Ferry's Finest Lyric

Oberon · **Joined:** Thu Feb 10, 2011 4:32 pm **Posts:** 305

Mais oui, Topiary. Those lines from Nobody loves me are really nice. Frantic could have been a great album had it not been for too much dylanesque amd that hideous Goodnight Irene.

rendezvous · **Joined:** Tue Dec 07, 2010 2:21 pm **Posts:** 390

W2
Ps. This wouldn't happen on a Bay City Roller's fan site.[/quote]

That's got me grinning like a Cheshire cat!!!

Cheers W2

Ian S · **Joined:** Sat Jun 27, 2009 1:05 pm **Posts:** 465

Scottish band Big Country did a pretty good version of Prairie Rose Interesting that the band name is a line from the song. Link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buCyvwD3aJs

Then Jerico were booked to support The Explorers on their 1985 UK tour. They also did a good version.Link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTizoYqp_RI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zryqGENoQVQ

Richard · **Joined:** Fri Jul 03, 2009 1:42 pm **Posts:** 271

RoxySiren wrote:

Windswept2 wrote:

Could it be that MANIFESTO was the last album were the 'Roxy Soup' was made with the original recipe? It has a number of co-writes on it and, with the exception of percussion, it had the original team. Including, I would imagine the full involvement of the good Doctor Puxley.

IRSNHO: absolutely! More specifically, all of the East Side (with the original Angel Eyes version), and elements of the West Side. It's the West Side where we see some aspects of the next Roxy recipe emerge.
STTY even reminds me of something from the Second Roxy Music Album. For me, that Side of the album has the feel of Roxy's early and mid period recipe(s).

What a shame though that the production throughout was so wooden? Some of the tracks could have been so much better with meatier production. Trash just wimps out after the intro, but could've been so good. Still falls the rain is hampered by really lack lustre production...imagine it with depth and edge! The vocal and lyric is strong, the sax is great...in fact it's all pretty good, but just sounds "wooden".

PS. I believe that TGPT played on several (all?) of the East Side tracks.

Absolutely spot on - The East Side of Manifesto is the last time the original Roxy soup makes an appearance and it is a shame the production is a little bit thin. Who knows what it would have sounded like if Chris Thomas had been involved.

RoxySiren · **Joined:** Wed Jun 10, 2009 11:18 am **Posts:** 679

Richard wrote:

RoxySiren wrote:

Windswept2 wrote:

Could it be that MANIFESTO was the last album were the 'Roxy Soup' was made with the original recipe? It has a number of co-writes on it and, with the exception of percussion, it had the original team. Including, I would imagine the full involvement of the good Doctor Puxley.

IRSNHO: absolutely! More specifically, all of the East Side (with the original Angel Eyes version), and elements of the West Side. It's the West Side where we see some aspects of the next Roxy recipe emerge.
STTY even reminds me of something from the Second Roxy Music Album. For me, that Side of the album has the feel of Roxy's early and mid period recipe(s).

What a shame though that the production throughout was so wooden? Some of the tracks could have been so much better with meatier production. Trash just wimps out after the intro, but could've been so good. Still falls the rain is hampered by really lack lustre production...imagine it with depth and edge! The vocal and lyric is strong, the sax is great...in fact it's all pretty good, but just sounds "wooden".

PS. I believe that TGPT played on several (all?) of the East Side tracks.

Absolutely spot on - The East Side of Manifesto is the last time the original Roxy soup makes an appearance and it is a shame the production is a little bit thin. Who knows what it would have sounded like if Chris Thomas had been involved.

Chris Thomas: the great Roxy producer. Rhett is the producer of the latter incarnation, but Chris was always the man!

Windswept2 · **Joined:** Sun May 29, 2011 7:23 pm **Posts:** 1568

DCJ wrote:

Prairie Rose ......The recording does have a big cinematic atmosphere and remember that Three and Nine (also on CL) draws imagery from going to the cinema in the 50s. James Dean starring in "Giant" was of the iconic films about Texas (and America writ large) in the 50s — and in the early 70s Dean was undergoing a major cultural "revival." Perhaps that was part of the inspiration for PR.

Mes Amis

Il est tout a fait correct — the influence of the cinema on our hero's work is writ large.

That said, although his music has always been the ultimate collage. Prior to Manifesto west-side, the predominant lyrical feel, IWNSHO, was European, if not distinctly British or English. And it was this era that gave rise to some of the most interesting word play:

"For your pleasure in our present state
Part false part true like anything
We present ourselves
The words we use tumble
All over your shoulder
Gravel hard and loose
There all night lying
With your dark horse hiding
Abhorring such extremes"

Is, for example, haunting and beautiful but very European.

At that time, along with 'The Kinks' (Ray Davies is no mean wordsmith) W2 considered them to be the most British of bands.
Of course, the influence of jazz, blues and soul was omni-present but Ferry seemed to plough his American furrow more on his solo work with his ready mades.

Post Manifesto east-side, this seemed to change. Of course, there were still great lyrics but the songs appear to be geared more towards the other side of the Atlantic:

"And so it came to be our song
And so on through all summer long
Day and night drifting into love
Driving you home from a movie show
When the music is here in my car"

Couldn't be more American. W2 first heard this song on his car radio in Glasgow and it transported him straight to California.

It's not to say that one thing is either good or bad because W2 loved the evolving sound scapes but lyrically, one would have to say that that the pre Manifesto west side songs were more interesting.

Tout le monde est d'accord ?

This PhD in Roxology is exhausting and evidently all you get at the end of it is a feather boa!

Salutations,
W2

DCJ · **Joined:** Thu Jun 18, 2009 9:58 pm **Posts:** 1030

BF's relationship to America (i.e. The States) is an interesting one, as he never reached a Mass American audience, no matter how he tried...

Oh Yeah is a very distinctive track in the BF catalog and the image of driving home from a movie show does (as WS2 rightfully observes) have an America flavor to it. But it seems to me an America as viewed through a British looking glass... (I should note here that IDCJNSHO the best track on Roxy's 2001 Live Album-and there were many good ones-is OY, and it was recorded in Detroit)

The other "American" song from that era is Can't Let Go which is specifically anchored in the terrain/geography of (West side/Hollywood Hills) Los Angeles. And it too is centered around a car ride ("From Canoga Park... down Sunset to the beach..." Oh how well it captures the pelting rain of a Southern California winter rainstorm. Another 70s song says that "it never rains in Southern California" but that's just not true. It doesn't rain very often, but when it does the great phrase "gullywasher" comes to mind.

And since the topic of "most British of bands" has been raised, let me name check Roy Wood and the Move as front line contenders in the category. Has there ever been a more British Pop Song than Blackberry Way? Of course, Waterloo Station is tough competition, but RW can hold his own against the best of them...

Roxy · **Joined:** Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:44 am **Posts:** 1177

I don't know what the term for the cinema would be in Geordie land but we would say we are "going to the pictures" when I was young. Maybe that is just a Scottish thing but I don't think that would have the same effect in Bryan's song lyrics!

Windswept2 · **Joined:** Sun May 29, 2011 7:23 pm **Posts:** 1568

[quote="Roxy"]I don't know what the term for the cinema would be in Geordie land but we would say we are "going to the pictures" when I was young. Maybe that is just a Scottish thing but I don't think that would have the same effect in Bryan's song lyrics!

Cher Roxy,

"Driving you home from a picture show
When the music is here in my car"

Would work fine and you're right, when we were even younger than we are now it was definitely referred to as "going to the pictures" in the NE as in Scotland!

It's interesting, when you look across the whole gambit of 'The Bonny Lad's Work' the influence of the cinema has been huge and his lyrics reflect it.

From 2HB to Alphaville the inspiration from the silver screen is writ large. The lyrics on Frantic's 'Cruel' are no exception:

"And James Bond, Jackie O,Johnnie Ray and Garbo
Who got the answer here? Tell me what I want to know"

All the usual suspects get a mention sooner or latter and W2 thinks that his obvious love of the cinematic has enriched his work enormously and the movie back drop that he has incorporated into many of his recent tours has really worked well to animate his songs even further

One of the things that W2 would love to see 'Roxy' do is score a movie. Our hero did intimate at one point that this could be a way forward and it would great to see it come to fruition.

Salutations,
W2

RoxySiren · **Joined:** Wed Jun 10, 2009 11:18 am **Posts:** 679

This is now becoming the best ever thread.

Dear W2: brilliant last post. Totally agree.

Dear DCJ: ditto. Totally adore that Californian imagery to which you allude. All the nuances in your post...marvellous.

I think that Bryan's west and east side muses are there throughout his career ...and are crucial. The music itself perhaps "sounds" more like east (start thru late 70s)...then west (late 70s on a bit thru 80s) ..then somewhere in a wormhole between the two from bête noire onwards.

I used to feel he betrayed those of us who loved FYP when he "went and done" dance away. Now, I see the whole thing/repertoire ....and love it (nearly) all. That's why I don't dis some of his later stuff...I somehow get it all.

Having said all that, the last full-on lyrical splurge was the alphaville album IRSNSHO. Shame it only came out in dribs and drabs later on. But c'mon! He's an old geezer...and still a genius.

Ferry's Finest Lyric

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