I'd speculate the response to such a damning verdict (as indeed is your 'right') would be more readily respected if you elaborated on your conclusion. With the greatest respect, without such qualification, it does seem like a bit of a 'toys out of the pram' moment! At the risk of inviting a tirade of criticism, what exactly is it that you don't like, apart from the fact you clearly don't like it?!!

I'd argue musically it could be perfectly acceptable as a more "traditional' BF album - ie one with BF vocals. There's certainly some great musicianship involved. So is it merely AB's input or something more profound?

As someone has said this is a “marmite “ taste - people’s opinions have been polarised by it, as demonstrated by the comments on the forum, all of the whose authors’ views I respect.

It’s clearly not a Bryan Ferry album ,and has not been promoted as such. - everyone knew in advance what was coming so no surprises there. It’s a spoken word record.

As a lifelong fan, I’m intrigued by the whole concept and I find there is enough music to satisfy my needs for Ferry compositions. My curiosity about the age of the demos and pieces remains undimmed.

Roll on the promised Part 2.

Dear UKRichard,

You weren't addressing me, but I'd like to explain my perspective.

Whenever I might find pleasure in the music and a pleasant sound might arise in my ear, this spoken word song kicks in and – for me – destroys everything.

For me, it's a lifeless and unemotional string of words. As if someone were constantly reading a combination of numbers from a book.

Perhaps I would enjoy the album without this spoken word song, but it's not fascinating to me as it is. I reject it.

But I'm happy – and I mean it sincerely – when others appreciate and like this album.

I know myself how excited I was for the Boys & Girls album back then. I listened to it several times a day and carefully placed the album cover on my duvet at night. I was incredibly proud.

Thank you Uwe...you've summed my feelings up concisely...it just rambles on and on.

Not surprisingly this album is provoking strong opinions both for and against. It gives me no pleasure to say that I really don't like the album, because I wanted to like it and was looking forward to hearing it. I'm pleased that Bryan is doing something unexpected and challenging - I just happen to think it's Not Very Good.

I wasn't too keen on Star when it first came out but grew to really like it. There Amelia's voice was further back in the mix as part of a collage of sound and voices. Here the voice is way up front in the mix and far from complementing the music it detracts from it. I found myself wishing there was a version of the album without the vocals where you could just focus on the music.

If I want to listen to a great performance artist I play some Laurie Anderson - Let X Equal X, Big Science, Gravity's Angel etc. With her it seems like the music and words came together but on Loose Talk we know Bryan had these tracks lying around which Amelia has put her speech to.

I haven't given up entirely on the album. I will give it another try when I'm in a receptive mood. I just wish the end result was better, in my opinion.

Ah great, a discussion in optima forma! That's what the forum is for, right?

Well, as a 64yo former secondary school pupil, I had to look that up, but being sufficiently educated to use Google, I can say I concur!

I agree with that. I don't like the voice, cold, automatic, it could be done by an AI.
This is a "strictly confidential" album and a commercial disaster that could speak to the head of a few people, not to the heart, because of the automatic voice that covers the music.

I can´t promise you a sober view. I agree on the post right above, to say the least. The voice... -Allegedly sexy? She raises the speed of talking somewhere, but still I´d say "allegedly". Yet I´m not sure the music without the voice would have helped. Imagine "Pictures on a Wall" without the voice. As for the "voice", she takes liberties with her words. I guess that´s what´s called poetry. Pardon me saying this and I know it´s poetry, but it was something about "leaving a party, a petrol station at night and the difference between ashes and snow..."

It's a little bit strange that I ordered a BF album only because Mrs. Pianoman gives it to me as an Easter present. I'm not looking forward to listening to the CD, although, of course, I will.

Spoken poetry is not my cup of tea as I mentioned here before. But I have great respect for Bryan Ferry who started this unusual project in the "winter of his life" as WS2 called it.

I enjoy the colourful videos of the three "single records". And I would prefer listening to these instrumentals without a voice in the foreground but I am sure that we won't get this because it would be an insult against AB.