Released in 1987 to near-universal acclaim, Bete Noire is a touchstone for the enduring legacy of the Bryan Ferry myth. After his previous release, Boys and Girls, became his first solo chart-topper in the UK, and producing one of the best songs of his storied career for the soundtrack to the Ridley Scott film Legend (‘IsYour Love Strong Enough’), he was riding an unprecedented wave of attention and adulation on both sides of the Atlantic. Teaming up with Madonna collaborator Patrick Leonard–five of the albums songs were written in partnership–and his usual roster of five-star session musicians, Ferry set about creating his second successive ‘meisterwerk’, one that adds a touch more dance floor heft to the now-established trademarks of exceptional sonic finesse and rhythmical precision.

Opening with the insistent groove of ‘Limbo’, the influence of the record’s twin recording environments (the Bahamas and Paris) is clear in the fusion of the track’s tribal percussion and jazz-inflected verse. Together with its fabulously stylish, Michael Roberts-directed promo video the song perfectly captures the move towards exotica that became increasingly prevalent throughout the eighties. Its sound is rich and full, but there is a leanness to the arrangement and melody that foreshadows the rest of the album: more so than any previous release the tracks have been stripped of any excess weight, giving them an immediacy thatdemands your attention right from the off.

The upbeat tracks on the album feature some of the most compelling bass lines in Ferry’s oeuvre, such as the Johnny Marr-enabled ‘The Right Stuff’ and the irrepressible ‘Kiss and Tell’, which illustrate how well he had assimilated the newer sounds around him without ever compromising his own unique sensibilities. However, as befits such a carefully assembled batch of songs, it is in the album’s darker moments that Ferry’s attention to detail truly shies through. ‘Zamba’ is more than just a physical centrepiece in the running order-its haunting vocal wraps itself around delicate, opaque atmospheres to create a deeply affecting, spectral experience beyond compare. “Say you’ll never let me down,” implores its shadowy narrator to his distant companion–rest assured that Bete Noire is an expansive and immersive affair that never disappoints.

-Hal Norman, 2010

Bryan Ferry– lead vocals, piano, keyboards
Patrick Leonard– keyboards, synthesizers
David Gilmour– guitars
Neil Hubbard– guitars
Dann Huff– guitars
Chester Kamen– guitars
Johnny Marr– guitars
Bill Rupert– guitars
David Williams– guitars
Abraham Laboriel– bass
Marcus Miller– bass
Guy Pratt– bass
Vinnie Colaiuta– drums
Andy Newmark– drums
John Robinson– drums
Rhett Davies– drum machines
Paulinho da Costa– percussion
Jimmy Maelen– percussion
Courtney Pine– saxophone
Dan Wilensky– saxophone
Mario Abramovich– violin
José Libertella– bandoneon
Luis Stazo– bandoneon
Tawatha Agee– backing vocals
Michelle Cobbs– backing vocals
Yanick Etienne– backing vocals
Siedah Garrett– backing vocals
Paul Johnson– backing vocals
Albert Sanchez– backing vocals
Fonzi Thornton– backing vocals

Steve Jackson– Engineer
Kevin Killen– Engineer
Ian Eales– Engineer
Alan Meyerson– Mix Engineer
Bruce Lampcov– Mix Engineer
Bob Ludwig– Master Engineer
Patrick Leonard– Producer
Bryan Ferry– Producer
Chester Kamen– Producer