love is the dub

Following on from a series of hugely popular 12" remixes of Bryan Ferry tracks in 2011 comes an exclusive remix of "Love Is The Drug", an iconic slab of Roxy Music magic. It is exclusively available as a collectible, 180-gram heavweight, vinyl 12" single from The Vinyl Factory. If you're a digital aficionado, you can get your Google dirty fingers on the download from Beatport. Availability through other digital retailers should follow shortly.

Featuring an absolutely essential, epic remix by Todd Terje, his reswizzling of the 1975 classic gives it a contemporary club twist and is a must-have for anyone who snapped up his recent, gorgeous remix of Bryan Ferry's "Alphaville".

On the flipside is an equally essential version by dub disco diplomats Lindstrom and Prins Thomas, whose, hypnotic, Balearic-style reworking of "Avalon" has been bouncing around the interwebs for a couple of years.

And to top things off, Roxy Music HQ has just unleashed a video clip for Todd Terje's masterful, loved up dub. Voilà and viva!

fall for Ferry

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.

Ferry fever

On November 23, "The Best Of Bryan Ferry", will be unleashed on the universe. I know some people will roll their eyes. Like we need another hits collection. But I wouldn't draw your attention to this new release unless there was a very good reason.

Firstly, look at that cover! Swoon! I always wanted to wear my hair like that. Secondly, it features nearly all of his essential singles plus a few hard-to-find bits. Upon second glance, however, this really should have been a double CD. A few choice cuts are missing. Thirdly, it's packaged with a DVD which includes all of his stylish videos. I nearly plotzed! Some of them have never before been available.

I first became aware of Bryan Ferry when Roxy Music's "Love Is The Drug" became a minor hit in the US. I was enamored with Bryan's smooth, Casanova stance. There was something warm, yet inexplicably icy, about his delivery. And the songs were slightly glam but had a Bowie-esque shape without aping any of DB's style. Then "Dance Away" caught my attention and I was reminded that it was the same, sophisticated sound I had moved to only four years previously. I was barely in my teens!

Of course, by the time "Avalon" came out and MTV played "More Than This" and "Avalon" with their sumptuous and highly gauzed videos, I was hooked. With Roxy's swan song longplayer in my possession, I investigated their back catalog with aplomb. I dove in at the deep end and discovered Bryan Ferry had issued several solo albums. Bonus!

By the time his landmark album, "Boys And Girls", was issued, I was a full on Bryan Ferry fan.

I'm pleased to reveal the tracklisting for "The Very Best Of Bryan Ferry" in all its glory. There are a few surprises including some single versions that are tough to obtain on CD.

1. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (US 7" Version)
2. The 'In' Crowd
3. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
4. You Go To My Head
5. Let's Stick Together
6. The Price Of Love
7. This Is Tomorrow
8. Tokyo Joe
9. Can't Let Go
10. Slave To Love (7" Version)
11. Don't Stop The Dance (7" Version)
12. Windswept
13. Limbo
14. Kiss And Tell (Edit)
15. I Put A Spell On You (Single Mix)
16. Don't Want To Know
17. The Way You Look Tonight
18. Goddess Of Love
19. The Times They Are A-Changin' (Radio Edit)
20. I Don't Want To Go On Without You
21. A Fool For Love (Alternative Version)

The bonus DVD features the following video clips:

1. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
2. These Foolish Things
3. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (from "The Twiggy Show")
4. You Go To My Head
5. Let's Stick Together
6. The Price Of Love
7. This Is Tomorrow
8. Tokyo Joe
9. What Goes On
10. Slave To Love
11. Don't Stop The Dance
12. Windswept
13. Is Your Love Strong Enough?
14. The Right Stuff
15. Kiss And Tell
16. Limbo
17. I Put A Spell On You
18. Will You Love Me Tomorrow
19. Girl Of My Best Friend
20. Your Painted Smile
21. Mamouna (UK Version)
22. Don't Want To Know
23. The Way You Look Tonight (Live in Paris at Le Grand Rex)
24. Goddess Of Love (Live on "Parkinson")
25. Positively 4th Street (Live on "The Culture Show")

Just to prove he's not afraid to dip his stylish toes into an interesting collaboration, Bryan recently invited German producer, DJ Hell, to re-work "You Can Dance", a previously, unreleased song from the Ferry archives. It made its appearance on DJ Hell's album, "Teufelswerk", which was released last April.

Being such a huge Bryan Ferry fan, I'm not sure why this didn't show up on my radar earlier. Apparently, it's going to be released as a single in January!



Deep, dark, sinister, epic, sexy and slightly drugged out. Love it! Apparently, the original version was penned by Bryan Ferry with Eurythmics' Dave Stewart during album sessions in the mid 90s.

And if you're looking for some reswizzled Roxy Music moments, check out the three EPs of remixes that were commissioned in 2006. They were only issued on vinyl but they've finally appeared on iTunes and other digital storefronts.



My two, favorite mixes from this highly sought after series are DJ Kaos' extended mix of "Angel Eyes" and Glimmers' remix of "Same Old Scene". Both stay quite faithful to the original versions.





Check out that dirty, rubbery bass line. Filthy gorgeous!

My relationship with Bryan Ferry goes a little deeper than being a fan of his work and his masterful way with a song. In 1996, I had the magnificently mindblowing opportunity to produce a remix for "Dance With Life (The Brilliant Light)", a song that was featured on the soundtrack to the John Travolta film, "Phenomenon".

The single, which was produced by the legendary Trevor Horn, was only released in Europe and Australia. A limited promo of the mixes made the rounds in the US.

Now, for the first time ever, my club mix is available digitally. It was sourced from my original, studio master. See if you can spot the Brothers In Rhythm influence. Clocking in at over ten minutes, it is suitably epic.

Incidentally, I'm going to make most of my mixes available on the mighty Soundcloud platform as the weeks progress and time in my frantic schedule allows.

"Rio" revisited

It was 1982. MTV began beaming into select homes across the US and millions of teenagers found solace and excitement in a colorful, new medium. The visual side of music had previously been relegated to late night television, afternoon chat shows and "American Bandstand". MTV would obliterate all before it with its promise of a steady diet of music videos 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Programming was thin. So they relied on untested sights and sounds from the UK where the music video had become a promotional tool for bands and singers who couldn't be in several, European countries simultaneously when promotional duties required them to make appearances outside Mother Britannia.

With peroxide and eyeliner in hand, Duran Duran instantly became the pin up boys for the burgeoning, MTV generation. Their second album, "Rio", was released in the UK in May 1982. With its videos shot in exotic locations and its sonic blueprint of Chic inspired basslines, Moroder-esque keyboard sequences and rock guitar married with Simon Le Bon's obtuse prose, the Fab Five from Birmingham shot like the proverbial bullet from a gun and threw convention in the face of the UK recessionista. This was art, escapism and deft musicality all dressed up in one, uniquely designed, smartly tailored (or is that "Taylored") package.

Now, 27 years after its original release, EMI have reissued and remastered the album with a much deserved, double CD, deluxe edition complete with b-sides, demos, alternate mixes and their era defining, dance reconstructions known as "night versions". Among fans, this is the definitive representation of "Rio".

I've been wanting to write about the new reissue for weeks. Truthfully, I got lost in it several times and completely forgot to jot down my thoughts. Thankfully, this, the second swipe at reissuing "Rio", was one which fans were holding their collective breath in anticipation of owning a proper, historic view of the album complete with the appropriate bonus tracks from the sessions surrounding its original release.

The first attempt in 2001 resulted in a direct reissue and remastering of the CD that was already in existence. While it sported vastly superior sound quality, it did not feature any additional tracks. It was a tremendous disappointment for fans who knew there were numerous versions of several of the album's tracks. It took the painstaking and laborious work of dedicated producers and Nick Rhodes' attention to detail which resulted in the newly released, definitive, 2 CD edition being issued.

The first disc is the complete album in its original UK running order. Five tracks at the end of the CD have been included as an addendum for this edition. The songs were remixed specifically for the US version of "Rio", when it was issued on the Capitol label in November 1982 and appear here, together, for the first time since the original, American, vinyl release.

I remember being mesmerized by the Patrick Nagel image on the album sleeve. I recall describing the magenta used on the cover as "juicy". It was designed by Malcolm Garrett at Assorted Images, one of my favorite design firms next to Stylorouge, Farrow and Me Company which were all UK based. Natch! The entire look, lovingly adapted for the deluxification of this landmark longplayer, was aimed at the heart of the aesthetic ethic. And in one gelled, felled swoop, a million hair salons were born.

Much has been made of the style. But what of the substance? Firstly, this was a band in top form at the height of their powers with deep talent on tap. They had all the bases covered from the soundscapes to the styling. The aural and visual were married into one discussion. Each was an extension of the other. The music spoke volumes while the image pushed boundaries.

While the overprocessed and hypersynthesized efforts of many of their contemporaries have dated quite considerably, "Rio" has aged gracefully. It's simultaneously timeless and of a particular moment in time. A rare feat in any era.

After the urgency of their debut, "Rio" was a little more polished yet still urgent. The album could easily have spawned six or seven singles. Amazing to think that the first single pulled from it was "My Own Way" which was rerecorded for its inclusion on "Rio" in a style quite different from the glitterball gallop of the single version which is a thrilling combination of Chic and latter period Roxy Music.

Thankfully, the original 7"single and night version of "My Own Way" have been restored to their rightful place on "Rio" as part of the second disc in the collection.

The sensual and muscular "Hungry Like The Wolf" was the song that set Duran Duran sailing into the stratosphere. The percolating, Jupiter 8 synth sequences, female moans, slap bass, Simmons drums, and Andy Taylor's chunky guitar riffs occupying the space between disco funk and rock power chords was a heady mix and an instant hit. It rocketed to #5 on the UK singles chart. It followed suit in the US where it peaked at #3.

What stands out most to me now, as it did back then, is that "Hungry Like Wolf", as well as its entire attendant album, sounds authentic and original. Stripped of its teen appeal of the time, it's an art rock album which stands head and shoulders high with some of the best work of the artists that inspired them like David Bowie, Japan and Roxy Music.

In fact, two of my favorite tracks (which is a tough decision regarding an album without any identifiable filler) are the dark, funky stance of "New Religion" and the stark, icy electronics of "The Chauffeur". The former sounds like a cross between the detached, plastic elegance of "Stay" from Bowie's "Station To Station" and "Siren" era Roxy Music jams like "Love Is The Drug" or "Both Ends Burning". The latter marries the chilly stillness of "Ghosts" by Japan with the eeriness of Roxy Music's "In Every Dream Home A Heartache".

My favorite inside story on the production of this incredible album closer is the time I found out that the crunchy, clinky sound that occurs at 2.38 is the sound of ice cubes dropped in a glass. Take a listen.

At one point, it was impossible to listen to "The Chauffeur" without recalling its brilliant video which was the height of Helmut Newton inspired, 80s, romantic, art house chic.

"Save A Prayer", Duran Duran's ethereal anthem, strangely was not issued as a single in the US until it was lifted from the live album, "Arena". It was skipped over in favor of the album's title track which rounded out the campaign for "Rio". I'd love to know the story behind not releasing "Save A Prayer" in the US. It was all over MTV. Radio played the bejeezus out of it. Essentially, the US got only two singles off "Rio" which is a little odd considering the album having been an omnipresent force on radio and television for the better part of two years.

As previously mentioned, the US album mixes, which were handled by David Kershenbaum, have never appeared on CD. Those mixes, the concept of which was to garner more significant radio airplay across America, featured Simon's vocals pushed more prominently to the front, punched up drum sounds, very few overdubs, and and a sonic sheen that smoothed out the slightly raw edges of the original UK masters.

The US mixes are tastefully done. They aren't glaringly obvious remixes. In fact, the most obvious change is at the end of the song, "Rio". At around the 3.45 mark their are background vocals which don't appear at all on any of the UK mixes and the saxophone solo has nearly disappeared from the end.

A deluxe edition of "Rio" wouldn't be complete without the extended, night versions which were at the forefront of dance culture in the 80s and ushered in the era of requisite club mixes for rock acts, thus creating blurred lines between two camps which radio pitted against each other only five, short years earlier. The night versions close out the second disc of rarities.

The b-sides are essential, particularly "Like An Angel", which was the original flip of "My Own Way", and the early, acoustic guitar version of "The Chauffeur". The demos, recorded at the old Manchester Square studios at EMI in London, give insight into just how fully formed the songs were before Colin Thurston, producer of the album, got his hands on them. Interestingly, the demos were recorded barely eight months before the album was released and only a couple of months after their debut hit the shops.

If you are one of the downloadably inclined masses, then you can pick up the deluxe edition of "Rio" on iTunes with two bonus tracks, an instrumental version of "My Own Way" and an alternate remix of "Hold Back The Rain".

The only black mark on the entire collection is the omission of the original, UK 7" single of "Rio" which clocks in at around 4.40. It has only ever been available on a Japanese promo CD released in 1988. The elusive, UK single version of "Rio" has never been released on any greatest hits collection or as part of the box set, "The Singles 81-85".

It has taken a very long time to get properly reissued albums from Duran Duran. Better late than never, I suppose. Thankfully, Nick Rhodes is now overseeing deluxified editions of their debut, self-titled longplayer, "Seven And The Ragged Tiger", "Notorious" and the woefully overlooked masterpiece that is "So Red The Rose" by the Le Bon/Rhodes/Taylor spin off project, Arcadia.

Along with their forthcoming 13th album (14th if one counts "Arena"), produced by man of the moment, Mark Ronson, the next round of reissues should see the light of day within the next twelve months. If they're as lovingly put together as the current "Rio" reissue, then I shall start saving my shekels now. Hey Nick, add "Big Thing" to that list while you're at it.