Released on January 8, 2016 on what would be his 69th and final birthday by ISO/Columbia Records, * Blackstar ) is the twenty-fifth and final album by David Bowie. Produced with Tony Visconti, the album is a mixture of rock, electronic music, and jazz as it features re-recordings of two songs made a couple of years before for a retrospective album plus five new songs with much of the album’s lyrical content reveling into the concept of mortality, chaos, and the sense of the unknown. Featuring an array of session musicians from the world of jazz as well as contributions from James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, the album marks as a fitting swan song to one of the greatest artists that had ever lived.
VIDEO The album’s first single and opening track is its title track as it is this near-ten minute suite as it is this mixture of smooth, pulsating beats that sounds like a mixture of electronic and jazz-based beats with soothing synthesizers and lush guitar melodies that accompanies Bowie’s vocals. With its jazz-based saxophones and unique tempo changes, the song is like this chaotic blend of genres where it has a sci-fi feel but also with these haunting yet evocative lyrics with Bowie singing in different vocal ranges. The first of two songs that were remade for the album comes in the song Sue (Or In a Season of Crime) as the jazz elements of the song are stripped down for a more brutal, melodic-driven rocker with its droning guitars, pulsating beats, and soft saxophones where Bowie sings in a haunting yet raspy vocal that is filled with very dark lyrics that feels like a twisted noir film.
VIDEO The remake of Tis a Pity She Was a Whore is given more discordant textures of jazz, rock, and electronic music with its jazz-based pianos and saxophones that includes some unique drum fills with its different time signatures and soothing synthesizers in the background. Even as Bowie sings lyrics that are dark that is filled with some unique imagery as it is one of his finest songs. The album’s second and final single in Lazarus does relate to the Biblical figure in some aspects as it is a song about death and coming to terms with it. Playing guitar on the track and singing in a calm yet somber vocal tone with a steady mid-tempo beat, the song also includes some jazz elements with its saxophones that add that sense of an end coming as it is one of Bowie’s great achievements.
VIDEO Girl Loves Me is a mid-tempo song that has Bowie singing in different slang languages with this steady yet pummeling beat and discordant guitar melodies as the song is one of Bowie’s meanest. Especially in its lyrics as it is one of Bowie’s more confrontational into this mix of post-punk, electronic beats, and smooth jazz arrangements. Dollar Days is a song that is somber in its lyrics filled with ideas of death as it features some unique time signatures and tempo changes with its mixture of rock and jazz as Bowie sings in a very melancholic lyrics. Especially as it relates to knowing that things and experiences will never happen again. The album closer in I Can’t Give Everything Away is a mid-tempo mixture of rock, ambient-based electronics, and jazz that has Bowie on a harmonica as well as some poignant yet imaginative lyrics that serves as a fond farewell. With its soaring trumpet and a wailing guitar solo, the song is definitely one of Bowie’s most touching song as well as a fitting swan song.
VIDEO * * Studio Releases: David Bowie (1967 album) - David Bowie (1969 album) - The Man Who Sold the World - Hunky Dory - The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - Aladdin Sane - Pin Ups - Diamond Dogs - Young Americans - Station to Station - Low - "Heroes" - Lodger - Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) - Let’s Dance - Tonight - Never Let Me Down - Tin Machine - Tin Machine II - Black Tie White Noise - Outside - Earthling - ‘Hours…’ - Heathen - Reality - The Next Day
Live Releases: David Live - Stage - Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars - Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby - Bowie at the Beeb - (Live at Fashion Rocks (w/ Arcade Fire)) - (Live Santa Monica ‘72) - (Glass Spider Live) - (VH1 Storytellers) - (A Reality Tour)
Soundtracks: Christiane F. - Labyrinth - The Buddha of Suburbia
Miscellaneous: Peter and the Wolf - Baal - Sound + Vision - (Early On (1964-1966)) - (All Saints) - Toy - (Nothing Has Changed)
© thevoid99 2016
Released on March 8, 2013 by ISO/Columbia Records, The Next Day is the twenty-fourth studio album by David Bowie marks the British artist’s first album of all-new material in a decade as it explores a variety of ideas as it’s all set in a world of art rock. Produced with Tony Visconti, the album was made in a two-year period in secrecy with several of his collaborators that includes guitarists Earl Slick and Gerry Leonard, bassist Gail Ann Dorsey, and drummers Sterling Campbell and Zachary Alford along with contributions from King Crimson bassist Tony Levin, famed backing vocalist Janice Pendarvis, session guitarist David Torn, and famed brass musician Steve Elson. The album would mark an album that showcases making an unexpected return and making those wanting for more.
VIDEO The album opener is this mid-up tempo track with driving guitar riffs, walloping yet steady rhythms, wobbly bass lines, and Bowie’s eerie vocals features an element of snarl which relates to the fallacy of faith and its dogmas where it is one of Bowie’s finest singles. Other singles in the electronic-based The Stars (Are Out Tonight) with its upbeat rhythms, charging guitars, and Bowie’s vocals filled with abstract imagery display ideas of space and comfort. The ballad Where Are We Now? that features a somber rhythm, enchanting guitar textures, swooning keyboards, and haunting vocals by Bowie is a song that are quite reflective in terms of its lyrics as it is one of Bowie’s best ballads. The bopping Love is Lost is led by its steady rhythm, warbling guitar textures, and a swooning organ is a song that has Bowie singing about the sense of despair as it one of the darkest songs on the album.
VIDEO Another single that play into an element of darkness is the driving rocker Valentine’s Day with its mid-tempo yet walloping rhythms, driving guitars, and Bowie’s enchanting vocals as it’s filled with these dark lyrics with violent imagery as it has an element of black comedy. Tracks like the jazz-rock The Dirty Boys with Steve Elson’s warbling baritone saxophones and Earl Slick’s funky guitar flourishes with its bopping rhythm has Bowie sing very nasty and eerie lyrics that display a sense of grit into the sound. The wailing If You Can See Me with its blazing presentation of backing vocals, pulsating drums, charging guitars, and wailing vocals where Bowie does sing to charging lyrics that add to the song’s power. I’d Rather Be High is another mid-tempo track that is led by these wailing guitar riffs, a bopping rhythm, and Bowie’s blazing vocals that play into offbeat lyrics that relate to the experiences of a World War II soldier.
VIDEO Boss of Me is a track with bopping rhythms, playful brass arrangements, driving guitars, and Bowie’s wailing vocals as he sings some very playful yet dark lyrics as it showcases his knack of offbeat humor in a complex setting of rock and jazz. Dancing Out of Space is an upbeat song with its swooning synthesizer wails, driving rhythms, and playful guitar riffs as it is a song that Bowie being cool and comical as well as provide some very weird yet fun lyrics. How Does the Grass Grow? is another upbeat song that begins with wailing guitar/synthesizer textures as it then becomes this fast-paced song with a steady, bopping rhythm and Bowie singing some very abstract and offbeat lyrics that are playful but also filled with an element of darkness. The charging rocker (You Will) Set the World on Fire is led by this snarling guitar riffs, Sterling Campbell’s walloping fills, thumping bass lines, and Bowie’s powerful vocals as it features intense and thrilling lyrics.
VIDEO The ballad You Feel Lonely So You Could Die as it’s a mixture of folk and rock with elements of string arrangements with Bowie singing somber lyrics as it is one of his most enchanting ballads. The album closer in Heat is another ballad but a darker one that is led by soft beats, swooning guitar and synthesizer textures and Bowie’s vocals that sing lyrics of despair and chaos as it among one of his darkest songs. From the album’s deluxe edition comes three more tracks such as the instrumental piece Plan with its eerie mid-tempo rhythms and layers of driving and warbling guitar textures while I’ll Take You There is a fast-paced, driving rocker with wailing guitars and hard-hitting beats as Bowie sings in a powerful vocal style to some intense yet eerie lyrics of despair. So She is an upbeat tempo track with some rockabilly-inspired guitar melodies, chiming keyboard melodies, and a steady rhythm that add to Bowie’s calm vocal as he sings some dreamy lyrics that has this air of imagination.
VIDEO From an expanded deluxe edition with seven more tracks that was released separately as a digital EP known as The Next Day Extra features two remixes and five other tracks including a song from a Japanese release of the album. Atomica is an upbeat track with some funk-based rhythms, driving guitars, and off-kilter synthesizer melodies that include quirky lyrics that revel into the world of stardom. The Informer is a mid-tempo track with its slow yet walloping rhythms, spurt-based guitars, and Bowie’s wailing vocals as it features very strange lyrics that play into the ideas of faith and idealism. Like a Rocket Man is an upbeat track with bopping beats, a mixture of folk-based and rock guitars, and Bowie singing some playful yet funny lyrics as it is filled with surreal imagery. Born in a UFO is a wailing, upbeat track that features offbeat lyrics and some driving guitar riffs as it is one of Bowie’s weirdest but funniest songs.
VIDEO From the Japanese edition of the album in God Bless the Girl is this song filled with a mix of folk-based guitars and soothing electric guitar textures to a bopping, Latin-inspired rhythm with Bowie singing some somber yet enchanting lyrics. The two remixes include a remix of Love is Lost by James Murphy for DFA Records that features elements of Ashes to Ashes and Steve Reich’s Clapping Hands in its mix that opens with sounds of rhythmic handclaps that slows down with its house-based synthesizer warbles as it accompanies Bowie’s vocals. The remix of I’d Rather Be High for a commercial has Bowie singing largely to a harpsichord accompaniment with elements of the original track’s instrumentals as it’s one of the richer remixes that Bowie has been involved in.
VIDEO The Next Day is a phenomenal album from David Bowie that showcases an artist not only being more adventurous and daring but also display a sense of familiarity and make something old feel new again. Even as it’s a record filled with songs ranging from rock, electronic, pop, and art-rock while also having a sense of looking back which Bowie rarely does yet making it feel vital and enthralling. In the end, The Next Day is a spectacular album from David Bowie.
Studio Releases: David Bowie (1967 album) - David Bowie (1969 album) - The Man Who Sold the World - Hunky Dory - The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - Aladdin Sane - Pin Ups - Diamond Dogs - Young Americans - Station to Station - Low - "Heroes" - Lodger - Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) - Let’s Dance - Tonight - Never Let Me Down - Tin Machine - Tin Machine II - Black Tie White Noise - Outside - Earthling - ‘Hours…’ - Heathen - Reality - *
Live Releases: David Live - Stage - Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders of Mars - Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby - Bowie at the Beeb - (Live at Fashion Rocks (w/ Arcade Fire)) - (Live Santa Monica ‘72) - (Glass Spider Live) - (VH1 Storytellers) - (A Reality Tour)
Soundtracks: Christiane F. - Labyrinth - The Buddha of Suburbia
Miscellaneous: Peter and the Wolf - Baal - Sound + Vision - (Early On (1964-1966)) - (All Saints) - Toy - (Nothing Has Changed)
© thevoid99 2016
Released on September 16, 2003 by ISO/Columbia Records, Reality is the twenty-third studio album by David Bowie that has him going into elements of rock and art rock while not yearning for innovations but rather have fun and play music while commenting on the strange aspects of reality. Produced with Tony Visconti, the album would feature the personnel such as longtime collaborators in guitarist Earl Slick, pianist Mike Garson, guitarist/bassist Mark Plati, bassist Gail Ann Dorsey, and drummer Sterling Campbell along with guitarist Gerry Leonard and keyboardist Catherine Russell who would be part of Bowie’s final live backing band as it would reflect an artist feeling vital and happy.
VIDEO The opening track and leading single New Killer Star is this bopping, riff-based track with some wailing guitar notes, a wobbly rhythm, and Bowie singing abstract lyrics that play into a world being changed by new arrivals as it is one of his most playful singles. A cover of Jonathan Richman’s Pablo Picasso is an upbeat rock song with wailing guitars, driving rhythms, and some warbling electronics that has Bowie singing some strange lyrics that definitely owes a lot to surrealism as it includes some classical-based guitar flourishes. The album’s third single in Never Get Old is a funk-based mid-tempo track led by its melodic guitar and Gail Ann Dorsey’s driving bass line as it features Bowie singing in a wailing vocal for its chorus as it play into the idea of aging in a playful manner as it is one of Bowie’s finest singles.
VIDEO The ballad The Loneliest Guy is a melancholic track led largely by Mike Garson’s piano, soft guitar textures, and Bowie’s eerie vocals as it is among one of the more simplest songs in an album that is filled with complex material. Notably in the upbeat, funk-based Looking for Water with its array of bopping rhythms, driving guitars, soothing synthesizers, and Bowie’s vocals as it features some very weird yet playful lyrics. She’ll Drive the Big Car is a mixture of electronic-based beats and textures with elements of blues and folk with Bowie playing the harmonica and a 12-string acoustic as it includes Bowie singing in different pitches while singing these offbeat lyrics that add to the album’s odd idea of reality. Days is this vibrant, folk-based mid-tempo piece that is later followed by its steady rhythms and warbling electronics as it features dream-like lyrics that have this imaginative sense of imagery.
VIDEO Fall Dog Bombs the Moon is a steady, mid-tempo ballad with elements of folk and rock with some guitar flourishes from Earl Slick and Gerry Leonard as it has Bowie singing calmly to these dark lyrics that play into ideas of a world gone wrong. A cover of George Harrison’s Try Some Buy Some is a slow but steady piece that has Bowie sing Harrison’s lyrics while being accompanied by soothing synthesizers, Garson’s somber piano, and Sterling Campbell’s low-key drum fills. The album’s title track is this fast, upbeat rocker that features some crashing beats, driving guitar wails, a bopping bass line, and Bowie singing to these very dark yet strange lyrics that play into the fallacy of reality as he also adds some dark comedy to the lyrics. The album closer Bring Me the Disco King is this mid-tempo jazz piece that feature Garson playing jazz-like pianos with Matt Chamberlain’s smooth yet walloping drum fills and Visconti’s smooth bass while Bowie sings somber lyrics that are very reflective as it’s probably one of Bowie’s best deep cuts.
VIDEO From the 2003 limited edition bonus disc version of the album are a couple of B-sides, a cover, a remake of a classic song, and a mash-up of two songs while another cover appears in a 2007 deluxe edition as part of a box set of albums from Outside to this album. The two covers in the deluxe edition includes a rock-based cover of the Kinks’ Waterloo Sunset that include some folk elements in its 12-string acoustic guitars as well as some synthesizers in the background while a cover of Sigue Sigue Spunk’s Love Missile F1-11 is one of the most manic as it pays tribute to its warbling synthesizers with some added guitar textures and driving bass lines into the song. The two non-LP B-sides in Fly and Queen of All the Tarts (Overture) as the former is this upbeat and bopping track with Bowie singing fast to some playful lyrics as it include some funky guitar spurts from longtime collaborator Carlos Alomar while the latter is a driving rock song with pummeling beats, melodic guitars, and an array of multi-tracked vocals where Bowie sings strange and surrealist-based lyrics.
VIDEO A remake of the classic Rebel Rebel starts off with Bowie singing alone to a scratchy guitar and a cowbell as the instruments come full-throttle for the song’s chorus as it is one of Bowie’s finest takes on one of his defining classics. The mash-up of Rebel Rebel and Never Get Old in Rebel Never Get Old is featured in a radio mix and a remix where the radio mix is a very upbeat and playful take on the two songs that how both songs can become one. remix features elements of guitar elements of “Heroes” as well as some more pulsating beats and soft synthesizer wails as another version of the remix is essentially a shortened, edited version.
VIDEO Reality is a phenomenal album from David Bowie that features an artist not only displaying a sense of enthusiasm but also feel as lively as ever. It’s an album that also features Bowie singing about the warped elements of reality in its darker and comical moments where it’s a lighter album but also a fun one. In the end, Reality is a sensational album from David Bowie.
Studio Releases: David Bowie (1967 album) - David Bowie (1969 album) - The Man Who Sold the World - Hunky Dory - The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - Aladdin Sane - Pin Ups - Diamond Dogs - Young Americans - Station to Station - Low - "Heroes" - Lodger - Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) - Let’s Dance - Tonight - Never Let Me Down - Tin Machine - Tin Machine II - Black Tie White Noise - Outside - Earthling - ‘Hours…’ - Heathen - The Next Day - *
Live Releases: David Live - Stage - Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars - Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby - Bowie at the Beeb - (Live at Fashion Rocks (w/ Arcade Fire)) - (Live Santa Monica ‘72) - (Glass Spider Live) - (VH1 Storytellers) - (A Reality Tour)
Soundtracks: Christiane F. - Labyrinth - The Buddha of Suburbia
Miscellaneous: Peter and the Wolf - Baal - Sound + Vision - (Early On (1964-1966)) - (All Saints) - Toy - (Nothing Has Changed)
© thevoid99 2016
Released on June 11, 2002 by ISO/Columbia Records, Heathen is the twenty-second studio album by David Bowie that marks a reunion between himself and longtime producer Tony Visconti since 1982’s Baal EP as it is an album that has Bowie returning to the world of art rock. Produced by Bowie and Visconti, the album would feature contributions from collaborators Carlos Alomar, Mark Plati, and Sterling Campbell as well as guest contributions from violinist Lisa Germano, Pete Townshend of the Who, and Dave Grohl from Nirvana/the Foo Fighters. The album has Bowie playing elder statesman while proving he still had a lot more to say when many of his contemporaries coast on their past glories.
VIDEO The album opener Sunday is this eerie, mid-tempo track that include a few flourishes in the electronic textures and guitars by Carlos Alomar as Bowie sings in a haunting vocal filled with gloomy lyrics of a world that is later followed by mid-tempo and walloping drums by Matt Chamberlin. The sense of gloom also occurs in its closer Heathen (The Rays) as it features very stark lyrics of 9/11 imagery with as it is led by these ambient-based lyrics and rhythmic tom-tom beats that add to the eerie tone of the song. Tracks like A Better Future and the ballad Slip Away do play into that sense of conflict between gloom and hope though the former is this up-tempo track of sorts with its melodic keyboards and bopping beats while the latter is one of Bowie’s haunting songs with its mixture of ambient-like keyboards and Bowie’s eerie vocals where he also brings in the toy-keyboard in the stylophone.
VIDEO Songs like Afraid and Slow Burn are rocked-based songs as the former is an upbeat track with driving guitars, pummeling beats, and Bowie’s wailing vocals as it features these powerful lyrics. The latter is a mid-tempo song that features wailing guitar solos by Pete Townshend with Bowie singing some very haunting yet gripping lyrics as it is one of Bowie’s best cuts. I Would Be Your Slave is a somber mid-tempo piece with bopping rhythms and Bowie singing in a calm yet intoxicating vocal to an ambient synthesizer background as it is this unique declaration of love. Everyone Says ‘Hi’ is another mid-tempo song that is sort of a ballad as it includes bits of Absolute Beginners while it has these dream-like lyrics and a unique synthesizer riff that drives the song.
VIDEO 5:15 The Angels Have Gone is this song with a unique presentation where it’s a ballad but it has these slow, walloping beats and melodic guitar textures as it has Bowie singing these somber yet despair-laden lyrics as the song’s tempo does pick-up a bit for its chorus. The album also features three covers as it includes a rock-based cover of the Pixies’ Cactus as it starts off with Bowie singing Black Francis’ abstract lyrics on a 12-string acoustic as it then becomes this full-on rock track. Neil Young’s I’ve Been Waiting for You features driving guitar riffs by Dave Grohl as it is this mid-tempo cut on the album as it is a rocker with Bowie singing Young’s gripping vocals. The final cover on the album in I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spacecraft by the Legendary Stardust Cowboy as it is this upbeat, electronic-based track with surreal lyrics, pulsating electronic beats, and a soothing synthesizer.
VIDEO The 2007 Japanese 2-disc edition of the album features not just bonus tracks from a deluxe edition of the album as well as from its initial Japanese release in 2002 but also a slew of B-sides, rarities, and remixes. Among them are two remixes of songs from the album as a remix of Sunday by Moby as it‘s largely an ambient-based remix with is smooth synthesizers as well as a more throbbing rhythm to accompany Bowie‘s vocals that also includes a violin solo. Air’s remix of A Better Future includes some warbling vocal distortions, flourishing pianos, and a soothing ambient background as it’s one of the finest remixes from the French electronic duo. From the 2002 limited edition bonus disc album aside from the remixes include 1979 remake of Panic in Detroit that appeared in the 1992 Rykodisc reissue of Scary Monsters and a 2001 remake of the song Conversation Piece as it is a track that has Bowie adding some strings and a slower rhythm to the song as he sings in a lower vocal range.
VIDEO The six other tracks in the album aren’t just B-sides to singles but four of them are actually remakes of older songs Bowie wrote back in the 1960s and early 1970s. The other two in Wood Jackson and Safe as the former is this mid-tempo track with folk-based guitar, swooning electrics, a bopping rhythm, and Bowie‘s dreamy vocals to these somber lyrics. The latter is this wailing, mid-tempo rocker with soaring string arrangements, a steady rhythm, and Bowie’s mesmerizing vocals as he sings very eerie lyrics that play into this sense of despair and fear. The remakes of Baby Loves That Way , When the Boys Come Marching Home, You’ve Got a Habit of Leaving , and a major rarity in a song called Shadow Man are songs, along with Conversation Piece , would be part of an unreleased album called Toy that was later leaked on the Internet in 2011.
VIDEO When the Boys Come Marching Home is a somber ballad that has Bowie sing in a haunting tone to melancholic lyrics with a thumping beat and a groove-based texture with string arrangements while Baby Loves That Way is a playful rock track that is given a mid-tempo piece that is old-school rock n’ roll with its riffs and very innocent lyrics about love. You’ve Got a Habit of Leaving is this bopping, mid-tempo track as it includes some driving guitars, Mike Garson’s melodic piano, and Bowie’s cool vocals as it play into the world of rock n’ roll while featuring some walloping drumming from Sterling Campbell and wailing guitars from Earl Slick. The ballad Shadow Man is this somber song filled with melancholic lyrics sung by Bowie as he’s accompanied by Garson’s piano, soothing synthesizers, dreamy string arrangements, and wailing guitars as it is probably one of the Bowie’s finest gems that need to be discovered.
VIDEO Heathen is a phenomenal album from David Bowie. The album isn’t just a fascinating return to neo-classic Bowie but also has him creating music that feels fresh and vital thanks in part to his collaborators as well as co-producer Tony Visconti who is able to provide some new things to the music. In the end, Heathen is an incredible album from David Bowie.
Studio Releases: David Bowie (1967 album) - David Bowie (1969 album) - The Man Who Sold the World - Hunky Dory - The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - Aladdin Sane - Pin Ups - Diamond Dogs - Young Americans - Station to Station - Low - "Heroes" - Lodger - Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) - Let’s Dance - Tonight - Never Let Me Down - Tin Machine - Tin Machine II - Black Tie White Noise - Outside - Earthling - ‘Hours…’ - Reality - The Next Day - *
Live Releases: David Live - Stage - Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders of Mars - Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby - Bowie at the Beeb - (Live at Fashion Rocks (w/ Arcade Fire)) - (Live Santa Monica ‘72) - (Glass Spider Live) - (VH1 Storytellers) - (A Reality Tour)
Soundtracks: Christiane F. - Labyrinth - The Buddha of Suburbia
Miscellaneous: Peter and the Wolf - Baal - Sound + Vision - (Early On (1964-1966)) - (All Saints) - Toy - (Nothing Has Changed)
© thevoid99 2016
Released on October of 1983 by RCA Records, Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders of Mars is a live soundtrack album that serves as a companion piece to the D.A. Pennebaker documentary of the same name that chronicles David Bowie’s final appearance as Ziggy Stardust with his backing band in the Spiders from Mars that consists of guitarist Mick Ronson, bassist Trevor Bolder, and drummer Woody Woodmansey. Co-produced by Mike Moran in its initial release, the album also features contributions from pianist Mike Garson, guitarist John Hutchinson, Ken Fordham and Brian Wilshaw on saxophones, and Geoffrey MacCormack on percussion and backing vocals.
VIDEO The double-album both opens with pieces by Wendy Carlos that has her playing classical by Beethoven that come from the 1971 film A Clockwork Orange as it serves as intros for the album as well as a break between the performance. It adds a sense of theatricality to the show while the performances of songs like Hang On to Yourself , Watch That Man , Cracked Actor , The Width of a Circle , Suffragette City , a cover of the Rolling Stones’ Let’s Spend the Night Together , and a cover of the Velvet Underground’s White Light/White Heat play into the sense of rock n’ roll thanks in part to the powerful musicianship between Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder, and Woody Woodmansey. Mike Garson’s contributions to songs like Time , Changes , and the medley of Wild-Eyed Boy from Freecloud , All the Young Dudes , and Oh! You Pretty Things add some juice the songs.
VIDEO Among the standouts in the album is a cover of Jacques Brel’s My Death that features Bowie singing by himself with an acoustic guitar and Garson’s piano background as it is one of the most emotional moments of the album and film as fans scream “me” at the end of the song. Ziggy Stardust and Space Oddity are also standouts while the performance of Moonage Daydream features some soaring guitar work by Mick Ronson that is one of the highlights of the album. The album closer in Rock N’ Roll Suicide would be preceded by the show’s infamous farewell speech as it is also a track on the album.
VIDEO When the album was released in 1983, one of its major complaints was its sequencing as well as portions of the songs that were missing due to the constraints of vinyl records at the time. When the record was remastered and remixed by Tony Visconti with Bowie’s aid for its 2003 release from EMI, the album would be given not just an improved mix as well as a proper sequencing that is presented exactly like the film. The song The Width of a Circle would be given a fuller presentation while Changes would be placed in its original sequence. The 2003 re-released version isn’t just the definitive version of the album soundtrack but it’s also probably one of Bowie’s best live releases.
VIDEO The live soundtrack album to Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars is a phenomenal album from David Bowie. It’s an album that just doesn’t look back at one of his defining concerts but it’s also an album that showcases Bowie’s work with the Spiders from Mars as they proved to be a band for the ages when they perform live. In the end, Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars is a spectacular live album from David Bowie.
Related: Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars
Studio Releases: David Bowie (1967 album) - David Bowie (1969 album) - The Man Who Sold the World - Hunky Dory - The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - Aladdin Sane - Pin Ups - Diamond Dogs - Young Americans - Station to Station - Low - "Heroes" - Lodger - Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) - Let’s Dance - Tonight - Never Let Me Down - Tin Machine - Tin Machine II - Black Tie White Noise - Outside - Earthling - ‘Hours…’ - Heathen - Reality - The Next Day - *
Live Releases: David Live - Stage - Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby - Bowie at the Beeb - (Live at Fashion Rocks (w/ Arcade Fire)) - (Live Santa Monica ‘72) - (Glass Spider Live) - (VH1 Storytellers) - (A Reality Tour)
Soundtracks: Christiane F. - Labyrinth - The Buddha of Suburbia
Miscellaneous: Peter and the Wolf - Baal - Sound + Vision - (Early On (1964-1966)) - (All Saints) - Toy - (Nothing Has Changed)
© thevoid99 2016
Released on February 13, 1982 by RCA Records, Baal is a 12-minute five-song EP by David Bowie that is a soundtrack record of sorts to the BBC TV production of Bertolt Brecht’s play of the same name. Produced with Tony Visconti, the album has Bowie cover five songs of the play that were written by Brecht in collaboration with Dominic Muldowney and Kurt Weill that were later translated into English by Ralph Manheim and John Willett. The album that features Bowie, Visconti, and various session musicians that was recorded at Hansa Studios in Berlin would mark not just Bowie’s final release for RCA Records but also the last record he would make with Tony Visconti for nearly 20 years.
VIDEO The opening track in Baal’s Hymn is this eerie ballad that establishes who Baal is with Bowie’s vocals being the center of the song as it is hauntingly eerie as it features some tempo changes due to its orchestra. Remembering Marie A. is this piano ballad that has Bowie singing about a past conquest of Baal that is filled with imaginative and somber lyrics with Bowie. Ballad of the Adventurers is among one of Bowie’s best vocal appearances with its woodwind accompaniments and acoustic guitars as it is this chilling track that displays Baal’s reaction to his mother’s death.
VIDEO The record’s major standout is the single The Drowned Girl that is about the death of one of Baal’s conquests as it has Bowie providing haunting vocals as he sings the words with such imagination to the accompaniment of an oboe and low-key orchestral images. The closing track in The Dirty Song is a thirty-eight second track that reflects on Baal humiliating one of his lovers as it is this dark yet upbeat track that is led by brass instruments as it is a very weird but unsettling end to the record.
VIDEO The Baal EP is a phenomenal record by David Bowie. Not only is it considered one of the more overlooked records of his career but it’s also an album that shows Bowie’s strength as a vocalist and in the way he would interpret the songs of Bretolt Brecht. In the end, Baal is a sensational EP from David Bowie.
Related: Baal (1982 TV film) David Bowie (1967 album) - David Bowie (1969 album) - The Man Who Sold the World - Hunky Dory - The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - Aladdin Sane - Pin Ups - Diamond Dogs - Young Americans - Station to Station - Low - "Heroes" - Lodger - Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) - Let’s Dance - Tonight - Never Let Me Down - Tin Machine - Tin Machine II - Black Tie White Noise - Outside - Earthling - ‘Hours…’ - Heathen - Reality - The Next Day - *
Live Releases: David Live - Stage - Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby - Bowie at the Beeb - (Live at Fashion Rocks (w/ Arcade Fire)) - (Live Santa Monica ‘72) - (Glass Spider Live) - (VH1 Storytellers) - (A Reality Tour)
Soundtracks: Christiane F. - Labyrinth - The Buddha of Suburbia
Miscellaneous: Peter and the Wolf - Sound + Vision - (Early On (1964-1966)) - (All Saints) - Toy - (Nothing Has Changed)
© thevoid99 2016
Released on April of 1981 by RCA Victor Records, the soundtrack album to Uli Edel’s 1981 film Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (Christiane F. - We children of Zoo Station ) is an album that features mostly material from the late 1970s by David Bowie that had appeared in studio and live recordings. Yet, it is a record that plays into the world of a young girl who is a big fan of Bowie who appears in the film as himself playing a show in Germany.
VIDEO Of the nine tracks on the album, three instrumentals are featured in V-2 Schneider and Sense of Doubt from “Heroes” and Warszawa from Low as they provide whatever dark elements were needed for the film. The three instrumentals along with a live version of Station to Station from Stage and the songs Look Back in Anger and Boys Keep Swinging from Lodger are presented in their exact forms from their albums. The album would feature single edits of Stay and TVC 15 from Station to Station as it cuts some of the extended instrumental portions of their original album versions. Yet, the major gem of the album is the song “Heroes” as it’s presented in a somewhat alternate version that is also called Helden where Bowie would sing the song’s second half in German as it shows that Bowie could still be engaging in a different language as the German lyrics were written by Maas.
VIDEO Christiane F. is an excellent soundtrack album from David Bowie. While it doesn’t offer anything new to fans of Bowie in terms of rare material, it is still a fascinating record that serves as a fine sampler into Bowie’s work during the late 1970s. In the end, the Christiane F. soundtrack is a brilliant album from David Bowie.
Related: (Christiane F.)
Studio Releases: David Bowie (1967 album) - David Bowie (1969 album) - The Man Who Sold the World - Hunky Dory - The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - Aladdin Sane - Pin Ups - Diamond Dogs - Young Americans - Station to Station - Low - "Heroes" - Lodger - Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) - Let’s Dance - Tonight - Never Let Me Down - Tin Machine - Tin Machine II - Black Tie White Noise - Outside - Earthling - ‘Hours…’ - Heathen - Reality - The Next Day - *
Live Releases: David Live - Stage - Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby - Bowie at the Beeb - (Live at Fashion Rocks (w/ Arcade Fire)) - (Live Santa Monica ‘72) - (Glass Spider Live) - (VH1 Storytellers) - (A Reality Tour)
Soundtracks: Labyrinth - The Buddha of Suburbia
Miscellaneous: Peter and the Wolf - Baal - Sound + Vision - (Early On (1964-1966)) - (All Saints) - Toy - (Nothing Has Changed)
© thevoid99 2016
Released on September 12, 1980 by RCA Records, Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) is fourteenth studio album by David Bowie that served as the culmination of everything he had done prior while dabbling into the world of post-punk and new wave in his own interpretation. Produced with Tony Visconti, the album would mark the last time Bowie would work with drummer Dennis Davis and bassist George Murray on an album while the record would feature contributions from recurring collaborators Carlos Alomar and Robert Fripp as well as guest appearances from Chuck Hammer, Roy Bittan, and Pete Townshend.
VIDEO Opening and closing the album is a song called It’s No Game as the opening track features a Japanese woman talking rapidly to this steady, mid-tempo rhythm with these warbling guitar textures from Robert Fripp and Bowie singing in a wailing vocal filled with these very abstract lyrics. In the song’s second part, Bowie sings more calmly as it adds this element of something that is somber but also very dark. Up the Hill Backwards is this strange track that starts off as this upbeat song with these bopping array of drums and percussions with producer Tony Visconti playing an acoustic guitar. The song then turns into a mid-tempo track with this steady rhythm and Bowie singing with backing vocalists on this song filled with ideas of struggle but also with some element of hope as it includes some nice guitar textures from Fripp and Alomar along with nice drum fills by Dennis Davis.
VIDEO Of the three singles from the album, its title track is considered one of Bowie’s most ferocious songs with its wailing and charging guitars, walloping rhythms, and warbling synthesizers as Bowie sings very dark and chilling lyrics. It’s a song that serves as a prototype of sorts to industrial rock as it is one of Bowie’s great songs. The album’s leading single is a sequel to 1969’s Space Oddity in Ashes to Ashes as it is this mid-tempo, synthesizer-driven track with these hypnotic melodies courtesy of Chuck Hammer’s guitar-synthesizer work and Bowie singing very somberly as it relates to Major Tom’s return to Earth as a man who is no longer the same while Bowie would make reference to Space Oddity in the lyrics as it is one of Bowie’s defining singles. The album’s second single Fashion is considered one of Bowie’s funnier tunes in terms of mixture of funk, rock, and electronic textures as it is this strange mid-tempo track with a bopping rhythm and Fripp’s playful guitar while Bowie sings these odd lyrics that play into the fallacy of trends and ideologies as it’s told in a very humorous fashion.
VIDEO From the album’s second side in cuts like Teenage Wildlife and Because You’re Young are songs that play into the world of youth with the former being this mid-tempo piece that includes these lovely guitar solos from Fripp and Bowie singing evocatively with references to the New Romantics movement. The latter is another mid-tempo track that features guitar work from Pete Townshend of the Who as it is a hopeful song as it relates to the plight of youth with these walloping yet bopping rhythms from Davis and bassist George Murray. Scream Like a Baby is a dark, mid-tempo track that feature these ferocious and driving guitars by Fripp and Alomar as well as Bowie singing in a calm but eerie tone to these very angry lyrics as it relates to insanity and imprisonment that is filled with these amazing imagery and some synthesizer textures. The album’s lone cover is a song called Kingdom Come that is written by Television’s Tom Verlaine as it is this steady yet upbeat track with these nice guitar flourishes by Fripp while Bowie singing in a tremendous vocal to these very strange yet evocative lyrics.
VIDEO From the 1992 Rykodisc reissue comes four bonus tracks that includes two re-worked versions of Panic in Detroit and Space Oddity made and recorded in 1979. The former is given a mixture of rock and funk with more walloping rhythms by Davis’ drums and driving guitars from Alomar with Bowie singing in a more rapid tone to the song as it includes a strange, robotic vocal in the instrumental bridge. The latter is a stripped-down acoustic version of the song with Bowie singing in a different vocal pitch from than in the original as he’s later accompanied by a slow drum fill, bass, guitar, and pianos as it has Bowie bringing new life to the song but also serve as a precursor of what is to come in Ashes to Ashes .
VIDEO A cover of the Bertolt Brecht/Kurt Weill song Alabama Song is from the sessions for Lodger as it has this air of funk with bits of cabaret as it was a non-LP U.K. single as it’s a song that starts off funky and then becomes this more mid-tempo track as it is one of Bowie’s finest covers. The instrumental Crystal Japan which was released as non-LP single for Japanese audiences is an ambient-inspired track led by these dreamy synthesizer textures with some melodic riffs and low-key Japanese percussions in the background as it is one of Bowie’s finest gems.
VIDEO Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) is a magnificent album from David Bowie. It’s an album that is filled with lots of weird ideas but it’s also very accessible in terms of what he was able to with these unconventional ideas and turn into something that is catchy. Even as the album is often considered the last great work of his career during his illustrious run of 1969 to 1980 as it would become the standard bearer of later albums to follow. In the end, Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) is a monstrous yet rapturous album from David Bowie.
Studio Releases: David Bowie (1967 album) - David Bowie (1969 album) - The Man Who Sold the World - Hunky Dory - The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - Aladdin Sane - Pin Ups - Diamond Dogs - Young Americans - Station to Station - Low - "Heroes" - Lodger - Let’s Dance - Tonight - Never Let Me Down - Tin Machine - Tin Machine II - Black Tie White Noise - Outside - Earthling - ‘Hours…’ - Heathen - Reality - The Next Day - *
Live Releases: David Live - Stage - Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby - Bowie at the Beeb - (Live at Fashion Rocks (w/ Arcade Fire)) - (Live Santa Monica ‘72) - (Glass Spider Live) - (VH1 Storytellers) - (A Reality Tour)
Soundtracks: Christiane F. - Labyrinth - The Buddha of Suburbia
Miscellaneous: Peter and the Wolf - Baal - Sound + Vision - (Early On (1964-1966)) - (All Saints) - Toy - (Nothing Has Changed)
© thevoid99 2016
