It's tough to sing Bryan Ferry's praises as a musician when one looks at the aesthetic choices he's made as far as cover art is concerned. Not only has this man dated some of the most beautiful women of their respective generations; he has married them, had affairs with them, and progressively sought them younger after his baby-momma Lucy Helmore divorced him in the early 2000s.
See also:
- Bryan Ferry Brings His Shamelessly Stylish Olympia Tour to the Fillmore September 29 (2011)
All this would be fine and dandy if he hadn't put all of them on the covers of Roxy Music albums! What a way to say it, to really stick it to dudes everywhere (and for posterity): Look at my sexual conquests! And then he turns it around and fulfills a critically acclaimed solo career by putting only himself on those covers! Look at me! I'm so bloody handsome, I got CBE after my name!
Born on September 26, 1945, in Washington, Tyne & Wear, England, Ferry would form Roxy Music with pals Graham Simpson, Andy Mackay, and Brian Eno in the fall of 1970. Through various personnel changes and a few performance and recording hiatuses, Roxy Music has maintained some form of presence since. It was a stylistic and influential translator for early British rock and pop through glam and art rock to the new-wave sounds of the '80s.
Always a dapper and impeccably presented gentleman, Ferry embodies the traditions of a fine crooner while banking on the pseudo-gritty charm of the longstanding pop star. It also helps that his solo career has existed in tandem with Roxy Music and that his skills as a composer, lyricist, and performer are among the best in the business.
So much so that his whirlwind romances, bizarre political activism on behalf of some of his children, and an ill-advised art-based explanation of Nazi-era regalia have never truly overshadowed his accomplishments as a musician.
That's gotta beat some kind of record, right? Well, we here at County Grind will certainly not give him too much grief over his romantic escapades chronicled through an impressive catalog or the inherent narcissism of his other, equally impressive catalog. Nope, we'll just let some choice tracks do the talking.
Roxy Music - "Ladytron"
Roy Music - "In Every Dream Home a Heartache"
Roxy Music - "Amazona"
Roxy Music - "All I Want is You"
Roxy Music - Love Is the Drug"
Roxy Music - "Dance Away"
Roxy Music - "Over You"
Roxy Music - "Avalon"
Bryan Ferry - "Sympathy for the Devil"
Bryan Ferry - "Another Time, Another Place"
Bryan Ferry - "Tokyo Joe"
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