I like the unapologetic attitude of the front cover pic. The only colour is Ferry's skin. The rest is black & white. I doubt many casual buyers will be purchasing this and those of us who have been following his musical journey for 30,40 or even 52 years will see the direct resemblance of the plain sleeve and staring eyes just like the first solo album in 1973.

Should get my copy on Tuesday .

Oh Lonesome Me is a typical Ferry cover: He turned it into a country waltz with a wonderful fiddle arrangement, far away from the Don Gibson version.

This was the last song of his Retrospective to be published and he ended where he started: AHRA-GF was changed from 3/4 into 4/4, OLM from 4/4 into 3/4. That's what we always liked when Ferry did his covers - it mostly differed from the original.

Other 3/4 waltz time that Bryan did in 4/4 were:
He'll Have To Go
Amazing Grace
Are You Lonesome Tonight? (he did record it in 3/4 initially but didn't release it)

Maybe this is a topic for another thread sometime.

J.O'B.

Good idea, John.

Answer Me (Taxi) had a 3/4 time in the German original (Glaube mir = Believe Me). Ferry rearranged it in 4/4. But there had been a cover version by Barbara Dickson (January, February) in 1974 where she used the 4/4 time.

Further remarks to the Retrospective:

The package is of high-value quality. Today I had my first listen to CD 5. Feel The Need is an outstanding re-make/re-model. I knew his cover version, but this reworked version is overwhelming. Especially the string and hammond organ arrangements of Ann Odell ... fantastic!

A Fool For Love is the much better version than the one on Frantic (or the stripped down piano version). This one grooves and is one of my highlights on CD No.5 ...

I'm interested to see that the musician credits on tracks included here from Boys and Girls and Bete Noire are more track specific on Retrospective than they were on the sleeves of the original releases, where you got the impression that no one was 100% sure who played on which track. Did someone go through them all for this and work it out?

The musicians names are usually on the track sheet in the studio. Bryan & Rhett also remember a lot about the sessions too. A combination of these is where the information is garnered from.

J.O'B.

So that begs the question John; Why wasn’t this info included on the original releases? Space? Laziness? Ennui?

I haven't yet delved into the 5CD set, save for an enjoyable romp through the accompanying book.

However the 1 disc version is ensconced firmly in the car CD player. Whilst on the one hand it's all to easy to read through the track list with 20 "got that"s running through ones consciousness, it's actually a refreshing listen. With only 55% of the twenty tracks being 'hits', it's not your usual compilation by any means, and showcases BF's diverse/eclectic solo career really rather well. I can imagine anyone being gifted a copy as a present might find themselves sufficiently intrigued to know more. Not sure how many would be tempted to fork out for the 5CD version, but they could be tempted by the back catalogue at a fraction of the price.

Bon jour, mes amis!

Ma femme m´a offert "Retrospective" pour mon anniversaire.
The five cd;s in their deluxe package is a treat. Great photos inside - but why almost always this ridiculous cigarette? - and information about each individual song. Can´t be better. The vinyls satisfy my childish like for coloured lp;s. Everything is good except the cover. Now I´m not complaining that smoke gets into my eyes, but I think our hero look more of a criminal than an artist on the photo. Why on earth choose such a mugshot.
Anyway, a great retrospective. And a new project is on the way!
Bonne dimanche à tous!