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Album reviews Music

Bryan Ferry

Bryan Ferry – Avonmore

After a diversion into the 20s on 2012s The Jazz Age and The Great Gatsby soundtrack, British crooner Bryan Ferry returns to the highly polished and multi-layered sound that became his signature with Roxy Music in the 70s and 80s.

Avonmore features a typically star-studded cast of players Johnny Marr, Nile Rodgers, Ronnie Spector, Mark Knopfler among them who meld seamlessly into his world of anguished glamour and romance. With each record, Ferrys voice has become more relaxed and grizzled, and on the psyched-out funk of One Night Stand, his thin vocals pass through the pulsating bass and rollicking background singers like a cold wind.

The quieter moments that give his voice less to compete with are more interesting. Soldier Of Fortune, co-penned by Marr, has bluesy riffs straight from 90s FM radio, but the fragility in Ferrys voice makes it work. Meanwhile, his minimalist take on Robert Palmers Johnny And Mary which debuted on Todd Terjes album earlier this year is still one of the years most beautiful and affecting songs.

Top track: Johnny And Mary

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