The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time 1955 to 2005: Number 569

Number 569

Bryan Ferry

"Lets Stick Together"

(1976)
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Genre:Rock

Yes, well if i was a multi-millionaire playboy like Bruce Wayne, i wouldn't bother working nights for a while. I would be attending these concerts this month & what a month it would be ..... Sept 5th "Switchfoot", Sept 14th "Hinder", Sept 20th "Silverchair" & "Powderfinger" ! Also this year has "The Used" 28th Oct, "Elton John", "America" (December) & "Kings Of Leon" in January. which then leads to Big Day Out '08 in Feb. Thats not bad for a country of only 4 million people isolated in the South Pacific. Out of all the artists above, i have only seen Elton John (twice) & Powderfinger, who I got to meet. Trust me, Powderfinger are thoroughly professional and "rocked" the audience right out of the theater.

As Roxy approached its mid- to late-'70s hibernation, Ferry came up with another fine solo album, though one of his most curious. With Thompson and Wetton joined by U.K. journeyman guitarist Chris Spedding, Ferry recorded an effort that seemed as much of a bit of creative therapy as it was music for its own sake. On the one hand, he followed the initial formula established for his solo work, looking back to earlier rock, pop, and soul classics with gentle gusto. The title track itself, a cover of the fluke Wilbert Harrison '60s hit, scored Ferry a deserved British hit single, with great sax work from Chris Mercer and Mel Collins and a driving, full band performance. Ferry's delivery is one of his best, right down to the yelps, and the whole thing chugs with post-glam power.

Other winners include the Everly Brothers' "The Price of Love" and the Beatles' "It's Only Love," delivered with lead keyboards from Ferry and a nice, full arrangement. On the other hand, half of the album consisted of Ferry originals -- but, bizarrely, instead of creating wholly new songs, he re-recorded a slew of earlier Roxy classics. Fanciful fun or exorcising of past demons? It's worth noting that most of the songs come from the Eno period of the band, and consequently the new versions stear clear of the sheer chaos he brought to the original Roxy lineup. As it is, the end results are still interesting treats -- "Casanova" exchanges the blasting stomp of the original for a slow, snaky delivery that suggests threat without sounding too worried about it. "Re-Make/Re-Model," meanwhile, turns downright funky without losing any of its weird lyrical edge. Others have subtler differences, as when the stark, stiff midsection of "Sea Breezes" becomes a looser, slow jam. ~ [Ned Raggett, All Music Guide]

For Wilbert Harrison see Number 596
For the Beatles see Number 947, 894 & 587
For Elton John see Number 531

The Personal Side of Ferry

In his private life, Ferry went through a rough period. Jerry Hall and Bryan Ferry eventually moved in together, sharing homes in London and in the ritzy Bel Air section of L.A. While Ferry was away on tour, Jerry Hall began a simultaneous affair with Mick Jagger, leading to the break-up between Ferry and Hall. To this day, Ferry rarely speaks about Hall, but fans often speculate that his song "Kiss and Tell" from the Bête Noire album was Ferry's response to Hall's tell-all book about their relationship. Ferry often refuses to discuss his feelings about Hall or talk about their romantic history during interviews. Bryan Ferry's solo album The Bride Stripped Bare is widely believed to contain references to his break-up with Hall, who left him for Mick Jagger in late 1977. Ferry's original songs on the album were in fact written some time before the relationship ended, although it was recorded afterwards. The album was commercially not very successful, the highest-peaking single "Sign of the Times" only reaching 37th position in the UK charts. After this album failed to catapult his solo career, Ferry decided to reunite with Roxy Music to record new material.[Source:Wiki]

For Rolling Stones see Number 767 & Number 689

What does Rolling Stone think about Bryan Ferry?

Let's Stick Together is the least campy of Bryan Ferry's three solo albums. Rather than do suave interpretations of oldies as diverse as "It's My Party" and "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," he has chosen to blend less loaded reworkings with reinterpretations of his own earlier work with Roxy Music. Like Dylan on his new Hard Rain album, Ferry has fortified a style in which virtually all his previous songs can be recycled. (Four of the songs here come from the first Roxy Music album.) So, while Pete Sinfield's production of "Chance Meeting" made the song sound like King Crimson with literary delusions, the new reading sounds like an anglicized Rolling Thunder Revue. "Sea Breezes," which originally had the dreaminess of the Incredible String Band, has journeyed from the vegetarian to the carnivorous, thanks to the inspired playing of the band.

The non-Roxy renovations aren't as consistently intriguing. Strangely, the blues songs—"Let's Stick Together" and Jimmy Reed's "Shame, Shame, Shame"—work best. The only shame is that Ferry didn't get around to Shirley and Co.'s rather delirious and different song of the same name. Some of the covers are sluggish. The Lennon-McCartney number sounds like a rejected Bette Midler arrangement, while Gallagher and Lyle's "Heart on My Sleeve" is a bit too cautiously contemporary. But Let's Stick Together proves that Ferry's solo albums don't represent a separate identity from Roxy Music so much as they wryly embellish one of rock's most intriguing sensibilities. (RS 226)

For Bob Dylan see Number 929 & Number 841

For John Lennon see Number 639

For Paul McCartney see Number 583

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (Well, it was like this see) and the Album ranked at Number (Ooops, sorry there goes the phone)

This song has a crowbarred rating of 73.1 out of 108 pts

Bryan Ferry - Let's Stick Together
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