These Foolish Things (album)

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These Foolish Things
Studio album by
Bryan Ferry
Released5 October 1973 (1973-10-05)
RecordedJune 1973 (1973-06)
StudioAIR, London
Genre
Length43:46
LabelIsland
Producer
Bryan Ferry chronology
These Foolish Things
(1973) 		Another Time, Another Place
(1974)

These Foolish Things is the debut solo studio album by Bryan Ferry, who at the time was still Roxy Music's lead vocalist. The album was released in October 1973 on Island Records in the United Kingdom and Atlantic Records in the United States. It is considered to be a departure from Roxy Music's sound, because it consists entirely of cover versions, mainly of standard songs. These Foolish Things was a commercial and critical success, peaking at number five on the UK Albums Chart. It received a gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry in May 1974.[1]

Most of the tracks on the album were personal favorites of Ferry's, and spanned several decades from 1930s standards such as the title track through 1950s Elvis Presley to Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones.[2]

"

UK Singles Chart in September 1973[3][4]

Composition

Speaking about the album in 1973, Ferry said: "It's a very catholic selection, I've given up trying to please all of the people all of the time. Some will like it for one reason, some for another. And some will presumably dislike it for the wrong reasons though I hope the general point of it will be understood. It's amusement value. I think."[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Christgau's Record GuideA−[7]
OverdoseA−[8]
Q[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[10]

It's My Party" as a protest song, and with his cover of "These Foolish Things", "reminds us that pop is only, well, foolish things, many of which predate not only Andy Warhol but rock and roll itself."[7] In 1983's The New Rolling Stone Record Guide, Dave Marsh
wrote:

These Foolish Things pits Lesley Gore against Bob Dylan, and not just for effect. Ferry views pop as a kind of continuum, extending through all sorts of Tin Pan Alley and Brill Building craftsmanship and incorporating visions as radical as Dylan's and as banal as Gore's. Within such a sensibility discerning what deserves to be dismissed as "trash" and what deserves elevation as "art" is not a simple problem. And such designations are so often determined by context that their order can be reversed almost at will. By altering tempos and singing every song with the deadpan emotional blankness he largely avoids with Roxy, Ferry exposes these issues as effectively as any pop singer in history.[11]

In

Rhapsody listed These Foolish Things as one of the best covers albums.[12]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."
John Lennon, Paul McCartney
2:32
11."I Love How You Love Me" (The Paris Sisters cover from the 1961 single)Barry Mann, Larry Kolber3:02
12."Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" (Four Tops cover from the album On Top (1966))Ivy Jo Hunter, Stevie Wonder3:06
13."These Foolish Things" (cover)Jack Strachey , Eric Maschwitz and Harry Link5:41

Personnel

Musicians

Production

  • Bryan Ferry – producer
  • John Porter – producer
  • John Punter – producer, engineer
  • Steve Nye – engineer
  • Andy Arthurs – assistant engineer
  • Nicholas De Ville – cover design
  • Karl Stoecker – photography

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[1] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ a b "British album certifications – Bryan Ferry – These Foolish Things". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 6 October 2020. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type These Foolish Things in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  2. ^ "Roxy Music - Albums - on VivaRoxyMusic.com".
  3. ^ "BRYAN FERRY | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  4. YouTube
  5. ^ MacDonald, Ian (8 September 1973). "Party Fun from an Old Poseur". NME.
  6. ^ a b Raggett, Ned. "These Foolish Things – Bryan Ferry". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  7. ^
    ISBN 0-89919-026-X
    . Retrieved 24 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  8. ^ Hull, Tom (April 1975). "The Rekord Report: Second Card". Overdose. Retrieved 26 June 2020 – via tomhull.com.
  9. ^ "Bryan Ferry: These Foolish Things". Q. No. 159. December 1999. p. 158.
  10. ^
    ISBN 0-7432-0169-8
    .
  11. ISBN 0-394-72107-1
    .
  12. Rhapsody. Archived from the original
    on 31 July 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  13. ^ "Roxy Music".
  14. ^ "Roxy Music".
  15. ISBN 0-646-11917-6
    .
  16. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Bryan Ferry – These Foolish Things" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  17. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  18. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1973". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
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