“Subtitled “The Diary of Nathan Adler or The Art-Ritual Murder of Baby Grace Blue. A Non-Linear Gothic Drama Hyper-Cycle” – Bowie was never one to do things by half. Conceived conceptually as a story about an end-of-the-millennium art thief, the songs are ‘merely’ part of that story, along with the written diary and spoken word segues. It’s a collaborative effort, co-produced with Brian Eno, and features many of his regular musicians: Mike Garson, Carlos Alomar, Reeves Gabrels and Erdal Kizilcay. . Bowie’s own spoken-word segments between songs may not be to everyone’s taste, but I love the “Cockney campiness” as Allmusic.com rather dismissingly puts it. Amongst all this seeming pretentiousness there are some really awesome songs, which rate amongst the best of his 1990s output: The Heart’s Filthy Lesson, Hallo Spaceboy (brilliantly remixed by the Pet Shop Boys) and Strangers When We Meet, rescued from then near obscurity on Bowie’s soundtrack for the Buddha of Suburbia. A Small Plot of Land is a brilliant piece of art-rock-jazz which could act as a reconnaissance scout for Blackstar. It was later used in the film Basquiat in which Bowie played Andy Warhol and is so much like a Brian Eno title I had to check that he hadn’t reused it. . Anyways, this 1995 release is not an album of his I listen to often, but it’s none the less as remarkable as his early work in terms of the creativity, experimentation and singular voice. This album is confined by its CD case and is intended as an immersive experience. If Bowie had released this 10-15 years later I’ve no doubt that’s the kind of approach he would have taken. The technology just wasn’t available then. He was always ahead of his time.” . FOR FULL REVIEW & PLAYLIST CLICK LINK IN PROFILE: . #davidbowie @davidbowie #outside #nathanadler #heartsfilthylesson #strangerswhenwemeet #hallospaceboy #asmallplotofland #cdreview #brianeno #mikegarson #nowplaying #nowlistening #randomrecordreview https://www.instagram.com/p/B7_HmC4plTh/?igshid=t4n1fc3t8j1v
