Bryan Ferry

It's enough of a big deal that Bryan Ferry got Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera and Andy Mackay together, along with ex-Roxy Brian Eno and producer Rhett Davies, to record on Olympia. But when the full list of contributors was released, his 13th solo LP became a much more interesting story. With a little help from his friends ― David Gilmour, Jonny Greenwood, Flea, Scissor Sisters, Groove Armada and more ― Ferry dazzles on Olympia. Songs like tinsel-tinged ballad "Me Oh My," call-and-response schmaltz groover "BF Bass (Ode to Olympia)" and piano/bass textural mover "Reason or Rhyme" sound exquisitely Bryan Ferry-esque. And because Ferry loves to cover other artists' material, his renditions of Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren" and Traffic's "No Face, No Name, No Number" once again sound classy and worthy. Olympia has Ferry coming off confident, coy and most importantly, relevant. This is a poor man's Roxy Music, but classic Bryan Ferry.