Rocktrospectiva: The Finest And Classy Masterpiece "Boys And Girls" Turns 40

 

Released on 3 June 1985 "Boys And Girls" was the sixth solo studio album by the English singer and songwriter Bryan Ferry. The album was Ferry's first solo album in seven years and the first since he had disbanded his band Roxy Music in 1983. The album was Ferry's first and only number one solo album in the UK. It is also Ferry's most successful solo album in the US, having been certified Gold for sales in excess of half a million copies there. The album spawned three singles "Slave to Love", which became one of Ferry's most popular solo hits. The single was released on 3 May 1985 and spent nine weeks in the UK charts in 1985, peaking at number 10, along with the other (modestly successful) singles "Don't Stop the Dance" and "Windswept". 

Bryan Ferry began laying the groundwork for Boys and Girls in July 1983 at his Sussex home, two months after Roxy Music's split. With the help of co-producer/engineer Rhett Davies, Ferry laid down basic song sketches onto 8-track with keyboards and a drum machine pattern programmed by Davies. Gradually, they involved other musicians by the likes of Andy Newmark, Omar Hakim, Neil Hubbard, Mark Knopfler, Nile Rodgers and Keith Scott to name a few.  The track "Slave to Love" established the clean, cool vision of Ferry on his own to the general public. Instead of ragged rock explosions, emotional extremes, and all that made his '70s work so compelling in and out of Roxy, Ferry here is the suave, debonair if secretly moody and melancholic lover, with music to match, and is still what you expect to hear from Ferry.

Seven years removed from his last studio album, Ferry began recording Boys And Girls in 1983, spending nearly eighteen months to complete it. Boys And Girls picks up where Roxy Music’s eight and final studio album Avalon 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 and 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" 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 and the key part of what we call sophisti-pop.

The "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 it’s a fairly quick and pleasurable listen and stands as one the most timeless adult contemporary records of the day. 

Ferry wasn’t out to make a hit pop record, 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). 

 

Boys And Girls Track List: 

 

1. Sensation

2. Slave To Love

3. Don't Stop To Dance

4. A Waste Land

5. Windswept

6. The Chosen One

7. Valentine

8. Stone Woman

9. Boys And Girls