Bryan Ferry @ SECC

Bryan Ferry is entitled to coast: an album of Dylan songs suggests that he wants to explore. Tonight, Ferry makes few concessions to his back catalogue. If some of the covers fail - such as the lazy romp through The Times They Are A-Changing - at least Ferry is not merely nostalgic. A subdued Gates of Eden is a sincere bid for a definitive version; a Hendrix-styled coda thrills All Along the Watchtower and the troubadour brings wounded depth to a sparse, spiteful Positively Fourth Street. Other versions flit between serviceable and dire - Tom Thumb's Blues is bland and Knockin' on Heaven's Door lacks the requisite grandeur. Erratic quality is masked by the band's professionalism and Ferry's enthusiasm, but, inevitably, the Roxy Music hits glimmer: This Island Earth remains alien and distraught, and Jealous Guy reminds how Ferry owns Lennon's original. There's no shame in failing to eclipse Dylan: it is enough that Ferry is seeking challenges for his own soulful baritone. [Gareth K Vile]