Disco de Bryan Ferry: “Dylanesque”

I find the vitriol hurled at this CD to be especially appalling. This is a fine work. I've shared it with many friends, Dylan fans, and they all love it. Anyone who knows anything about Dylan knows that he constantly reinterprets his songs live, so what's the beef that Ferry follows Dylan's lead? Here, Ferry teases out the melodies that Dylan often only implies--which is Dylan's way, and that's totally cool, not meant as a criticism at all. The playing is subtle and informed. Ferry's harmonica is especially interesting, since it owes more, I think, to his keyboard articulation than to the traditional player's guitar in terms of phrasing.

There is not a duff track on this CD. You all know the songs and the arrangements already from previous reviews. The hostile criticism brings to mind a Dylan concert long ago, when he appeared with the Band and was booed for going electric. Some people need to grow up. Ferry is moving atmospherics and subtlety into arrangements in new ways, interesting ways. And guys, there is no connection whatsoever to Manilow. Clearly, this fine CD is not intended for the tone deaf. The rest of us will have it in their players for months and years to come. It's superb.

I must admit that as a big Dylan fan I was prepared to dislike this disc. I couldn't be more wrong. This is a great CD! Ferry's reinterpretations of these classics is great. So he made some of them sound like pop songs - big deal! Great singing, great musicians , and having Bob Clearmountain as your mixer makes for a winning team. Dylan is not God, and his songs can be reworked as the artist sees fit. Plenty of other great artists have had the same treatment. Check it for yourself before believing the negative reviews from people who hate any kind of change.

Ferry Does Dylan---Well!!!

Brian Eno and the other Bryan: Bryan Ferry, took the avante-rock world by storm in the 70's in the guise of the band: Roxy Music. Ferry's smooth looks and delivery (much like Robert Palmer) seemed in stark contrast to the disjointed Roxy Music tunes themselves. His latest release, "Dylanesque" are all 11 Bob Dylan tunes. This isn't the first time he has covered Dylan songs. In 1973 he released a British single release only of "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall", one of Dylan's most hard rocking songs live.

The thing that first struck me about this new cd were the great guitar and harmonica jams during the middle and ends of the songs. Ferry has always covered everyone's elses songs on his albums. His unique phrasing and semi-quavering voice gave a maturity to some great `shouted' songs. Essentially, there is nothing that is not in his range of emotive ability in song.

In a word, these songs are elegant. They don't have the folk feel of a Dylan album. Instead, they take each song further than the original writer did. The songs flow well one into another. Often cover albums tend to be disjointed and highly uneven. Not this one. The supporting cast : Ex-Squeeze Paul Carrack, Brian Eno, and famed guitarist Robin Trower help add the bottom needed to make the album lush like all Ferry solo albums tend to be. While some of Ferry's solo projects lean at times to easy-listening renditions, `Dylanesque' is anything but that. It has a wistful relaxed air, but it also maintains an indiscriminate edge.

For me, the highlights of the cd were: Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues, All Along the Watchtower, Knockin' on Heaven Doors (extended version); and Simple Twist of Fate. If you are a Bryan Ferry fan, this MUST be in your collection. Yes, there are a couple of puzzlers here, but there always are on Ferry's work. He has long regarded Dylan as one of the greatest contributors to both folk and rock. This albums in most every way is a long overdue tribute to Dylan by one of the best song interpreters out today. I was totally pleased with the effort and am a huge Roxy and Ferry fan. I was ready to be mildly disappointed since Dylan's songs are so well-known that additional recordings of them probably wouldn't add much to the huge body of work that Bob has contributed over the years. It turns out, I played the cd three times straight: twice in the car, and once at home. To say the least, I was mesmerized. If you're tired of today's rock music and want something that sounds mature, classic rock, yet isn't grunged out, then you're in the right place with "Dylanesque."

Interesting choices of great songs with terrific arrangements. A must for any Dylan or Roxy Music fan!

I had high hopes for this CD when I bought it. I like Dylan, I like Ferry, and music magazine reviews were generally positive. But my rule for cover versions is not to do them unless you do them better than the originals or that you must add something interesting to them. And though Dylanesque is listenable, I find that Bryan Ferry has failed both of my criteria for recording a cover version of a song.

There are a couple of them I really like. Just Like Tom Thumb Blues features a strong driving beat and some ooga-booga background vocals. Simple Twist of Fate comes on strong as well. But most of the rest of the rather short CD is tepid and uninspired. A strong closing with All Along the Watchtower, which features the great Robin Trower on acoustic guitar, prevents the listener from going away completely disappointed.

There is nothing at all wrong with reinterpretation of a song as long as you make it interesting. Dylan does it to his own songs all the time, and in another genre, Astor Piazzolla played his songs in a new way every time he hit the stage or the recording studio. But Ferry does not make it interesting and gives the listener little real reason to buy Dylanesque unless that listener just happens to prefer the voice of Bryan Ferry to that of Bob Dylan. The most that can be said for this is that Ferry makes Dylan danceable.