In honor of Valentine's day, the "Message" contemplates the works of one of the great romantics - Bryan Ferry. I was checking out some selections from Bryan Ferry's 2012 album "The Jazz Age" today. It's a collection of Ferry's best known tunes redone in a 1920's ragtime jazz kind of style. While not entirely novel, the experiment is more than a novelty. The interesting part, especially from a sound engineering point of view, is the success the album achieves in sounding like it was recorded some time between the world wars. 

What's more, the songs are done as instrumentals! Other rock stars of the 80's have taken a stab at revisiting the big band sound (Joe Jackson's "Jumpin' Jive," as well as numerous releases by The Brian Setzer Orchestra), but they typically retained most of their identity throughout. Considering how much of Ferry's artistic identity is tied to his voice, it's a gutsy move to push the mic aside. It's likely that a listener who wasn't in on the setup wouldn't even know it was him. But I guess being as successful as Bryan Ferry means that you don't have to obsess about being properly identified (unless someone mistakes you for Christian Bale.) 

Bryan Ferry's success began back in the 70's with the incredibly influential Roxy Music. He started developing his solo career early on, and much of it ran concurrent to his participation in Roxy Music. His 1985 album "Boys and Girls" was his only U.K. #1 as a solo artist, and is probably his best known album in the U.S. But 1987's "Bete Noire" should not be overlooked. Without losing sight of Ferry's signature style, it manages to be a little more adventurous. This is probably in part thanks to the collaborative nature of the record. David Gilmour makes an appearance, and producer Patrick Leonard shares writing credits on several songs. Just as noteworthy is the co-writing credit for the song "The Right Stuff." No, it wasn't a New Kid, it was someone much cooler. Who was it?