Building upon 2012's
The Jazz Age
, and his acting turn as a cabaret singer in the 1930s Netflix drama Babylon Berlin,
Bryan Ferry
returns to his love of urbane classic jazz with 2018's
Bitter-Sweet
. Recorded with longtime collaborator/pianist
Colin Good
,
finds the
Roxy Music
frontman once again embracing the vintage 1920s and '30s big-band swing he first explored on 1999's
As Time Goes By
, and which he and
Good
brought to fruition with
. However, whereas
featured instrumental reworkings of many of
Ferry
's best-loved songs,
features
singing jazz versions of both
songs and songs from his solo career. Featured on the album are the six songs the singer contributed to the
Babylon Berlin
soundtrack, including "Alphaville," "Reason or Rhyme," "Bitter-Sweet," "Dance Away," "Chance Meeting," and "Bitters End." As arranged by
and
, these are all wry and romantic productions that evoke the smoky ambiance of Babylon Berlin's Weimar Republic-era setting. Elsewhere,
transforms the new wave sophistication of "While My Heart Is Still Beating" off 1982's
Avalon
into a slinky, half-lidded crawl, and similarly mutates the pop exotica of his 1985 title track "Boys and Girls" into a slow-burn flamenco fever dream. Particularly compelling is
and his orchestra's snappy rendition of "Sign of the Times" off 1978's
The Bride Stripped Bare
, in which the original track's driving guitar lines are transposed to a puckered trumpet lead. This is haunting jazz sprinkled with the golden dust of
's glittery rock past. ~ Matt Collar