Cassette experiment day 91 - Bryan Ferry 'In your mind'

In the 1970s, before the term ‘babe magnet’ had come into common use, the rock world was bestrode (or should that be bestridden? Or is it neither?) by three stars for whom the phrase might have been specifically coined, Rod Stewart, Mick Jagger and our subject today, Washington’s very own, Bryan Ferry. These three collected (and (unwillingly) sometimes swopped) international models and Miss Worlds in the way that the rest us collected and swopped Panini football stickers.

I’m not sure how often our Bryan visits his home town of Washington these days, but I bet he’s not there as regularly as I am. Only three days ago I was mowing a lawn there and I thought of Bryan, one of its more famous sons. He probably has a ride-on mower now I would expect.

In the year in which Texan Model* Jerry Hall left Bryan for Mick Jagger, Bryan released the most ‘Roxy-like’ of his solo albums, ‘In your mind’. Released when Roxy Music were ‘on a break’, this album fits into the gap between Siren and Manifesto and, musically it’s also somewhere between these two too.

The better known tracks are the slightly punky (this is 1977 after all) opener of side 1, ‘This is tomorrow’ and the lyrically brilliant ‘Tokyo Joe’ which includes as one among many classic lines, ‘She hokey-cokey ‘til the cows come home’.

Side 1 is marginally preferable to side 2, but it’s all pretty good. The title track and ‘One Kiss’ are just edged out of the top spot for me by the very Roxy Music sounding ‘Love me madly again’.

All songs here are Bryan’s own compositions, with one exception, ‘Rock of Ages’, co-written with Chris Thomas.

It’s an evocative sign of the times that the insert states ‘Also available on Polydor LP and 8 track cartridge.

As you can see, my copy, which was bought second-hand for the bargain price of 49p, was originally owned by someone called Lesley A Brooks. If you’re out there, Lesley, your loss was my gain as this is my favourite Bryan solo album. Thank you

Label – EG Records

Year – 1977

*In 1977 the name Jerry Hall had to be pre-fixed with the words ‘Texan model’ at all times. In a similar way, The Sunderland Echo always referred to future Sunderland manager, Lawrie McMenemy with the pre-fix ‘6’4” ex-Guardsman’ for some reason. Probably because he was 6’4” and used to be a Coldstream Guardsman.

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