Originally appeared May 31, 2020 at Albumism
Happy 35th Anniversary to Bryan Ferry’s sixth studio album Boys And Girls, originally released June 3, 1985.
Bryan Ferry has always been a great mystery to me. His immense talent is undeniable, but as the frontman for the art-rock/glam rock outfit Roxy Music, he always looked like the guy who didn’t get the memo that the dress code was casual, not formal. 1985’s Boys And Girls helped clear up a few things for me.
From 1973 to 1978, Ferry recorded five solo albums, starting with These Foolish Things (1973), a collection of cover songs that were favorites of his. Another Time, Another Place (1974) and Let’s Stick Together (1976) followed the same formula. Subsequent releases included In Your Mind (1977), which featured all original material, and The Bride Stripped Bare (1978), which was recorded after Ferry’s breakup with model Jerry Hall, who left him for Mick Jagger. The latter album mixed four original songs by Ferry with six cover songs.
Beginning in 1979, Ferry took a break from his solo career and put all of his efforts into a reformed Roxy Music lineup, releasing three albums in three years ending with the 1982 much-beloved classic Avalon. The group disbanded in 1983 and it would prove to be their final studio album.
Seven years removed from his last studio album, Ferry began recording Boys And Girls in 1983, spending nearly eighteen months to complete it. As to why it took that long to finish the record, Ferry told The New York Times, “You just have to try and live a life in between records, and the records are a response to that.”
Boys And Girls picks up where Roxy Music’s eight and final studio album Avalon (1982) left off and honestly, the subtitle for that album could have been This is the Direction Where Bryan Ferry Is Headed.
Throughout his solo career, Ferry was always conscious of making sure his own records did not sound like Roxy Music. For Boys And Girls, he assembled an all-star lineup which included David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, drummer Omar Hakim, and Nile Rodgers, who was a huge Roxy Music fan. Rodgers has stated that Roxy Music had a huge influence on him. He once confided, “Had it not been for me going around with this girl, who took me to see this then unknown band called Roxy Music, I never would have come up with the concept for Chic.“ Ferry wanted to use what he called ”inspirational players\” who would go with the flow and follow the feelings he was attempting to display.
Boys And Girls is definitely not a continuation of Avalon, but a sweeping seductive work of art that is sophisticated but not pandering to a more commercial audience. Back when I first heard it, I was amazed at how there was a song for almost every mood that required you to exercise a little bit of chill. The album’s first track “Sensation” begins with the faint sounds of an orchestra warming up and then going into a few notes on the guitar with each instrument coming in along for the ride one by one. Ferry’s voice comes in almost a minute later. It’s a good kick-off to the album, but what comes next may very well be his finest moment as a solo artist.
“Slave To Love” is one of Ferry’s strongest compositions and it exemplifies what the whole mood of the album is all about. The voices paired with the music paints a picture that is breathtaking and memorable. Not even its overuse by filmmakers in the ’80s and ’90s could ruin its place as one of the ‘80s’ best love songs.
“Don’t Stop The Dance,” “Windswept” and “Valentine” are amongst the other highlights of Boys And Girls, but in no way overshadow or diminish the rest of the other tracks. This album should be heard in its entirety and at just north of 38 minutes, it’s a fairly quick and pleasurable listen. Indeed, Boys And Girls stands head and shoulders above the adult contemporary records of the day.
Ferry wasn’t out to make a hit pop record (at least he didn’t appear to be), but instead, he created a mood. When asked by music critic Robert Palmer how he would characterize the overall mood of Boys And Girls, Ferry said, “It’s got to the stage where I seem to be digging deeper and deeper within myself every time I make a record. And when I sort of plunge for things, I do find some sad moods. The point is to try and make something beautiful out of that.”
Boys And Girls, at the time of its release, was Ferry’s greatest solo work to date. It remains one of the high points of his career and led him to more success with his next release Bete Noir (1987). Ferry was no longer an enigma to me. He wasn’t the well-dressed guy who fronted the oddly dressed but insanely talented Roxy Music. The visual finally matched the music and suddenly everything made sense.
