[list=]Loop De Li.........:a nice one
Midnight Train...........:a nice one
Soldier Of Fortune.......:filler
Driving Me Wild..........:filler
A Special Kind of Guy....:filler (never has he been nearer an aural soup, plus it`s mono-aural, es ist eintönig)
Avonmore.................:a nice one
Lost........................:a nice one
One Night Stand..........:filler
Send In The Clowns......:a nice one
Johnny And Mary.........:a nice one[/list]

I respect your opinion, le freak. But I think some tracks on 'Mamouna' or the 'Olympia' version of 'You Can Dance' are more 'eintönig' (monotonous) than 'A Special Kind Of Guy'. All styles served here ... BTW, your verdict on 'Avonmore' could be worse ('a nice one') .

le freak...never knowingly positive...but fair enough, all opinions valid & welcome here...

loop - v good - a real grower
midnight - serves the purpose, lyrics ok, musically strong
soldier - filler?!?! this is honest bf, quite raw & quite frankly a breath of fresh air...
driving - i like this. insistent, great lyrics, and quite brave. this doesn't hide behind production.
special guy - not my personal fave. one for the ladies?!
avonmore - the best. tough, in your face, great music & structure, & great lyrics...
lost - nice to hear this finished. a cool track that doesn't outstay its welcome...
one night stand - a bf tune. i like the groove,not a total classic, but certainly not a duffer...
clowns - like this a lot, but not sure of it on this record...and the same goes for...
...J&M - again, love it, but does it fit?!

anyhow, great record. for an artis in his 5th decade, what do you want/are you expecting?? cos you ain't gonna get RM/RM...

I don`t think we should say "good for a guy who this or that". I judge music without taking personal considerations. What I do not expect, is a "typical BF album", with all that goes with it on the negative side. In many ways, I was positively surprised by this album because of it`s bright spots. Despite it`s weaknesses, it can yet be heard in it`s entirety without having to skip tracks. On the bright side is also the "band in the studio" feel that has been mentioned in another thread. Luckily, it`s not only layer upon layer this time, but a band playing together.

Fully agree paraphonix...even though I think the suicide allusions in midnight train are rather good. I think it's a very good album indeed ...however rhett's production is perhaps over cooking it with a blanket of velvet. I'm delighted that BF can churn this stuff out at this level after all these years.

Loop de li. Good
Midnight train Good
Soldier of fortune. Good
Driving me wild Very good
A special kind of guy. For ladies?
Avonmore Excellent
Lost Filler
One night stand Good (Apres une bouteille de vin)
Send in the clowns Very good
Johnny and Mary Very good

Having played Avonmore to death in the car I can say that the title track is outstanding, one of the boldest pieces of music he has ever done and a fabulous collaboration with Ollie Thompson.
Loop de Li (whatever a Loop de Li is) and Midnight Train (one of the last survivors from the Horoscope sessions) are vintage Ferry. Lost is a lovely cameo while Send in the Clowns ranks as the best version of the Sondheim classic I have heard. Johnny and Mary haunts the final few moments of the album.
Both the closing tracks are the sound of a man whose marriage has gone very wrong (something picked up in the Daily Telegraph's review).
The rest pass me by but I thought the same about Reason or Rhyme before being mesmerised by the live version at Sheffield City Hall.
It is not a great album but it is a very good one.

"Lost" a filler? What are you after? Country Life? It`s lounge music, maan!

Le freak, nice that you like the song I find to be the weakest!
Anyway, I will give Lost many more chances.

[quote="jesmond"]Having played Avonmore to death in the car I can say that the title track is outstanding, one of the boldest pieces of music he has ever done and a fabulous collaboration with Ollie Thompson.
Send in the Clowns ranks as the best version of the Sondheim classic I have heard. Johnny and Mary haunts the final few moments of the album.

Mes Amis,
The tasteful @jesmond has it nailed.
Windswept adores 'Send In The Clowns' but thinks the best Ferry interpretation of this particularly tasty morsel is yet to come when he strips it back a little. Maybe that will happen in the live set. 'Reason or Rhyme' has gone through multiple incarnations and always for the better.
Initially the version of 'Johnny & Mary' felt a pale imitation of the original but after multiple listens it has morphed into a complete classic. Haunting is an understatement. Bram Stoker would have been proud of this one!
Salutations,
Windswept.