Bryan Ferry celebrates ‘Dylanesque’ with performance on Letterman

By M&C News Jun 22, 2007, 13:01 GMT

Long a Bob Dylan fan, Bryan Ferry remade "A Hard Rain\'s A-Gonna Fall" for his 1973 self-titled album of covers. This time around, the celebrated Roxy Music leader turns in Dylanesque, recasting 11 Dylan classics during a single live-in-the-studio week that leaves the album sounding vibrantly faithful to the original numbers. Far be it for the imaginative contrarian to retrace Dylan\'s steps, and sure enough--despite an omnipresent harmonica--Ferry does just ...more

Bryan Ferry will celebrate the June 26th release of his new album, ‘Dylanesque,’ with an appearance on “Late Night with David Letterman” that evening. The following day, June 27th, Ferry will autograph his new CD at J&R Music and Computer World (23 Park Row, New York, NY) at 12:30 p.m.

With ‘Dylanesque,’ Ferry (a founding member of Roxy Music and one of Britain’s most distinctive singer-songwriters) interprets 11 classic songs of American icon Bob Dylan, including “The Times They Are A-Changin,’” “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues,” “Simple Twist of Fate,” “Positively 4th Street,” “All I Really Want To Do” and “Make You Feel My Love.”

“Bryan Ferry’s new album ‘Dylanesque’ is proof that when one legend interprets the work of another, the results can be magical,” said Nylon. “In Ferry’s able hands Dylan’s classic songs take on an entirely new personality.”

Ferry’s version of “Gates of Eden” was recently USA Today’s “Pick of the Week” while Harp noted that hearing “Ferry cutting and quivering through the portent of ‘Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues’ is one slow dazzle.”
 
While ‘Dylanesque’ took only about a week to record, its roots go back to Ferry’s first solo album, 1973’s ‘These Foolish Things.’ Recording “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” for the album, Ferry recalls thinking it would be great to make a whole album of Dylan songs. He did include the occasional Dylan cover on his subsequent solo albums, but it wasn’t until late 2006 that he began making the album he’d conceived of nearly 35 years prior.

Collectively, these interpretations comprise their own emotional world - a fresh and vivid place, cut at times by deep shadows and open to the weather of its mood. Ferry uses the medium of Dylan's songs - their lyrical power, their tenderness, insight or portentous nuance - in order to make a musical statement that is in part a portrait of Dylan, and as importantly a self-portrait.

"As far as the words are concerned it's a bit like an actor tackling Shakespeare," said Ferry. "I like finding the melodies that Dylan's hidden away in there.”