| Avonmore | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 17 November 2014 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:21 | |||
| Label | BMG Rights Management | |||
| Producer |
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| Bryan Ferry chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Guardian | [2] |
| Pitchfork | 6.7/10 [3] |
| PopMatters | 8/10 [4] |
| Rolling Stone | [5] |
Avonmore is the fifteenth studio album by the English singer Bryan Ferry, released on 17 November 2014 by BMG Rights Management. [6]
The album was named after the location of Ferry's studio in London where it was recorded. [7] The album was announced on 23 September 2014 with a preview of the song "Loop De Li". [8] The album was produced by Ferry with long-term collaborator Rhett Davies, who has produced several albums for Ferry and Roxy Music. The album also features Ferry regulars such as Fonzi Thornton, Nile Rodgers, Marcus Miller, and Johnny Marr (who co-wrote the track "Soldier of Fortune"). The album includes two cover versions, a rendition of Stephen Sondheim's "Send in the Clowns" and a version of "Johnny and Mary", originally by Robert Palmer. The latter track was a collaboration with the Norwegian DJ/producer Todd Terje and first appeared on Terje's album It's Album Time which was released earlier in 2014.
Avonmore peaked at number 19 on the UK Albums Chart, and number 72 on the US Billboard 200.
Reception of the album was generally positive. In a four-out-of-five-stars review, AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "this is Ferry's prime, a moment when his legacy was intact but yet to be preserved in amber" and that the album "consciously evokes this distinct period, sometimes sighing into the exquisite ennui of Avalon but usually favouring the fine tailoring of Boys and Girls , a record where every sequenced rhythm, keyboard, and guitar line blended into an alluring urbane pulse" and that "the songs are what makes this record something more than a fling". [9] PopMatters critic John Paul wrote that the album "functions as a well-deserved victory lap for both Ferry and those he’s assembled, triumphantly returning to relevance and reminding listeners he’s been doing this since the '70s. It's just taken this long for the mainstream to catch up with where he's been all along". [10] Writer T. Cole Rachel from Pitchfork was less positive, giving the album 6.7 out of 10, writing that the album, in places, "flounders when the music, which routinely flirts with a kind of adult contemporary smoothness, leans over into blandness" and stating that "Ferry's well-documented good taste is both an asset and possibly a curse" and concluding that the record is "a fine addition to Bryan Ferry's oeuvre, if not necessarily a terribly challenging one". [11]
On 29 October 2015, Ferry announced the release of the a special edition package of Avonmore, containing the album on vinyl and CD, along with a 48-page book of photos by photographer Matthew Becker. [12]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Loop De Li" | Bryan Ferry | Ferry, Rhett Davies, Johnson Somerset | 4:18 |
| 2. | "Midnight Train" | Ferry | Ferry, Davies, Somerset | 3:49 |
| 3. | "Soldier of Fortune" | Ferry, Johnny Marr | Ferry, Davies | 4:25 |
| 4. | "Driving Me Wild" | Ferry | Ferry, Davies | 3:37 |
| 5. | "A Special Kind of Guy" | Ferry | Ferry, Davies | 3:14 |
| 6. | "Avonmore" | Ferry, Oliver Thompson | Ferry, Davies | 5:13 |
| 7. | "Lost" | Ferry | Ferry, Davies | 2:47 |
| 8. | "One Night Stand" | Ferry | Ferry, Davies, Somerset | 5:05 |
| 9. | "Send in the Clowns" | Stephen Sondheim | Ferry, Davies | 4:02 |
| 10. | "Johnny and Mary" | Robert Palmer | Todd Terje | 6:47 |
| Total length: | 43:15 | |||
"Loop De Li"
"Midnight Train"
"Soldier of Fortune"
"Driving Me Wild"
"A Special Kind of Guy"
| "Avonmore"
"Lost"
"One Night Stand"
"Send in the Clowns"
"Johnny and Mary"
|
Technical
Artwork
| Chart (2014) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [13] | 34 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [14] | 29 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [15] | 43 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [16] | 47 |
| French Albums (SNEP) [17] | 63 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [18] | 23 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA) [19] | 47 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI) [20] | 71 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) [21] | 86 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [22] | 16 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC) [23] | 19 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [24] | 19 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [25] | 37 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [26] | 19 |
| US Billboard 200 [27] | 72 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [28] | 18 |
Bryan Ferry is an English singer and songwriter who was the frontman of the band Roxy Music and also a solo artist. His distinctive voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to The Independent, Ferry and his contemporary David Bowie influenced a generation with both their music and their appearances. Peter York described Ferry as "an art object" who "should hang in the Tate".
Avalon is the eighth and final studio album by the English rock band Roxy Music, released on 28 May 1982 by E.G. Records, and Polydor. It was recorded between 1981 and 1982 at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, and is regarded as the culmination of the smoother, more adult-oriented sound of the band's later work. It has been credited with pioneering the sophisti-pop genre.
Flesh and Blood is the seventh studio album by English rock band Roxy Music, released on 23 May 1980 by E.G. Records. It was an immediate commercial success peaking at No. 1 in the UK for one week in June and then returned to the summit in August for another three weeks, in total spending 60 weeks on the albums chart in the United Kingdom. The album also peaked at No. 35 in the United States and No. 10 in Australia.
Siren is the fifth album by English rock band Roxy Music, released in 1975 by Island Records. It was released by Atco Records in the United States.
Manifesto is the sixth studio album by English rock band Roxy Music. It was released in March 1979 by E.G. in the United Kingdom, Polydor in Europe and Atco in the United States.
Viva! Roxy Music was the first live Roxy Music album. It was released in July 1976 and was recorded at three venues in the United Kingdom between 1973 and 1975. The recordings were from the band's shows at the Glasgow Apollo in November 1973, Newcastle City Hall in October 1974 and the Wembley Empire Pool in October 1975.
Bête Noire is the seventh solo studio album by English singer Bryan Ferry, released on 2 November 1987 by Virgin Records in the United Kingdom and by Reprise Records in the United States. It was a commercial and critical success, peaking at No. 9 in the UK and was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
Let's Stick Together is a 1976 album by Bryan Ferry. His third solo release, it was his first following the disbanding of Roxy Music earlier in the year. Unlike Ferry's two previous solo releases, Let’s Stick Together was not a dedicated album project, instead predominately made up of singles, B-sides, and an EP. Three tracks were exclusive to the LP, all remakes of Roxy Music tracks: "Casanova", "2HB", and "Chance Meeting". It had a generally favourable critical reception, but only just made the UK Top 20.
"Love Is the Drug" is a 1975 song from English rock band Roxy Music's fifth studio album Siren, released as a single in September 1975. Co-written by Bryan Ferry and Andy Mackay, the song originated as a slower, dreamier track until the band transformed its arrangement to become more dance-friendly and uptempo. Ferry's lyrics recount a man going out looking for action.
Dylanesque is the twelfth studio album by English singer Bryan Ferry, released on 5 March 2007 by Virgin Records. The album consists of cover versions of ten Bob Dylan songs and one traditional song that Dylan himself covered on his first album. It charted at number five in both the United Kingdom and Sweden. Soon after completion of the album, Ferry returned with most of the same musicians to film live re-recordings of the songs in the studio. The film, which includes interview clips with Ferry, is available on the DVD, Dylanesque Live: The London Sessions.
"Johnny and Mary" is a song written and originally performed by Robert Palmer. Palmer's version was recorded in 1980 at Compass Point Studios, New Providence, in the Bahamas. The song was featured on Palmer's album Clues (1980).
In Your Mind is the fourth solo studio album by English singer and songwriter Bryan Ferry. It was his first solo album of all original songs.
Frantic is the eleventh studio album by English singer Bryan Ferry, released on 15 April 2002 by Virgin Records. The majority of tracks were produced by the team of Rhett Davies, Colin Good, and Ferry; David A. Stewart and Robin Trower also co-produced several tracks.
Street Life: 20 Great Hits is a greatest hits album by Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music, released on 14 April 1986 by E'G Records. The album reached number one on both the New Zealand and UK Albums Charts in 1986.
"More than This" is a song by the English rock band Roxy Music. It was released in March 1982 as the first single from their eighth and final studio album, Avalon (1982). "More than This" was the group's last top-10 UK hit, peaking at No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart, and also charted in the United States, reaching No. 58 on the Billboard Rock Top Tracks chart.
Olympia is the thirteenth studio album by English singer Bryan Ferry, released on 25 October 2010 by Virgin Records. Co-produced by Ferry and Rhett Davies, Olympia is Ferry's first album of predominantly original material since 2002's Frantic.
Terje Olsen, known professionally as Todd Terje, is a Norwegian DJ, songwriter, and record producer. His stage name is a homage to house music producer Todd Terry.
It's Album Time is the debut studio album by Norwegian DJ and record producer Todd Terje, released on 8 April 2014 by Olsen Records. The album was self-produced by Terje and was recorded in a span of three years. It was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. The album debuted at number 2 in Norway, number 4 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart, number 23 on the UK Albums Chart, and number 6 on the UK Dance Albums chart.
Roxy: Tonight's the Night Live is a live album by Canadian musician Neil Young. The album is culled from live recordings made at the Roxy Theatre on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, shows that celebrated the club's opening as part of Neil Young Tonight's the Night Tour 1973. Neil Young and the backing band he called the Santa Monica Flyers played two sets a night on September 20, 21, and 22, 1973, shortly after the band had finished recording Tonight's the Night. Because of that, almost the entire concert is made up of that album.
Bitter-Sweet is the sixteenth studio album by English singer Bryan Ferry, officially under the name of Bryan Ferry and His Orchestra. It was released on 30 November 2018 by BMG Rights Management.
