Bryan Ferry – Dylanesque Live: The London Sessions (DVD-Video)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: B     Extras: C+     Concert: B-

 

 

Bryan Ferry is a consummate artist who never sold out form his days with Roxy Music to his underrated solo career that offered more than just his hit Kiss & Tell, a little-heard song from the interesting Michael J. Fox film Bright Lights, Big City.  In a bold move, he is taking on many gems from Bob Dylan’s catalog in the new concert Bryan Ferry – Dylanesque Live: The London Sessions offers ten classics by the legend by another legend.

 

Tracks include:

 

1)     Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right

2)     Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues

3)     All I Really Wanna Do

4)     The Times They Are A’Changin’

5)     Gates Of Eden

6)     Positively 4th Street

7)     All Along The Watchtower

8)     Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door

9)     Simple Twist Of Fate

10)  Make You Feel My Love

 

 

Though the performances are sincere and he clearly loves this music just based on the careful vocal approach he takes, some of his covers (3 & 8 in particular) do not totally succeed.  Otherwise, it is far superior to the many albums of late where legacy artists do cover albums of music not even in their field and often butcher what they sing.  Ferry is fortunately smarter than that.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image looks like slightly older digital High Definition and has detail limits, but is watchable for this kind of program.  The audio is here in Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 mixes, though I preferred the DTS 5.1 mix which is warmer and more naturalistic.  Extras include a paper foldout inside the DVD with a fine essay and text information, while there are four bonus Dylan tracks, including a Music Video he did for his single of A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall from 1973 with the visual sense of humor he often displayed in such clips.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo