Boys and Girls
Studio album by
Bryan Ferry
Released3 June 1985 (1985-06-03)
Recorded1984–1985
Studio
GenreSophisti-pop
Length38:24
LabelE.G.
Producer
Bryan Ferry chronology
The Bride Stripped Bare
(1978)		 Boys and Girls
(1985)		 Bête Noire
(1987)
Singles from Boys and Girls
  1. "Slave to Love"
    Released: April 1985
  2. "Don't Stop the Dance"
    Released: August 1985
  3. "Windswept"
    Released: November 1985

Boys and Girls is the sixth solo studio album by English singer and songwriter Bryan Ferry, released on 3 June 1985 by E.G. Records. 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.[2] It was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and contains two UK top 40 hit singles. 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 contained the track "Slave to Love", which became one of Ferry's most popular solo hits. The single was released on 29 April 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".

The guitar solo at the end of "Slave to Love" featured Neil Hubbard[3] and the album featured other famous guitarists such as Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, Nile Rodgers of Chic and Keith Scott from Bryan Adams' band.

The album was remastered and re-released in 2000, and was also re-released on the SACD format in 2005.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Robert ChristgauB−[5]
Rolling Stone(equivocal)[6]
Smash Hits6/10[7]

Writing retrospectively for AllMusic, critic Ned Raggett complimented the track "Slave to Love" and wrote "As a whole, Boys and Girls fully 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."[8]

Critic Robert Christgau wrote: "His voice thicker and more mucous, his tempos dragging despite all the fancy beats he's bought, he runs an ever steeper risk of turning into the romantic obsessive he's always played so zealously."[5]

The 1992 edition of the Rolling Stone Album Guide gave the album three and half stars out of five: "Set in the richly synthesized mode of Avalon, Ferry's sixth album envelopes the listener in emotional subtleties and sonic nuance. Then it's over like a pleasant dream. Boys and Girls could stand a couple of more tunes along the memorable lines of "Slave to Love" or "Don't Stop the Dance."[9] The 2004 New Rolling Stone Album Guide repeated the three-and-a-half star rating; "Boys and Girls, his first solo album after Roxy Music broke up, was his disco-friendly bid for solo stardom, and while it's too fluffy, it does have one of his greatest love songs ever, the hypnotic slow-dance "Slave to Love."[10]

In the 1985 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll by the Village Voice it was voted the 31st best album of the year.[11]

2006 surround-sound remix

In 2006, Virgin reissued Boys and Girls on Hybrid Super Audio CD (SACD) with a new 5.1-channel surround sound remix by the original production team of Rhett Davies (the producer) and Bob Clearmountain (the mixing engineer). The original 1985 stereo mix is left intact and is the same for the CD layer and for the HD layer, allegedly being transferred from analogue master tapes to DSD and processed in DSD throughout.

Track listing

All songs written by Bryan Ferry, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Sensation" 5:07
2."Slave to Love" 4:26
3."Don't Stop the Dance"
4:19
4."A Waste Land" 1:02
5."Windswept" 4:31
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."The Chosen One"4:51
7."Valentine"3:47
8."Stone Woman"4:56
9."Boys and Girls"5:25
Total length:38:24

Personnel

A promotional poster for the album

Musicians

Technical

  • Bryan Ferry – production
  • Rhett Davies – production, engineering
  • Bob Clearmountain – engineering, mixing
  • Neil Dorfsman – engineering
  • Femi Jiya – engineering
  • Andy Lydon – engineering
  • Dominick Maita – engineering
  • Brian McGee – engineering
  • Benjamin Armbrister – engineering assistance
  • Andy "Carb" Cannell – engineering assistance
  • Steve Churchyard – engineering assistance
  • Randy Ezratty – engineering assistance
  • Dave Greenberg – engineering assistance
  • Kevin Killen – engineering assistance
  • Heff Moraes – engineering assistance
  • Peter Revill – engineering assistance
  • Kendal Stubbs – engineering assistance
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering at Masterdisk (New York City)

Artwork

  • Bryan Ferry – art direction
  • Simon Puxley – art direction
  • Cream – artwork
  • Antony Price – photography

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Boys and Girls
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[33] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[34] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[35] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "Boys and Girls". These Vintage Years. Archived from the original on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
  2. ↑ "UK Top 40 Hit Database". Retrieved 27 August 2008.
  3. ↑ "Roxy Music - Welcome To VivaRoxyMusic.com - on VivaRoxyMusic.com". vivaroxymusic.com.
  4. ↑ AllMusic review
  5. 1 2 "Robert Christgau: Consumer Guide Dec. 3, 1985". robertchristgau.com.
  6. ↑ Rolling Stone review
  7. ↑ Anthony, Lisa (19 June 1985). "Album Reviews)". Smash Hits. EMAP Metro. 7 (15): 20.
  8. ↑ Ned Raggett. "Boys and Girls". AllMusic.
  9. ↑ DeCurtis, Anthony (Ed.). "Bryan Ferry". Rolling Stone Album Guide. 1992. pg. 243
  10. ↑ Brackett, Nathan. "Bryan Ferry". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. November 2004. pg. 297
  11. ↑ "Robert Christgau: Pazz & Jop 1985: Critics Poll". robertchristgau.com.
  12. ↑ Kent 1993, p. 110.
  13. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Bryan Ferry – Boys and Girls" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  14. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0556". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  15. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Bryan Ferry – Boys and Girls" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  16. ↑ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Eurotipsheet. Vol. 2, no. 33. 19 August 1985. p. 14. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  17. ↑ 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.
  18. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Bryan Ferry – Boys and Girls" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  19. ↑ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 22 July 2022. Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Boys and girls" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
  20. ↑ "Charts.nz – Bryan Ferry – Boys and Girls". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  21. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Bryan Ferry – Boys and Girls". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  22. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Bryan Ferry – Boys and Girls". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  23. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Bryan Ferry – Boys and Girls". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  24. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  25. ↑ "Bryan Ferry Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  26. ↑ Kent 1993, p. 437.
  27. ↑ "RPM's Top 100 Albums of 1985". RPM. Vol. 43, no. 16. 28 December 1985. ISSN 0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  28. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1985" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  29. ↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1985" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  30. ↑ "Top Selling Albums of 1985". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  31. ↑ "Topp 40 Album Sommer 1985" (in Norwegian). VG-lista. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  32. ↑ "Top 100 Albums (January 5–December 28, 1985)" (PDF). Music Week. 18 January 1986. p. 11. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
  33. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Bryan Ferry – Boys and Girls". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  34. ↑ "British album certifications – Bryan Ferry – Boys and Girls". British Phonographic Industry. 29 October 1985. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  35. ↑ "American album certifications – Bryan Ferry – Boys and Girls". Recording Industry Association of America. 18 February 1993. Retrieved 10 June 2019.

Bibliography

  • Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
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