Bryan Ferry Frantic CD

Fresh off the 2001 Roxy Music reunion tour, lounge lizard extraordinaire Bryan Ferry offers his eleventh solo outing, the guitar-driven FRANTIC. Aiding Ferry on this surprisingly lively, not un-Roxy-sounding outing is an impressive array of sideman including English guitar hero Chris Spedding, former bandmate Brian Eno, Eurythmic Dave Stewart, and Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood. Helmed by AVALON producer Rhett Davies, this rich-sounding disc benefits from Ferry's penchant for unconventional covers. These range from a pair of stellar Dylan ventures (the rollicking "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" and the piano-driven "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right") to a Leadbelly classic featuring accompaniment by Cajun musicians ("Goodnight Irene").

Equally impressive are Ferry originalsm including his swirling tribute to Marilyn Monroe ("Goddess of Love"), an ethereal tale of romantic woe ("Fool For Love"), and a touch of futurism influenced by French cinema and packed with swooshing synths and airy female vocals ("Hiroshima"). Most exciting is "I Thought," a laid-back Eno/Ferry collaboration that uses a lush bed of keyboards and casually strummed guitar to steadily build up into a righteous closing cut.

Iincludes covers of songs from Bob Dylan, Leadbelly plus new materials co-written with Dave Stewart, with guests Brian Eno & Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead)

Recorded at RAK Studios and Studio One, London, England.

Personnel: Bryan Ferry (vocals, harmonica, keyboards); Lucy Wilkins, Rosie Wetters, Lucy Theo, Natalia Bonner (vocals, strings); Chris Spedding (guitar, electric sitar); Brian Eno (guitar, keyboards, background vocals); Martin Wheatley, D.L. Menard, Dave Stewart , D.L. Menard and the Louisiana Aces, Adam Lamprell, Jonny Greenwood, Mick Green, Pete Glenister, Robin Trower, David E. Williams (guitar); Julia Thornton (harp); Ken Smith (fiddle); Eddie LeJeune (accordion); Keith G. Thompson (recorder, oboe, curtal, woodwinds, crumhorn); Robert Fowler (oboe, alto saxophone); Colin Good (piano, virginal, Mellotron); Paul Anthony Taylor (keyboards, programming); Terry Disley (keyboards); Andy Newmark, Paul Thompson (drums, percussion); Bobby Irwin (drums); Frank Ricotti (percussion); Ben Chapman, James Sanger (programming); Nicole Blumberg, Lisa Anderson, Kelli Dayton, Stevie DeGranville, Alice Retif, Jhelisa Anderson, Trio Cadien, Lucy Kaplansky, Allison Goldfrapp, Sarah Brown, Audrey Wheeler, Patti Russo (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Neil Brockbank; Ash Howes; Bob Clearmountain.

Recording information: Rak Studios; Studio One, London, England.

Photographers: Bogdan Zarkowski; Eric Boman; Albert Sanchez.

Arrangers: Colin Good; Brian Ferry; Bryan Ferry.

Personnel includes: Bryan Ferry (vocals, harmonica, keyboards); David Williams (guitar, bass); Dave Stewart, Chris Spedding, Adam Lamprell (guitar); Lucy Wilkins, Natalia Bonner, Lucy Theo, Rosie Wetters (strings); Keith Thompson (recorder, crumhorn, curtal); Colin Good (piano, virginal); Brian Eno (keyboards, background vocals); Paul Taylor, Terry Disley (keyboards); Zev Katz (bass); Paul Thompson, Andy Newmark, Bobby Irwin (drums); Sarah Brown, Audrey Wheeler, Stevie De Granville, Nicole Blumberg (background vocals).

Producers include: Rhett Davies, Bryan Ferry, Colin Good, Robin Trower, Dave Stewart.

Rolling Stone (5/23/02, p.84) - 3.5 out of 5 stars - "...On FRANTIC, Ferry coaxes the work of Bob Dylan, Marilyn Monroe, Leadbelly, Richard the Lionheart, Orson Welles, Alain Resnais and others into one great, silvery song..."
Entertainment Weekly (5/31/02, p.108) - "Any fan of Ferry's Roxy work will find FRANTIC music to their ears..." - Rating: B+
Uncut (1/03, p.96) - Ranked #37 in Uncut's "100 Best Albums of the Year" - "...His most lively, inventive solo set in a decade..."
CMJ (5/27/02, p.11) - "...Sleek and focused..."
Mojo (Publisher) (5/02, p.104) - "...It'll remind regular listeners of his old measured-but-passionate incarnation....a similar mix of moody originals and lovingly mutated covers, and sharing THE BRIDE STRIPPED BARE album's willfully dry, nicely bruised humility..."