[4] Fans, and critics have often speculated that the song "Kiss and Tell", was Ferry's response to Jerry Hall's tell-all book about their relationship published a couple of years earlier.

Roxy Music saxophonist and oboist Andy MacKay also joined the backing band for a few songs at the London Palladium and Wembley Arena dates.

[16] Reviewing retrospectively for AllMusic, critic Ned Raggett wrote of the album, "Bête Noire sparkles as the highlight of Ferry's post-Roxy solo career, adding enough energy to make it more than Boys and Girls part two.

"[18] The critic Robert Christgau wrote of the album, "As with Mick Jagger, of all people, the signal that self-imitation has sunk into self-parody is enunciatory ennui—vocal mannerisms that were once ur-posh are now just complacent.

"[13] Anthony DeCurtis reviewed the album for Rolling Stone and wrote "Bête Noire is another step in Ferry's retreat from distinct songs into atmosphere and feel.

But as his voice sinks more deeply into the murky layers of his music, as his lyrics are reduced to a Morse code of refined despair and his subjects recede into the mist, Ferry seems increasingly like Narcissus, enraptured by his own reflection in the pond - and the bottomless depth below.

As hushed and haunted as ever, Ferry's deeply evocative voice nevertheless gets lost amid the grandiose and antiseptic musical trappings of the digital recording era.

But this record's stronger melodic development and a wider variety of danceable tempos than on Boys and Girls are palpable signs of life; the involvement of ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr as a player and the co-writer of one near-exciting song ("The Right Stuff") is another positive touch.

[22] All tracks are written by Bryan Ferry and Patrick Leonard, except where notedThe names of the musicians who performed on the album are mentioned in the liner notes, their instruments and the exact songs on which they play are not.