Bryan Ferry (1999) -As Time Goes By

Artist: Bryan Ferry
Album: As Time Goes By
Released: 1999
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 105 MB

Bryan Ferry invests considerable time and energy in cover albums (he should, considering that they compose a good portion of his solo catalog), treating them with as much care as a record of original material. He's always found ways to radically reinvent the songs he sings, so it's easy to expect that his collection of pop standards, As Time Goes By, would re-imagine the familiar. Instead, As Time Goes By is his first classicist album, containing non-ironic, neo-traditionalist arrangements of songs associated with the '30s. That doesn't mean it's a lavish affair, dripping with lush orchestras -- it's considerably more intimate than that. Even when strings surface, they're understated, part of a small live combo that supports Ferry throughout the record. He's made the music as faithful to its era as possible, yet instead of rigidly replicating the sounds of the '30s, he's blended Billie Holiday, cabaret pop, and movie musicals into an evocative pastiche. Ferry is at his best when he's exploring the possibilities within a specific theory or concept; with As Time Goes By, he eases into these standards and old-fashioned settings like an actor adopting a new persona. Since Ferry has always been a crooner, the transition is smooth and suave. He makes no attempt to alter his tremulous style, yet it rarely sounds incongruous -- he may sound a little vampirish on "You Do Something to Me," but that's the rare case where he doesn't seamlessly mesh with his romantic, sepia-toned surroundings. On the surface, it may seem like a departure for Ferry, but in the end, it's entirely of a piece with his body of work. True, it may not be a major album in the scheme of things, but it's easy to be seduced by its casual elegance.~ by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, allmusic.com




Tracklist:
1. As Time Goes By
2. The Way You Look Tonight
3. Easy Living
4. I'm in the Mood for Love
5. Where or When
6. When Somebody Thinks You're Wonderful
7. Sweet and Lovely
8. Miss Otis Regrets
9. Time on My Hands
10. Lover, Come Back to Me
11. Falling in Love Again
12. Love Me or Leave Me
13. You Do Something to Me
14. Just One of Those Things
15. September Song

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