Olympia (studio album) by Bryan Ferry

With "Olympia", Brian Ferry delivers an album that can be called pretty good overall. Due to circumstances, "Avonmore" (2014) was an album that I bought earlier and I regret to say that this album, despite the many celebrities that Ferry managed to get involved with and helped to record and create the kind of music that Ferry was thinking off and planning, is not that good as "Olympia". Possibly "Olympia" is also the album on which Ferry and his listeners did not have too many difficulties with his voice that was gradually diminishing. Take it from me: in terms of production, "Olympia" is very good. No excess of layers of sound stacked on top of each other and burying the essence of a song in artifacts that only the experts in the recording studio are busy with. The essence of the songs remains intact and one can still dance to it. Beautiful. With musicians who like to see their music as a product, and that is precisely why they are leaning too much on the tricks that the modernly equipped sound studios can offer them, you never know in advance whether the material they bring along is in itself strong enough . "Olympia" does indeed have moments of weakness, but the pulsating drive that pushes the sublime intro called "You can Dance" forward is not part of those. The lyrics are sensual and sultry. With this song the listeners meet the beautiful people who live to the rhythm of the night and to the vibe of discos with an unspoken magic: an erotic high voltage between occasional strangers who seek out the mystery of the unknown or face some huge despair. Raise the emptiness into a way of life. It is the atmosphere in which "In every Dreamhome ..." also bathed, up to the chin, no, the water up to the lips. But it must also be said: the cover of "Song to the Siren" is not in the universe of Ferry. The undoubtedly tense time when Jerry Hall as a mermaid washed up on the rocks was seen in all her glory on the cover of "Siren" and shared the bed of the singer Ferry, are now far in the past. Sometimes you can't argue about taste, but this cover undermines the original song. In my experience there is only 1 cover that equals and surpasses the original, and that is the rendition of Elizabeth Fraser (together with Robin Guthrie the "band" Cocteau Twins) on the 4AD album "It'll End in Tears"). Lump in the throat. "BF Bass" has an infectious chorus, but not much more either. That the chorus is played by a set of background singers is a must here. The fact that they also play solo throughout the song is not so bad, but it does not offer the song great added value. "Reason or Rhyme" has doubts that start with the title. Unfortunately that is also the case with the song. You hear all kinds of sounds and sounds that rest on a pretty conventional bass line, but as a listener you have no idea where this track should go. Musical doubt, served with a portion of arrogance and equipped with vocal lines that I have heard too many times. "Heartache by Numbers" has an unusual chorus. Good song with a relaxed structure, but not too neutral as a whole. "Tender is the Night" doesn't bother me, but other people will certainly find it very beautiful. "Me oh My" is reminiscent of gems such as "Chance Meeting" and "Sea Breeze". A modest vocal with which Ferry shows how you explore emotions, turn them into lyrics and give away a very appropriate and sensual interpretation. I have become too old to rate this number higher than "Chance Meeting" although. "Shameless" rocks. Everything falls into place thanks to the impeccable mix and production. Again that atmosphere of female sensuality in the background vocals. The number is like a web with fine spider rags. I throw myself against it, even though I know I will burn my fingers. On the other hand, I also realize that I am too stuck in the past. So in my world this record cannot compete with the older work of Bryan Ferry.

Quite possibly Ferry's strongest set of songs since, Boys and girls. The quality holds up throughout and Ferry's voice, which is now a little deeper, suits the mood of the album and the perfect production job on the record. Very good.

From VikaGatling 03/06/2013 15:29

Bryan Ferry's music, though he is getting old and his voice is weakening, is still charming, sexy, sometimes soft and sometimes dynamic. And above all it's beautiful and glamourous, as Roxy Music and Ferry always were.