By the latter half of the ‘80s there were few if any male singers as cool as Bryan Ferry. His style drew on artful cues of mystery and intrigue – in much the same way that David Bowie might have. The cast was set with Ferry’s old band Roxy Music on their last album Avalon.
Besides Bowie, there were others who touched on a similar aesthetic like Iva Davies and sometimes David Sylvian. Neither of them could consistently match Ferry’s ability to bring high style to pop and make it stick to the charts (well maybe David Bowie did). Ferry was certainly on to something with Boys and Girls, to many his first solo album that mattered.
The follow up came after a season of multiple small projects, most notably soundtrack work on Bright Lights Big City. These high-profile projects raised awareness of Ferry’s style and made him something of a go to man for all things suave. With Bête Noire (which in French translates to things you hate), Ferry recruited longtime Madonna collaborator Patrick Leonard. Leonard’s production gave Bête Noire a more pop sound, most noticeable in the tight rhythm section. Tracks like “Day for Night” featured arrangements that were vaguely similar to Madonna’s “Open Your Heart” from around the same time.
Any comparisons to Madonna ended there as Ferry brought all of the style, intrigue and mystery from Boys and Girls while upping the dance quotient. The hit single “Kiss and Tell” from the Bright Lights Big City soundtrack was typical of the tight bass driven song with Ferry’s croon filling in the spaces between the groove. Ferry also continued his use of soulful backup singers which included a young Siedah Garrett (pre Michael Jackson).
Perhaps more surprisingly was the presence of legendary guitarists David Gilmour and Johnny Marr formally of the Smiths. The Smiths had disbanded shortly before recording of Bête Noir started, starting a successful period of session work for Marr. The first single “The Right Stuff” was actually a reworking of the Smith’s B-side instrumental “Money Changes Everything” a song composed by Marr for The Queen is Dead. Despite Marr’s popularity, his participation seemed downplayed.
Despite being Ferry’s most successful LP, Bête Noire never quite made it into the Billboard Top 50 Albums chart. Part of that may have been due to a contract dispute Ferry had with his former label. Legal issues or not, Bête Noire was Ferry’s brand of art pop at its best. Although he maintained a successful solo career, his work after Bête Noire was mostly low profile. Bête Noire and it’s bookend Boys and Girls are a excellent place to start for anyone curious about the music of Bryan Ferry outside of Roxy Music.
Beatopolis 