Boys and Girls

Bryan Ferry’s first solo album after what proved to be the final Roxy Music studio release, Avalon, was pretty obviously an extension of that vibe and feeling, the two sides of his creative impulses finally sublimated into a relaxed continuum of perfect melancholic poise. With both Roxy veterans and any number of other players to draw on — Nile Rodgers, David Gilmour and Mark Knopfler all make appearances on guitar alone — Boys and Girls is a 1980s album to the truly tasteful extreme, with singles like “Slave to Love” and “Don’t Stop the Dance” as pinnacles.