Johnny And Mary

Windswept2 · **Joined:** Sun May 29, 2011 7:23 pm **Posts:** 1607

jesmond wrote:

This sounds a gorgeous version, dark, sleek and slightly sinister. I can't think of a better interpreter of other people's songs than Bryan Ferry. He is the Sinatra of our age.

Cher Jesmond,
How right you are. Geordie's favourite son is indeed the Sinatra of our age but thankfully without the dodgy barnet that Frank developed later in life.
Musically our Frank Sinatra. Sartorially our Gregory Peck!
Regards,
Windswept.

RoxySiren · **Joined:** Wed Jun 10, 2009 11:18 am **Posts:** 680

Now that we can hear the full version, what do we think?
I think it's special

Gardner · **Joined:** Fri Jun 26, 2009 6:27 pm **Posts:** 262

Yes I think it is. For me, it captures that moment in the cinema when you realise the lights are really going down. A deja vu 80's feeling... melancholy... epic and full of nostalgia.

DCJ · **Joined:** Thu Jun 18, 2009 9:58 pm **Posts:** 1031

The instrumental track is very good. Truly evocative and engaging.

I'm still having trouble embracing BF's whispery yet "mature " vocal styling. I know, I know, WS2 and others will pillory me for being negative etc etc. People can make comparisons to Sinatra but I don't remember Frank's voice ever sounding this fragile, even when he was well into his 80s...

It's hard to connect this singing to what, for example, BF did on Mamouna. Sigh. I plan to take time to listen to F&J at least a few more times and maybe my perspective will change. I can hope...

Smudge · **Joined:** Fri Jun 19, 2009 1:26 am **Posts:** 1135

People can make comparisons to Sinatra but I don't remember Frank's voice ever sounding this fragile, even when he was well into his 80s...

At the risk of being awarded the Queen's Award for Pedantry... Ol' Blue Eyes was 82 when he died, his last public performance was at the age of 79 and his last recordings (the Duets sets) were a couple of years or so before that. His voice would have been a croak in more than one sense by the time he would have been well into his 80s...

pianoman · **Posted:** Tue Mar 25, 2014 4:26 pm

To me BF's 'Johnny And Mary' is one of his best covers ever - at least since "Song To The Siren" - why not publishing something very old-fashioned … a "single record". That should get him much more air play than the rather monotonous "You Can Dance".

Today I wrote a mail to my favorite presenter and musical editor of Stuttgart-based "SWR1" radio station in case he didn't know Todd Terje at all :-)

Hope he will play J.A.M. in "heavy rotation" :lol:

But now, Ferry fellows: Shouldn't we send links to those musical opinion leaders in England, Scotland, Germany, Holland or wherever V.R.M.com's readers use to live ... to tell them that Bryan is still alive and kicking?

Maybe Bryan's too old for the Gaga generation, but a little bit of a chart topper (let's say No 10?) could make all Roxologists so happy again

DCJ · **Joined:** Thu Jun 18, 2009 9:58 pm **Posts:** 1031

OK Smudge. I'll gladly retract "well into his 80s". Instead substitute "well into his 70s".

Frank's voice was certainly diminished by the time he did the "Duets" recordings in the early 1990s, but his voice nonetheless remained stronger than what I hear from BF on Johnny and Mary. Just my opinion...

Windswept2 · **Joined:** Sun May 29, 2011 7:23 pm **Posts:** 1607

pianoman wrote:

Maybe Bryan's too old for the Gaga generation, but a little bit of a chart topper (let's say No 10?) could make all Roxologists so happy again

Debauched Dilettantes,
Monsieur piano man has a great point but like a fine wine, our hero's music is sometimes wasted on an immature palate.
A case in point are my very own sons. Decades before the Mighty Boosh made their assertions, they both claimed to have been brought up in an Audi GT Quattro listening to endless tapes of Robert Palmer, Steely Dan and all things Ferry!
As teenagers they rebelled and went their own way, listening to some pretty puerile stuff en route.
Now, in their 30's, they thank me for their education. See it as the act of a loving farther. My youngest in particular, is a huge fan of the first three albums. To such an extent that I'm thinking of buying him a feather boa for his next birthday.
In conclusion, I think we have to wait for the rest of the world to catch up before we can make them honorary Roxologists.
Regards,
Windswept

Mr. Rifff · **Joined:** Sun Jun 21, 2009 12:39 pm **Posts:** 106

[quote="My youngest in particular, is a huge fan of the first three albums. To such an extent that I'm thinking of buying him a feather boa for his next birthday.
[/quote]

Just think, if the 40th Anniversary Deluxe remasters, or whatever they were, had been released on time you could have bought him them (keep the feather boa for yourself, it doesn't matter if you missed it at the start, well it does but...) eh yes...but the time has been and gone for those re-issues to be relevant, much the same as BF's voice.
The last tour proved he can still, to a certain extent, sing with some power, why doesn't he try it?
I can't listen to a new album which has good music but that whispering vocal. It might involve some studio enhancement but everyone has done that. Bias can only last so long...30 odd years in my case

Windswept2 · **Joined:** Sun May 29, 2011 7:23 pm **Posts:** 1607

Mr. Rifff wrote:

I can't listen to a new album which has good music but that whispering vocal. It might involve some studio enhancement but everyone has done that. Bias can only last so long…30 odd years in my case [/b]

Monsieur Riff,
Roxology is a broad church and all styles are definitely served here but to describe the absolute triumph that was AEWBF as proving "he can still, to a certain extent, sing with some power" is tantamount to saying that Luis Suarez can still, to a certain extent, still score goals!
As for his J&M vocal, from what I've heard, it seems to fit the noir mood perfectly.
Regards,
Windswept.

Johnny And Mary

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