New Bryan Ferry album "Avonmore" to be released in November 2014

Wish someone would ask Rhett Davies why the last couple of Ferry albums sound like crap from a sonic standpoint, compared to the pristine sound of his 80s albums.

 

Ferry's albums sound pretty awesome even the latest ones. Olympia was pretty good and avonmore too.

 

It's the name of the street his studio is on.

I'm sure the echo of "Avalon" was appealing to him.

 

I was listening to "Midnight Train" and thinking "why does this seem familiar"... and finally released the verses use a similar chord sequence to the "Love Boat" theme.

 

I doubt most of the guitarists even hear the others' parts, except for maybe the basic rhythm guitar. My assumption is that Ferry records all of these guys noodling around (or improvising if you prefer) over his rhythm tracks, and then chops up what they played into little pieces and sprinkles them throughout the mix. As you put it, it's an "ever changing pool of sound" that's patched together from innumerable sessions (and creating that effect is the reason he can't just knock the songs out in a couple of weeks). They're probably not reacting directly to one another's playing -- it's Ferry who's working out how to play off one guitarist's sound against another's.

 

is it only me that finds him quite prolific as of late?

 

I'm surprised he got another album of mostly originals out so "quickly." I thought there was a pretty good chance Olympia would be his last record considering there were eight year gaps between the previous ones.

 

Thanks for posting that...I was initially going off of a blurb in the liner notes that referred to a "guitar choir led by Johnny Marr, Nile Rogers..." etc. But now that I read your comment, it's dawned on me that "led" doesn't necessarily mean "playing along with each other."

 

Yes. Even the font used on the front cover is pretty similar...or is it exactly the same?

 

"Led by" just means they're the most famous ones.

I dare say Bryan could do with trying out some new players... some of the licks you hear may as well be samples from his other records.

 

Alimony

 

I found this and the new Floyd album to be totally zzzzzz and phoned in...Floyd and Ferry by Numbers... The Ferry album is mastered weirdly too...

 

Excuse me, maybe I missed something, but are there any actual songs on this album? Other than "Johnny and Mary" (not an original, of course) I find it lacking. And some really bad lyrics lurk beneath the 45,678 overdubs.

A changing pool of sound indeed, but the water's a bit stagnant.

 

Sadly, I think this will never happen given that he had the chance before and he made it clear he didn't want to make another Roxy album.

 

This is the best summary I've heard of his post Avalon output. I used to say his stuff sinks under the weight of its own atmosphere. They aren't songs, they're mood-inducing collections of sounds. Which, of course, (depending on your tastes) might not be bad.

 

I think that's exactly what he does - this is why some tracks credit up to nine guitarists. What we end up hearing is a tiny lick here from one player, a bit of a riff there from another, all miniscule excerpts from the players painstakingly stitched together in a massive patchwork of years and years of recordings. They certainly didn't all play at the same time, they probably never even met each other, and many guitar lines were recorded years apart - for example, David Williams, one of the guitarists, actually died in 2009 and he had mainly worked with Ferry in the 1990s.

The same goes for all the instrumental work. These songs have been built up, very slowly, with little tweaks and adjustments made over years and years. This is how we can have a vocal from Ferry that sounds recent, laid over the top of a backing track that was begun 25 years ago, with contributions from musicians that recorded with Ferry at any time during those last 25 years.

 

I disagree on both counts. I like the new Floyd and don't find the Ferry weird sounding listening to the vinyl version. It does stick to his usual formula but I think it his best for a while. My only reservation is the two cover versions and find it strange they are stacked at the end of the album. Much of it is recently recorded and the notes mention Johnny Marr coming up with a riff in the studio around which Ferry wrote the melody.

My guess mostly put down since his last album in 2010 but it is unsurprising ideas weren't taken from earlier sessions as he reputedly recorded a lot of material even whole albums in the 90s which were never released. Just don't expect guys pushing 70 to reinvent the wheel. Floyd and Ferry stick to what they do best and most fans would enjoy.

 

On Palladia... Ferry appears on Later... with Jools Holland. Now on the east coast...

 

Sort of agree but the new Flord is really an MOR album

 

Oh by the way, Which one's Flord?

 

I've done a complete 180 on this album. Don't you love it when that happens? I think this might be some kind of masterpiece, but it's a hermetically sealed one. The door's locked, the lights are low, and our hero sits in the darkness, defiantly alone. "I'm going out of my mind/And I won't be back again." I think part of the challenge lies in the vocals--even JJ Cale would say, "Speak up, son. I can't hear you." I can see why Ferry doesn't want to be heard, though--beneath all the glistening soundscapes lies a labyrinth of pain and regret. To be 69 and be feeling this way--well, my heart goes out to the guy. I certainly never thought I'd live to see the day that I'd hear this one: "But there's no sense in pretending/I know I'll never fall in love again." Avonmore--Bryan Ferry's saddest record.

 

I may be feeling the same way. Despite the quality of the vocals, something keeps drawing me back to this album. Need to pay more attention to the lyrics. We'll see what future listens reveal.

 

I was sitting on the fence with this one but you have just sold it to me.

 

A good place to ask it here: does someone own a promo cd of Bryan Ferry albums? I read somewhere (it was about Mamouna, but maybe it's still the case, even with Avonmore) these promo cds would have a better dynamic range than the original ones. Is this true?

 

I’m rather pleasantly surprised by this album. I didn’t pre order it because I couldn’t hear any samples prior to its release, however once released I did listen to it via Amazon, liked what I heard and ordered it. I’ve since played it probably 8-10 times and it’s growing on me each time.