Bowie or Bust, Pt. 3
Several weeks back, Spectrum Culture has us sit down and listen to the albums of David Bowie. Not knowing which albums they'd ask me to comment on, I made some notes as we went along.
Station to Station, 1976
There’s the pop hooks of “Golden Years” and then there’s the lonesome experimental edge of “Station to Station” itself. I found it hard to believe there were only six songs, but they certainly presented a lot to think about, setting the stage for the three albums that would emerge out of his collaboration with Brian Eno. As I said before with Man Who Sold The World, it often sounds like Bowie is practicing ideas before putting them all together, and that really seems to be the case here. However, the result as unexpected as it is, is also quite endearing.
Low, 1977
Low was a complete surprise, but I found songs like “Always Crashing In The Same Car,” “Breaking Glass,” and “Warszawa” captivating. I was equally surprised that somehow Low had stayed off my radar. Back in my parking lot late night DJ days, “Always Crashing…” would have been a staple.
Heroes, 1977
As good as the title track single was, for me the key to the album was the sequence of songs beginning with side two (from V-2 Schneider on). They are perhaps my favourite string of five Bowie songs, and I’m not surprised that the album caught the attention of people like Philip Glass and King Crimson. Much of what would later for the basis for electronic, ambient music has its roots here.
Lodger, 1979
Oddly, I don’t have much to say about this one. A lot of Lodger is already present on Heroes and Low, but with a dash of early world music, as on “Yassassin.” For those of you counting , the gap between Heroes and Lodger represent the first recording break for Bowie since the interim between his debut and Space Oddity, a nine year stretch that saw him release ELEVEN albums, ranging from folk, bluesy rock, glam, soul, experimental, world, and electronic music. Suck on that Nickelback.
