Taxi
	Produced by Bryan Ferry & Robin Trower
	Released on April 13, 1993
	UK CHART POSITION #2 . . . US CHART POSITION #79
	Find it at GEMM
9 45246-2 cover

W elcome to Avalounge (population: you). So what are you still doing here after all these years? Surely you’ve gleaned all you can from the bard’s bitter musings, so why the desire to stay in these desolate lowlands? Because some folks get stirred up by this stuff, got stirred by Roxy really, and the rest of their life is spent looking for just another high. Taxi is a cover album (the closing “Because You’re Mine” is an original), and so critics dredge up all their past prejudices when describing this album. Frankly, I’ve never seen a critic bother to differentiate between the cover albums, and Taxi is in fact a Ferry of a very different sort. Beginning with Bete Noire, a Bryan Ferry disc took pains to set the tone in the opening moments. It’s shallow into “I Put A Spell On You” that you sense what’s up his sleeve: an album of covers played from his present ‘90s perspective. Honestly, if half of these tracks weren’t already familiar, you’d just assume this was the new disc from Bryan. The trouble I had with some of his solo work was a sense that musical development went on hiatus when the covers came out, but not so here. To my eyes, I see a logical bridge between Bete Noire and Mamouna. It’s a little more playful than those efforts, including funky treatments of “Amazing Grace” (it’s better than you think) and “Answer Me.” The choices are unusual this time, from the old Velvet’s track “All Tomorrow’s Parties” (now Bryan and Nico would have been a duet for the ages) to the title track (an R&B hit for J. Blackfoot in the early ‘80s). Perhaps that diminishes the nostalgia quotient, which is fine with me. I don’t look to someone as subversive as Ferry to protect the past, and I don’t think the old heroes need a new coat of paint. Honestly, the new material haunts the same familiar places anyway, so what’s the difference if Ferry pilfers from Elvis’s songbook or from Elvis by way of Roxy? I like the original material a little better (more surprises, more freedom), so follow Mamouna and Bete Noire first, but catch up with Taxi eventually.

9 45246-2 booklet back cover

TRACK LISTING

US track listing

1. I PUT A SPELL ON YOU    (Hawkins)    5:27
2. WILL YOU LOVE ME TOMORROW    (Goffin/King)    4:17
3. ANSWER ME    (Winkler/Rauch/Sigman)    2:46
4. JUST ONE LOOK    (Doris/Gregory)    3:32
5. RESCUE ME    (Miner/Smith)    3:40
6. ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES    (Lou Reed)    5:33
7. GIRL OF MY BEST FRIEND    (Ross/Bobrick)    3:25
8. AMAZING GRACE    (traditional arr. Bryan Ferry)    4:02
9. TAXI    (Banks/Brooks)    5:31
10. BECAUSE YOU'RE MINE    (Bryan Ferry)    1:44
    
    JPN CD bonus track
    
11. ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT?

CREDITS

BRYAN FERRY -- vocals, piano, strings, synths, organ, witch, Ben Nevis, art direction
CARLEEN ANDERSON -- vocals
MICHAEL BROOK -- atmos guitar, lead guitar, infinite guitar
NATHAN EAST -- bass
STEVE FERRONE -- drums
NEIL HUBBARD -- guitar, probe guitar, trace guitar, lead guitar, licks guitar
RICHARD T. NORRIS -- programming, engineer
GREG PHILLINGANES -- vibes, strings, synthesizer, harp
ROBIN TROWER -- Fender, wah wah, theme guitar, pin guitar, pocket guitar, space guitar
DAVID WILLIAMS -- rhythm guitar, hook, cat
Mel Collins -- tenor sax (5)
Mike Giles -- drums (9)
Luis Jardim -- percussion
Flaco Jimenez -- accordion (8)
Andy Mackay -- alto sax (9)
Andy Newmark -- drums (9)
Maceo Parker -- alto sax (1)
Steve Pearce -- bass (2)
David Sancious -- Hammond (8)
Chris Stainton -- Hammond (4)
Sven Taits -- engineer
Bob Clearmountain -- mixing
Anton Corbijn -- photography
Nick De Ville -- art direction

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