Disco de Bryan Ferry: “The Bride Stripped Bare [Remaster]”

This is an interesting record! Half originals, half covers. Some longstanding musical partners, some hired gun session musicians. The sound is quite straightforward, certainly as mainstream as any Bryan Ferry-associated record. The new HDCD remasters of the Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry catalogs are fabulous.

I've been a fan of Bryan Ferry and R.M. since the 70's.. "The Bride Stripped Bare" is another high quality solo effort released in 1978.The "back story"-Ferry went into "self exile" in L.A., removing himself from the lingering unpleasentness of his recent break-up with model Jerry Hall. Not a happy period for the man, as the somber looking cover photo suggest.Ferry goes back to having a mixed assortment of originals and other artist's songs- mostly R&B, with an Irish folk song"Carrickfergus" and Lou Reed penned number"What Goes On"

. For once Ferry seems not to be hiding behind his "world weary lover" character, as songs written by him are more personal and less detatched."When She walks Into The Room", "Can't Let Go" and my fave "This Island Earth"- are all some of his best he's done. What I think detracts from this album is the use of the L.A. studio musicians. Waddy Wachtel is fine for Linda Rondstadt,, Warren Zevon and the like, but his playing here is dry and sadly inferior to say the creative flourish of Phil Manzanara or Chris Spedding. There is a sterile quality(?) to the whole album except "This Island Earth" which retains a Roxyish layered dream-like way to it and is indeed, somewhat ruined by Waddy's pedestrian playing. This is a good CD. Every time I hear these songs I think "Too bad he moved to LA.". PS.-Not an LA basher- I grew up and was living in So Cal when this album came out.

This is an exceptional CD. Bryan Ferry has displayed many flashy images - but this is the closest we may ever get to his real heart. Recorded the same '77 year Punk Rock hit home, Ferry shows awareness - almost sympathy - with that movement. It may have been temporary, but the result is loose thrilling fun. 'Sign of the Times' & 'The Same Old Blues' rock without a care. It's so much fun to hear Ferry this way. He covers the Velvet Underground with a powerful 'What Goes On' - for my money far superior to the original. The acoustic 'Carrickfergus' highlights what Bryan Ferry truly is - a great soul singer. There are some duff tracks ('This Island Earth' & 'Can't Let Go' are dull). But the best tracks are as fun as any Roxy Music album, and promise a unique brave musical future.

Sadly, it wasn't meant to be. This record bombed spectacularly. Ferry then reunited Roxy Music, creating a Make-Out Music Monster that sold enough (and sucked enough) to make happy millions wonder what all the fuss was about with the astonishing original Roxy. Despite all the bags of cash, Bryan Ferry wouldn't regain his musical self-respect until '93s "Taxi".

If timing isn't everything, it sure still means a lot. I think that timing is what makes this record as good as (I think) it is. While I'm not an avid fan, I have enjoyed a lot of what Roxy Music and Brian Ferry have offered. This has always been my favorite Ferry solo release. The album has a unity and feel that separates it from the rest of Brian Ferry's solo work. Plus, the dark

theme of separation and loss pervade the entire album. There has been much carping about the L.A. musicians, and I think it is a load of nonsense. These are the right musicians for this album.

The Bride Stripped Bare is a lost classic, and ranks with the best work that Brian Ferry has done with Roxy Music.

A mix of covers and originals, Bride allowed Ferry to indulge his love of R&B and incorporate them into the Roxy universe. Although not as unusual as his earlier Roxy work (and also lacking any extras I might add), Bride is a great place to start experiencing Bryan's solo career. Bride also provides a transition to the next Roxy album the R&B/new wave flavored Manifesto. A pity that there are no bonus tracks as some of the other covers (and one original) have turned up either on other albums or single releases. It would have been interesting to hear how Dance Away differed from the Roxy version.