Bitter-Sweet

Bryan Ferry Orchestra - Bitter Sweet (BMG)In a follow-up to 2012’s “The Jazz Age”, vocalist Bryan Ferry joins the orchestra for a reinserting with thirteen songs from the Roxy Music or Bryan Ferry solo catalog. Ferry sings on eight songs, with the remaining five being done instrumentally.One song, the excellent “Reason or Rhyme” appears on both albums, but for 12 of the 13 songs, the rearrangement into 1920s jazz music is done superbly (with only the first section of “Chance Meeting” not making the cut).Ferry’s voice is a bit weaker, as he warbles gently but not very forcefully in that now-high pitched deliver of his. Regardless, in keeping the century old sound, his voice is more than effective.High points include the instrumentals for “Dance Away” and “Sign of the Times”; as well ad the vocal pieces “New Town and “While My Heart is Still Beating”.(4 stars out of 5)MC Mahan

Consider 'Bitter-Sweet' an evolution, or rather an extension of Ferry's 'The Jazz Age' album of 2012. This one differs in the fact that in now features vocals, while the other output did not. None but one of the songs - 'Reason or Rhyme' - makes a reappearance. Interestingly, as with the period they depict 1920s — 1930s, they both seem to be in mono-aural sound - not stereo. However, 'Bitter-Sweet' does seem to have more spatial openness to its sound, perhaps to the fact that Bryan's vocals take a very clear front and center position. Wonderful way to revisit of his back catalog, especially unexpected numbers from his late 80s 'Bête Noir' period: 'New Town,' 'Limbo' and 'Zamba.' Now, I'm waiting for the potential future box set of 'As Time Goes By, 'The Jazz Age' and 'Bitter-Sweet' for my double-dipping pleasure — which better include a Bluray of this material in concert!

Sorry Bryan, I am a huge fan of yours (and Roxy Music for sure), but this album just doesn't work. I tried to get into it, but you let me down. The style and theme of the album is novel, but the delivery just doesn't add up to your prior work. I have all your CDs, but I doubt I will play this one again, sorry.

If you are a true Roxy-Bryan Ferry aficionado you need this album.

Bryan Ferry gives us tracks from the Babylon Berlin series. Mainly made up of Roxy and Ferry classics with a 20's to 30's twist. Very recommended from a life long fan.

These re-done Roxy/Ferry songs are priceless! Vinyl pressing is superb with very thoughtful packaging. This is a labour of love release and belongs in your collection.

Great reinvention of his songs!

One of Damon's best projects...

Bryan Ferry kennt man natürlich als Sänger der legendären Band Roxy Music. Schließlich veröffentlichte er inzwischen auch bereits sechzehn Solo-Alben. Die letzten Platten seiner Solo-Karriere unter der „Überschrift“ „Bryan Ferry and his Orchestra“. Darunter fällt auch das letzte Album in dieser Reihe mit dem Namen „Bitter-Sweet“. „Bitter-Sweet“ erschien am 30. November 2018 auf dem Plattenlabel BMG.Im Grunde genommen ist „Bitter-Sweet“ allerdings kein reguläres Solo-Album, denn die dreizehn Titel der Platte finden sich bereits alle auf vorherigen Roxy Music- oder Solo-Veröffentlichungen des Bryan Ferry. Es ist allerdings auch keine „Best Of“-Scheibe. Inspiriert durch die Netflix-Serie „Babylon Berlin“ interpretiert Bryan Ferry auf dem Album seine Lieder neu, spielt sie ein, wie sie vielleicht zur damaligen Zeit in den 20er Jahren des letzten Jahrhunderts geklungen hätten. Und so hört man auf „Bitter-Sweet“ jazzige Töne, Blues und Ragtime. Die Lieder wurden dabei so verändert, dass man den ursprünglichen Titel oftmals erst erkennt, wenn man weiß, dass es sich vorher um diesen oder jenen Titel gehandelt hat.Die Umsetzung dieses Ansatzes ist Bryan Ferry perfekt gelungen. Dieser zerbrechlich klingende Gesang des Engländers, welcher mit dem Alter noch intensiver zu werden scheint, in Verbindung mit wunderschönen Melodien, die ganz anders als mit Rockinstrumenten eingespielt wurden, das hat was und macht Spaß. Die Atmosphäre, die die einzelnen Nummern transportieren ist zum einen wunderschön und intensiv, oftmals auch sehr berührend. Musik, die packt und nachhallt. Und dies gleich beim ersten Mal des Hörens.Die Titel „Alphaville“, „Reason Or Rhyme“, „Bitter-Sweet“, „Zamba“ und „Boys And Girls“ verströmen eine wunderschöne warme und intensive Stimmung, die einen fast schon zu Tränen rührt. Diese fünf Lieder zeigen, wie packend und einnehmend Musik klingen und sich anfühlen kann. Dies sind die Höhepunkte der Scheibe, doch auch die restlichen Titel lohnen gehört zu werden. Sanfter Ragtime und Blues und Jazz… wunderbar umgesetzt.Fazit: Mit „Bitter-Sweet“ ist Bryan Ferry ein wunderschönes Album gelungen. Und dies, obwohl die Lieder der Platte alle bereits bekannt sind. Doch auf diese Art eingespielt, im Geiste der 20er Jahre des letzten Jahrhunderts, sind sie noch nicht bekannt und klingen sehr viel packender und intensiver, als im Original. Toll.

This album is a lovely piece of work and fits perfectly with the TV series Babylon Berlin,a rather long piece of work charting the demise of 1920's German extravaganza, and the rise of Fascism.And a very classy series to boot..So thoroughly recommended if only to hear the melodic voice of Brian Ferry using his voice to paint the scene in the Viemar downfall..

I can't bring myself to give Bryan Ferry less than 3 stars. This album is good and enjoyable for what it is. What it is is Bryan Ferry re-doing Roxy and solo songs in a 1920's jazz style. The selection of songs is wise as he doesn't really do any major hits and this allows us to listen to these tracks without too much of a comparison to their original versions. Having said that, nothing here is better than the originals, but then again nothing here is horrible. That is not saying much, and I don't know how often I'll play this, but for now, it's a "new" Bryan Ferry album so it will get some spins. I think this one is only for the diehards and even then some diehards may not care for it. We need another album of new compositions before Bryan completely loses his voice. There is a nice eerie feel to many of these versions.Edit: After spending a couple of months with this album, I increased my rating from 3 stars to 4 stars. These versions have really grown on me. While they are not better than the originals, I realized they add a different feel to these songs which makes this a worthwhile and interesting release for the Ferry/Roxy fan. Recommended.

I'm a big fan of these recordings - an inventive and enduring way to re-record well-loved hits, keeping us older fans enthralled again...A++++!

I've been a fan of Ferry and Roxy since the days of 'Street Life' circa 1973 and loved how innovative and different the music of this feller was. It's been an industry and music worst kept secret (See: Spitting Image) that for years now he seems to recover his own and others songs continually, sometimes to great effect (Dylanesque - and a version of Make You Feel My Love that outstrips Adele and every other, including Bob Dylan and you can't get the version on it's own, unless you buy the album) sometimes not, as in the 'phoned in' Great Gatsby music and this is more mediocre, revisiting and rehashing that fails for me. Still professional, well orchestrated and of interest to die hards, but a majority of Ferry fans want quality along the lines of his earlier stuff, with some Roxy style bite, if not some original content and this feels too much like a vanity project, simply to exploit fans' wallets. Mr. Ferry might as well revisit 19th Century opera, sing it and make a few more shekels, anything, but no more of this provincial 1920's and 30's stuff. Enough already! Three reluctant stars only for quality alone, but certainly not for the trite content here.