brace yourself...Mervyn Dendy (the writer) knows the music, but if you don't like his review, tell him!

"Olympia is a pleasurable listen, but it is also an attempt to move forward musically by looking backward, and that is why it is unlikely to detain even hardcore fans of Ferry’s music for as long as it took to record."

http://www.newstime.co.za/column/Mervyn ... n/87/2962/

The music press have hated him ever 1976 when he first went solo. I can't remember reading a totally good review of an album or a show ever since ! For some reason they always hype up twats like U2 who have been recording the same stuff with the same guitar sound for years and with stooopid titles like "How to dismatle an Atom Bomb". So you know that its best not to pay any attenion to the critics. HAving said that, i do think that his best days are behind him, but the same goes for everyone from his era !

Thanks for your input Ian. You should be a writer. I concur with what the music press says.

Indeed, you're totally correct on u2. There's so much out there that good music from Roxy & Bryan seem to be liked by certain people that are musically sophisticated and romantic, and Roxy fans I've met, have a certain style.

I could care less more on what the critics say now, thank to you!

Indeed, I love everything RM & Bryan have done. I can sing all the tunes and were part of me becoming a songwriter, after the great loss of the love of my life. So End of The Line, Just Another High, and My Only Love really do it to me.

Thanks again Ian, nice to chat with you!

Cheers!

E

I don't think the review is "brutal". It's a well written piece by someone who (as has been pointed out above), does know the music and some valid points are expressed.

However, what I'd like to know is just how many plays the reviewer gave the album. I've usually found that albums I like instantly usually lose their appeal just as quickly. I wasn't overly impressed when I first heard the album.

With "Olympia", it was a case of being a real "grower" for me and I hear something extra with each play. In short, I like it - a lot.

Absolutely ! I've found that with loads of songs even Bryan and Roxy. You tend to find that the ones that are instantly likeable are the ones you never listen to again , but the ones that grow on, you stay with you forever sometimes.

I agree. When Olympia came out I posted very negative comments on this forum. But it has massively grown on me to the extent that I consider "Song to the Siren" to be one of the best covers Bryan has ever recorded.

The album is not a great leap forward, or experimental. But it is unmistakeably Bryan Ferry and sounds like no-one else. In short, a very good album.

Also, my 14 year old daughter has downloaded Olympia (minus "Alphaville" for some reason!) onto her ipod.

I couldn't agree more, a definite grower of an album. "Song to the Siren" to me stood out as the outstanding track on the album the first time I listened to it, but I love it more every time I hear it- and the fact that Messrs Mackay, Manzanera & Eno play on that track makes it almost a Roxy track!
Any chance "Song to the Siren" could be released as a single? It deserves wide airplay.