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"...It's My Party...And I'll Cry If I Want To... "
A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall!
Who would have thought it – in the year of 1973 - with its serious Progressive Rock breakthrough into the mainstream music charts - "The Six Wives Of Henry The VIII" by Rick Wakeman in January - "The Dark Side Of The Moon" and "For Your Pleasure" by Pink Floyd and Roxy Music in March – "Aladdin Sane" by David Bowie in April – "Tubular Bells" by Mike Oldfield in May - "A Passion Play" by Jethro Tull in July and the double-album "Tales From Topographic Oceans" by Yes in December - Mister Sharp Suits of Leggy Models Inc., does an album of eclectic Thirties to Sixties cover versions and wins The Cool Dude of the Year Award – yet again!
With two attention-grabbing genre-redefining albums already in the Island Records bag for Roxy Music (June 1972 for the self-titled "Roxy Music" debut and March 1973 with "For Your Pleasure") - Lead Singer and Principal Songwriter for those Glam Rock darlings wasted no time in getting his solo album debut out into the marketplace. Ferry would set up something of a trend with such albums - following the October 1973 starter in September 1974 with another album of the same ilk – aptly called "Another Time, Another Place".
And yet from this most unhip and unlikely of concepts (an album of covers for Gawd’s sake) - Bryan Ferry came up with a Poptastic gem (more or less) that had Avant Garde types donning their Fedora Hats and stroking their satin scarves and feather boas with glee. And it’s good too – in fact 50-years down the line (here in 2023) - Ferry’s brilliantly arranged debut "These Foolish Things" has stood the test of time. It should not work – but with just a hint of Vivian Stanshall wit and tongue-in-cheek, sidling up to Peter Skellern Brass Band nostalgia – our fave uppercrust warbler pulled off an album that keeps you glued – a record filled with less obvious crafty song choices – all reworked to a place where they became something different altogether yet still recognizable.
But my real reason for the review is the SOUND. The Bob Ludwig HDCD-Format Remaster on this sucker is an absolute blaster – beautifully clear in a way the original VINYL LP I owned all those decades ago never was. The wallop of the girls giving it woo-woo as BF's session band builds and builds in his version of The Stones anthem "Sympathy For The Devil" is huge. They are clear again on the title track that plays out Side 2. It all sounds bloody glorious.
So much to discuss - to the reminders of You and I and our foolish things...
UK released October 1999 - "These Foolish Things" by BRYAN FERRY on Virgin FERRYCD1 (Barcode 724384759827) is a straightforward Reissue of the original 1973 album onto Remastered 1999 HDCD (High Density CD) that plays out as follows (43:51 minutes):
1. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall [Side 1]
2. River Of Salt
3. Don't Ever Change
4. Piece of My Heart
5. Baby I Don't Care
6. It's My Party
7. Don't Worry Baby
8. Sympathy For The Devil [Side 2]
9. The Tracks Of My Heart
10. You Won't See Me
11. I Love How You Love Me
12. Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever
13. These Foolish Things
Tracks 1 to 13 are his debut solo album "These Foolish Things" – released October 1973 in the UK on Island Records ILPS 9249 and Atlantic SD 7304 in the USA. Produced by BRYAN FERRY, JOHN PORTER and JOHN PUNTER – it peaked at No. 5 in the UK (didn’t chart USA).
The whole album is cover versions – original artists being Bob Dylan for Track 1, Ketty Lester for Track 2, a Jerry Goffin and Carole King song done by The Crickets for Track 3, a Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns song by Erma Franklin for Track 4, a Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller song by Elvis Presley for Track 5, Lesley Gore for Track 6, a Brian Wilson song by The Beach Boys for Track 7.
Side 2 is a Mick Jagger/Keith Richards song by The Rolling Stones for Track 8, a Smokey Robinson song by The Miracles for Track 9, a John Lennon and Paul McCartney song by The Beatles for Track 10, The Paris Sisters for Track 11, an Ivy Jo Hunter and Stevie Wonder song by The Four Tops for Track 12 and the American Standard from 1935 is the album’s Title song (Track 13).
Musicians - the album featured Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music on Guitar, Eddie Jobson of Roxy Music and 'UK' on Keyboards, David Skinner of Twice As Much, Uncle Dog and Clancy on Keyboards, Roger Ball, Malcolm Duncan and Henry Lowther on Horns, Ruan O'Lochlainn of Bees Make Honey on Saxophone, John Porter of Uncle Dog and Front on Bass with Paul Thompson of Roxy Music and Angelic Upstarts on Drums.
You could not say that the 8-page booklet is anything to write home about – lyrics – musician lists and reissue credits - and that's it I'm afraid. The spine has the DIGITALLY REMASTERED wording but the disc and tray beneath reflect a generic spiral look for the series that is boring and unimaginative. But the BOB LUDWIG Remastered Audio is truly amazing and I have found it to be so on all these Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music HDCD releases. To the music...
Ferry stamps his authority and grabs you by the lapels when he turns Dylan's Freewheelin' song "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" into an altogether angrier and more sinister attack and even at 5:20 minutes – it works like a charm (not many cover version 50-years old sound this contemporary still). Other highlights include the teen-tearfulness of "It's My Party" that Lesley Gore brought to her 60ts original and "I Love How You Love Me" – like Ferry is channeling his inner Girl Group. The Wall of Sound treatment appears for the Side 1 closer "Don't Worry Baby" – Ferry lifting The Beach Boys up into Phil Spector territory. Funnily enough, he remains most faithful to the two formerly Soul cuts of Erma Franklin's personal devastation anthem "Piece Of My Heart" and coquettish Motown classic "The Tracks Of My Tears" – brass fills and girly vocals – but not much else. And why he chose "You Won't See Me" as his Beatles representation on any album anyone's educated guess, but you have to say that the Fabs 1965 original is way better.
Only weeks after his ushered out the Solo Debut, Roxy Music itself would return to Avant Garde Art Rock with their third platter "Stranded" in November 1973 – an album that hit No. 1 in Blighty and its catchy opening Side 1 track "Street Life" would go up to No. 9 on the singles chart too.
For sure "These Foolish
Things" is not all genius and when I worked at Reckless Records in Soho,
it was a regular sell-in when guys were culling their collection excesses. But
there is good stuff to be had here and that Audio is worth tracking down the tears
of any clown for...
