Bryan Ferry "Olympia"

I got on the Roxy Music bus late, some ten years into their career.  The album, Avalon, not only was one of the best of the year 1982, but also of the 80's decade, and it still holds its own twenty + years later.  Ferry was quite prolific in the early days with a handful of RM albums and a half dozen solo records to his credit.  But it was Avalon that hit my psyche, and the following two solo records registered just as high on my appreciation scale.  Boys and Girls yielded two tremendous tracks, "Slave to Love" and "Don't Stop the Dance", and Bete Noir served up "Kiss and Tell."  It was all pretty much downhill after that, even after reforming RM.  But those three albums were such a major part of my mid to late 20's that I felt like I had to give him a shot with "Olympia."  The pieces were all in place.  All the original RM members appear in different tracks.  Guest artists included David Gilmour, Dave Stewart, Flea, and Chris Spedding, while regular contributors were Nile Rodgers and Marcus Miller.  And the music itself is outstanding because of the lineup, but Ferry is no spring chicken, and his voice is more fragile than ever, overwhelmed throughout the first half of this album.  Should you be able to dig it out of the mix, you need the lyric sheet to know what he's mumbling about.  The last half (Side 2 for you old farts) offers a better sonic stew and, therefore, two of the three keeper tracks, "Song to the Siren" and "Reason or Rhyme."  

The musicianship on Olympia is top notch, but it's unfortunate that the songs just aren't worthy of it.  Mr. Ferry, legend that he is, should have left this one in the can.