Bryan Ferry’s rendition of “I'm in the Mood for Love”, from his 1999 album As Time Goes By, is a sophisticated and smoky take on the 1935 jazz standard originally penned by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields. Known for his suave delivery and stylish reinvention of musical eras, Ferry approaches this classic with characteristic elegance - never overwrought, never ironic, but infused with a quiet reverence for the romantic tradition it represents.
The album As Time Goes By is a collection of pre-war standards, and Ferry inhabits this material as though he were born to it. In “I'm in the Mood for Love”, he sheds the glam-rock persona of his Roxy Music days and fully steps into the role of the vintage crooner. The arrangement is lush but measured: strings sway gently, a brushed snare taps out a soft rhythm, and the piano tiptoes beneath it all like a memory resurfacing from a dimly lit ballroom.
Ferry’s voice, aged to a perfect grain by this point in his career, gives the song a sense of world-weariness that contrasts beautifully with the lyric’s innocence. “I'm in the mood for love / Simply because you're near me” - words that in a younger voice might sound dreamy, sound in Ferry’s like an invocation from someone who knows how fleeting such moments can be. It’s romance tempered by experience.
He doesn’t try to dazzle with vocal theatrics. Instead, he leans into phrasing, pacing, and tone - savoring each line, each pause, as though he’s remembering a lost evening rather than living it. The result is intimate, textured, and deeply nostalgic. The addition of lines from a French poem recited by Alice Retif makes it even more special. Ferry's version gained even more popularity when it was used as the title song of the famous Chinese movie with Maggie Cheong.
Bryan Ferry’s “I'm in the Mood for Love” combines restraint and elegance. He breathes new life into a well-worn standard, not by reinventing it, but by inhabiting it fully - bringing to it a sense of wistful charm and mature romanticism. It’s a song that floats, not flies - perfect for late nights, quiet reflections, or moments when timelessness is the mood. A tender nod to a bygone era, delivered with modern grace.
The album As Time Goes By is a collection of pre-war standards, and Ferry inhabits this material as though he were born to it. In “I'm in the Mood for Love”, he sheds the glam-rock persona of his Roxy Music days and fully steps into the role of the vintage crooner. The arrangement is lush but measured: strings sway gently, a brushed snare taps out a soft rhythm, and the piano tiptoes beneath it all like a memory resurfacing from a dimly lit ballroom.
Ferry’s voice, aged to a perfect grain by this point in his career, gives the song a sense of world-weariness that contrasts beautifully with the lyric’s innocence. “I'm in the mood for love / Simply because you're near me” - words that in a younger voice might sound dreamy, sound in Ferry’s like an invocation from someone who knows how fleeting such moments can be. It’s romance tempered by experience.
He doesn’t try to dazzle with vocal theatrics. Instead, he leans into phrasing, pacing, and tone - savoring each line, each pause, as though he’s remembering a lost evening rather than living it. The result is intimate, textured, and deeply nostalgic. The addition of lines from a French poem recited by Alice Retif makes it even more special. Ferry's version gained even more popularity when it was used as the title song of the famous Chinese movie with Maggie Cheong.
Bryan Ferry’s “I'm in the Mood for Love” combines restraint and elegance. He breathes new life into a well-worn standard, not by reinventing it, but by inhabiting it fully - bringing to it a sense of wistful charm and mature romanticism. It’s a song that floats, not flies - perfect for late nights, quiet reflections, or moments when timelessness is the mood. A tender nod to a bygone era, delivered with modern grace.