Mes Amis,
One of Windswept’s finest Ferry memories is the 2013 AEWBF fandango.
W2 was lucky enough to see it twice - TRAH and The Brighton Dome.
To this day Windswept vacillates as to what was the best fandango - 1999’s ATGB or 2013 AEWBF ?
Of course ATGB has the advantage of relative youth (BF was 54) and the string section certainly added a frisson - both musically and visually. In addition the set list, whilst heavily featuring ATGB, was finely balanced and featured some great renditions of Roxy and solo favourites.
Conversely AEWBF benefited from a more extensive back catalogue and mixed TBFO with his rock band sublimely. The show was high concept and split into two half’s with both opening with Jazz Age material and then morphing into the full band often closing with an absolutely blistering rendition of Curtis Mayfield’s ‘Move On Up’.
The great Colin Good was Ferry’s musical director on both tours (as he was for everything in between) and added huge value to both performances. Indeed when Ferry finally gets around to that biography W2 would lay good money that he remembers their partnership with huge affection.
All said, we have good mementos of ATGB - we have the album and the DVD, ‘Live At Le Grand Rex’.
Yet with regards to AEWBF we have nothing other than fond memories.
This is a huge shame because a fabulous recording of Munich’s ‘Toll Show’ does exist and would make for an amazing album.
W2 prays to the Penshaw Gods that it will get an official release.
Frankly that is a lot more important than de-luxe editions of existing albums.
Learned Roxologists - to the barricades - AEWBF can’t be forgotten.
Salutations a tous,
Windswept

So many of BF's shows have been filmed down the years and not for the purpose of video screens or stage backdrops because, invariably, neither have been a feature. Which leaves me wondering why go to the not insignificant/otherwise avoidable cost if it's never going to be utilised?

So many opportunities, so many missed.

It seems Team BF and associated record companies understand there's a market out there given the endless reissues that are presumably commercially viable even with little or no extras, yet they so rarely sate that appetite with something truly worthwhile that augments the BF canon and legacy.

Mes Amis,
Salient words from UKRichard.
The annoying thing about this is that the recording already exists. Thanks to the generosity and technical expertise of a fellow Ferryista W2 actually has it in his Ferry library. Untouched by Studio One, the quality is already sublime and up there with 74’s RAH..
The track listing is as follows :

PART ONE
1. Avalon (TBFO)
2. Virginia Plain (TBFO)
3. Slave To Love (TBFO)
4. Just Like You (TBFO)
5. Reason Or Rhyme (TBFO/Ferry Vocal)
6. The Only Face (TBFO / Ferry Vocal )
7. Back To Black (TBFO / Ferry Vocal)
8. Same Old Blues ( Full Band )
9. Remake Remodel (Full Band)
10.Knockin On Heaven’s Door (Full Band )
11.NYC (Full Band)
12. Jealous Guy (Full Band)
PART TWO
13. I Thought (TBFO)
14. This Island Earth (TBFO)
15. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (Full Band)
16. Crazy Love (Full Band)
17. Chain Reaction (Full Band)
18. Casanova (Full Band )
19. A Hard Rain’s A Gonna Fall (Full Band)
20. Let’s Stick Together (Full Band)
21. Hold On I’m Coming
22. Move On Up

In its raw form this is a great set and is vastly superior to the last live album.
Mastering by Studio One could turn it into the best live anlbum ever.
There are just so many highlights.
TBFO & Ferry’s rock band are just an absolute power house.
It’s the Ferry set that W2 plays most and it would be the travesty of all time if it were never to see an official release.
Salutations a tous,
Windswept.

That's a magnificent piece of memorabilia, W2. A reminder too of what was the most eclectic, diverse and thoroughly entertaining set list, EVER.

Team BF are undoubtedly sitting on such treasures and by any measure these things have a limited shelf life: with very few exceptions, live albums and videos are consumables for fans and when the core of those fans are gone, so is the market.

I see other artists putting out quality material of this kind - and SDEs - in relatively modest numbers via their websites. They're not doing it for the good of their health - there is money to be made and it keeps fans engaged. BF has got modest form here, like the 2015 Live album he wanted to "flog", alas it seems that's all he had in the back of his yellow Reliant Robin.

Mes Amis,
Encore une fois UKRichard makes the most salient of points and he is so right when he names it “The most eclectic, diverse and thoroughly entertaining set list, EVER’.
W2’s recording comes from the German radio transmission and he lives in permanent fear of it ever suffering from digital breakdown.
The set is superbly constructed to showcase the strengths of the band and there are just so many highlights.

To wit :
- Great live renditions of the ‘Jazz Age’ versions subliminally played
by TBFO with Ferry introducing himself onto stage by adding vocals
to peerless JA versions of ‘Reason Or Rhyme’
‘Back To Black’ and ‘The Only Face’.
- The best ever rendition of ‘Remake Remodel’
- A knockout version of NYC
- A marvellous take on ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes’
- Shiver your timber cuts of ‘Crazy Love’ and ‘Chain Reaction’ with the
most scintillating transition between tracks EVER.
- A driving version of ‘Hard Rain’ with the horn section replacing
strings to unbelievable effect.
- A unique cut of ‘Move On Up’ that would have had Curtis
dancing in the heavens. The best closer EVER !

The musicianship throughout is sublime. This has to be the best ever lineup. The horn section is off the Richter Scale (nobody can play like these guys) and the juxtaposition of TBFO with the rock band works brilliantly.
What’s more, the arrangements have Colin Good’s fingerprints all over
them.
The whole thing benefits from his phenomenal piano and his theatrical experience shows in the set construction. He was always the
perfect foil for BF. Two perfectionists producing musical nirvana.
This set simply must see the light of day as a double album (all formats) and W2 appeals to Roxologists and Ferryistas to unite and beg Studio One for a release.
This one must come out of Bryan’s Bentley boot (trunk) resplendent
with a full booklet and not from his yellow Reliant Robin !
Salutations a tous,
Windswept.

TRAH show was absolutely one of the finest Ferry shows I've seen, that tour really should have some form of official release. With the exception of the release of the 1974 RAH show, where we of course were treated to many songs seldom played since, it seems that recent tours and their live albums focus on just the hits - have we missed the boat for Team Ferry to put this out?I hope not. It may not sell in vast quantities except to all of us on here but it is too good to languish in the Studio One vault.

Elegantly Ageing Hipsters,
“True2Life” makes some interesting points.
With the exception of ‘RAH ‘74’ recent live albums have indeed focused on the ‘hits’ and are among the least played in W2’s collection.
By contrast ‘RAH ‘74’, ‘Le Grand Rex’ (W2 ripped the music from the DVD), ‘Live At Lyon’ and his recording of Munich’s ‘AEWBF’ show are without doubt his most played.
The point being when a fan has every album it is those iconic live performances that bring the great memories flooding back and in W2’s not so humble opinion, AEWBF was the last true concept tour. Since then, as the great ‘True2Life’ pointed out, our hero has basically being touring and hammering out the hits. Windswept has nothing against this but let’s tell truth to power. Nothing since has remotely scaled the heights of AEWBF.
Where W2 diverges a little from ‘True2life’s’ synopsis is he does think that well packaged and marketed it would sell. After all, didn’t ‘RAH ‘74’ make it into the U.K. top ten album charts ?
W2 doesn’t know if AEWBF was ever filmed. If it was, the dream ticket would be an album / DVD set. Failing that the music alone will suffice. After all, who will ever forget that jacket ?
Prayers to The Penshaw Gods will continue. This diamond can’t be allowed to languish in the rough.
Mes Amis, W2 is reaching out to every thinking Ferryista to lobby for this project. W2 lui-meme has even considered standing outside Studio One wearing a sandwich board begging BF to release it !
Other ideas are welcome.
Salutations a tous,
W2

Windswept’s idea gets my vote and I find the notion of him standing outside Studio One wearing a sandwich board hilarious!
I took in this show at Brighton and would concur that it was a career high for Bryan.
The BFO are pretty unbelievable and are, without doubt, the best horn section I’ve ever heard. What’s more, they did, as Windswept pointed out, blend seamlessly with Ferry’s rock outfit. Furthermore they made everything sound so new and more sophisticated.
The musicianship was extraordinary so yes, let’s have this as a release. It will be infinitely more exciting than re-releasing stuff we’ve already got.

The videos for Back to Black and This Island Earth were filmed in Zermatt probably as part of normal festival concert footage. One wonders if the festival or BF owns the rights to that concert. BF would have to split the take from that with them. I would love to see the full Zermatt concert.

Mes Amis,
Worryingly, W2 thinks that AzArtist may well have hit the nail on the head.
It has long puzzled Windswept why this diamond rests in the rough.
If there is a problem of rights maybe instead of sporting a sandwich board outside Studio One, W2 should pass a hat around.
Seriously folks, l’equipe Ferry doit agir sans tarder.
A de-luxe AEWBF set is infinitely preferable to re-releasing existing stuff.
Salutations,
Windswept