SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: BRYAN FERRY – RETROSPECTIVE: SELECTED RECORDINGS 1973-2023

BRYAN FERRY
RETROSPECTIVE: SELECTED RECORDINGS 1973-2023
BMG

While David Bowie was busy making headlines and getting into the newspapers in the 1970s, Bryan Ferry was busy creating some of the most influential and innovative music ever recorded. Whether he was with Roxy Music or working solo, Ferry continually broke new ground and created new sounds and music. This new compilation, Retrospective: Selected Recordings 1973-2023, provides an overall feel for the entire Bryan Ferry solo catalogue. It also serves as a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Ferry’s solo career. Ferry has written and recorded several albums, contributed to soundtracks, and toured. He has done more as a solo artist than he did with Roxy Music. This five-CD box set is divided into themes rather than being a chronological view of Ferry’s career. There are no Roxy Music songs here, although there are Ferry’s solo interpretations of classic Roxy Music songs, as this box set is to highlight Ferry’s remarkable career.

The set starts with CD one, which is a greatest hits collection. Although the box set is not chronological, each CD is formatted in that manner. This first CD starts off with Ferry’s debut solo hit single (released in 1973), a cover of Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”. In Ferry’s hands, this Dylan protest folk song turns into an audio nightmare. Using sound effects and stirring background vocals, it shows, very quickly, that Ferry was looking to achieve sounds within the songs. Ferry used sound to create a mood and took the listener with him. And this is just the first song. “Slave To Love (7” Version)”, “Don’t Stop The Dance”, “Sign Of The Times”, and hits right up to the 2014 “Johnny And Mary (2023 Edit)”.

CD two, titled Compositions, is composed of songs that Ferry wrote. He is a brilliant interpreter, but he also wrote some classics. This is, perhaps, the strongest CD in the box set as Ferry’s songs are brilliant and stand out both lyrically and musically. “Can’t Let Go” is one of the best songs Ferry has ever written. It features some of his strongest lyrics and the song is perfect in every way. But there are so many others that illustrate the genius of Ferry, such as “This Island Earth”, “I Thought” (which simply breaks the listener’s heart), and “Boys And Girls (2024 Edit)”. While he wrote the lion’s share of his hit singles, these songs are not well known as such but they are essential listening.

CD three is titled Interpretations and features some of Ferry’s strongest covers. Ferry is no stranger to covering songs, and he is one of the few artists that is not afraid to make the song completely his while keeping the initial charm and beauty of the original. “Girl Of My Best Friend (1999 Remix)”, “Just One Look (1999 Remaster)”, and one of his several Dylan covers “Simple Twist Of Fate”. Ferry released an entire album of Dylan songs, Dylanesque, in 2007. There are some glaring omissions on this CD, such as Ferry’s versions of Gallagher & Lyle’s “Heart On My Sleeve” and The Beatles’ “You Won’t See Me”.

Disc four, titled The Bryan Ferry Orchestra, pretty much describes the set of music. In 2012, Ferry released the first of three albums of his and Roxy Music’s music arranged for big bands. It is an interesting idea and the three albums (The Jazz Age, 2012, The Great Gatsby Jazz Recordings, 2013, and Bitter-Sweet, 2018) were well-arranged and extremely well-produced. Again, it shows Ferry’s willingness to take risks. The one disc is a great compilation of those albums.

Fans may be most interested in CD five, Rare And Unreleased. There are some really interesting songs to be found on this disc. “I Forgot More Than You’ll Ever Know”, which was originally on the Japanese version of Frantic (2002), a song that Sonny James made famous in the 1950s. It has a distinct rockabilly feel. There are a lot of lost gems on this disc. Many were bonus songs on various versions of Ferry albums, but there is one new song, “Star”, which was co-written by Trent Reznor and features Amelia Barratt.

Of course there are some glaring omissions, but then, not every fan is going to be happy with the song selection, as everyone has their favourites. However, it would have been nice to have “Help Me” or “She’s Leaving Home” in the collection. Perhaps more unreleased and live songs would have been a welcome addition. But these are small complaints, and while they would have added to the overall package, the box set is still quite brilliant.

Retrospective: Selected Recordings 1973-2023 is an extremely well-curated history of Bryan Ferry. It is the icing on the cake, and one should be encouraged to check out each of his albums in full. This box set does a great job in providing highlights, but Ferry is much more than what is presented on these five discs. While some may be disappointed there is not more unreleased material, it really doesn’t matter because it fits Ferry. He has always released music in beautiful packages, and this is no different here. He has put together a fantastic that collects some of the finest music released in the past five decades.

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