Not all great songs come from great albums - the band Journey is perhaps one of the better examples of this. Their best album is by far their Greatest Hits album from 1988, simply because it contains ALL of their best songs, and I do mean ALL. Their studio albums were nothing to rave about, they had the singles and that's all they had to go on. If it weren't for the (great) singles the albums would be nothing. Some great, great songs come from very average albums, and "Slave to Love" by Bryan Ferry is a good example of this. It is one of those songs I would consider to be "perfect", a lavishly constructed love ballad completely devoid of the sloppy, pretentious proclivities endemic to many a love song. It is art, through and through. But the album it comes from, Boys & Girls, is 45 percent great singles (OK, one of the songs is admittedly a prelude) and 55 percent filler material. Not rubbish, but not great either. I may some day come to appreciate "Stone Woman", but if I do listen to this album, it is of course, for the likes of "Slave to Love" and "Windswept." It's certainly not one of my favorite Ferry albums, even if it does contain some of my favorite Ferry solo recordings. I was a bit disappointed after first listening to this album many years ago, and I'm still at best lukewarm about it. Stay for "Slave to Love", "Don't Stop the Dance", "Windswept" and its prelude, "Wasteland." That being said, don't let this album stop you from checking out his other material, both from his solo career and with Roxy Music, because there is many a great song, and indeed many a great album, for your listening pleasure. B
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