Uncut Interview - Wed 3rd Jan
Uncut Interview
03 January 2007
Bryan Ferry is to release 'Dylanesque' an album of Bob Dylan cover songs, this Spring.
The Roxy Music front man is a longtime fan of the great man Dylan
having first recorded a swaggering version of 'A Hard Rain's A-Gonna
Fall' in 1973.
Ferry says recording the new album has always been an ambition, saying,
"I just thought it would be great to make a whole album of Dylan songs.
And at the end of last year, finally, it happened."
'Dylanesque' features eleven Dylan songs, recorded in just one week in
the studio with his full touring band backing him. Ferry says, "I
wanted to get away from that locked-in-the-studio feeling. We were
doing live vocals, harmonica, live everything."
Ferry has changed the moods and temper of the songs, protest song 'The
Times They Are A-Changin' is no longer just that. Ferry tells us "The
way I do it doesn't mean it isn't a protest song, this song can be
whatever you want it to be. I grew up with the jazz idea that you could
do a song in many different ways."
Other tracks Ferry has tackled include, 'Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues,'
'Simple Twist of Fate', 'All I Really Want To Do and 'Positively 4th
Street.'
Guest musicians also appear on the covers album Brian Eno provides
"sonic enhancements" on 'If Not For You' and The Dirty Three's Warren Ellis brings a string arrangement to 'Positively 4th Street.'
Ferry also tackles 'Knocking On Heaven's Door' admitting that [it] was
a risky one, because it's been covered so many times by different
people. With 'All Along The Watchtower' there was a nod to Hendrix as
well as Dylan. The backing track was done about eight years ago, just
an acoustic guitar played by Robin Trower, bass, drums and me. I kept
looking at it and thinking, one day I've got to finish that..."
'Dylanesque' is released on Virgin Records on March 5..
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