I purchased the original copy of this EP at Moby Disc record store when they were located on Ventura Bouvelard. At the time, I loved the compactness of having an EP with four new songs. The year being 1976, the height of the punk era, and yet, Bryan Ferry totally ignored that world for his own private-like cell of luxury and his version of recorded history. The design and even the liner notes expresses a time gone past. I imagine that Ferry still has all of his old original vinyl EP’s in some room in his house. So this selection is perhaps a tribute to that era, but the music, at least on the surface, is all over the map.
We have a classic Beatle tune from “Rubber Soul,” and in theory Ferry could do a whole re-make of that album, and it would fit into his aesthetic. It is quite straight forward with a heart on the sleeve sentiment - which ironically enough there is another track with that very title. “Heart On My Sleeve” is totally nice but also unnecessary. What comes off the strongest is his version of Jimmy Reed’s “Shame, Shame, Shame” and The Everly Brothers “The Pice Of Love.” That is totally superb, with an intensity that is powerful and then going right into “Shame…” is a great series of moments. The b-side is all reflection, as I noted above. But the real star of this package is the idea of the EP.
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