2 April 2025

Photo by Albert Sanchez

Artists: BRIAN FERRY and AMELIA BARRATT
Who: The former Roxy Music luminary,
now 79, and a Scottish artist/writer/painter.

Album: LOOSE TALK

Artwork

Ferry: “The whole experience of making Loose Talk has had an interesting newness about
it. It seems to have opened a whole new chapter in my work. There’s a really strong mood
to the work that Amelia does and I was very conscious of not getting in the way of her words. Hopefully, together, we’ve created something neither could do on our own.

The nearest I ever got to doing pieces like this before would maybe be back in Roxy with
“In Every Dream Home A Heartache” and “Mother Of Pearl.” To some extent, those are
kind of spoken monologues.”

Barratt: “Loose Talk is a conversation between two artists: a collaborative album of music
by Bryan Ferry with spoken texts by me. It’s cinematic; music put to pictures. There’s possibility for experimentation within a frame. And there’s a freedom in knowing exactly what my part to play is, then being able to pass a baton, stretching out creatively and knowing there is someone on the other side to take it further. Nothing feels off limits.”

The Guardian (British newspaper): “Veering from the standard heritage-artist playbook,
Ferry pairs unearthed demos from across his career with cool narration from Barratt, to beautiful, unsettling effect… If the end results aren’t quite as holistic as the “duet” both parties have claimed it as, it still works. Barratt’s texts are striking enough that the listener doesn’t
long for an instrumental version; Ferry’s approach is intriguing and impressively original.
It’s a diversion, but one that transforms his past into something fresh.”

TUTV: It’s a bit weird to listen to a Bryan Ferry record on which he doesn’t sing a song.
But as it’s not a traditional, smooth Ferry pop album, it really doesn’t matter. Furthermore Amelia Barratt‘s spoken-word performance is absorbing and intriguing, making this sonically cinematic opus, work arrestingly.

It brings Laurie Anderson‘s latest album, coincidentally named Amelia. Loose Talk is the kind of ambient records I play to give my ears and my mind some rest from listening to lots of noizzz all day long.

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ALBUM