Bryan Ferry

Recorded shortly after Bryan Ferry's split with model Jerry Hall, Bride Stripped Bare practically drips with despair and heartbreak. Comprised of half covers and half originals, Bride Stripped Bare isn't one of Ferry's very best albums, but despite its somewhat lopsidedness, the album certainly hits the spot when the mood is right.

Chic thinking, as he himself would have undoubtedly realized in his glory days, is poised to
write Bryan Ferry off. In the face of this, it's high time to give credit where credit is due:
Ferry, both in and out of Roxy Music, is one of the rank weirdos of rock & roll. In other
words, a prize. And, though some choose not to notice, the man's accomplishments are
enduring. It's probable that, without Bryan Ferry, the high-tech wing of the New... More >

Maybe the smoke in Bryan's eyes has finally reached his heart; the apparent sincerity of some of the singing here makes those five-minute moments when he lingers ponderously over a key lyric easier to take. The Los Angeles musicians don't hurt either--the conjunction of his style of stylization (feigned detachment) makes for interesting expressive tension. And Waddy Wachtel is as apt a sound-effects man as Phil Manzanera ever was. (Grade - B+)