened to the distance sounds of "Don't Stop The Dance" by Bryan Ferry. It happens to be one of the finest singles among his breathtaking and extensive recorded works.And, as if by magic, I was alerted to some juicy info regarding his forthcoming elpee which should finally hit the "shops" this fall on October 25.
"Olympia", Bryan Ferry’s thirteenth, solo longplayer and the follow-up to 2007's "Dylanesque", is a star-studded affair. The first single, "You Can Dance", has already been a club hit across Europe under the title "U Can Dance" as a collaboration with world renowned DJ, Hell. It will be released in the UK on August 2.Further collabs include Scissor Sisters on a track called "Heartache By Numbers" and Groove Armada on "Shameless" which already appears on their album, "Black Light".
Also in attendance will be Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, former Chic frontman Nile Rodgers, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd along with Flea and Mani, singularly named bassists with Red Hot Chili Peppers and Primal Scream, respectively. Impressive! N'est-ce pas?
As if that wasn’t enough, Mr. Ferry has wrangled in his Roxy Music bandmates Andy Mackay, Phil Manzanera and Brian Eno, as well.
The following is the tracklisting for "Olympia". It includes two covers, "Song To The Siren", originally recorded by Tim Buckley, and Traffic's "No Face, No Name, No Number".
1. You Can Dance
2. Alphaville
3. Heartache By Numbers
4. Me Oh My
5. Shameless
6. Song To The Siren
7. No Face, No Name, No Number
8. BF Bass (Ode To Olympia)
9. Reason Or Rhyme
10. Tender Is The Night
For those of you that have been following the very cool remix EPs from Roxy Music, the fourth in the series was released a few months ago. "Remixes (Blue)", which features reswizzled tracks from the "Avalon" era, is worth your time simply for Disco Pusher's gorgeous, slinky n' sultry remix of "To Turn You On". It's available now from all fine digital retailers.
I just read about this tonight in Uncut. The music mag, not the porno mag, though maybe Bryan is doing that too. Anyway, this album sounds amazing.
ReplyDeleteAu contraire, mon ami! Eno & Ferry rediscovered their mojo first in 1994 on the intense and delightful "Mamouna" and went a step further on 2002's "Frantic" by actually co-writing a number together; the sublime "I Thought."
ReplyDeleteBut, thanx for first alerting me to the title/release date. etc. His website was still mum on the details a few weeks ago when I last stopped by. Not like the daily pilgrimage one makes to this august site!
Scuttlebutt had it that Scissor Sisters were supposed to be working on the don't-hold-your-breath reunited Roxy Music album that's been stillborn since 2002. In fact, let's just be grown up about it and admit that this album has undoubtedly been fashioned from the remnants of that now-abandoned struggle - along with other sundry bits of bric-a-brac stuffed in the pantry of Ferry's Führerbunker - sorry! His studio, I mean!!! The appearances of "Manzanera & MacKay all but testify to that fact.
And do you know what? It'll still sound wonderful! After all, it's no secret that his great "Frantic" album was abetted by remnants of the nearly decade old "Horoscope" sessions, from that earlier aborted Ferry opus! And let me say that it was none worse for wear! The tracks written with Dave Stewart were clearly from this time.
The casual, thrown together feel ultimately aided "Frantic" and the kitchen sink approach that he seems to be taking on "Olympia" could no doubt bear fruit once more. The belabored Ferry that got mired down with "Avalon," "Boys + Girls," "Béte Noir" and ultimately "Horoscope" seems to be a thing of the past.
Very, very cool. One thing I was wondering--Didn't Ferry work with Eno a bit on the Mamouna album somewhere around 95, or is that wrong? Where is that Roxy Music reunion album they've been promising for over 5 years now?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up on the remixes EPs. Really looking forward to this album.
@xolondon - I just read about it in "Inches". The porno mag NOT the music mag. Mr. Ferry sure covers a lot of ground. :)
ReplyDelete@REVO - I completely forgot Eno did some work on "Frantic", an album I still play. It was probably his first album not to be bogged down by the weight of the project.
ReplyDeleteFrom "Avalon" forward, even though he delivered consistently beautiful albums, you could feel the love and the torture deep into the sonic bedrock of each track. That's part of what made his work so special.
It does seem he might have shed those shackles. And that's not a bad thing, indeed!
As for the Roxy Music album, Mr. Ferry and his compatriots seem to differ in opinion as to whether it will come to fruition or not. I'm sure he cherry picked some of the tracks and plonked them into "Olympia".
@countpopula - Yes. Eno worked on some solo Ferry stuff. I completely forgot that. Since I'm on vacation, I don't have easy access to the information. Internet service has been sporadic at best.
ReplyDeleteNot sure what's going on with the Roxy Music reunion album. Sounds like the tracks have made their way onto "Olympia".