Bryan Ferry & Amelia Barratt 2025
Albumdata
| Artist | Bryan Ferry & Amelia Barratt |
| Album | Loose Talk |
| Year of release | 2025 |
Rating
Introduction
When I was working on an article on Bryan Ferry’s sixth solo album Boys And Girls I stumbled upon Loose Talk, an album released in March of this year. I put it on in the background, but stopped writing, searching and embellishing. The music drew me in, I had to listen.
Bryan Ferry & Amelia Barratt – Loose Talk
Loose Talk
The Loose Talk album is the result of the cooperation between singer, composer and musician Bryan Ferry (who turns 80 this year) and performance artist, writer and painter Amelia Barratt (35). They had initially met in an art gallery and immediately sensed a kinship. In 2024 they recorded the song Star, which was released on the Bryan Ferry compilation Retrospective: Selected Recordings 1973-2023. Their collaboration was mutually satisfactory, ultimately leading to the Loose Talk album, with Ferry providing the music and Barratt the spoken words.
Bryan Ferry:
The whole experience of making Loose Talk has had an interesting newness about it. It seems to have opened a whole new chapter in my work. There’s a really strong mood to the work that Amelia does and I was very conscious of not getting in the way of her words.
Hopefully, together, we’ve created something neither could do on our own. The nearest I ever got to doing pieces like this before would maybe be back in Roxy with “In Every Dream Home A Heartache,” and “Mother Of Pearl”.
To some extent, those are kind of spoken monologues. I’m pleased that when we’ve played Loose Talk to people, they’ve said, “Oh, this sounds really different.”
That’s what I’ve always wanted with everything I’ve done, or been involved in, to be: different. Different to what you’ve heard before, or seen before. That’s the whole point of being an artist: trying to create a new thing, a new world.
Amelia Barratt:
Loose Talk is a conversation between two artists: a collaborative album of music by Bryan Ferry with spoken texts by me. It’s cinematic; music put to pictures.
There’s possibility for experimentation within a frame. And there’s a freedom in knowing exactly what my part to play is, then being able to pass a baton, stretching out creatively and knowing there is someone on the other side to take it further. Nothing feels off limits.
Ferry’s musical settings stem from original demos Ferry recorded all the way back in time to the 1970s and 1980s. The demos were worked on, polished, and supplemented with new parts. Ferry’s voice isn’t part of the music, although he occassionally can be heard humming along to the music in the background.
What makes it all so special, is the melting of Ferry’s melancholy, warm music with Barratt’s cool, almost detached delivery. The texts are artful, but also observational story telling, like in the gripping Florist.
The theatre is closed in the morning
but outside is a florist
so I watch him
wrap stems in paper and twine
No gloves on
The back of the van is open
and he has almost gotten rid of them
All the old stalks from yesterdayFlorist, Amalia Barratt, 2025
Bryan Ferry & Amelia Barratt – Loose Talk (Instrumentals)
Loose Talk (Instrumentals)
On April 25, 2025, Loose Talk was released in an instrumental (digital only) version. Barratt’s input has been stripped from the recordings. A worthy addition.
Review
I was struck by the music, the atmopsphere and the combination of narration and music. The first song I truly noticed was Florist, a highly moody piece of music, containing a mantra-like repetition. It made me feel calm, quiet, contemplative and peaceful. I listened to the album with all ears and discovered even more beautiful music. Cowboy Hat, Orchestra, Holiday, Landscape, White Noise, it’s all exquisite.
Overall, the album is slow, atmospheric and at times deeply moving. It’s a tribute to art, music and experiment by Barratt and Ferry, who, yet again, turns in a new direction. The album does require patience, silence and sincere attention. If you’re able to deliver just that and only that, you can expect an album that moves and surprises. And, it’s fun to guess from which year and/or era the original demos stem.
Bryan Ferry & Amelia Barratt – Loose Talk – Back cover
Songs
All music written by Bryan Ferry, all lyrics written by Amelia Barratt.
- Big Things
- Stand Near Me
- Florist
- Cowboy Hat
- Demolition
- Orchestra
- Holiday
- Landscape
- Pictures On A Wall
- White Noise
- Loose Talk
Musicians
- Amelia Barratt – vocals
- Bryan Ferry – piano, keyboards
- Tom Vanstiphout, Jeff Thall, Neil Hubbard, Ollie Thompson – guitar
- Maxwell Sterling, Neil Jason, Guy Pratt, Jammes Eller, Alan Spanner – bass
- Andy Newmark, Nathan Curran, Paul Thompson, Tara Ferry – drums
- James Garzke, Maxwell Sterling, Richard T Norris – programming
In closing
What’s your take on the latest Bryan Ferry album? Let me know!
Video/Spotify
This story contains an accompanying video. Click on the following link to see it: Video: Bryan Ferry & Amelia Barratt – Loose Talk. The A Pop Life playlist on Spotify has been updated as well.
