With
Roxy Music set aside for the time being,
Ferry took the solo plunge with an album of totally original material. As such, the underrated
In Your Mind makes a logical follow-on from
Roxy's
Siren, especially since usual suspects --
Thompson,
Manzanera,
Wetton, and many more -- assist him in the brief eight-song effort. While lacking early
Roxy's long-gone freakouts
In Your Mind still burns more fiercely than both the later solo and group albums, at least on certain tracks - like
Siren, it balances between rockier and smoother paths, most often favoring the former.
Ferry's lyrics remain in his own realm of intelligent, romantic dissipation, and are some of his best efforts. The strong opener "This Is Tomorrow" starts with
Ferry and keyboards before moving into a big, chugging full band arrangement and a wistful chorus: "This is tomorrow callin'/Wish you were here." When
Ferry aims for a calmer mood, rather than stripped-down melancholia, he lets everyone play along. Sometimes the arrangements almost swamp the songs, but "One Kiss'" combination of female backing vocals, sax, and straight-up rock for instance, make it a great woozy, end-of-the-night singalong before the bars close. There are a few blatant misfires -- "Tokyo Joe" has the chugging, dark funk/rock beat down cold, but the lyrics play around too much with Asian stereotypes (and let's not mention the opening gong and all too obvious attempts at "atmosphere" via the strings). On balance, though,
In Your Mind remains the secret highlight of
Ferry's musical career, an energetic album that would have received far more attention as a full
Roxy release. ~ Ned Raggett