These Foolish Things

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. 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. "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" was released as a single and reached number 10 in the UK Singles Chart in September 1973 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."