I listened to the album on Spotify, which always serves up the allmusic review along with the tracklisting. I'm not sure whether this is a benefit or a slight irritation (don't tell me what to think about the album when I'm just about to make up my own mind!), but I read the reviews anyway. This review concludes "a high cut above the usual mid-'80s yuppie smarm music… Boys and Girls remains an enjoyable keeper that has aged well." I was remembering buying the album on the strength of hearing Slave to Love on the radio in Cosin Court and liking it — and also on the strength of Avalon. Two mistakes in one, there. First, I remember thinking that Slave to Love was the only decent song on Boys and Girls, and it kind of epitomises mid-'80s yuppie smarm to me (no surprise to find from Wikipedia that Slave… featured in 9½ weeks). I mean, I'm sure there are worse examples technically, but when it comes to smarm, the most pure expression is also the worst. The cover alone is a crime against grace. Second, never buy the sequel just to acknowledge that you underestimated the original at the time. That's like the Cannes Festival jury giving the Palme d'Or to Wild at Heart because they realised that not giving it to Blue Velvet had been a rather glaring omission.
Second Take
Then I put it on my record player, and was immediately astonished by the depth and texture of the sound. Did it really sound that good in 1985? I know my amp and speakers are better now than the ones I had then, but I didn't think they were that much better. Suddenly I can see why there are seven engineers and nine assistant engineers credited on the record (though not all in the same studio, I think?). This record sounds so good, I could almost imagine myself splashing out on an even better amp and speakers, so that I could really submerge myself in the sound.
In this context the rest of the songs don't seem so bad as all that, but that's probably because I was marvelling at the separation of the instruments and each little lick they played. That's the trouble with getting really expensive hi-fi: you just end up spending way too much time listening to sugary shite like this.
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