Since I heard the collaboration between Groove Armada and Bryan Ferry on "Shameless" for the "Black Light" album I've been waiting impatiently for this release and as I said somewhere before I am a huge Bryan Ferry fan specially from the post-Avalon era, where his music got more sophisticated, multilayered and smooth. My favorite album by Mr. Ferry is 1992's "Mamouna" and also one of my all time favorite albums, but ironically is one of his least popular. In the near future I am definitely going to make a review of "Mamouna" and other Bryan Ferry releases specially "Boys and Girls" and Roxy Music's "Avalon" which I got on Super Audio CD versions and sound fantastic.
Of course, the first thing you will notice is the roxyesque photography for the cover. As you may know, Roxy Music has always embellished its discs with stylistic almost pin-up models and made the covers classics in the process like the debut Roxy album and the controversial "Country Life" featuring two german models with not much on, but in a very tasteful and artistic way. So, is the cover featuring Kate Moss any indication that the sound is going to be closer to "Avalon" than a Bryan Ferry record? The answer is yes! The ingredients are there: Phil Manzanera, Andy Mackay and Brian Eno together since 1973, so this could easily be "Avalon's" follow-up.
As always Bryan Ferry has surrounded himself with great musicians, and this time is no exception. Collaborating in the studio we find names like David Gilmour, Groove Armada, Scissor Sisters, Flea and Radiohead's Johnny Greenwood.
How does it sound? In a word, great! Departing from records like "Mamouna" and "Frantic" this release takes were Roxy's last record left, even taking the intro of "True to Life" to feed the first track and single of the album "You Can Dance" with an infinite loop. The track starts the album with a sexy danceable rhythm accompanied with a powerful guitar and great singing. One great song and perfect choice for a starter.
"Alphaville" is my favorite from "Olympia". An outstanding song where Ferry's voice sounds as smooth and good as ever. The groovy sensual rhythm makes me remember the dark atmospheres from "Taxi" and "Mamouna" but somehow it doesn't sound dated, although it could fit in either of them.
"Heartache By Numbers" has a very emotional start with a nice piano line and a pulsating rhythm that suits Bryan's voice very nice, it has a rocking quality that is cut when the almost marching chorus steps in, a very refreshing change to a song that gets bigger toward the end.
What starts as a very simple song driven by a piano and the lead vocals, slowly builds up into a multilayered and dreamy heartfelt ballad on "Me Oh my". Its sad nature doesn't take any of the enjoyment of this beautiful song.
After being accustomed to the excellent version of "Shameless" by Groove Armada who co-wrote and produced it, my first impression of Ferry's version was of dislike. After three or more listens I started to really like it and started to separate both versions. If GA's "Shameless" is dance, this version is disco. It still has a danceable quality but in a funky way, thanks to the bass lines, whammy guitars and the constant hi-hats in the rhythm. Despite the up-beat nature of the song it still has a mysterious quality that makes it flow with the sound of the record.
Tim Buckley's emotional "Song to the Siren" has got a new life thanks to the ability of Bryan Ferry to transform covers into his own songs. Maybe not as moving as Buckley's or This Mortal Coil versions but never the less a good version. It sounds much bigger musically, but not surprisingly if you look at the musicians credits: Phil Manzanera, David Gilmour, Johnny Greenwood, Bryan Eno, Andy Mackay and all the guys playing the sting instruments. Another cover to get the Ferry treatment is Traffic's "No Face, No Name, No Number", a ballad that is ok, but may be not among the best material on the album.
"BF Bass (Ode To Olympia)" is the other up-beat track from "Olympia", slap-bass driven and with a lot of female backing vocals. Not instantly a favorite but it grows on you with every listen. For my taste a little bit too much of "ouhuhu yeeahh uuuuhuuhuu" from the backing vocals.
Another highlight is "Reason or Rhyme" a piano driven mid-tempo 7 minute sensual piece, that turns instrumental for 3 minutes with nice moody piano and guitar solos, until we hear Ferry's voice again to carry on with the song for the last couple of minutes. Great mysterious atmosphere.
The last song, "Tender Is The Night" closes the album with a beautiful and elegant minimalistic ballad based on piano and vocals, with a touch of electronics and some distant female voices. Smooooth!
I can say that "Olympia" is one the best records by Mr. Ferry, very close to "Mamouna" and "Boys and Girls" IMHO. As mentioned before this could perfectly be a continuation of "Avalon" thanks to the sleek and elegant production and the overall quality of the record. With this quality of work I don't see Bryan Ferry laying on his past glories any time soon, on the contrary I think this is going to re-energize him and maybe we could get new material sooner as expected.
5 Star Record.
Alphaville
Me Oh My
Shameless
Reason Or Rhyme
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