By the 1990s, most singers who had been in the game since
the late 60s or early 70s had begun to lose their musical mojo. Garnering at best two star reviews for studio
albums and only ever achieving significant sales by pumping out ‘best of’ and ‘greatest
hits’ compilations, whilst throwing in an awful live album or two to spoil the
relative success of the latter two, it is obvious such artists have burnt out
and subsequently run out of ideas. Not
if you’re Bryan Ferry, however. The unexpectedly
cool Ferry and his carefully crafted brand of romanticism as a musical form survived
well into the 1990s and even today, with his 1993 work, Taxi, proving there’s always exceptions to the rule. Giving his rendition of “Amazing Grace” a
miss, the record still has that upbeat moody aura to it that sends shivers up
my spine and is characteristic of much of his greatest work, both solo and especially
with the latter Roxy Music albums. “Just
One Look”, “Rescue Me” and “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” are tops – the rest,
however, shouldn’t be overlooked either, except of course, for the
aforementioned “Amazing Grace.” Stick to
the original for that one. A-