AE:
Yes, Toykp Joe is OK but falls well short of Party Doll, Rock of Ages, and IYM. I spent many evenings back in '78/79 listening and relistening to those three tracks, making a point of dropping the needle so that if would skip TJ.

DCJ

I always though In Your Mind would have made a great single. I loved (and still do) Party Doll.

I must be the only Ferry fan that doesn't like the In Your Mind album.

J.O'B.

I love the album, partly because it has a special place in my affections as the first Ferry/Roxy album I ever bought. Various books suggest that the man himself doesn't have much fondness for it so maybe that's why it's so poorly represented in the live shows?

I like This Is Tomorrow, Love Me Madly & Rock Of Ages but the rest I am not fussed about. I think if you takes Ferry's voice off it you wouldn't know it was a Ferry album whereas albums like Boys And Girls through to Mamouna sound like Ferry's work even the covers album Taxi sounds like a Ferry album in terms if style and how he blends musicians together.

J.O'B.

[quote="avalon_eyes"]The entire In Your Mind album is classic , except perhaps Tokyo Joe.

Hedonistic Hipsters,

After yesterday's ill advised broadcast on the other channel, W2 was obliged to run home - chased off by a couple of "Rollers" determined to pour vitriol over him. Quel bordel!

Anyway, despite having difficulty running in his cuban heels, he has made it home to the Ferry side of things and has to say that he agrees completely with avalon_eyes and DCJ about IYM except he doesn't share their aversion to 'Tokyo Joe'. In fact he considers it something of a classic - pure cinema and with fabulous lyrics; "She hokey-kokey till the cows come home."

All in all, W2 has fond memories of the LP and the tour and remembers being mighty impressed with the line up. He was still living in the NE at this juncture and took in the show at City Hall in '77 (the prior year had been canceled - familiar?).

In many regards, it was our hero's first solo tour and he pushed the boat out with the band - they were fantastic. Manzanera, Spedding, Thompson, Wetton and with a great brass section, backing singers and an amazing key board player called Ann O'Dell.

With the exception of our hero, they weren't as visual as Roxy but musically they were incredibly strong and the set list was superb.

Sadly, with the exception of the Frantic & Dylanesque tours, the songs haven't seen the light of day live. W2 did think that some would have found their way into AEWBF. It would have been great to see the BFO have a go at the likes of 'In Your Mind'.

IWNSHO, the majority of tracks are too brass heavy to find their way into any set list with his new band but you never know!

In any event, Ferryistas in the northern hemisphere can look forward to some great shows this year.

Salutations,

Windswept

Bonjour, mes amis!
I also have very fond memories of In your mind. Great string arrangements and fab wind instruments. If I remember right, it was Mel Collins, a great musician, playing the sax. Tokyo Joe is something special. In the 90.s I lived in Tokyo, thanks to a telly program, the song became an enormous hit for a while and BF came over just to play that song.
But I also agree with John; the "true" BF emerged later and at least in my opinion Mamouna is BF;s most personal work.

Philosophical Philanderers,

The great Oberon makes an interesting point and it would be interesting to know what other Ferryistas think - is 'Mamouna' indeed The Bonny Lad's most personal work?

W2 tends to agree. It is an extremely complete LP, has a real concept feel to it and our hero certainly agonised over it long enough.

It also represented some sort of pinnacle in the noir furrow that Ferry had been ploughing since Avalon.

That said, it is, IWNSHO, questionable as to how well the sound of the album is ageing?

The songs themselves are immortal as witnessed by TBFO's blistering renditions of 'The Only Face', 'NYC' and 'Chain Reaction' during the AEWBF tour but is the multi-layered production of the LP holding up as well?

Personally, W2 thinks that 'The Only Face' is one of his best songs but likes it very stripped back a la the version he immortalised on Jools Holland.

Back to the set list - perhaps 'Tokyo Joe' and 'In My Minds Eye' could be handled by the current line up?

We will see.

a bientôt,

Windswept

Bonsoir!
Tu as raison, W2! My only face is a (hidden?) masterpiece - and I also like it stripped down. The version on "Le Grand Rex" is superb.

You're not the only one J O'B. It's not my favourite either, it has some great songs 'Love Me Madly Again' & 'In Your Mind' but the album as a whole doesn't work for me. I would say that 'Mamouna' is my favourite Ferry album. It seems to me that fans like either 'In Your Mind' or 'Mamouna' not both.