In 2006, with work on a much-anticipated new Roxy Music LP on hiatus, BRYAN FERRY recorded a group Bob Dylan covers – The Dylan Album. On this extract from our interview with Ferry in Uncut’s March 2007 situation (Take 118), Stephen Troussé meets the Geordie Jay Gatsby to debate soul boys, jazz golf equipment, Dylan and extra…
I’m sitting down in Bryan Ferry’s west London studios, checking again by way of my notes one final time earlier than we start to speak about his new album, when the person himself seems – nonetheless that distractedly dashing mixture of minor Royal, dreamy educational and doomed romantic: the Geordie Jay Gatsby. Ever the stickler for equipment and minor particulars, he feedback approvingly on my chunky new pocket book. Oh, I inform him, it’s a type of stupidly overpriced ones that attempt to con you out of believing that you simply’re becoming a member of the ranks of Picasso and Hemingway just by proudly owning one. “Ah sure,” he says, taking out his personal. “I’ve to make use of these slim issues. They match into my jacket pocket, however there’s not a lot room for a lot of particulars…”
You could possibly take this as a basic Ferry remark – the dapper poet, unwilling to spoil the road of his swimsuit for the sake of his muse. And certainly, whereas Bryan has been busy modelling the newest vary of menswear for M&S, the brand new Roxy Music LP – so keenly anticipated since Ferry, Andy Mackay and Phil Manzanera reunited in 2001 – appears to have briefly run aground on his author’s block.
Within the meantime, Ferry has stored himself busy and tried to jumpstart his writing, by recording an album of Bob Dylan covers known as, merely, The Dylan Album. Recorded in simply three days in 2006 on the again of final summer season’s Roxy gigs, it’s a surprisingly straight rendition of a few of Dylan’s best hits, from “The Instances They Are A-Altering” to “All Alongside The Watchtower”. In a way Ferry performs them as surreal 20th century torch songs – a form of lacking hyperlink between Leadbelly and Cole Porter.
I inform him that I got here throughout an previous interview the place he talked about doing an album of Dylan covers method again in 1973. “You shouldn’t imagine my interviews,” he sighs wistfully. “They’re all fallacious. They’re all made up…”
UNCUT: You first talked about your intention to make an album of Dylan songs method again in 1973 – what lastly spurred you into getting spherical to it?
FERRY: You’ve received to keep in mind that the primary hit, the primary single I did as a solo artist, was “A Laborious Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”, and I recall commenting on the time that I’d love to do a complete album of songs by him, simply as I’d love to do an album of songs by Cole Porter. There are simply sure writers who’ve an enormous physique of labor of very excessive commonplace. As a singer you’re at all times searching for high quality materials, and I’ve by no means been in a position to write quick sufficient to fulfil my wants as a singer. However why it took so lengthy to do a Dylan report, I don’t know. I’d been on tour, and while you come off tour you typically really feel within the temper for recording. Earlier within the 12 months I’d been engaged on some Roxy tracks with Andy and Phil and I wasn’t getting very far. I believed, ‘Let’s e book every week within the studio with Rhett Davies and do some Dylan songs.’
Was it a method of getting out of the deadlock you’ve reached with the brand new Roxy materials? Like while you did the Taxi covers while you stalled on Mamouna?
Yeah, fairly probably. You get fed up of the writing and also you need to carry out and get some “product” on the market. Horrible phrase. So as to add to the repertoire. As a result of I’ve been doing various reside work up to now few years – greater than ever earlier than, it appears to me. And typically you’re on stage and also you assume, ‘Ah – I want I had a few new issues, some songs that I haven’t performed earlier than.’ And these can be nice to play reside, which is why I’m going to be touring in March.
Are you able to recall while you first turned conscious of Dylan?
It will need to have been round ‘64/’65. I definitely keep in mind not liking him then! I didn’t actually get into him. When Dylan first got here out, he was too folky for me.
You had been a soul boy…
Sure, a soul boy. Mohair fits, you realize. The folks folks wore jumpers, duffle coats, sandals. And pipes. And beards. None of which was a part of my act on the time! I used to be a Northern Soul boy. However I did rub shoulders with bearded folks. Earlier than I went to school, I used to go to the New Orleans Jazz Membership. They performed bebop music and Eric Burden would seem. It was a terrific environment: a combination of ingesting, smoking and music. I used to be fairly overawed. As a result of I really like jazz. The man who performed trumped there turned John Peel’s producer. John Walters – nice trumpeter. He was additionally an summary expressionist painter…
FIND THE FULL INTERVIEW FROM UNCUT MARCH 2007/TAKE 113 IN THE ARCHIVE
