From: owner-avalon-digest@smoe.org (avalon-digest) To: avalon-digest@smoe.org Subject: avalon-digest V12 #141 Reply-To: avalon@smoe.org Sender: owner-avalon-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-avalon-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk avalon-digest Sunday, May 27 2007 Volume 12 : Number 141 Today's Subjects: ----------------- RE: [AVALON] Dylanesque chart observations ["Guy Lawley" Subject: RE: [AVALON] Dylanesque chart observations Still in the Sainsbury's Hot 100 at no. 95 !! Guy - -----Original Message----- From: owner-avalon@smoe.org [mailto:owner-avalon@smoe.org] On Behalf Of rob.whiteford@larcltd.co.uk Sent: 24 May 2007 10:59 To: avalon@smoe.org Subject: RE: [AVALON] Dylanesque finally appears to have disappeared from the top 75. Good run for a Ferry solo album though, Best since Boys and Girls? ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 May 2007 12:15:03 +0100 From: "Colette Robertson" Subject: [AVALON] Seven Ages of Rock - Saturday 26th May - 21:05-22:05 - BBC2 A small reminder to stand by the TV or set the video/DVD/!! Seven Ages of Rock - Saturday 26th May - 21:05-22:05 - BBC2 White Light, White Heat Art Rock 1966-1980 "The story of how artistic and conceptual expression permeated rock. From the pop-art multi-media experiments of Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground to the sinister gentility of Peter Gabriel's Genesis, White Light, White Heat traces how rock became a vehicle for artistic ideas and theatrical performance. We follow Pink Floyd from their beginnings with the fated art school genius of Syd Barrett through to the global success of 'Dark Side of the Moon' to the ultimate rock theatre show, 'The Wall'. Along the way, the film explores the retro-futurism of Roxy Music and the protean world of David Bowie." Cheers, Colette ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 May 2007 07:53:12 -0400 From: "Gerard York" Subject: [AVALON] "Dylanesque" Review, The Washington Times http://insider.washingtontimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20070521-104342-9217r By Adam Mazmanian May 22, 2007 Bryan Ferry Dylanesque Virgin This has been done before. Joan Baez has released several volumes of Bob Dylan covers. The Byrds, the Grateful Dead, Duane Eddy and Robyn Hitchcock have all assayed full-length records of Dylan songs, as have legions of lesser known artists and tribute bands. This is not to mention multi-artist albums perpetrated by talents awesome and obscure, from the recording of the 1992 Madison Square Garden tribute featuring Neil Young, Eric Clapton and Stevie Wonder, to a two-volume set called "Duluth Does Dylan," in which hometown bands pay tribute to their favorite son. To appreciate the full breadth of these efforts, visit the excellent Web site Dylancover.com which, as of this writing, catalogs in excess of 18,000 recorded Dylan covers. Still, there's something quietly audacious about Bryan Ferry's stroll through the Dylan catalog. The songs he plays aren't necessarily the most famous, but neither are they willfully obscure B-sides or bootlegged outtakes. The former Roxy Music singer reinterprets some of Mr. Dylan's most autobiographical work, transforming the wrathful backhand of "Positively 4th Street" into a kind of rueful, plaintive lament about innocence lost. Absent the savagery of Mr. Dylan's performance, the lyrics reveal deep vulnerability and abiding sadness. "Simple Twist of Fate," one of the best tracks from the confessional 1975 album "Blood on the Tracks," is recast as an uptempo ballad, with cornball backing vocals trilling like paper noisemakers here and there. It recalls the Vegas sound of Mr. Dylan's late '70s touring bands, immortalized on the underappreciated "Live at Budokan" double album. The Marine Band harmonica toots merrily; the fuzzy electric guitar fills the space between lyrics with friendly licks; even a violin solo is twangy and upbeat. Mr. Ferry's approach carves out distance from the anguished sentiment of the song, and focuses instead on the sweetness of the melody. Mr. Ferry plays one of Mr. Dylan's most iconic songs, "The Times They Are A-Changin'" the way Tom Petty might have done it -- with a low rumble of guitars and an unexpected puff of Hammond organ. It's a strange choice, given that the song is so rooted in a time and place, and it doesn't ring out with new meaning here. He uses almost the exact same orchestration on "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues," a hazy, highly allusive track from the 1965 album, "Highway 61 Revisited," but here Mr. Ferry's cool, mid-tempo approach makes the tune come to life. He defers to the funereal original on "Gates of Eden," a long, harmonically inert allegory approaching six minutes in length. The Dylan version is taxing, and Mr. Ferry's is too. His version of "All Along the Watchtower" will cause the most howls because the definitive version of that song is itself a cover -- the Jimi Hendrix rendition from "Electric Ladyland." Mr. Dylan himself drew on Mr. Hendrix's electric orchestrations as the basis for the live version he would play throughout his career. Mr. Ferry splits the difference between Mr. Dylan's restrained acoustic version and the blistering, unrelenting electric Hendrix cut. It's not bad, but one wonders why he bothered. The answer, probably, is because he felt like it. "Dylanesque" reflects the singer's artfully cool pose more than it pays homage to the Dylan legend and will appeal more to Mr. Ferry's fans than obsessive Dylanologists. ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 May 2007 14:01:18 +0100 (BST) From: Terence OConnor Subject: Re: [AVALON] "Dylanesque" Review, The Washington Times Good review, perhaps Adam Mazmanian (temped to see if thats an anagram of Manzanera, no time, no e or r either) is the most polite reviewer in the world refering to almost everyone as "Mr" Terry 'O' Gerard York wrote: http://insider.washingtontimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20070521-104342-9217r By Adam Mazmanian May 22, 2007 Bryan Ferry Dylanesque Virgin This has been done before. Joan Baez has released several volumes of Bob Dylan covers. The Byrds, the Grateful Dead, Duane Eddy and Robyn Hitchcock have all assayed full-length records of Dylan songs, as have legions of lesser known artists and tribute bands. This is not to mention multi-artist albums perpetrated by talents awesome and obscure, from the recording of the 1992 Madison Square Garden tribute featuring Neil Young, Eric Clapton and Stevie Wonder, to a two-volume set called "Duluth Does Dylan," in which hometown bands pay tribute to their favorite son. To appreciate the full breadth of these efforts, visit the excellent Web site Dylancover.com which, as of this writing, catalogs in excess of 18,000 recorded Dylan covers. Still, there's something quietly audacious about Bryan Ferry's stroll through the Dylan catalog. The songs he plays aren't necessarily the most famous, but neither are they willfully obscure B-sides or bootlegged outtakes. The former Roxy Music singer reinterprets some of Mr. Dylan's most autobiographical work, transforming the wrathful backhand of "Positively 4th Street" into a kind of rueful, plaintive lament about innocence lost. Absent the savagery of Mr. Dylan's performance, the lyrics reveal deep vulnerability and abiding sadness. "Simple Twist of Fate," one of the best tracks from the confessional 1975 album "Blood on the Tracks," is recast as an uptempo ballad, with cornball backing vocals trilling like paper noisemakers here and there. It recalls the Vegas sound of Mr. Dylan's late '70s touring bands, immortalized on the underappreciated "Live at Budokan" double album. The Marine Band harmonica toots merrily; the fuzzy electric guitar fills the space between lyrics with friendly licks; even a violin solo is twangy and upbeat. Mr. Ferry's approach carves out distance from the anguished sentiment of the song, and focuses instead on the sweetness of the melody. Mr. Ferry plays one of Mr. Dylan's most iconic songs, "The Times They Are A-Changin'" the way Tom Petty might have done it -- with a low rumble of guitars and an unexpected puff of Hammond organ. It's a strange choice, given that the song is so rooted in a time and place, and it doesn't ring out with new meaning here. He uses almost the exact same orchestration on "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues," a hazy, highly allusive track from the 1965 album, "Highway 61 Revisited," but here Mr. Ferry's cool, mid-tempo approach makes the tune come to life. He defers to the funereal original on "Gates of Eden," a long, harmonically inert allegory approaching six minutes in length. The Dylan version is taxing, and Mr. Ferry's is too. His version of "All Along the Watchtower" will cause the most howls because the definitive version of that song is itself a cover -- the Jimi Hendrix rendition from "Electric Ladyland." Mr. Dylan himself drew on Mr. Hendrix's electric orchestrations as the basis for the live version he would play throughout his career. Mr. Ferry splits the difference between Mr. Dylan's restrained acoustic version and the blistering, unrelenting electric Hendrix cut. It's not bad, but one wonders why he bothered. The answer, probably, is because he felt like it. "Dylanesque" reflects the singer's artfully cool pose more than it pays homage to the Dylan legend and will appeal more to Mr. Ferry's fans than obsessive Dylanologists. ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ End of avalon-digest V12 #141 ***************************** ======================================================================== For further info, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: info avalon-digest