Released on February 3, 1997 by Virgin Records, Earthling is the 20th studio release from David Bowie that marks a milestone for the artist as he had turned 50 less than a month earlier. Produced with Reeves Gabrels and Mark Plati, the album is a continued exploration into the world of electronic music and its many sub-genres from dance and drum n’ bass as well as elements of rock and industrial. Featuring members of Bowie’s live band from his 1996 summer tour that includes guitarist Reeves Gabrels, pianist/keyboardist Mike Garson, bassist Gail Ann Dorsey, and drummer Zachary Alford.
The drum n’ bass sub genre that features an array of pulsating, rapid beats, and bass grooves are key factors to two of the album’s singles in Little Wonder and Dead Man Walking. The former is a mixture of that sound with Gabrel’s driving guitars, Garson’s playful piano textures, and a thundering rhythm section from Alford’s drums and Dorsey’s bass with Bowie singing in a rapid tone with some very playful and offbeat lyrics. The latter is a more mid-tempo cut that features swirling drum and synthesizer loops with Bowie singing lyrics filled with eerie imagery as it is one of his finest singles in terms of its presentation as it shows Bowie providing his own spin to what was a hot genre at the time. The album cut Battle for Britain (The Letter) also play into the world of drum n’ bass with its rapid, pulsating beats that include some intense live drumming from Zachary Alford and warbling guitar textures from Reeves Gabrels while Bowie sings these dark yet blazing lyrics of chaos that is followed by these flourishing pianos from Mike Garson.
The other two singles in the drum n’ bass-inspired Telling Lies and the art-rock based Seven Years in Tibet as the former opens with rapid beats that is followed by more steady, hammering beats with Bowie singing some haunting lyrics with some vocal spurts in the background as he is accompanied by smooth keyboards and pianos with Gabrels’ wailing guitars The latter is this mid-tempo track with a mixture of warbling bass lines by Gail Ann Dorsey, smooth and steady beats, guitar textures, and Bowie on the saxophone as he sings calmly and detached at first to some great imagery until Alford’s drums kick in where Bowie sings loudly. Looking for Satellites showcase the fusion between rock and electronic music with some steady and bopping rhythms along with driving guitars and abstract lyrics by Bowie.
The album’s fourth single I’m Afraid of Americans which is co-written by Brian Eno from the sessions for Outside is this mid-tempo track with a bopping rhythm, warbling synthesizers, driving guitars, and Bowie singing about the sense of paranoia and fear about a European in America as it’s one of his best singles. The mixture of drum n’ bass and industrial-based beats for The Last Thing You Should Do is among the highlights of the album as it features calm vocals by Bowie on some somber lyrics that is followed by Gabrels’ swirling and driving guitars. The album closer Law (Earthlings on Fire) is this upbeat and intense track filled with warbling synthesizers, pulsating live drums, and squealing guitars with Bowie singing some lyrics of chaos and terror as it also features distorted vocals.
The 2004 bonus tracks edition of the album features four different remixes of some of the album’s singles as it includes a remix of I’m Afraid of Americans by the industrial act Nine Inch Nails with its mastermind Trent Reznor providing additional vocals as it include industrial beats, drum n’ bass beat loops, and grimy synthesizers as it’s one of the best remixes provided by NIN. Danny Saber’s dance mix of Little Wonder is a track filled with an array of wavy synthesizers, layers of pulsating beats and percussions, and playful takes on Bowie’s vocals as it is about dance and nothing else. Moby’s twelve-inch remix of Dead Man Walking for U.S. clubs is inspired by the world of rave with its warbling and wavy synthesizers as well as some hammering beats that give the track some punch. The fourth remix in the 2004 edition of the album is a remix of Telling Lies by English DJ Adam F. as it this ambient-trance mix that features wavy synthesizers with bopping beats as well as some swirls in the synthesizers.
The 2007 deluxe edition features a second disc of material including remixes, alternate takes, and a couple of live cuts. From the 2004 bonus track edition includes two versions of the NIN remix of I’m Afraid of Americans as the other version is a clean mix made for radio with a few added instrumentations as Moby’s twelve-inch mix of Dead Man Walking and Danny Saber’s dance mix of Little Wonder appear in the 2007 bonus disc. Two other mixes of Little Wonder include a single-edited version of the song for its music video as well as a club remix by Junior Vasquez that features swirling synthesizers and pulsating club beats that also feature some unique placements in the vocals and different ranges in its mix. A second remix of Dead Man Walking by Moby as it displays some hard-hitting, pulsating beats as well as wavy synthesizer textures as well as providing different pitches to Bowie’s vocals. The two remixes of Telling Lies as the first mix by producer Mark Plati emphasizes a lot on the drum n’ bass sub genre with an array of rapid beats from clanging metallic ones to driving dance beats as well as some synthesizer swirls in the background.
The second mix by Gerald Simpson under the A Guy Called Gerald moniker as it is this mix filled with pulsating break-beats and ambient-based synthesizer swirls as Bowie’s vocals warble through the instruments where it’s a track that owes a lot to the world of late 80s/early 90s rave music. An alternate version of Seven Years in Tibet is actually the same version as its original version but it is sung in Mandarin with translated lyrics by Lin Xi under a concept by Elvin Wong as it has Bowie providing some unique vocal flairs into the language while it’s also kind of superior to its original. An alternate version of I’m Afraid of Americans from the 1995 film soundtrack to Showgirls as it features more clanging beats, noisy guitars by Gabrels, and different vocals and lyrics from Bowie as it’s a version of the song that is unique though it sort of pales to eventual final version and the NIN remixes.
The last two cuts of the bonus disc are live tracks performed by Bowie and his live band under the moniker Tao Jones Index for a show at the Phoenix Festival in 1997 as it includes a performance of the instrumental V-2 Schneider from "Heroes" where it features throbbing beats, wavy synthesizers, and ambient-based synthesizers with Bowie singing the track’s lone lyrics and playing saxophone on the track. The performance of Pallas Antheas from Black Tie White Noise as it is led by ambient synthesizers from Bowie and Garson with some throbbing beats, low-groove bass lines by Dorsey, funky guitars by Gabrels, and an array of instrumentations from the original track to a mixture of distortion and ambient as it’s one of Bowie’s best reinterpretation of one of his great cuts.
Earthling is an incredible album from David Bowie that shows an artist at the age of 50 not only feeling vital and making music that is adventurous and daring. It’s an album that showcases Bowie making many of his contemporaries look older than they actually are while providing his own spin into a genre of music that he helped shape and make it his own. In the end, Earthling is a dazzling 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 - ‘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 September 26, 1995 by Virgin Records, Outside is a concept album based on David Bowie’s short story The Diary of Nathan Adler that revolved around a murder mystery that included body parts used as art. Produced with Brian Eno and David Richards, the album marks a reunion between Bowie and Eno since their groundbreaking collaboration in the late 70s as the album would also feature other recurring collaborators in guitarists Carlos Alomar, Kevin Armstrong, and Reeves Gabrels, multi-instrumentalist Edral Kiziclay, pianist Mike Garson, and drummer Sterling Campbell along with several session musicians. While it was originally supposed to be a multi-part album with a second part called Contamination, the album would be considered one of Bowie’s most daring releases in his career.
With all of the songs and segues told in characters and through abstract, cut-up lyrics, the album is told through a unique narrative that blends elements of rock, industrial, jazz, electronic, and avant-garde such as the album’s opening track in the track Leon Takes Us Outside where it features guitar and piano flourishes along with ominous keyboards with Bowie reciting words as the character Leon Blank which serves as an intro to the album’s title track as it is this eerie, mid-tempo piece with driving guitars from Carlos Alomar and Reeves Gabrels, a steady rhythm from drummer Sterling Campbell and bassist Edral Kiziclay, and some electronic textures from Kiziclay and Brian Eno while Bowie sings haunting lyrics that relates to the world the story is set.
The album’s first single in The Hearts Filthy Lesson is mid-tempo piece that is part-industrial and part-art rock with its driving guitars, swirling keyboards, pulsating live and electronic beats, and Bowie’s eerie vocals with these chilling lyrics as the character of Nathan Adler where the track include these piano flourishes by Mike Garson. The narrative continues to introduce the characters and settings as the track A Small Plot of Land with its mixture of jazz-based pianos from Garson, Eno’s soothing ambient-based synthesizers, jazz-inspired rhythms, and Bowie’s haunting vocals play into the world of Oxford Town, New Jersey while its segue in Baby Grace (A Horrid Cassette) introduces the character of Baby Grace Blue as it is piece led by Gabrels’ swirling guitar, Garson’s piano, and the voice of a young girl by Bowie describing the events in the narrative.
The album’s third single in Hallo Spaceboy that is sung in the character of Paddy is this fast-paced, charging industrial track with crashing drums, driving guitars, warbling synthesizers, Garson’s intense piano, and Bowie’s haunting vocals as he sings these abstract lyrics filled with ambiguity and strange imagery. The haunting ballad The Motel that is sung from the perspective of Leon Blank as it includes Garson’s flourishing pianos, soothing bass lines, and very melancholic lyrics. The upbeat I Have Not Been to Oxford Town is a funk-based track led by Alomar’s rhythmic guitar work and some warbling electronic textures as Bowie sings some strange lyrics as Leon. The mid-tempo, electronic-driven No Control has Bowie singing as Adler with different vocal mixes as it plays into the intensity of the case that Adler is taking in as it includes throbbing bass lines.
A segue in Algeria Touchshriek introduces the character as Bowie speaks in a very creepy vocal with a background of ominous textures of guitars, pianos, and synthesizers as it leads to The Voyeur of Utter Destruction (as Beauty) with Bowie playing the character of The Artist/Minotaur as it feature these driving guitar melodies, pulsating beats, and warbling electronics that intensifies as the song continues where Bowie sings dark lyrics to the accompaniment of Garson’s piano. Another segue in Ramona A. Stone/I Am with Name that introduces the character and her acolytes is a track led by Campbell’s rhythmic fills, soothing synthesizers, and Bowie’s distorted vocals as Stone with these scary lyrics filled with a sense of terror.
The Artist/Minotaur returns in Wishful Beginning as this very eerie track with these brooding textures of synthesizers, clanging percussions, and Bowie’s subdued yet mesmerizing vocals that play into a sense of death. We Prick You is this upbeat track with warbling synthesizers, pulsating beats, flourishing pianos, and driving guitars that has Bowie singing in different vocal pitches as Court Justice Members to play into the chaos of what is going on in the story. The first segue of Nathan Adler where Bowie speaks in a raspy, American accent to playful guitar melodies by Alomar as it’s one of the humorous tracks on the album that leads to the very intense I’m Deranged as it is this upbeat track with pulsating and hammering beats, driving guitars, flourishing pianos, and ominous keyboards with Bowie singing in a very haunting vocal as The Artist/Minotaur as it expresses the character’s mental state.
Thru’ These Architect’s Eyes from the perspective of Leon Blank is this bopping, guitar-driven track that features driving riffs from Kevin Armstrong as well as warbling textures from Gabrels that is followed by Garson’s piano as Bowie sings in a wailing vocal to these abstract lyrics. Following a second segue of the Adler character that is led by Adler’s deranged vocal to some pulsating beats, the track then leads to the album closer in a re-recorded version of Strangers When We Meet from The Buddha of Suburbia as it a somber and touching song with a more livelier sound from the band and piano flourishes from Garson as it is sung from Blank’s perspective.
From the 1996 re-release in Australia and Japan, the album features a second disc that includes an edited version of Strangers When We Meet, live versions of Under Pressure, The Man Who Sold the World in a new electronic arrangement, and Moonage Daydream and two remixes. The first is a drum n’ bass remix of Hallo Spaceboy by the Pet Shop Boys that features additional vocals from Pet Shop Boys vocalist Neil Tennant who sings lyrics from Space Oddity as well as sounds of swirling electronics. The second is a remix of The Hearts Filthy Lesson where it’s really the album mix but the Japanese version has a different remix known as the Rubber Mix as it’s a mix that breaks down some of the rhythm aspects of the album with more elements on the bass and multi-tracked vocals for something more slower and with a throbbing rhythm.
From the 2004 limited-edition two-disc version of the album that would also be part of a box set in 2007 that included deluxe editions of subsequent albums to follow are two B-sides, alternate versions of songs, and several remixes. Among them are five remixes of The Hearts Filthy Lesson as the first by Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor, along with then-NIN drummer Chris Vrenna and Dave “Rave” Ogilvie, for alternative radio as it emphasizes more on a slower, industrial-based beats with some rapid electro-beats in the background and charging guitars. Along with the Rubber Mix of the song from the Japanese bonus-disc edition of the album, the Simple Text mix of the song as it largely relies on swirling and driving synthesizer with some low-key bass groves and vocal mixes. The Filthy Mix relies largely relies on its industrial textures with its emphasis on its drums, Bowie’s vocal spurts, and warbling synthesizers while the Good Karma mix by Tim Simenon features many elements of the song while Simenon plays along with many of the textures by adding some scratches and bring in portions of the instruments and then not feature them as it’s one of the highlights of the second disc.
The four remixes of Hallo Spaceboy with the Pet Shop Boys include a twelve-inch mix that is essentially an expanded version of the remix with more dance rhythms in its beats. The Double Click mix features more throbbing click-beats and guitar spurts as well as scratchy and pulsating percussion rhythms in the background. The instrumental mix of the Pet Shop Boys remix is extended to play into its dance rhythms and synthesizers while the Lost in Space mix as it includes some warbling synthesizers, throbbing rhythm, and wavy keyboard textures to play into a sci-fi feel for the mix. A remix of A Small Plot of Land for the 1996 film Basquiat, that Bowie was in as Andy Warhol, as it just features Bowie’s vocals with ambient-based synthesizers as it adds a dramatic tone to the track. A jungle mix of I’m Deranged features an array of throbbing beats and ambient-based synthesizers to accompany Bowie’s vocals while retaining the elements of guitars and piano from the original track to go for something that is more groove-based.
The second disc features an alternate version of I Am a Name that features a different mix of its beats as well as two B-sides. The first in Get Real from the Strangers When We Meet single as it is this fast, upbeat rocker with bopping rhythms, wailing guitars, and Bowie’s low-baritone vocals as it features some abstract yet snarling lyrics as it is a real gem. The B-side for The Hearts Filthy Lesson in Nothing to Be Desired is this mid-tempo track with crashing piano flourishes, funky rhythms, and driving guitars as it has Bowie singing with backing vocalists in this playful song with some offbeat lyrics.
Outside is a phenomenal album from David Bowie that features amazing contributions from his recurring host of collaborators in Brian Eno, Carlos Alomar, Reeves Gabrels, Edral Kiziclay, Mike Garson, and Sterling Campbell. While it is definitely the densest and most challenging album of his career, it is also one of the most uncompromising and fearless albums of his career where he goes all out in blending the concept of art and music into one though it is unfortunate that a sequel for the album will never see the light of day. In the end, Outside 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 - 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 November 8, 1993 by BMG International, the soundtrack to the 1993 TV miniseries The Buddha of Suburbia that is based on Hanif Kureishi’s novel and directed by Roger Michell is an album by David Bowie that has Bowie going more into experimental music with elements of jazz, ambient, and rock. Produced with David Richards, the album is made in collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Edral Kiziclay as well as pianist Mike Garson on a couple of tracks and a guest appearance from Lenny Kravitz. While it’s also technically a studio album, the album has Bowie not only continue in his exploration into electronic music but also make a return to the experimental work that he did in the late 70s.
The album opens and ends with its title track as the opener has elements of folk with a steady rhythm from its bass and drums by Edral Kiziclay while Bowie sings very nostalgic yet imaginative lyrics that are also reflective where he also includes some saxophone solos in the song. The closing version of the song features a blazing guitar solo by Lenny Kravitz for its coda as both song also feature references to a couple of old songs such as the riff of Space Oddity and bits of All the Madmen. Pieces like the electro-throb of Sex & the Church that features swirling electronic textures and distorted vocals by Bowie that play into the conflict of faith and human nature that would also feature jazzy saxophones by Bowie and Kiziclay’s arrangements of warbling electronics. Among the two instrumental-ambient pieces in the album, The Mysteries and Ian Fish, U.K. Heir as the former features soothing keyboards and somber piano melodies by Bowie while the latter includes some melodic string pieces and a more ominous synthesizer sound that would also include melodic tones from the title song.
In the two tracks that features pianist Mike Garson in South Horizon and Bleed Like a Craze, Dad as the former is this instrumental that features jazz-like drumming from Kiziclay and Bowie on keyboards with Garson provide some tinkling piano that features some strange warbling instrumental breaks by Bowie and Kiziclay‘s trumpet. In the latter, the song is a rock-based track that features charging guitars and drums by members of the band 3D Echo that plays along with Garson’s flourishing piano while Bowie just sings lyrical excerpts from All the Madmen as well as other abstract lyrics with Kiziclay providing keyboards in the background. The song Strangers When We Meet is this mid-tempo ballad led by Kiziclay’s bass line, a steady beat, and a mixture of melodic and distorted guitar textures with Bowie singing lyrics of longing and reflection as it features multi-tracked vocals from Bowie in its chorus.
Dead Against It is an electro-rock song led by pulsating keyboard beats and live drums by Kiziclay with driving guitars as Bowie sings very somber and chilling lyrics in a calm vocal as he also plays guitar. Untitled No. 1 is a ballad with some bopping, vibrant beats that has Bowie singing very strange abstract lyrics to soothing synthesizers and melodic guitar flourishes in the background along with some funk-based textures in the guitar riffs.
The soundtrack album to The Buddha of Suburbia is a remarkable album from David Bowie. Featuring some amazing instrumentals, dazzling experimentations, and some fantastic songs, the album is definitely considered one of the more overlooked gems in his catalog at it’s an album that needs to be given more exposure. In the end, the soundtrack album to The Buddha of Suburbia is a marvelous album from David Bowie.
Related: (The Buddha of Suburbia)
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
Miscellaneous: Peter and the Wolf - Baal - Sound + Vision - (Early On (1964-1966)) - (All Saints) - Toy - (Nothing Has Changed)
© thevoid99 2016
Released on April 5, 1993 by Savage Records, Black Tie White Noise marks the first full-length solo recording of new material by David Bowie in six years as he had devoting his time doing other projects including the band Tin Machine and overseeing a series of reissue of his catalog. Produced with Nile Rodgers in their first collaboration since Let’s Dance, the album is a mixture of soul, rock, electronic, house music, and jazz music that expresses not just a renewed love for music for Bowie but also be inspired in his relationship with Somalian supermodel Iman whom he married on April 24, 1992. Featuring contributions from old collaborators in Mick Ronson, Reeves Gabrels, and Mike Garson as well as contributions from R&B singer Al B. Sure! and jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie (no relations). The album is widely considered to be a return-to-form for Bowie following a very polarizing period of music he made during the mid and late 80s.
The album opens and closes with a track called The Wedding as the opener is an instrumental that opens with chiming bells that is followed by slow, throbbing bass lines, soothing instrumentals, bopping beats, and Bowie’s wailing saxophone which is the highlight of the track as it has something that sound very emotive in its playing. The closing track has Bowie singing as it plays into soft yet expressive lyrics of love as both versions end with the words “angel of mine”. The instrumental Pallas Antheas is another track that has Bowie expressing his own feel of love as it has these repeated words of “God is on top of it” to a collage of pulsating beats from drummer Sterling Campbell, swirling synthesizers, and Bowie’s vocals in the background as he include these swooning saxophones that is followed by Lester Bowie‘s trumpet. A cover of Tahra’s Don’t Let Me Down & Down is this smooth, R&B-based ballad that play into the theme of love where Bowie’s vocals are top-notches as it expresses devotion as he is supported by a steady rhythm, cool synthesizers, somber backing vocals, and a swooning trumpet by Lester Bowie.
The song You’ve Been Around is this upbeat track that fuses electronic textures, house beats, soulful vocals, and jazz where it has a lot that is happening but with a sense of cohesion where Bowie sings lyrics that display a change in mood as the song features low-key guitar textures from its co-writer Reeves Gabrels and some blaring trumpets by Lester Bowie. The instrumental Looking for Lester is a track that fuses house beats, funk, and jazz with Bowie providing saxophones as he plays along with Lester Bowie’s trumpets, funky guitar riffs from co-writer Nile Rodgers, and some flourishing pianos from Mike Garson as it’s this killer instrumental that showcases Bowie being a musician and playing with top-notch players.
The album’s title track is a mid-tempo mixture of funk and jazz that features Rodgers’ funky guitar riffs, Lester Bowie’s blaring trumpets, and vocal exchanges between Bowie and Al B. Sure! where both men sing dark yet engaging lyrics of terror and decay that relates to the 1992 Los Angeles riots with commentary about identity while taking shots at conformity and bland sentimentality. The album’s first single Jump They Say is this upbeat mixture of jazz and electronic music with its pulsating beats, soothing synthesizers, Lester Bowie’s wailing trumpets, and somber saxophone as it’s one of Bowie’s rare songs that is abstract but also introspective. Especially in the lyrics as it plays into loss which relates to Bowie’s older half-brother Terry who had committed suicide in early 1985. Miracle Goodnight is this mixture of house, electronic, and funk as Bowie sings exotic and playful lyrics that expresses Bowie’s feelings of love as it also has some offbeat breaks where Bowie speaks in spoken word as it features these swirling synthesizer textures as it is one of Bowie’s finest love songs.
The album features three more different cover songs that play into the many moods of the album. Two of which features contributions from his former Spiders from Mars guitarist Mick Ronson in their first recorded collaboration in twenty years. The first is a funk-inspired cover of Cream’s I Feel Free that features a bopping, upbeat rhythm with Bowie singing some strange lyrics while he plays some wailing saxophones that would include a fiery solo from Ronson. The other track that features Ronson on guitar is a cover of Morrissey’s I Know It’s Gonna Happen Someday from the 1992 album Your Arsenal that Ronson produced. The song is presented in ballad where Bowie is accompanied by backing vocalists into the song as it features a guitar solo from Wild T. Springer in this mixture of rock and gospel as it includes one of Bowie’s best vocal performances. A cover of the Walker Brothers’ Nite Flights in its throbbing, upbeat electronic setting is a highlight as it’s a song that includes some exotic imagery in its lyrics as well as some very haunting yet calm vocals by Bowie with funky guitar textures from Rodgers in the background.
The 2003 10th Anniversary Edition of the album features a second disc filled with an array of alternate versions, non-LP tracks, and remixes. Among the non-LP tracks include the song Real Cool World from the 1992 film soundtrack for Cool World as it is this electronic-based track with pulsating house rhythms and synthesizers with some guitars and Bowie’s laid-back yet rapturous vocals that include some playful lyrics. From different bonus track editions of the album in its initial release is the song Lucy Can’t Dance as it’s another electronic-based track with bopping rhythms, driving bass lines, and some warbling synthesizers as Bowie sings in a high-pitch vocal style that is this amazing song that is also playful yet abstract. An alternate version of Don’t Let Me Down & Down has Bowie singing the song in Indonesian as it’s an indication of Bowie’s brilliance as a vocalist and how he can interpret a song in different languages.
The rest of the second disc of remixes as there’s three different remixes of Jump They Say as a rock mix features live drums and blazing guitar solos which don’t seem necessary as it takes away from some of the jazz elements of the song though it’s not entirely bad. The twelve-inch remix by the Brothers in Rhythm is definitely a rave remix with its layers of synthesizers and pulsating of electronic textures while the third remix by Leftfield is presented in a dub form that is filled with wavy synthesizer warbles and thumping beats that add to something that is for the world of rave culture. The two remixes in the album’s title track as a U.S. radio mix by 3rd Floor as it given a more R&B feel with its keyboards and urban beats while a remix by Nile Rodgers is more driven by jazz as it emphasizes many of its jazz elements in the brass with some soul-based keyboards in the background.
A remix of Miracle Goodnight plays up its house rhythms while taking its beats in order to emphasize on Bowie’s vocals with some warbling synthesizers in the background. Two remixes by Jack Dangers of Meat Beat Manifesto come in the form of a twelve-inch remix of You’ve Been Around and a version of Pallas Antheas where the former features an array of pulsating breaking beats with driving bass and jazz flairs while the latter also has pulsating house beats but with an equal emphasis on its jazz presentation. The remix of Nite Flights by the trance music duo Moodswings as it is this largely electronic track with waves of synthesizer flourishes and pulsating beats as it takes minutes for Bowie’s vocals to kick in.
Black Tie White Noise is a phenomenal album from David Bowie that has him feeling reinvigorated as well as forge ahead with new territory. Thanks in part to his group of collaborators including Mick Ronson in one of his final recorded contributions, the album is adventurous but also very accessible where it manages to bend genres and do a lot. In the end, Black Tie White Noise 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 - Outside - Earthling - ‘Hours…’ - Heathen - 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 July 2, 1992 by London Records, Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby is a live album from Tin Machine that was recorded through several shows during the band’s world tour in the fall of 1991 to early 1992. Produced by David Bowie, Reeves Gabrels, Max Bisgrove, Tom Dube, and Dave Bianco, the album is a live album that has Bowie, guitarist Reeves Gabrels, bassist Tony Sales, and drummer Hunt Sales along with rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Eric Schemerhorn play eight songs from the band’s two studio releases as the album would mark the band’s final release.
The album features half of the material from the first album and the other half is from the second album as the songs that are chosen don’t go back and forth but rather play into a certain feel at a show. Even as it shows a band play these songs in a very raw and loud fashion as it is clear that Tin Machine is a band first and foremost. Notably in songs like I Can’t Read, Under the God, the Hunt Sales-sung Stateside, and a twelve-minute version of Heaven’s in Here is an example of the tight musicianship between the band where it is a band coming together with Hunt Sales providing some amazing drum fills, Tony Sales providing some heavy bass lines, Gabrels in wailing guitar solos, Schemerhorn filling in with some rhythm guitar, and Bowie also providing some guitars and just being part of a unit while still singing. Even as Heaven’s in Here is given some unique tempo changes that adds so much to the performance.
Performances of songs like Goodbye Mr. Ed, Amazing, You Belong in Rock N’ Roll, and a cover of Roxy Music’s If There is Something are also key examples as it shows Bowie’s power as a vocalist and the band just sounding very tight and loud. Though one of the album’s key flaws is in the sequencing and fade-outs between songs despite the positive reaction from its audience. It still manages to be very engaging though there is one song from the tour that isn’t in the album as some believe to be one of the best covers the band did in the Pixies’ Debaser that has Tony Sales singing vocals with Bowie providing backing vocals in some parts.
Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby is a superb live album from Tin Machine that showcases the band at their most raw as well as being loud. While it is flawed, it is still a record that manages to be a lot of fun as it showcases what kind of band Tin Machine is as they had something special to deliver live. In the end, Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby is a fantastic live album from Tin Machine.
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 - 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 2, 1991 by Victory Records, Tin Machine II is the second and final studio release from the band as it marks a continuation into loud, abrasive rock n’ roll as well as experiment into the world of industrial rock and other forms of music that was part of the culture of alternative rock. Produced with Tim Palmer and Hugh Padgham, the album has the band not just up the ante into their sound but also add more melodic elements as vocalist/guitarist/saxophonist David Bowie, guitarist Reeves Gabrels, bassist/vocalist Tony Sales, and drummer/vocalist Hunt Sales along with guitarist/keyboardist Kevin Armstrong provide an album that is all rock and nothing else.
The album’s three singles in Baby Universal, One Shot, and You Belong in Rock N’ Roll showcase a band coming into its own as Baby Universal is this fast, upbeat rocker with some hard-hitting rhythms, soaring guitar work, and Bowie’s blaring vocals as it includes some very intense lyrics about a world gone wrong. One Shot is this mid-tempo cut that owes a lot to the style of the Pixies in terms of being soft in some parts but loud in other parts with Bowie singing joyful yet fun lyrics with his voice and some bopping rhythms from the Sales brothers that really make the song stand out. You Belong in Rock N’ Roll is a song that mixes elements of folk with a bopping rhythm that includes Tony Sales’ melodic bass lines and some guitar spurts from Gabrels as Bowie sings some very cool lyrics that expresses the world of love. A cover of Roxy Music’s If There is Something has the band giving the song a more upbeat approach with some hard-hitting drums while Gabrels provides some blazing solos with Bowie bring very calm in his vocals until its coda as he sings Bryan Ferry’s abstract lyrics as it’s a fantastic cover.
Amlapura is this slow, folk-based ballad that has Bowie singing some calm, somber lyrics while playing a 12-string acoustic as it is later filled by some intense instrumentation by the Hunt brothers and Gabrels’ soothing yet wailing guitar. Betty Love is a track that features mid-tempo rhythms, crunchy guitar riffs, and soothing vocals from Bowie that also has him playing saxophone while the more driving rocker You Can’t Talk as Bowie sing some weird vocals with some pulsating rhythms as well as displaying some playful riffs with him and Gabrels where the latter provide some solos. Shopping for Girls is one of the album’s darkest tracks as it relates to the world of child prostitution where it’s this mid-tempo track with some swirling guitars by Gabrels and folk-based guitars where Bowie sings very fast as it plays into some dark imagery in the song.
Hunt Sales sings lead vocals on two tracks in the blues-based Stateside that features a slow, steady rhythm, only to go fast in its bridge, with some wailing solo from Gabrels with Hunt providing some bluesy lyrics to a growling vocal with Tony Sales and Bowie singing backup. The other in Sorry is this folk-based track with acoustic textures and low-key saxophones from Bowie while Hunt Sales sing some somber lyrics in his wailing vocals with Gabrels providing soft textures into the guitar. A Big Hurt is this hard-hitting rocker with blazing drums and squealing guitars with Bowie being very confrontational and playful while singing in a wailing snarl that showcases a sense of energy to the song. The album closer Goodbye Mr. Ed is this driving, mid-tempo track that has Bowie sing some strange, dream-like lyrics as it plays into the world gone wrong as it features a steady rhythm as well as some cool guitar textures from Gabrels. The song would feature a secret track called Hammerhead as it is this upbeat instrumental filled with bopping rhythms, wailing guitars, and a blaring saxophone from Bowie.
Tin Machine II is a marvelous album from Tin Machine. Not only is it a more focused and realized album from the band but it also showcases that the band can provide something that is accessible but also loud. In the end, Tin Machine II is an excellent album from Tin Machine.
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 - 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 September 19, 1989 by Rykodisc, Sound + Vision is a career retrospective box set of rarities, alternate takes, B-sides, and highlights that chronicles the career of David Bowie from 1969 to 1989. The release marks a period in Bowie’s career where he regained the rights of his catalog from 1969 to 1980 which would be reissued in the late 80s and early 90s through Rykodisc that would be followed by a world tour where Bowie would temporarily retire his old songs. The box set would be told in three discs into three different periods of Bowie’s career while a fourth disc would be included in an CD-video (a precursor to CD-ROM and the DVD) that would include three exclusive tracks and the video for Ashes to Ashes.
The first disc of the box set chronicles material made from Bowie’s second eponymous release to 1973’s Aladdin Sane. Album cuts such as Black Country Rock and the title track to The Man Who Sold the World, the single Changes and the song The Bewlay Brothers from Hunky Dory, Moonage Daydream from The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from the Mars, and from Aladdin Sane in Panic in Detroit and Drive-In Saturday appear in the album as well as live versions of Ziggy Stardust, White Light/White Heat, and Rock N’ Roll Suicide from the Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars live/soundtrack album do appear. Yet, the rarities in the first disc include mono versions of London Bye Ta-Ta and the 1970 version of The Prettiest Star w/ Marc Bolan on guitar. B-sides such as the single version of Wild-Eyed Boy from Freecloud, a cover of Chuck Berry’s Round and Round, and the sax version of John, I’m Only Dancing. The big rarity in the first disc is a 1969 demo of Space Oddity that includes some additional vocals and sound effects from toy-keyboard known as the stylophone.
The second disc chronicles the period from Pin Ups to Station to Station as singles and album cuts like Sorrow, Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere, and Don’t Bring Me Down from Pin Ups, Big Brother from Diamond Dogs, the title track to Young Americans, TVC 15 and Wild is the Wind from Station to Station appear as well as live versions of Suffragette City, Watch That Man, and Cracked Actor from David Live make appearance for the second disc. The rarities include tracks like 1984/Dodo, a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s It’s Hard to Be a Saint in the City, the Young Americans outtake After Today, a U.S. single version of Rebel Rebel, and an alternate vocal take on the song Fascination from Young Americans as it features a different mix in some of the instrumentation from the album.
The third disc of the box set covers the period from the Berlin Trilogy Bowie did with Brian Eno to 1980’s Scary Monsters. While material such as Sound & Vision, Be My Wife, and Speed of Life from Low, Joe the Lion and Sons of the Silent Age from “Heroes”, Red Sails, Look Back in Anger, and Boys Keep Swinging from Lodger, and Up the Hill Backwards, Kingdom Come, and Ashes to Ashes from Scary Monsters appear on the set along with live versions of Station to Station, Warszawa, and Breaking Glass from the live album Stage. The real rarity is a full-length of the song “Heroes” that is sung in German called “Helden” as it is one of the finest versions of the song that is something fans must hear. From the box set’s fourth disc that features the video of Ashes to Ashes are three live rarities in John, I’m Only Dancing, Changes, and The Supermen from a 1972 show at Boston Music Hall in Boston.
The 2003 four-disc remastered/expanded edition of the box set from EMI doesn’t just bring more to the set but would cover everything else Bowie did from the early 80s to 1993’s soundtrack to The Buddha of Suburbia. In the first disc that covers everything from Bowie’s second album to Pin Ups, added to the first disc are an expanded version of the single for Wild-Eyed Boy from Freecloud with a spoken intro and a stereo mix of London Bye Ta-Ta that replaces the mono version from the original box set. In the second disc that covers material from Diamond Dogs to “Heroes”, the alternate vocal mix of Fascination is replaced by its original album version while the third disc, that chronicles the period from Stage to 1983’s Let’s Dance, features two songs from the Baal EP in Baal’s Hymn and The Drowned Girl as well as album cuts from Let’s Dance in China Girl and Ricochet as well as Loving the Alien and Dancing with the Big Boys from Tonight.
The major exclusive in the third disc of the 2003 version of the box set is a live version of Modern Love from its single of the same name and the original version of Cat People with Giorgio Moroder for the 1982 film of the same name. The fourth disc of the box set is where much of the new material of the box set is added such as Blue Jean from Tonight, Time Will Crawl from Never Let Me Down, and several songs Bowie did as part of Tin Machine. From its first album, Baby Can Dance, Amazing, and I Can’t Read while songs from the second album include Shopping for Girls, Goodbye Mr. Ed, and Amlapura. Other noted album cuts in the fourth disc include Jump They Say and You’ve Been Around from Black Tie White Noise and three cuts from The Buddha of Suburbia in its title track, Dead Against It, and South Horizon. The fourth disc also include remixes such as two remixes of Pallas Antheas that delved into the world of house music and a remix of the Walker Brothers’ song Nite Flights.
Sound + Vision is an incredible retrospective box set from David Bowie. While it doesn’t offer a lot in terms of rare and exclusive material, it is still something that fans of his work must have as it’s a set that really does a lot to cover Bowie extensively in his career. Even as the 2003 box set manages to do great work in expanding the material despite a few bumps from his work in the 80s. In the end, Sound + Vision is a remarkable box set 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 - 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 - (Early On (1964-1966) - (All Saints) - Toy - (Nothing Has Changed)
© thevoid99 2016
