From: owner-avalon-digest@smoe.org (avalon-digest) To: avalon-digest@smoe.org Subject: avalon-digest V10 #285 Reply-To: avalon@smoe.org Sender: owner-avalon-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-avalon-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk avalon-digest Monday, November 21 2005 Volume 10 : Number 285 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [AVALON] The Worst, and Best, of Bryan [Stephen Thrower ] RE: [AVALON] The Worst, and Best, of Bryan ["Rob Whiteford" Subject: [AVALON] The Worst, and Best, of Bryan Hey, don't hold back, Stephen. Tell us what you really think! :O) First coffee of the day always helps! PS: I really like Sonnet 18, however. Tune/singing may not be the strongest but the vocal carries a certain conviction and the words are quite good; like Bernie Taupin, I gather this lyricist has a bit of a track record elsewhere...? Yes, a promising fellow. His sister had a few hits back in the nineties... ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 13:25:05 +0100 From: "Christian H. Soetemann" Subject: Re: [AVALON] "Dance With Life" Single > From: "Guy Lawley" > Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2005 12:40:52 -0000 > To: > Subject: RE: [AVALON] "Dance With Life" Single > Still think DWL is a stinker though! I don't think it's particularly great, but OK and featuring a good vocal - the production is very MOR though. He could have made it more avant garde had he chosen to pay tribute to Jack Nance, the (sadly deceased) main actor from Lynch's "Eraserhead" and made it "Dance with Nance". CHS > In fact the single contains three of Ferry's worst efforts all on one disc > from hell; Help Me is pretty bloody awful and Is Your Love Strong Enough I > have always disliked. Too bombastic. Listening to it after DWL though, I > have to admit the instrumental opening of IYLSE has more sheer high quality > in its first 15 seconds than the whole of DWL has! > > Guy ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 13:25:05 +0100 From: "Christian H. Soetemann" Subject: Re: [AVALON] The Worst, and Best, of Bryan Some impressions, although probably late in the thread... a) One major advantage I find in BF/RM tracks is that even when the arrangement or song happens to be dull, it's the voice that makes it at least in some way unique. No big news, certainly, but can be applied even to You Are My Sunshine (although even ferry sounds bored here), Ain't That So et al. b) There are some examples when an otherwise good or decent song has been spoilt by the arrangement, witness the "Fat-sounding Backing Vocalist Integration Fund" album that Bete Noire was on a couple of tracks. The Right Stuff on the 7" b-side - great. The Right Stuff, album version - why are the ladies screaming and keeping Bry from getting closer to the mike? c) I often wondered how Ferry must feel with LST as his biggest solo *chart* success. The number can be enjoyable in a live setting, but its artistic merits are, erm, easy to survey. Now imagine if Cry, Cry, Cry (I have some idea about what the preparation for the vocal might have been like) had been a big partyparty hit and would be present at each and every Roxy gig (although I kind of like it in my perverted way). CHS ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 08:15:45 -0800 (PST) From: Diane whateley Subject: RE[AVALON]: Annual Glasgow Meet Hi, It's that party-time wasting time of year again! 'Ain't it funny how time slips away?' (A year's gone by and hardly a Roxy/Ferry event to shake a stick at, at least in this neck of the woods.... Next year a new album and a tour- pretty please?....) The 'in crowd', the 'demi-monde,the world-weary are summoned to meet and greet, commiserate and celebrate all things Roxy and Ferry (apart from perhaps Katie Turner, a scunner for us aging Avalonian amazons, who may once have fancied their chances...however let's not go there..!!) At the spot where the beat's really hot (or maybe not since it's panto season...!). It's the Tron Theatre bar around 8pm; Wednesday 28th December 2005. Come one, come all- usual suspects, new converts and friends. See you there! Diane __________________________________ Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 http://mail.yahoo.com ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 16:44:23 -0000 From: "Rob Whiteford" Subject: RE: [AVALON] The Worst, and Best, of Bryan No accounting for taste is there. I really like Sonnet 18 too - its very emotional and represents a lot to me about why I would rather listen to his voice than others. Really emotional vocal - it doesn't have to be in tune or perfect. I'd quite like it at my funeral actually....................I'd have to get a Ferry song in there. - -----Original Message----- From: owner-avalon@smoe.org [mailto:owner-avalon@smoe.org] On Behalf Of Stephen Thrower Sent: 20 November 2005 15:50 To: avalon@smoe.org Subject: [AVALON] The Worst, and Best, of Bryan Hey, don't hold back, Stephen. Tell us what you really think! :O) First coffee of the day always helps! PS: I really like Sonnet 18, however. Tune/singing may not be the strongest but the vocal carries a certain conviction and the words are quite good; like Bernie Taupin, I gather this lyricist has a bit of a track record elsewhere...? Yes, a promising fellow. His sister had a few hits back in the nineties... ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 11:49:18 EST From: LottieStreeter2@cs.com Subject: [AVALON] Winners and Losers Guy writes : Boy, yes, Goddess of Love really is bad isn't it? I tried very hard to like it at the time, but it wasn't really possible, and with hindsight one has to admit it's a stinker. ===================================================== Yes and I can't believe it was offered as 'the single" from Frantic!? It seem such a commercial piece of fluff. The idea of writing odes to Marilyn seemed sort of over by the end of the 80s....but we'll never know, maybe it WAS written in the 80s.... Has anyone seen the video for "Is Your Love Strong Enough?" Bryan in a suit singing about love in front of images of some horrible monster, like in one of those Japanese Gamera movies....definitely a career lowpoint. SteveSimon writes : ======================================================== The Worst: ROXY - Rain, Rain, Rain; Running Wild; Cry Cry Cry; My Little Girl; Dance Away FERRY - Sonnet 18, In Your Mind; The Name of the Game; Can't Let Go; The Right Stuff FERRY COVERS - Sympathy For The Devil; You Are My Sunshine; Amazing Grace; All Tomorrow's Parties; That's How Strong My Love Is SPECIAL CATEGORY OF BADNESS - Dance With Life (it's not written by Ferry but it's not a cover either  so vile it deserves its own category - it sounds just like what it is  a tepid nothing for the end credits of a crappy Hollywood movie) Rain, Rain, Rain (just dreary); Running Wild (Bryan? Running wild? I really can't picture it!); Cry Cry Cry (that 'naughty' little brass squiggle after 'Are you ready for hot stuff?' is particularly nasty); My Little Girl (would-be winsome, but it's just weak-tea  a timewaster); and Dance Away (a cabaret cheese anthem...) Sonnet 18 (sounds like someone struggling to come up with a tune, and failing); In Your Mind (sounds like The Glitter Band trying to be deep); The Name of the Game and The Right Stuff (music from a bad place, to me  the worst of the generally bad bunch that is Bjte Noire); and a special mention for Can't Let Go (one of Ferry's least appealing vocal melodies and a lyric full of clichid MOR bombast - 'There's a madness in my soul tonight'? Jesus wept....) =============================================================== Steve, grrrr. Some of your 'worst' are some of my faves! May I please defend some of them? When Bryan says "Running wild.....like you do...." It's not about him, it's about her! The fact that she does and he doesn't is the whole point, I thought. Dance Away....well at least it gave Roxy some exposure over here! It was a top-40 hit and is frequently played to this day. It DOES sound 80s but it was 80s. The lyrics are witty, too..."you're dressed to kill, and guess who's dying?" Sonnet 18 is poignant and romantic, and as Guy said truly a lyricist to be reckoned with. It's not easy to set prose to music but it works in this case. In Your Mind and that whole album I admit have not travelled well, but they were pretty cool in their day, that loud brass section worked. I still enjoy Bete Noire, the Right Stuff is cool. It might have been better saved for Mamouna though. Maybe then that album might have charted along with it. I think Can't Let Go is one of the coolest songs ever! Sometimes when I expose a new person to Bryan Ferry that's the song I play for them. Last time I was in LA I deliberately drove down Sunset to the Beach, what an evocative place and what a perfect song to attempt to describe how it was in the 70s. There WAS a madness in people's souls. And his vocal performance is great. I agree with most of your faves tho. Lottie ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 09:14:51 -0800 From: "R. Jackson" Subject: Re: [AVALON] Winners and Losers Ah, Tim Curry in the horns and red makeup. I have a 3/4" master of that video. I was working at a music video station when that came out and the program director let me air it about half a dozen times before I noticed the tape on a stack to be erased and recycled. I pretty much had to go ahead and rescue the tape from the stack. I like the part where the doors blow open and David Gilmour's standing there doing his solo. He grimaces and makes his best "soloing causes constipation" face while Bryan dances nearby in his leather shrink- wrap outfit. Was there ever a video for the song he contributed to the soundtrack for The Fly? That might make a good double-feature; Bryan singing over images of Curry in the devil getup and Goldblum as Brundlefly. On Nov 20, 2005, at 8:49 AM, LottieStreeter2@cs.com wrote: > Has anyone seen the video for "Is Your Love Strong Enough?" Bryan > in a suit > singing about love in front of images of some horrible monster, > like in one of > those Japanese Gamera movies....definitely a career lowpoint. ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 13:12:40 EST From: Roxypiglet@aol.com Subject: Re: [AVALON] Winners and Losers One mans meat is anothers poison if we all liked/ disliked the same stuff Roxy/Ferry had sung /released the world & Mr Ferry would be much poorer . ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 15:03:32 EST From: KWil632057@aol.com Subject: Re: [AVALON] Winners and Losers Surely the opening single from an album should be commercial though? J In a message dated 20/11/2005 16:53:40 GMT Standard Time, LottieStreeter2@cs.com writes: Yes and I can't believe it was offered as 'the single" from Frantic!? It seem such a commercial piece of fluff. ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 21:41:52 -0000 From: "Rob Whiteford" Subject: RE: [AVALON] Winners and Losers Didn't stop him releasing Your Painted Smile as the first single from Mamouna. Great track bad first single.. - -----Original Message----- From: owner-avalon@smoe.org [mailto:owner-avalon@smoe.org] On Behalf Of KWil632057@aol.com Sent: 20 November 2005 20:04 To: avalon@smoe.org Subject: Re: [AVALON] Winners and Losers Surely the opening single from an album should be commercial though? J In a message dated 20/11/2005 16:53:40 GMT Standard Time, LottieStreeter2@cs.com writes: Yes and I can't believe it was offered as 'the single" from Frantic!? It seem such a commercial piece of fluff. ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 16:50:20 EST From: KWil632057@aol.com Subject: Re: [AVALON] Winners and Losers True, although I doubt he has much to do with choosing what gets put out. If I recall YPM was released AFTER the album which is stupidity of the highest order... In a message dated 20/11/2005 21:42:22 GMT Standard Time, robert@rwhiteford.freeserve.co.uk writes: Didn't stop him releasing Your Painted Smile as the first single from Mamouna. Great track bad first single.. ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 08:47:19 -0000 From: "Rob Whiteford" Subject: RE: [AVALON] Winners and Losers Yeah I remember that - very odd. Especially as Mamouna had been played extensively on Radio one as record of the week - -----Original Message----- From: owner-avalon@smoe.org [mailto:owner-avalon@smoe.org] On Behalf Of KWil632057@aol.com Sent: 20 November 2005 21:50 To: robert@rwhiteford.freeserve.co.uk Cc: avalon@smoe.org Subject: Re: [AVALON] Winners and Losers True, although I doubt he has much to do with choosing what gets put out. If I recall YPM was released AFTER the album which is stupidity of the highest order... In a message dated 20/11/2005 21:42:22 GMT Standard Time, robert@rwhiteford.freeserve.co.uk writes: Didn't stop him releasing Your Painted Smile as the first single from Mamouna. Great track bad first single.. ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ End of avalon-digest V10 #285 ***************************** ======================================================================== For further info, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: info avalon-digest