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Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks - Enter the Slasher House

Released: April 7, 2014

Label: Domino

Score: 7.5/10

Note: Yeah, I admit it, I hit a slog with those Bowie records. Some of his 80s stuff is pretty bad. I’ll promise I’ll get back to it eventually, but there have been some new Animal Collective records out in the past couple of months, so I’m going to catch up on all the AnCo related stuff I’ve missed since Centipede Hz.

Back in 2014, Avey Tare put together a band called Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks with Angel Deradoorian and Jeremy Hyman. With them, he crafted some energetic tunes with a very different flavor than his 2010 solo effort Down There. The music on this record is far more straightforward than much of the music David Portner has crafted either with Animal Collective or in his previous solo works. It is a refreshing back-to-basics fare, especially after the meticulously sound-packed and complex Centipede Hz.

The best example of this is the funky horror-disco jam “Little Fang,” which is one of Avey Tare’s most catchy songs. In much of his previous music, it is hard to tell how the sounds were crafted, often giving the music an otherworldly and bizarre quality, but in here he opts for a surprisingly band-like guitar-keys-drums ensemble. But even then, the song still has all of his trademark weirdness, filled with growls and yelps as you should expect from Avey.

Many of the best songs are similarly simple, and rely on the sheer strength of Avey Tare’s songwriting and vocals. The shining example is the album standout “Strange Colores,” an amazing and kaleidoscopic rock tune with buzzing synths. Other standouts are the punky rocker “Blind Babe” and the psychedelic “Duplex Trip.” Some of the other tracks delve into more experimental territory. “Catchy (Was Contagious)” and “That It Won’t Grow” should feel familiar to his work with Animal Collective, but do a good enough job impressing on their own right.

Unfortunately though, not all the tracks here hit the same heights. The weakest among the bunch come from the back-to-back slog of “Roses on the Window” and “Modern Days E,” the latter of which brings out all of the worst aspects of Avey Tare’s songwriting with its obnoxious vocals and its inability to hit any emotional strings. Additionally, closer “Your Card” starts off promisingly, but fizzles spectacularly with an unimpressive middle section and the half-assed build that leads into it. The song seriously borders on self-parody.

Thankfully though, most of this record is good. Enter the Slasher House is a great addition to the Animal Collective catalog, showing Avey Tare at his most energetic and colorful. It’s nice to see Avey Tare expanding his horizons outside of Animal Collective, and this album should be very enjoyable for fans of the band. Here’s hoping that this isn’t a one-off project and we get to see more from this trio.

Listen to: “Strange Colores”

Standout tracks:

Duplex Trip

Blind Babe

Little Fang

That It Won’t Grow

Strange Colores

#Avey Tare #Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks #Animal Collective #Enter the Slasher House #music

David Bowie - Tonight

Released: September 1, 1984

Label: EMI

Score: 5.5/10

Tonight is David Bowie’s sixteenth album. It is often compared to his earlier record Pin Ups in that it is primarily composed of cover songs; however, there are several important differences. First, there are a couple of original compositions on this album. Second, three of these songs are covers of Iggy Pop songs, two of which (”Tonight” and “Neighborhood Threat”) he had a hand in composing anyway. Like Pin Ups, it is far from his best work, but it does have a couple of moments of brilliance. Unfortunately, that’s not enough from saving it from being a rather mediocre album.

The best points on here are, unsurprisingly, Bowie’s own compositions. Opener “Loving the Alien” is a dreamy, psychedelic ballad that starts the album on a great note. “Blue Jean” is similarly enjoyable, having a wistfulness and emotion that stands out on this record. Some of his covers aren’t half bad either. Title track “Tonight,” which he originally co-wrote for Iggy Pop’s Lust for Life album. In this record it is a lovely duet with Tina Turner, and thankfully that collaboration works very well.

Unfortunately, this album isn’t as good when looking at the other tracks. His cover of the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows” sounds like it should be played at a bingo party with how cheesy it sounds. At best, the rest of these songs have nothing that makes them stand out (”I Keep Forgettin’”), while at worst it breaks new ground for how bad Bowie could get (”Don’t Look Down”). Like Let’s Dance, the production does no favors for Bowie’s songs, and unfortunately he had similarly wiped his hands clean of his involvement in the instrumentals here.

Tonight is a rather unremarkable album. It doesn’t really create strong emotions of like or dislike to me. Let’s Dance was a mixed bag, but at least Bowie’s songwriting could shine through sometimes. That’s not really a thing for the majority of this record. Like in Pin Ups, the covers here don’t really add anything to the original, and two good original songs can’t carry the whole thing. Bowie released this record to “keep his hand in,” and it sounds like it; it sounds like he was just going through the motions.

Listen to: “Loving the Alien”

Standout tracks:

Loving the Alien

Tonight

Blue Jean

#david bowie #tonight #music

David Bowie - Let’s Dance

Released: April 14, 1983

Label: EMI

Score: 6.0/10

Let’s Dance is David Bowie’s first record with EMI, and marks a new direction for his music. Bowie was no stranger to dance music--the funk of Young Americans being the best example of his previous forays into this kind of music--but here it is taken to its extreme. Bowie had started to move closer to pop music with Lodger and Scary Monsters, but he takes a full yank forward in this album. In order to do so, he had to shed the remnants of the musicians he employed for his late 70′s work, opting for a new band and production from Nile Rodgers of Chic fame. This was all in an effort to make his music “commercially viable,” a move that resulted in some sacrifices to his artistic credibility.

It’s pretty sad that the instrumentals that stand behind Bowie on this record can be as bland and vacuous as you can get, because his songwriting and vocal delivery actually hold up pretty well here. The album starts on a very high note with the catchy as heck “Modern Love,” which starts the album at a breakneck pace, showing Bowie is still an expert rocker. Let’s Dance can really be a very catchy album, case in point being the made-for-the-dancefloor title track, or his version of “China Girl,” a song Bowie wrote for Iggy Pop’s 1977 album The Idiot.

To put it as best as I can, this album simply sounds like an 80′s pop album (In the negative sense). It uses 80′s tropes, such as the constant farty bass sound and corny keyboards, while simultaneously making the music sound as sterile and mechanical as possible. Bowie himself shines well enough on a number of the tracks, but a couple of the them are totally ruined, especially in the latter half. To give a specific example, “Ricochet” might have been a cool song, with Bowie employing a reggae-like groove. But the awful organ and hi-hat heavy drums, the reverse echo on his vocals, the corny spoken word recordings that pad out the song and make it longer than it has to be--all these things just destroy it.

David Bowie himself called Let’s Dance a “singer’s album.” He didn’t play any instruments here and let others handle it, which is probably what makes this one of his weaker efforts. He still manages to shine through in parts of this though, and that in of itself is a testament to his ability as a songwriter. Dabbling in pop music was not a new thing for him, but in the past it still managed to sound unique and full of emotion. Instead, this record sounds plastic-y and manufactured, losing a little bit of the authenticity that made him so great.

Listen to: “Modern Love”

Standout tracks:

Modern Love

Let’s Dance

#david bowie #let's dance #music

David Bowie - Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)

Released: September 12, 1980

Label: RCA

Score: 8.5/10

Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) is David Bowie’s fourteenth studio album, and is yet another important milestone in his career. For one, it marks the departure of collaborator Brian Eno, who helped David Bowie achieve some of his greatest records. Additionally, it would be the last record to feature Tony Visconti’s production until 2002′s Heathen, solidifying his shift towards pop after his remarkable experimental work in the late 70′s. Finally, it marks the start of David Bowie’s 1980′s career, which saw him winding down the rate at which he created new records (after an insanely productive 70′s discography) as he dabbled in other ventures such as acting.

Even with Brian Eno’s departure, much of the personnel from Lodger remained intact, and this record has a pretty similar sound to that album. What is does have that Lodger did not is a sense of urgency and drama that I think makes it a slightly better album. That much is apparent from the very start. From the guttural screams of “It’s No Game (No. 1)” to the disco funk swagger of “Fashion,” the album flows effortlessly from beginning to end. The album is true pop from front to back. The last breaths of Bowie’s more experimental tendencies lie in its strongest song, the moody “Ashes to Ashes.” Here he imagines the main character from “Space Oddity” not at as wonder-struck astronaut, but as a strung-out junkie. The song’s dark funk flows well enough, but it’s the gorgeous synthesizers and electronics that elevate the song to one of his greats.

There are many other great moments sprinkled throughout the album. “Up the Hill Backwards” is really delightful with its awesome sing-along melody and well done vocals. “Teenage Wildlife,” “Scream Like a Baby” and “Because You’re Young” stand out as pleasant listens, while the title track of the album has a wacky new wave-y sound to it.

Scary Monsters is great album. It serves as a pretty nice recap of the things that Bowie did earlier in his career. He rocks pretty hard in “It’s No Game,” dances in “Fashion,” confounds with “Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)” and gives you wonder with “Ashes to Ashes.” It didn’t break any new ground for Bowie, but it didn’t need to. Bowie had no need to prove himself as a capable musician, and with Scary Monsters, he once again proves that as a singer and a songwriter, he was a force to be reckoned with.

Listen to: “Ashes to Ashes”

Standout tracks:

It’s No Game

Up the Hill Backwards

Ashes to Ashes

Fashion

Teenage Wildlife

Scream Like a Baby

#david bowie #scary monsters and super creeps #scary monsters #music

David Bowie - Lodger

Released: May 18, 1979

Label: RCA

Score: 8.0/10

Lodger is the third and final of David Bowie’s “Berlin-era” records, recorded during his “Isolar II” Tour, it also marked a notable step away from the experimental pop of Low and “Heroes”. The ambient instrumental suites and long noisy and chaotic opuses are nowhere to be found, instead leaving us with something much more grounded and sober. Lodger doesn’t feel like David Bowie dealing with a strange new place, or with personal turmoil. Instead, it is David Bowie just being himself, no drama and no bullshit.

That’s not to say Lodger is devoid of emotion, far from it. “Look Back in Anger” is intense enough to deserve its title, and he does his fair share of introspection in songs like “Fantastic Voyage” and “Red Sails.” That said, most of the music here is clearly not trying to redefine the boundaries of rock music like previous couple of records did, and that’s a-OK. Bowie comes up with some very catchy results, especially on the second half of this record. “DJ” is an awesome funk-rocker, and “Boys Keep Swinging” is an awesome commentary on gender.

There are very few moments here where Bowie does experiment however. “African Night Flight” is a truly bonkers track inspired by a trip he took to Kenya. This song in particular is easily one of the stranger things he’s done. “Yassassin” is instead inspired by Turkish music, and is the more successful of these two experiments, being simultaneously catchy and creepy.

Lodger may have been the most “normal” record released by Bowie since his 1967 self-titled debut. That said, he was still riding the creative wave that defined his Berlin-era records and is a great listen in its own right. Lodger has a variety of great tracks, but as a front-to-back album, it lacks the significance and urgency that made something like “Heroes” so great. That aside, this is a Bowie that we didn’t get to see much of until this point. This album feels like Bowie at a level of clear-headedness and maturity that he had not reached before, and it is wonderful.

Listen to: “Look Back in Anger”

Standout tracks:

Fantastic Voyage

Look Back in Anger

Boys Keep Swinging

#david bowie #lodger #music

David Bowie - “Heroes”

Released: October 14, 1977

Label: RCA

Score: 9.5/10

“Heroes” is David Bowie’s second album recorded while living in Berlin. Out of the three albums in this period, “Heroes” is the only one that was fully recorded in the city. Like Low before it, it features production from Tony Visconti and synthesizers from Brian Eno. This time around, the recordings also feature guitar playing from Robert Fripp of King Crimson fame. Structurally, the album is similar to Low, being an almost equal split between avant-pop songs and ambient set pieces. However, in tone and mood, “Heroes” is totally different from the solemn Low.

“Heroes” is louder, more intense than Low, but it is also just as dreamy, conjuring images of wonder. Instead of solace and loneliness though, this album’s noisy guitars and very dense production represent chaos and paranoia. This also reflects on Bowie’s vocal performance on the album. He is much wordier and emotive when comparing this to the comparative lethargy of Low.

The dense jungles on the first side of “Heroes” can be off-putting at first. With songs like “Beauty and the Beast,” “”Heroes”” and “Blackout,” you are initially presented with intimidating walls of sound. It takes a long time to pick them apart and truly be able to enjoy them, but these songs end up being almost like musical revelations upon multiple listens. The greatest of these ends up being the career defining title track, where Bowie delivers the most visceral and intense vocal performance he had ever done up to that point, while painting images of love in a torn and paranoid Berlin. Even with such a strong title track though, songs like “Joe the Lion” and “Blackout” manage to reach highs at that same level.

The second side is full of ambient pieces, similar to Low. All of them are beautiful and desolate, being easily just as good as what the previous album did. “Sense of Doubt” and “Moss Garden” are outstandingly pretty, while “Neukoln” is unsettling and creepy. The exception here is album closer, “The Secret Life of Arabia,” which is a future-funk jam that draws on David Bowie’s Station to Station era music.

“Heroes” is very much a continuation of the experimentations of Low, but is a fantastic album in its own right. "Heroes” perfectly channels the Cold War emotions in a place defined by the political division of the era. But even with paranoia and fear floating above their heads, Bowie picks out the love and wonder that was so hard to find in this time.

Listen to: “”Heroes””

Standout tracks:

Beauty and the Beast

Joe the Lion

“Heroes”

Sons of the Silent Age

Blackout

Sense of Doubt

Moss Garden

Neukoln

The Secret Life of Arabia

#david bowie #heroes #music

David Bowie - Low

Released: January 14, 1977

Label: RCA

Score: 10/10

Low is David Bowie’s eleventh album, and a truly landmark record in his career. In 1976, partly due to his drug addiction, partly because he was now broke due to a bad managerial split, Bowie moved to Berlin, Germany. There, he began efforts to clean himself up. While living in Berlin, Bowie began collaborating with Brian Eno, which would result in a string of very influential albums beginning with Low. In this record, Bowie forces us to rethink our preconceptions of him as a musician. A rocker and a front man? Forget it. A vocalist and lyricist? Think again. It is initially shocking that half of this record is instrumental. What pop songs exist here are overshadowed by the towering and lengthy ambient soundscapes that exist on the second half of the record. But even with all this radical change in musical direction, Low manages to be transcendentally good.

The album is very clearly split in two. Side A is a series of pop songs with wonderfully weird electronic tinges, doubling down on the avant-pop sound of Station to Station. Side B, on the other hand, is where the Brian Eno collaboration truly shows itself, with four beautiful ambient instrumental pieces. Because of this split, it is necessary to talk about each side individually and then about how they inform each other.

The first half of the record is filled with seven futurist avant-pop tracks that are as direct as they are quirky and weird. Bowie’s vocals are lethargic and soft, and his lyrics are more sparse and generally less verbose than his past material. All of this is meant to symbolize his “low” moods at the time, but it is in direct confrontation with the energetic and busy synthesizers, guitars and cavernous drums, which sound wonderfully alien thanks to Tony Visconti’s at the time unique production. The side opens with instrumental bookend “Speed of Life,” leading into “Breaking Glass,” a short one-and a half minute song fragment. Like most of the tracks on the first side, it builds a mood, and lacks the musical payoff or coda that you’d come to expect, with almost all of them fading out in a very jarring way.

With this said, the songs don’t feel unfinished or lazy. Instead, they feel like short vignettes, as though we are getting small dreamlike glimpses into a weird, unfamiliar place, but don’t see the whole picture. Instead, we are left to fill in the gaps ourselves. These small blips can be colorful and wild (”What in the World,” “Be My Wife”), or wistful and filled with longing (”Sound and Vision,” “Always Crashing the Same Car”). A whole album like this side would have been great, but these songs and the album as a whole are amplified and augmented by what follows.

The second side is fulled with four sprawling ambient soundscapes. These four tracks are meant to represent places Bowie was visiting at the time, and are totally stunning. These four songs have the musical payoff that the first side lacks. This time, we’re not getting the short vignettes, we’re getting the full, massive, stunning painting. “Warszawa” is awe-inspiring, with gorgeous synthesizers that evoke total desolation and loneliness. “Art Decade” is is a melancholic track that is meant to symbolize the isolated West Berlin. It trudges sadly through its length before fading out into layers of heavenly synthesizers. “Weeping Wall” is a minimalist piece that has a pulsating rhythm that creates a dreadful tension. Finally, “Subterraneans” ends the record on a dark note, evoking the sadness and misery of East Berlin.

It’s hard to think of this album as a singular entity, because to me, it symbolizes a total dismissal of the idea that an album has to go from start to finish, going down a list of songs in a linear fashion. Instead, I think these two sides as independent entities that are part of a greater whole. One side makes small pictures with copious amounts of paint, while the other creates huge landscapes with small amounts of paint. They communicate with each other because they are two different ways to paint the same beautiful, otherworldly picture.

To me, Low is much more than David Bowie’s “sad” album, as it is often quantified to. It is David Bowie’s greatest experiment, and shows us Bowie in 100% artist mode with 0% of the showman he had to be in the past. In the process, he creates a record that is totally timeless. I mean, if this music had been released in the 80′s, 90′s or even the 2000′s, it would have felt contemporary. But it was released in the 70′s, where this kind of music was still not commonplace, and it gives it an even larger alien quality. It takes many listens to get accustomed to Low because of how out there it is, but there is a point in the album where it clicks and you realize that this is a pivotal achievement within his discography.

Listen to: “Be My Wife”

Standout tracks:

Breaking Glass

What in the World

Sound and Vision

Always Crashing the Same Car

Be My Wife

Warzawa

Art Decade

Weeping Wall

Subterraneans

#david bowie #low #music

David Bowie - Station to Station

Released: January 19, 1976

Label: RCA

Score: 10/10

It sometimes feels cliche to link an album to a particular drug, but in Station to Station, this issue is front and center. Bowie himself admitted that he had had “flirtations” with drugs previous to this, and that is only to be expected considering the nature of his image even early on in his 1970s career. But by the time Bowie began recording Station to Station in 1975, his cocaine habit began to reach a crippling level. He was withering away physically and mentally to the point where he began to live in constant fear due to bouts of cocaine-induced psychosis where he hallucinated constantly about being persecuted by witches and demons. But even in this dark period, Bowie turned to what he did best: creating music.

The stereotype is that tortured artists create the best music, and there is a truth to that. Being at your lowest as a human being can produce the kind of do-or-die feelings of alienation, hopelessness and emptiness that can be channeled into pure emotional expression. That is Bowie in Station to Station, singing through his "Thin White Duke” fassad: stoic, paranoid and deranged, but longing to feel something.

Musically, this album is another departure for Bowie. The album is an infusion of krautrock and avant-pop with a tinge of the funk and soul that defined his previous record, Young Americans. The best example of this fusion is in the 10-minute opening title track of the record. The first minute or so is simply a wooshing sound that can best be described as a train flying by your head. What begins after that is a stomping rock sludge that marches slowly in a machine-like fashion. Around halfway through, the beat picks up and the track breaks out into a full on disco party.

The best showcase of both David Bowie’s dance music influences, as well as how different and unique this record is, is the beautifully deranged funk of “Golden Years.” It has the identifying parts of a typical funk track: a danceable guitar line, a steady beat and catchy melodies, but Bowie’s vocal delivery and lyrics are surreal, almost half-asleep, giving the song as a whole a bizarre and dazed feel. Other highlights (which is really meaningless here because everything here is perfect) is the almost extraterrestrial “TVC 15″ and the dark and desperate funk jam “Stay.” The album’s more tender moments are just as strong. The beautiful soul-searching ballad “Word on a Wing” and his haunting cover of “Wild is the Wind.”

In 6 tracks, Bowie was able to convey more emotion and dramatic distress than ever before in his career. This is because in Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane, Bowie himself felt disconnected from his characters and subject matter, but in Station to Station it all feels real, like Bowie was truly living all of this. To this day, who knows if it was truly Bowie or the cocaine speaking on this album--Bowie would later say he didn’t have any memories of recording this album due to his cocaine problem. What is apparent is that this is the music of someone trying to make sense out of senseless chaos.

Listen to: “Golden Years”

Standout tracks:

Station to Station

Golden Years

Word on a Wing

TVC 15

Stay

Wild is the Wind

#david bowie #station to station #music

David Bowie - Young Americans

Released: March 7, 1975

Label: RCA

Score: 8.0/10

In 1974, Bowie moved to the US, and presumably had some exposure to American music styles such as Soul and R&B. That much was apparent from his previous record, Diamond Dogs, which incorporated elements of these albums. But while Bowie was dipping his toes into these genres on that record, he proceeds to take the full dunk and immerse himself in them for 1975′s Young Americans.

This wasn’t, of course, Bowie’s first total stylistic shift, but it was his first after gaining international success. Because of this, Bowie had the means to fully engage the genres he was trying to reproduce. Young Americans was recorded in 1974 in Philadelphia, PA, where Bowie surrounded himself with musicians from the Funk and Soul scenes of the day. Additionally, in order to get as authentic of a sound as possible, much of the album was recorded live.

In this regard, Young Americans is a success in that it does a good job of blending these genres with Bowie’s prior knowledge of pop music instead of simply providing a carbon copy of them. Bowie was never going to be able to become a true Soul artist. He’s a total outsider; not only is he, in the words of collaborator Carlos Alomar, “translucent white,” but he’s British. But what does feel sincere in this record is his interest in the genres and American imagery. In other words, this album is by no means half-assed.

Opener/title track “Young Americans” puts aside any worry that Bowie would leave songwriting by the wayside in his effort to switch styles. The track is extremely catchy, with David Bowie taking on a soul persona in his vocals while still remaining distinctively him. He sings about youthful love in a turbulent time, making references to recent American events such as President Nixon’s resignation and race issues. Throughout the rest of the album, Bowie shows that he does have a knack for Soul music, with the wonderful backing vocals of “Fascination” and the funky guitar lines of the John Lennon collaborative jam “Fame.”

That said, the album has a couple of weaker moments. The Beatles cover “Across the Universe” is much better in its original form as an introspective acoustic piece than as a funk jam, and a couple of the tracks on the album (”Somebody Up There Likes Me” and “Can You Hear Me?” namely) lack the strong songwriting that exists in the title track.

Young Americans is a both a great piece of genre exploration and a great Bowie album. Clearly, Bowie did his homework on this record. What makes it fall just short of being one of his greatest albums is the less than consistent songwriting throughout the thing, but even the weaker tracks are very enjoyable thanks to the great production and musicianship. This album shows one reason Bowie was such a successful musician. He realized his shortfall here, that he did not have a history with this kind of music that he wanted to make. So in order to get there, he surrounded himself with musicians that elevate him to where he wanted to be. That is something that Bowie was very good at, and Young Americans is the proof.

Listen to: “Fame”

Standout tracks:

Young Americans

Win

Fascination

Fame

#david bowie #young americans #music

David Bowie - Diamond Dogs

Released: May 24, 1974

Label: RCA

Score: 8.5/10

Diamond Dogs is David Bowie’s seventh album, and marks his first baby steps away from the “Glam Rock” genre he had helped to popularize. It is the first album since his 1969 self-titled record that did not feature the backing band that made Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane. Similarly, it is his first proper record (Not counting the 1973 covers album Pin Ups) since he retired the Ziggy Stardust persona. It is because of this that Diamond Dogs feels sort of like a new beginning for Bowie, despite having many of the musical elements that existed on his previous albums.

The change in personnel is absolutely apparent from the very beginning. The intro track is a bizarre spoken word piece that sets the stage for the album’s awesome title track. Unlike his previous few records, Bowie spends most of the time rediscovering the lower end of his vocals, mostly abandoning the high-end squeaks of Ziggy Stardust. Also notable is the switch from Mick Ronson’s advanced guitar work to Bowie himself taking the role of lead guitarist. While Bowie’s parts are never as technical, there is a lovely amateurish charm to his guitar playing, as evidenced in the fantastic single “Rebel Rebel,” which has one of David Bowie’s best guitar riffs. The first side is dominated by the fantastic “Sweet Thing”/”Candidate”/”Sweet Thing (Reprise)” suite, which hearkens back to the best parts of The Man Who Sold the World with its twists and turns.

While the first half the record is more or less perfect, the second half is a little bit less so. In this half, Bowie’s apocalyptic themes are more prominent, and are especially overt with Orwell-inspired tracks like “1984″ and “Big Brother.” These two in particular are great, with Bowie exploring the funk and soul genres in “1984″ and delving into more psychedelic territory for “Big Brother.” Both “We Are the Dead” and “Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family” are decent romps, while “Rock ‘n’ Roll with Me” is a great heartfelt rock ballad.

Diamond Dogs is considered to be David Bowie’s last true Glam Rock record, and it was a great sendoff to that part of his career. At the same time, it set the stage for the eclectic forays into different genres that would follow, with Bowie incorporating new elements into his music. It doesn’t quite hit the same highs as say, Ziggy Stardust, but it is a very enjoyable and consistent record that hold an important place in his discography.

Listen to: “Rebel Rebel”

Standout tracks:

Diamond Dogs

Sweet Thing

Candidate

Rebel Rebel

Rock ‘n’ Roll with Me

1984

Big Brother

#david bowie #diamond dogs #music

David Bowie - Pin Ups

Released: October 19, 1973

Label: RCA

Score: 5.0/10

In mid 1973, Bowie abruptly retired the “Ziggy” character, which he had been using for his live shows. It was in the wake of this event that he would record his last album with the core of the band that had been featured since The Man Who Sold the World-- Pin Ups. Unlike his previous 3 masterpieces, however, Pin Ups is not a group of original compositions. Instead, this is a group of covers of Bowie’s favorite songs from the mid 60s.

With that said, the context of the recordings on this album is more fascinating than the end result. Bowie’s albums up to this point had been taking baby steps into more original territory, so a covers album seems like a strange direction for him to have moved in. That said, covers have the potential of being interesting if an artist is able to deconstruct and then rebuild someone else’s track in a unique way. Pin Ups sounds like the opposite happened: like Bowie had to dumb down his sound in order to fit the mold presented by these songs.

The vast majority of this album really brings nothing to the table. That’s not to say this is terribly recorded or anything-- in fact, the album has great instrumentation, most notably Mick Ronson’s guitar work. The problem is, almost none of these tracks are made better by having Bowie cover them, and they don’t really complement him in any way, either. For example, in opener “Rosalyn,” it’s hard to even recognize Bowie’s vocals as he does his best motown rock impression, and the end result is simply mediocre since he’s not amazing at it.

There are a few good renditions here and there, though. Notably, “Here Comes the Night,” Pink Floyd’s “See Emily Play” and the Who’s “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere” are all pretty decent. This is a pretty hard album to sit through, especially after the spectacular highs of Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane. It feels more like a book note; a segway into his post-Ziggy Stardust era career.

Listen to: “See Emily Play”

Standout tracks:

Here Comes the Night

See Emily Play

Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere

#david bowie #pin ups #music

David Bowie - Aladdin Sane

Released: April 13, 1973

Label: RCA

Score: 10/10

Aladdin Sane is David Bowie’s sixth record and the first released after his breakthrough album, Ziggy Stardust. The bulk of the album was written during Bowie’s American tour for Ziggy Stardust, with Bowie himself describing it as “Ziggy goes to America.” This album doubles down on the rock style of that album while having moments of experimentation that set it apart from being a simple sequel to Ziggy Stardust.

The album is notably tougher than the wistful-feeling Ziggy, with songs featuring heavy guitar riffs and darker moods, like the back-to-back “Panic in Detroit” and “Cracked Actor.” The points where album is most similar to the previous album are just as good. Opener “Watch That Man” is a fantastic rock tune with every ounce of swagger you’d expect. The Rolling Stones cover “Let’s Spend the Night Together” has a dazzling hyperactive energy that sets it apart from the original. And even with all of this, there are still moments of tenderness, like “Drive-In Saturday” and “Lady Grinning Soul.”

But Aladdin Sane is definitely in its strongest in its most introspective. The title track of the album is a beautiful psychedelic piece dominated by an avant-jazz piano part played by Mike Garson. “Time” is a wonderful piece inspired by cabaret music, with notably bizarre lyrics to go with its dark mood. Closer “Lady Grinning Soul” also features a hypnotizing piano part from Mike Garson, as Bowie croons distantly as if half-asleep.

The cover--Ziggy with his eyes closed, as if sleepy or sad--is a good reflection of Aladdin Sane when compared to Ziggy Stardust. That album is an idealistic view of rock stardom: all the sex, drugs and fun that made up the perception of that lifestyle at the time. In Aladdin Sane, what we see instead is the disillusionment and strange sadness of the reality. The Ziggy character, of course, is a commentary on stardom, and this album is the other side of Ziggy Stardust’s proverbial coin. Its darker mood and harsher sound have resulted in it being a little less remembered, but it is just as essential.

Listen to: “Cracked Actor”

Standout tracks:

Watch That Man

Aladdin Sane (1913-1938-197?)

Drive-In Saturday

Panic in Detroit

Cracked Actor

Time

The Prettiest Star

The Jean Genie

Lady Grinning Soul

#david bowie #aladdin sane #music

David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

Released: June 16, 1972

Label: RCA

Score: 10/10

Ziggy Stardust is David Bowie’s fifth album. Although it was released after Hunky Dory, it was recorded before (and in tandem with) that album. As such, it features the same band and has a very similar sound. Unlike that album though, Ziggy Stardust is a loose concept album about the titular bisexual alien rock star and the impending doom of the world. Singing from his perspective, Bowie’s vocals gain a sense of urgency and drama that they didn’t have before.

Musically, Ziggy Stardust is both a brilliant parody and a celebration of the whacked-out rock & roll “star” archetype. It is informed by many musical rock tropes, such as the jazzy saxophone of “Soul Love” and the dance floor punk of “Hang On to Yourself,” yet it is wholly unique thanks to Bowie’s vocals and lyrical content. It is less reliant on the bright production and instrumentation of Hunky Dory and instead focuses on bringing out the potential in rock’s elemental instruments: guitar, piano, bass and drums. To sum it up, this album shows Bowie perfectly filtering the overblown emotions of an acted play into wonderful music form.

The album sets the stage perfectly with the apocalyptic “Five Years,” which leads to the starlit, lovestruck swing of “Soul Love.” From there, the album has a remarkable amount of versatility, with the stadium rock of “Moonage Daydream” and “Ziggy Stardust” existing in the same space as the piano balladry of “Lady Stardust.” The album flows perfectly from beginning to end, and feels like a joyful theme park ride the whole way through.

Ziggy Stardust is a timeless celebration of rock music, with all its theatrics, melodrama, wistfulness and wonder. It is for good reason that this album has become definitive and important within his career. It is the perfect distillation of Bowie’s strengths: great songwriting and musicianship, fascinating lyricism and personality--tons of it.

Listen to: “Ziggy Stardust”

Standout tracks:

Five Years

Soul Love

Moonage Daydream

Starman

It Ain’t Easy

Lady Stardust

Hang On to Yourself

Ziggy Stardust

Suffragette City

Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide

#david bowie #ziggy stardust #the rise and fall of ziggy stardust and the spiders from mars #music

David Bowie - Hunky Dory

Released: December 17, 1971

Label: RCA

Score: 9.5/10

Hunky Dory, David Bowie’s fourth record, is his second record with the band he formed for his previous album, The Man Who Sold the World, with the only lineup change being Trevor Bolder replacing bassist/producer Tony Visconti. In this record, Bowie changes his sound once again, leaving the hard rock of the past record behind and instead going for a more lush, poppy sound. The result is the first in a long string of terrific albums that would go on to cement his status as a music legend.

Hunky Dory beings with a fantastic series of songs, starting with the insanely catchy “Changes” and “Oh! You Pretty Things,” both showcasing a great knack for wonderful choruses. “Eight Line Poem” is a short piano bit that quiets things down before kicking off the soaring “Life on Mars?” and “Kooks.” The first half closes with the emotive ballad “Quicksand,” an acoustic ballad with lush strings and piano twirling in the background. The second half is just as wonderful. It opens with the lovely Biff Rose cover “Fill Your Heart” and continues to have more wonderful songs, my favorites being “Song for Bob Dylan” and the rocker “Queen Bitch.”

With Hunky Dory, Bowie finally realized the synergy his music needed. The combination of great songwriting, lyricism, production and instrumentation elevated his music to brand new heights. This album is Bowie’s first true essential record, and should be an obligatory listen to anyone who likes rock and pop music.

Listen to: “Life on Mars?”

Standout tracks:

Changes

Oh! You Pretty Things

Life on Mars?

Kooks

Quicksand

Fill Your Heart

Song for Bob Dylan

Queen Bitch

The Belway Brothers

#david bowie #hunky dory #music

David Bowie - The Man Who Sold the World

Released: November 4, 1970

Label: Mercury

Score: 7.0/10

The Man Who Sold the World is David Bowie’s third album, and the one that many consider his first “glam rock” record. After his last record, Bowie formed a band with guitarist Mick Ronson, bassist Tony Visconti and drummer Mick Woodmansey. The record draws heavily on the sound of blues-rock and the generic “hard rock” moniker that is often attached to it is a somewhat appropriate descriptor.

In this album, Bowie opts for a heavier rock sound while still holding on to many of the things that defined his earlier music, such as his quirky vocals and instrumentation and sometimes labyrinthine song structures. The record opens with the amazing one-two punch “The Width of a Circle” and “All the Madmen.” The first track is a dazzling eight minute epic that showcases just how excellent his songwriting can be. The second of the two is equally as dazzling, showcasing his beautiful instrumentation that hangs in the background of his colorful rock guitar work.

The rest of the record is a little less dazzling. While there are a few more terrific gems, like “Black Country Rock,” “The Supermen” and the gloomy title track, a couple of tracks leave a bit to be desired. The pseudo-heavy metal rocker ”She Shook Me Cold” is particularly painful to listen to, and tracks like “Saviour Machine” and “After All” are very uninteresting in the songwriting front. Also, in all honesty, the constant guitar wankery can get very grating during a front-to-back listen.

So while this record can be a mixed bag, it is a fascinating showcase of Bowie’s experimentation with rock music, something that would factor into and inform his later records. In addition to this, it shows Bowie as the shape-shifter that he was, adapting himself to whatever genre he picked like a chameleon.

Listen to “All the Madmen”

Standout tracks:

The Width of a Circle

All the Madmen

The Man Who Sold the World

#david bowie #the man who sold the world #music

David Bowie - David Bowie

Released: November 4, 1969

Label: Phillips/Mercury

Score: 8.5/10

David Bowie’s second self-titled album, known as Space Oddity in many of its reissues and Man of Words/Man of Music in its US release, was a turning point for Bowie, who had released an unsuccessful album and a string of singles, resulting in being dropped from his label in 1968. In the aftermath of this, David Bowie began composing what would become his second record, leading to what many consider his true awakening as a great singer and songwriter.

From the moments of the perfect opener, “Space Oddity,” you can easily tell that this is a different Bowie. The psychedelic rock and folk sound of the album is much more akin to the works of The Beatles in the late 60s, working his best Bob Dylan impersonation in parts of the album. The result is absolutely magnificent. This record is dotted with amazing psychedelic epics that build and shift through the course of their length such as “Space Oddity,” a track that has become one of Bowie’s most noted masterpieces for good reason. As wonderful as that track is, though, it is not representative of the whole album.

The album is chock full of different styles. “Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed” is a rocker, while “Cygnet Committee” is a beautiful progressive rock track with numerous twists and turns over its nearly 10 minute length. Because of this, this record is pretty divisive within David Bowie’s fanbase. What some see as diversity, others may see as incoherence or inconsistency. In my opinion, shifting through so many styles within a single album can be very dangerous, since an artist may not necessarily be great at every style they are trying to hit. Additionally, a consistent, well thought out theme and sound within an album is often the thing that elevates a good album to a great album.

With all of this said, it’s very easy to forgive the lack of a discernible flow here, because the quality of the tracks is just so high. “Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud,” “God Knows I’m Good” and “Space Oddity” all easily make it as some of my favorite songs from Bowie. The are no weak songs on this album, and I would say it is a masterpiece of psychedelic pop if it really felt like a singular entity, but it doesn’t. Instead, what we are left with is simply an amazing grab-bag of wonderful songs. And I would be remiss not to mention the incredible closer, “Memory of a Free Festival,” with its mantra-like coda, it makes a similar effect to The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”--a happy sing-along that joyfully rides into the sunset. David Bowie or Space Oddity (Or whatever you want to call this album) is a strikingly great introduction to a great musical career.

Listen to: “Memory of a Free Festival”

Standout tracks:

Space Oddity

Cygnet Committee

Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud

God Knows I’m Good

Memory of a Free Festival

#david bowie #space oddity #1969 #music

David Bowie - David Bowie

Released: June 1, 1967

Label: Deram

Score: 7.5/10

Note: In honor of legendary pop artist David Bowie, I will be going through and listening to all of his albums. I am familiar with his hit albums, such as Ziggy Stardust, Hunky Dory and “Heroes”, among others, but I’ve never sat down and gone through his entire discography. That said, Ziggy Stardust in particular is an album that was very influential in my life, and it should go without saying that the recent news of his passing has been crushing. Shine on, Starman.

Bowie’s 1967 eponymous debut is a very fascinating listen, in how unique it is compared to the albums that follow it. The album is filled with light-hearted and playful tracks that don’t sound that out of place next to The Zombies or The Monkees. It is an album that very much belonged in the mid-60s, for better and for worse. Interestingly, many of Bowie’s strengths as both a songwriter and a lyricist are already present here.

The best tracks on this fall into one of two categories: either they are catchy as hell, like the poppy “Love You till Tuesday” and “Rubber Band,” or have fantastic wordplay, like the gender-bending “She’s Got Medals” and the apocalyptic “We Are Hungry Men.” Still, the album sometimes treads a little too far into the whimsical to the point where it becomes too much, some examples of this being the opener “Uncle Arthur” and “Join the Gang.” This is a great collection of pop songs, but it definitely does not have the coherence and consistency that would make his later records so great. For any fans of 60s baroque pop, though, you definitely can’t go wrong with this.

Listen to: “Silly Boy Blue”

Standout tracks:

Rubber Band

Love You till Tuesday

When I Live My Dream

Silly Boy Blue

She’s Got Medals

#david bowie #debut #1967 #classic #music

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