This came out in 2002 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
I had almost given up on old Bry.
After all, his last CD As Time Goes By was his first in five years — and it was lightweight Tin Pan Alley classics. Nice as it was, it left me wondering if the Roxy Music frontman had renounced rock for good. Well, in a word, the answer is no. Frantic, the suave singer’s 11th solo outing, finds him moving forward into a more contemporary setting and returning to the sophisticated pop-rock sound of his illustrious past. Just over half the 13 songs are guitar-based originals penned with Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart and old Roxy cohort Brian Eno. All bear Ferry’s trademark stamp of stylish, laid-back glam arrangements, impeccable performances, and his seductively supple vocals. The other cuts are mostly roots and blues classics like Goin’ Down, Goodnight Irene and Bob Dylan’s It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue and Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right, rendered with the usual reverence and thought that Ferry always puts into his covers. Either way, it’s nice to have the old boy back.
