Avonmore
Studio album by
Bryan Ferry
Released17 November 2014
Studio
Genre
Length43:21
LabelBMG Rights Management
Producer
Bryan Ferry chronology
The Jazz Age
(2012)		 Avonmore
(2014)		 Bitter-Sweet
(2018)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Guardian[2]
Pitchfork6.7/10[3]
PopMatters8/10[4]
Rolling Stone[5]

Avonmore is the fifteenth studio album by English singer Bryan Ferry, released on 17 November 2014 by BMG Rights Management.[6]

Background

The album was named after the location of Ferry's studio in London where it was recorded.[7] The album was announced on 23 September 2014 with a preview of the song "Loop De Li".[8] The album was produced by Ferry with long-term collaborator Rhett Davies, who has produced several albums for Ferry and Roxy Music. The album also features Ferry regulars such as Fonzi Thornton, Nile Rodgers, Marcus Miller, and Johnny Marr (who co-wrote the track "Soldier of Fortune"). The album includes two cover versions, a rendition of Stephen Sondheim's "Send in the Clowns" and a version of "Johnny and Mary", originally by Robert Palmer. The latter track was a collaboration with the Norwegian DJ/producer Todd Terje and first appeared on Terje's album It's Album Time which was released earlier in 2014.

Avonmore peaked at number 19 on the UK Albums Chart, and number 72 on the US Billboard 200.

Critical reception

Reception of the album was generally positive. In a four-out-of-five-stars review, AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "this is Ferry's prime, a moment when his legacy was intact but yet to be preserved in amber" and that the album "consciously evokes this distinct period, sometimes sighing into the exquisite ennui of Avalon but usually favouring the fine tailoring of Boys and Girls, a record where every sequenced rhythm, keyboard, and guitar line blended into an alluring urbane pulse" and that "the songs are what makes this record something more than a fling".[9] PopMatters critic John Paul wrote that the album "functions as a well-deserved victory lap for both Ferry and those he’s assembled, triumphantly returning to relevance and reminding listeners he’s been doing this since the '70s. It's just taken this long for the mainstream to catch up with where he's been all along".[10] Writer T. Cole Rachel from Pitchfork was less positive, giving the album 6.7 out of 10, writing that the album, in places, "flounders when the music, which routinely flirts with a kind of adult contemporary smoothness, leans over into blandness" and stating that "Ferry's well-documented good taste is both an asset and possibly a curse" and concluding that the record is "a fine addition to Bryan Ferry's oeuvre, if not necessarily a terribly challenging one".[11]

Special edition

On 29 October 2015, Ferry announced the release of the a special edition package of Avonmore, containing the album on vinyl and CD, along with a 48-page book of photos by photographer Matthew Becker.[12]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Loop De Li"Bryan FerryFerry, Rhett Davies, Johnson Somerset4:18
2."Midnight Train"FerryFerry, Davies, Somerset3:49
3."Soldier of Fortune"Ferry, Johnny MarrFerry, Davies4:25
4."Driving Me Wild"FerryFerry, Davies3:37
5."A Special Kind of Guy"FerryFerry, Davies3:14
6."Avonmore"Ferry, Oliver ThompsonFerry, Davies5:13
7."Lost"FerryFerry, Davies2:47
8."One Night Stand"FerryFerry, Davies, Somerset5:05
9."Send in the Clowns"Stephen SondheimFerry, Davies4:02
10."Johnny and Mary"Robert PalmerTodd Terje6:47
Total length:43:15

Personnel

Technical

  • Chris Mullings – engineer
  • Pete Wells – engineer
  • Simon Willey – engineer
  • Tim Roe – additional engineer
  • Mark Knight – assistant engineer
  • Craig Silvey – mixing
  • Eduardo Paz – mix assistant
  • Adam Ayan – mastering at Gateway Mastering (Portland, Maine)
  • Isaac Ferry – executive producer
  • Tara Ferry – executive producer

Artwork

  • Johnny Dewe Mathews – cover photography
  • Neil Kirk – inner sleeve photography
  • Michael Knight – design
  • Jono Patrick – digital artwork
  • Richard White – liner notes

Charts

Chart performance for Avonmore
Chart (2014) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[13] 34
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[14] 29
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[15] 43
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[16] 47
French Albums (SNEP)[17] 63
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 23
Irish Albums (IRMA)[19] 47
Italian Albums (FIMI)[20] 71
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[21] 86
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[22] 16
Scottish Albums (OCC)[23] 19
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 19
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 37
UK Albums (OCC)[26] 19
US Billboard 200[27] 72
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[28] 18

References

  1. ↑ AllMusic review
  2. ↑ The Guardian (review)
  3. ↑ Pitchfork Media review
  4. ↑ "188229-bryan-ferry-avonmore, PopMatters". 26 January 2021.
  5. ↑ Rolling Stone review
  6. ↑ Bryan Ferry Official Site (Avonmore)
  7. ↑ Bryan Ferry on Later... with Jools Holland. BBC Television. (7 November 2014)
  8. ↑ YouTube (Bryan Ferry - "Loop De Li")
  9. ↑ Allmusic review
  10. ↑ "188229-bryan-ferry-avonmore, PopMatters". 26 January 2021.
  11. ↑ Pitchfork Media review
  12. ↑ "Avonmore Deluxe Edition". Roxy Music. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  13. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Bryan Ferry – Avonmore" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  14. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Bryan Ferry – Avonmore" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  15. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Bryan Ferry – Avonmore" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  16. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Bryan Ferry – Avonmore" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  17. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Bryan Ferry – Avonmore". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  18. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Bryan Ferry – Avonmore" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  19. ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Bryan Ferry". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  20. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Bryan Ferry – Avonmore". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  21. ↑ アヴォンモア | ブライアン・フェリー [Avonmore | Bryan Ferry] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  22. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Bryan Ferry – Avonmore". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  23. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  24. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Bryan Ferry – Avonmore". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  25. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Bryan Ferry – Avonmore". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  26. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  27. ↑ "Bryan Ferry Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  28. ↑ "Bryan Ferry Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
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