Bete Noire

Bryan Ferry | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: November 4, 1987
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002LC4
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #159,606 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Limbo

2. Kiss and Tell

3. New Town

4. Day for Night

5. Zamba

6. The Right Stuff

7. Seven Deadly Sins

8. The Name of the Game

9. Bête Noire

Editorial Reviews

Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. 2007. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Boys and Girls of Avalon go out for a Night of Dancing, October 18, 2005

By 

Tim Brough "author and music buff" (Springfield, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Bete Noire (Audio CD)

Having tasted more American Success with "Avalon" and "Boys and Girls" than in his entire career, Bryan Ferry went for broke with 1987's "Bete Noir." He opted for Patrick Leonard as producer, and while that might have shocked many at the time, as Leonard's best known client was Madonna, it added a dance floor edge to parts of "Bete Noir" that actually enhanced Ferry's romantic detachment as opposed to nullifying it. (Leonard's eventual Toy/3rd Matinee band projects show he was deeper than many folks originally may have thought. Check out their albums on Amazon.)

Those extra measures of bass and rhythm gave Ferry his sole American solo hit with "Kiss and Tell," which was featured in the Michael J. Fox and Keifer Sutherland (pre "24" years) movie adaptation of "Bright Lights, Big City." "The Right Stuff" and "Limbo" also were possessed of a higher energy than prior Ferry solo albums, but that didn't mean Ferry had completely lost his flair for the melancholic. "Day For Night" and "The Name Of The Game" depict the artist as tortured soul, a familiar character in Ferry's repertoire.

The collaborators were also a who's who of the time. Johnny Marr of The Smiths co-wrote "The Right Stuff" and spiked it with a great lead line; David Gilmour, Andy Newmark and Guy Pratt also put in appearances. This mix of musicians (with emphasis on MUSICAL) and Ferry's willingness to make an album concurrent with the times via the linkup with Leonard make "Bete Noir" the best of his solo albums. This album, "Boys and Girls" and "Avalon" make a great trilogy -- get them all.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ferry, the painter, February 13, 2006

By 

John Stodder "a.k.a. Juan La Princi" (livin' just enough) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bete Noire (Audio CD)

Bryan Ferry is hidden by his own shadow. He was the front man for Roxy Music and remains so whenever the band regroups. But he has been issuing solo albums since almost the beginning of his Roxy career. Initially, these were seen as side projects, where he could explore his love of (and peculiar take on) pop standards, or subsequently where he could present more American-style rock songs and arrangements.

When Roxy Music finally drifted off into Avalon, Ferry made solo albums that continued to pursue diverse agendas -- sometimes rocking, sometimes Roxy-like, sometimes paying tribute to the compositions of songwriters from Richard Rodgers to Bob Dylan.

1987's "Bete Noire," all of it written or co-written by Ferry, is one that deserves much more attention, but it is among the hardest to find. Even the major downloading services don't include it. It is seen as a follow-up to "Boys and Girls," but it is, in my view, far superior. Its more muscular rhythms recall the hard-disco sound he brought to Roxy Music with "Love is the Drug" and the album "Manifesto." But the dreaminess of the melodies and musical arrangements resemble "Avalon"'s excursions into shimmmering romanticism and spacy fantasies. The two strands tied together are irresistable.

Ferry's best music is assembled carefully, like an abstract painting, everything for effect, mood and color. Here, even the lyrics have a curiously atmospheric quality, in which cliches and movie titles swirl around to convey feelings without drawing you in to a particular story or point of view. This is music of the night, and music of nights recollected half in dreams.

The title cut, the final song on the album, connects the electronic, amplified music that dominates the previous eight songs with a much longer tradition of late-night romantic dreaminess. The instrumentation on this one song is mostly accordions, violins and percussion, and you could imagine hearing this played in a French or Italian cafe. What he demonstrates is that, the music has changed in our era, but only on the surface, new instruments in service of the old heartbreaks, nostalgia and imaginined worlds far away.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seductive, Beautifully Dark and Haunting, January 17, 2007

By 

T. Brown (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bete Noire (Audio CD)

I had first heard of Bryan Ferry as the front man of Roxy Music and I simply adored the song "Avalon." I had really liked Ferry's voice and I loved the songs "Slave to Love" and "Don't Stop the Dance" from the Boys and Girls album but at that point had not purchased his music. When the "Limbo" video first aired on MTV back 1987, I simply fell in love with his voice and style and the song itself. Shortly after, the video for "Kiss and Tell" was released and I loved that song even more than "Limbo." Even then I still had not purchased any of his music or Roxy Music for that matter.

Those songs lingered with me for years until I finally bought the Bete Noire CD in 2000.

This album is a masterpiece. All the songs are rich yet beautifully dark and haunting. This album's production utilizes some of the best producers, musicians and session singers of the era. The guitar riffs and bass lines on this album are fantastic. I don't think there is any song on this album that I don't like.

The sound is timeless and Ferry's voice, along with the backing vocalists is very soulful. When I'm in a mood to lay back in relax, I put on this CD. It's perfect for listening to when you are inside on a rainy day having, your favorite glass of wine.

If you have never heard this album or any of Bryan Ferry's songs, you will not be disappointed. Bete Noire is top-notch and worth buying.