Bryan Ferry surely took some fans by surprise when, in 1973, he released his first solo studio album. These Foolish Things was named after the 1935 standard, quite a far cry from the original music he was recording as frontman of Roxy Music. The all-covers LP was a journey through Ferry’s record collection, featuring his reimagined versions of songs by Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, Lesley Gore, Smokey Robinson, and others. He followed up These Foolish Things in 1974 with Another Time, Another Place. While the title track was a new song (Ferry’s first original composition as a solo artist), the balance of the LP was very much in the mode of its predecessor, with covers of Dylan, Willie Nelson, Sam Cooke, Jerome Kern, and more.

While Ferry never performed these albums in full in concert, he did perform a number of their selections live over three U.K. dates in December 1974. Due this Friday, February 7, on CD, LP, and digital platforms, Ferry’s Live at the Royal Albert Hall 1974 will present 14 selections in this milieu as recorded at the storied London venue ranging from classic standards (“These Foolish Things,” “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes”) to ’60s pop (“Don’t Worry Baby,” “It’s My Party”), rock (“A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” “Sympathy for the Devil”), and R&B (“The Tracks of My Tears”). A smattering of Ferry originals are featured on the album, too, including “Another Time, Another Place” and Roxy Music’s “A Really Good Time.”

For the December 19, 1974 show, Ferry was supported by Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera and Paul Thompson, and John Porter (who had played on Roxy’s 1973 LP For Your Pleasure), as well as a 30-piece orchestra conducted by Martyn Ford. (Among the cello players was Paul Buckmaster, well-known for his arrangements for Elton John and David Bowie.) The performance followed a brief period in which the Royal Albert Hall refused to book rock and pop artists after a number of troubling incidents occurred during the venue’s 1971 season. The majority of the concert has been included on the release; it appears that his renditions of Kris Kristofferson’s “Help Me Make It Through the Night” and Willie Nelson’s “Funny How Time Slips Away” have been omitted.

This document of a fascinating concert from Bryan Ferry is due via BMG on February 7. You’ll find pre-order links and the full track listing below!

Bryan Ferry, Live at the Royal Albert Hall 1974 (BMG, 2020)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

1. Sympathy For The Devil
2. I Love How You Love Me
3. Baby I Don’t Care
4. It’s My Party
5. Don’t Worry Baby
6. Another Time, Another Place
7. Fingerpoppin’
8. The Tracks of My Tears
9. You Won’t See Me
10. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
11. A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
12. A Really Good Time
13. The ‘In’ Crowd
14. These Foolish Things