Taxi (Bryan Ferry album)

Taxi
Studio album by
Bryan Ferry
Released10 March 1993[1]
Recorded1988–1993
StudioMatrix (London)
Genre
Length39:09
LabelVirgin
Producer
Bryan Ferry chronology
The Ultimate Collection
(1988) 		Taxi
(1993) 		Mamouna
(1994)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Calgary HeraldB+[4]
Robert Christgau(neither)[5]
Entertainment WeeklyB[6]
Music Week[7]
NME5/10[8]
Rolling Stone[9]

Taxi is the eighth solo studio album by English singer Bryan Ferry, released in March 1993 by Virgin Records, over five years after the late 1987 release of his previous album Bête Noire.[10] It was first released in Japan on 10 March, before being released in the UK on 22 March and then in the US in April. This was Ferry's third solo album since the second demise of Roxy Music in 1983, ten years earlier. The album was a commercial and critical success, peaking at No. 2 in the UK, it was certified Gold by the BPI.

The first single, "I Put a Spell on You" was the album's only top 20 hit in the U.K., peaking at No. 18. The second single, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" narrowly missed the U.K. top 20, peaking at No. 23. The third and final single, "Girl of My Best Friend" peaked at 57.[11][12]

Production and recording

Taxi is a cover album (the closing “Because You’re Mine” is an original). When Ferry was asked about the album, he said "Since I started work on the Taxi album, everything has gone great for me. The last two years have been terrific, but I had three or four miserable years. Doing the Taxi album was the start of getting things right. Just getting something done quickly and efficiently was very gratifying. Finishing something I liked and getting back into singing again, getting away from my own writing temporarily was a good thing."[13]

Critical reception

Reviewing for AllMusic, critic Ned Raggett wrote of the album: "Taxi shows a mature Bryan Ferry, suave and controlled, very much in line with his general career from 1979 on ... Ferry's treated vocals, made to sound weirdly flat and compressed, heightens the curious mood."[2] Reviewing for Entertainment Weekly, critic David Browne wrote of the album: "Few of the remakes have the decadent, jaunty verve of his covers albums of the '70s. But that's okay, since Ferry appears to be aiming for something else: beautifully eerie mood music for the lovesick vampire in us all."[6] Rob Sheffield wrote in his three-star review of the album that "Taxi is a consistently inspired set that ranges from 'Amazing Grace' to 'All Tomorrow's Parties.'"[14]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Put a Spell on You"Screamin' Jay Hawkins5:27
2."Will You Love Me Tomorrow"
4:18
3."Answer Me"
2:47
4."Just One Look"
3:33
5."Rescue Me"
3:40
6."All Tomorrow's Parties"Lou Reed5:31
7."Girl of My Best Friend"
3:26
8."Amazing Grace"John Newton4:01
9."Taxi"
5:30
10."Because You're Mine"Bryan Ferry1:44
Total length:39:09
Japanese CD bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Are You Lonesome Tonight" (from Honeymoon in Vegas)
5:08

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[15]

Musicians

Technical

Artwork

Charts

Chart performance for Taxi
Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] 26
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[17] 24
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[18] 35
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[19] 6
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[20] 25
European Albums (Music & Media)[21] 10
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[22] 27
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] 26
Greek International Albums (IFPI)[24] 7
Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)[25] 15
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[26] 20
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[27] 12
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[28] 5
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[29] 27
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] 35
UK Albums (OCC)[31] 2
US Billboard 200[32] 79

Certifications

Certifications for Taxi
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[33] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Bryan Ferry = ブライアン・フェリー - Taxi = タクシー". Discogs. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d "Taxi - Bryan Ferry | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  3. ^ link
  4. ^ Obee, Dave (25 April 1993). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald.
  5. ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: Bryan Ferry". Robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Taxi Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  7. ^ Jones, Alan (27 March 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Albums" (PDF). Music Week. p. 31. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  8. ^ Moody, Paul (20 March 1993). "Long Play". NME. p. 33. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  9. ^ "link". Rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Music Reviews : Bryan Ferry: Taxi". Rolling Stone. 24 June 1993. Bryan Ferry hasn't released a record in more than five years. He had been working on an album to follow up the exquisite Bête Noire, from 1987, ...
  11. ^ "Artists". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Roxy Music - Albums - on VivaRoxyMusic.com". Vivaroxymusic.com. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  13. ^ "FLASHBACK! Bryan Ferry, January 1995". Silvermichaels.net. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  14. ^ Brackett, Nathan. "Bryan Ferry". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. November 2004. p. 297
  15. ^ Taxi liner notes. Virgin. 1993.
  16. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Bryan Ferry – Taxi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Bryan Ferry – Taxi" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  18. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 1707". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  19. ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 17. 24 April 1993. p. 24. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  20. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Bryan Ferry – Taxi" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  21. ^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 16. 17 April 1993. p. 26. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  22. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  23. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Bryan Ferry – Taxi" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  24. ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 18. 1 May 1993. p. 24. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  25. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 22 July 2022. Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Bryan Ferry" in the "Artista" field, type "Taxi" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
  26. ^ "Charts.nz – Bryan Ferry – Taxi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  27. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Bryan Ferry – Taxi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  28. ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 16. 17 April 1993. p. 28. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  29. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Bryan Ferry – Taxi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  30. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Bryan Ferry – Taxi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  31. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  32. ^ "Bryan Ferry Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  33. ^ "British album certifications – Bryan Ferry – Taxi". British Phonographic Industry. 1 December 1993. Retrieved 17 May 2022.