Saturday, 29 August 2009

1790 Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music

Having sorted out and got myself organised I had a good relaxed day on Thursday and this carried over to Friday as having gone to bed around midnight it was after 9 when I rose and 10.30 before I was ready to engage in activity. My inclination is to concentrate on catch up writing activity while paying some attention to Bryan Ferry on the Arts channel with a Roxy Music concert now, the 1982 Frejus concert with numbers such as Drug, Avalon and Dance away. This was Brian 27 years ago, followed just before with Dylanesque. I have seen the Frejus concert before but the Dylanesque I am not sure.

I have seen Bryan perform live twice and the Newcastle City Hall. A local man with aristocratic bearing and quirky mannerisms he hit the social big time and I enjoy a couple of his Long Play Records. I have not seen Dylanesque in which Bryan explains that when he heard Dylan on acoustic guitar while attending art school in Newcastle he decided it was not his kind of music and it was several years before he listened to Dylan on the electric guitar and went back to his original music and included Hard Rain on his first LP as a non political music experience. He then assembled a band and backing singers to create an album of Dylan music from a list of records made after listening to the Dylan catalogue. There was no plan about the order of the recordings on the nature of each recording except to cast the character of the song to suit his voice and musical approach. The third number, I forgot to note the opening to the programmes was Highway 61 revisited, not one of my favourites. Next is All I want to do and my reaction is that this is interesting Ferry, but does not work as Dylanesque, self indulgent and meriting greater thought and preparation. I change my mind a little with Times they are achanging. Gates of Eden followed. Missed the title of another. Watch Tower covered by Hendrix was next, I am not a Hendrix fan. Knocking on Heaven’s Door where I enjoyed the original and his take. As well as Simple Twist of Fate. I then got caught up with payments and accounts and did not note the finale songs before the programme ended.

The music will took priority over the Scotland Australian game which is being shown on BBC 2 in Scotland but which can also be watched on the Internet BBC sports site. I need coffee and then I must pay the credit card and assess finances for the coming months, a task which now means that I will have to say more no than yes or knew purchases do I do not want to do this.