MovieChat Forums > Flashbacks of a Fool (2008) Discussion > Bryan Ferry song.

Bryan Ferry song.

posted 13 years ago by TxMike
5 replies | jump to latest

Near the end of the movie while Joe is writing his note and his check is a song playing, by Bryan Ferry, "If There is Something."

My question is, do many think that is a good song with a pleasant vocal?

The music is good but the vocal to me sounds almost "unlistenable" because Ferry didn't have a very good singing style, using an unusual fast tremolo (variation in sound volume) instead of vibrato (variation in pitch) that most singers present and past have used. Sort of a "machine gun" effect.

Even though Bryan Ferry and his group were popular when I was actively listening to contemporary music, I don't recall ever hearing of him in the 1970s.

Comments? Especially from his fans, why do you like his singing?

TxMike
Make a choice, to take a chance, to make a difference.

[–] gill-mcgovern 13 years ago

If you don't get it, I can't explain it to you.

If you want a "pleasant vocal" you'd better stick to something undemanding.

[–] MrBigglesworth999 13 years ago

I'll give you a clue as to why his singing is effective ...... emotion.

[–] Adman5189 12 years ago

This song is pretty rare in the Roxy catalogue in that Ferry's vocals are completely unhinged in it. There is nothing but emotion in the last five minutes of "If There Is Something". It's the cracks in his voice and the obvious technical faults that really evoke something unusual and jarring. For a more complete glimpse of Ferry's range, check out the first three and a half minutes of "In Every Dream Home a Heartache" - similarly startling, but achieving that with very little outright emotion.

[–] WarpedRecord 12 years ago

That's an excellent description of why Bryan Ferry's vocal works to well on "If There Is Something." It's a very raw sound, pretty rare for the Roxy Music catalog but incredibly effective.

[–] harley-19 12 years ago

When we were young. Segment. The jacket and hairstyle are identical to the album cover inner sleeve as worn by the character in flashback and Bryan Ferry.