Dylanesque
by Bryan Ferry
  • Record Label: Virgin
  • Release Date: Jun 19, 2007
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 19
  3. Negative: 1 out of 19
  1. The Guardian
    80
    Purists may cry sacrilege, but the Roxy Music singer vastly improves Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues and All Along the Watchtower by imbuing their edgy agitation with his classicist pop sensibility.
  2. Uncut
    80
    Ferry's systematic methodology reveals the flaws as well as the qualities of the chosen material. [Apr 2007, p.105]
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  3. Trouser Press
    80
    Dylanesque is a winner, succeeding both for its incongruity and its sympathy.
  5. NOW Magazine
    80
    Ferry manages to breathe new life into [the songs] while maintaining their integrity and original purpose.
  6. Filter
    78
    This is hardly some bog standard run-through of Dylan classics. [#25, p.102]
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  7. Hot Press
    75
    This is a surprisingly enjoyable outing as these things go.
  8. Los Angeles Times
    75
    You'd think such an ardent Dylanite would choose less obvious cuts. Alas, the usual suspects appear.
  9. Entertainment Weekly
    75
    Nothing here is as potent as his 1973 cover of "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," but he really hears familiar songs in new ways. [29 Jun 2007, p.136]
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  10. Amazon.com
    70
    Far be it for the imaginative contrarian to retrace Dylan's steps, and sure enough--despite an omnipresent harmonica--Ferry does just the opposite.
  11. Q Magazine
    70
    Above all else, [it] once again underlines Dylan's singularly magnificent gifts as a songwriter. [Apr 2007, p.121]
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  12. Rolling Stone
    70
    Dylanesque dresses up Dylan classics for a night on the town with Avalon-style atmosphere.
  13. Spin
    70
    Ferry embraces these Dylan classics... with undiluted sincerity, gently remodeling the barbed lyrics into graceful modern art. [Jul 2007, p.96]
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  14. PopMatters
    70
    Dylanesque is the rare album of Dylan covers that envisions the songs in unfamiliar musical settings, and it does so without sacrificing the soul of the lyrics.
  15. Observer Music Monthly
    60
    There's a tasteful shimmer over all the tracks.
  16. musicOMH.com
    60
    No matter how careful and careworn Bry's immaculate vocal takes are, the band chug along with their muted guitar chords and thudding drums as if it were a mere run-through.
  17. Billboard
    60
    More hit than miss. [30 Jun 2007]
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  18. The A.V. Club
    50
    He sounds surprisingly disengaged here.
  19. Mojo
    40
    He sometimes gets it right: the rare restraint of Positively 4th Street and Gates Of Eden hints at the fine album this might have been had Ferry and co given us more Dylan and less esque. [Apr 2007, p.108]
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  20. Prefix Magazine
    20
    Dylanesque is a mess. Nearly every album has a few bright spots, but this is a lazy collection of covers that offers no insight into the catalog of one of the twentieth century's foremost songwriters.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 13 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 13
  3. Negative: 3 out of 13
  1. ToddW.
    Aug 1, 2007
    2
    Bryan Ferry fronted arguably one of the 10 most important bands in the history of rock music. And it's clear he truly worships Bob Bryan Ferry fronted arguably one of the 10 most important bands in the history of rock music. And it's clear he truly worships Bob Dylan; I mean, who doesn't? But devoting an entire album to Dylan songs, and the usual suspect songs at that, is probably not a good idea. It only further reinforces one's belief that there a very, very few good remakes of most popular music songs, especially those penned by a person most believe is a modern day prophet. Sadly, this effort not only sucks, it smacks of both a money and headline grab. Do yourself, as well as the rest of us a favor, Bryan, please mend your fences with the other Brian and get the boys back together. Give the current crowd of misguided musical misfits a taste of what a real rock band looks and sounds like. Your talent is too immense to waste on music this crapesque.… Full Review »
  2. billp
    Jul 19, 2007
    2
    Huh. i guess Pitchfork was weighted right on out of here on this one. They gave it a 1.9 (19 in Metacritic), so i'll give it a 2 on Huh. i guess Pitchfork was weighted right on out of here on this one. They gave it a 1.9 (19 in Metacritic), so i'll give it a 2 on Pitchfork's behalf.… Full Review »
  3. PerineauR.
    Jul 15, 2007
    9
    As with any great tribute album the songs are different enough to stand on their own but they also add to your appreciation of the originals. As with any great tribute album the songs are different enough to stand on their own but they also add to your appreciation of the originals. It's hard to add to the appreciation I already have of Dylan but it heightened originals I'd somehow overlooked, especially Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues. Make You Feel My Love is beautiful and haunting. This disc gets better with every listen.… Full Review »
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