Review Thread: The Chameleon: David Bowie Reviewed

D

Della H

New member
Low (1977)

david+bowie+low.jpg


1. Speed of Life
2. Breaking Glass
3. What in the World
4. Sound and Vision
5. Always Crashing in the Same Car
6. Be My Wife
7. A New Career in a New Town
8. Warszawa
9. Art Decade
10. Weeping Wall
11. Subterraneans


​

The cocaine fuelled Station to Station in 1976 was the bridge between Bowie's glam and soul days and his Berlin era, named as such because Bowie moved to West Berlin to escape his drug-addled existence in LA. Bowie became enamoured of the region for its music and art scenes and its roots in expressionism - Berlin was for Bowie a sanctuary from himself, a place where he could bask in anonymity.

Low in 1977 was the first of the Berlin Trilogy featuring Bowie's collaboration with Brian Eno, the godfather of ambient music. Low was the perfect vehicle for Eno to direct his sonic explorations, and for Bowie to channel his anguish from his past life and paint a picture of his world at the time. As such, Low is starkly personal - the album name aptly describes Bowie at that point in life. And as Bowie's moniker of "musical chameleon" implies, he is a trend-setter and Low certainly doesn't deviate from this. Here we see Bowie through his krautrock influences as he embraces synthesizers and ambience amongst other things. Low was produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti. Although Eno is responsible for co-writing only one song, he provided a lot of the direction and inspiration for the second half of the album.

With shimmering synths and rocking energy, the theatrical Speed of Life kicks off the album and provides only a taste of what is to come. Low defies classification – tracks like Breaking Glass and Be My Wife demonstrate that even on an album as eclectic and innovative as Low, the rhythm section of George Murray and Dennis Davis are uncompromising in groove. Tracks like What in the World and the intriguing folk-meets-disco A New Career in a New Town demonstrate that Bowie can seamlessly meld angular guitars, synths and harmonicas. And even through this pastiche of sounRAB and ideas, Bowie manages to reach the peak of vibrant pop perfection with his single, Sound and Vision. Always Crashing in the Same Car is my favourite track of Side A - quite simply, it describes Bowie's self-destructive and cyclic cocaine addiction. It is a bleak and bitter tirade with an exquisitely melancholic guitar solo.

[youtube]6N6FRX30Q88[/youtube]​


Whereas Side A is all about Bowie and consists of sub 4 minute songs spanning pop, prog, glam, folk and funk, and in Bowie's worRAB "all the self-pitying crap", Side B takes a complete 180 and features Bowie's "reactions to places" in the form of ambient sounRABcapes. Warszawa, co-written by Eno, is the first of these. Bowie intended to capture his visit to desolate Warsaw in sound and succeeRAB to an almost synaesthetic extent with this incredibly powerful and dense track. The rest of Side B is similar in form. Art Decade is an eerie cavernous track, written to portray West Berlin as a dying city. Weeping Wall is a bizarre adaptation of Scarborough Fair with twisted synths and an ‘anti-solo’ reminiscent of Robert Fripp (who would later collaborate with Bowie). Subterraneans is a rather harrowing depiction of the people trapped in East Berlin after the erection of the Berlin Wall.


[youtube]9Gy94N_mcWs[/youtube]​



Fast-forward 32 years and Low is still startlingly fresh and replete with originality. Its dichotomy of avant-pop and ambient music eschews any kind of convention. The influence of Low can easily be detected in a great deal of music released in the decade following, especially in the realms of post-punk and new wave. BanRAB and musicians citing Low as an influence include Joy Division (originally named Warsaw), Human League, Depeche Mode, Radiohead, NIN and even Phillip Glass. Low was even influential for Tony Visconti’s revolutionary deep-treated drum sound. Low was ahead of its time and near flawless in execution.



9/10​
 
This isn't rock 'n' roll, this is genocide!

Diamond Dogs (1974)

DavidBowie-DiamondDogsECD.jpg


1. Future Legend
2. Diamond Dogs
3. Sweet Thing
4. Candidate
5. Sweet Thing (Reprise)
6. Rebel Rebel
7. Rock & Roll With Me
8. We Are The Dead
9. 1984
10. Big Brother
11. Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family​

Diamond Dogs is one of the many albums finding Bowie in a transitional period, this time torn between the glam rock of Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane and the soul influences which were present with Young Americans. Perhaps coming only a year after Aladdin Sane affects it because the album isn't nearly the classic that Sane is. It is clearly unfocused, despite the concept (living in a Orwellian Big Brother society and the turmoils that come from it) being strong throughout.

The album starts off strong enough, the title track is a slow burning glam rock number harking back to his earlier albums just as much as Ziggy and Sane, recalling that classic strut with Bowie's distinctive saxophone. This classic sound is soon taken over with the low tempo ballad Sweet Thing, a gorgeous piano/acoustic driven number punctuated by some beautiful echoey guitar effects. Definitely downbeat but a highlight nonetheless.
The song drifts into Candidate, a song that certainly has its own groove but i feel is far too short to create a lasting appeal, the song builRAB and seems as if its going to blast into another Bowie glam classic but instead retreats back into a reprise of Sweet Thing. Perhaps if it had decided to stick around the song would be better, I can't help but feel Bowie had a few too many ideas here, shown by the messy guitar breakdown at the end of the reprise.

I'm sure i don't have to say anything about Rebel Rebel, the obvious album highight and evidence that Mick Ronson's presence isn't completely missed. One of Bowie's finest singles overall, i pity anyone who rejects this song as being anything less than superb.

I have to admit i have a huge soft spot for the enormously cheesy Rock 'n' Roll With Me. It's completely horrific with that bloody organ and overblown chorus but i can't help but like it. The perfect drunken singalong for a world gone mad!

With a bit more polish We Are The Dead would be a superb song, with a fine refrain harking back to his best glam moments. That said the guitar plays around aimlessly and much in the same way as Candidate nothing really kicks off, the entire thing sounRAB a little half baked. 1984 follows and is certainly the black sheep of the album, introducing the soul and disco infused style that Bowie would dabble with more in later albums. It's catchy no doubt and props to him for having the balls to do it but i can't help but feel it's out of place here. I'm sure i'd accept it on a later album but i feel he's punching above his weight here.

Big Brother is more like it, what starts as a desolate song in the vein of the sounRABcapes to come on albums like Low bursts into a fine chorus. The synths fit the hopeless subject matter well without compromising Bowie's traditional glam feel. One of my personal highlights. The song slides into Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family which serves as a pleasant enough but miles from classic ending, should have really been tacked onto the end of Big Brother as a short refrain at the end (The Bewlay Brothers style) and for god sakes get rid of that stupid skipping thing at the end.

[YOUTUBE]36lWAcY9IXE[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE]ngbFjmVfJOs[/YOUTUBE]

Diamond Dogs is far from a terrible album. Spare some terrific highlights though the album feels lacklustre, perhaps even unfinished, especially after a run of such fantastic albums. Whether this can be blamed on the lack of the creative force of Mick Ronson or simply the chameleon being caught between colours and punching above his weight is open to debate, but throughout it feels like pieces are missing. Any Bowie fan should definitely have it in their collections but sadly Diamond Dogs is a slip up after a run of some blinding albums.

Highlights: Diamond Dogs, Rebel Rebel, Big Brother

6/10​
 
While in the other thread we call dibs and post our thoughts on the idea. Here is where we will post our reviews. And thoughts on all the wonderful and various albums of David Bowie!

Discography:
David Bowie (1967) Comus
Space Oddity (1969) Bulldog
The Man Who Sold the World (1970) JayJamJah
Hunky Dory (1971) Lucifer Sam
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972) Comus
Aladdin Sane (1973) Boo Boo
Pin Ups (1973) Comus
Diamond Dogs (1974) Piss Me Off
Young Americans (1975) Bulldog
Station to Station (1976) Piss Me Off
Low (1977) Seltzer
"Heroes" (1977) Loveissucide
Lodger (1979) Urban Hatemonger
Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980) FireInCairo
Let's Dance (1983)
Tonight (1984) Bulldog
Never Let Me Down (1987)
Black Tie, White Noise (1993)
The Buddha of Suburbia (1993) Bulldog
1.Outside (1995) Jackhammer
Earthling (1997)
'Hours...' (1999)
Heathen (2002) Lucifer Sam
Reality (2003)​
 
Hehe I'm planning to submit my review to the campus magazine so I decided to make it less descriptive and more informative (i.e. avoid the track-by-track approach).
 
Oh yeah, it's me next isn't it? I'll get Young Americans done tomorrow.

Interesting review of Diamond Dogs there. It's actually in my top tier of Bowie albums, but I can see why it might not be so popular with some. It does seem in some places that the guy was taking a bit too much on, especially considering virtually every instrument on the album was recorded by him alone.
 
sorry to do this but could somebody direct to when we sign up? i'll even do 'Never Let Me Down'!!
Predictably great reviewage all round btw, except PMO's 6/10 score for Diamond Dogs... :bonkhead:
 
David Bowie – David Bowie

1967_-_David_Bowie_-_Front_large.jpg

(what a sexy beast)

1. Uncle Arthur
2. Sell Me A Coat
3. Rubber Band
4. Love You Til Tuesday
5. There Is A Happy Land
6. We Are Hungry Men
7. When I Live My Dream
8. Little Bombardier
9. Silly Boy Blue
10. Come And Buy My Toys
11. Join The Gang
12. She's Got Medals
13. Maid Of Bond Street
14. Please Mr. Gravedigger

Year: 1967​

With the exception of his voice, there is very little in this release that alludes to the coming career of the chameleon of rock. It’s fitting that a man known for changing styles to keep with the times has a completely unique debut in relation to his later works. The songs are simple, quick tunes and the song writing works well in the context.

There’s a lot of things here that defines it from a simple pop album however. You’ll hear nice little quirks like the tuba on Rubber Band. There’s a lot more depth to this album than first seems present. So in certain aspects it seems very ambitious for a debut, especially for a 1967 solo artist. It is however easy to see why this was a commercial failure at the time.

Rubber Band
[youtube]nepARYPNQW8[/youtube]​

You’ll notice, the further you go into it, the less remarkable it is. For a vocal heavy pop album, there are very few hooks or catchy melodies. It does however make for a very relaxing journey through the pastoral lanRABcapes. The problem here is; there’s nothing to really make you want to go back to it. It’s hard to envisage having any of the songs stuck in your heard unless you become very familiar with them.

Of course, all of these factors lead to one thing: Cult status. Cult status is a wonderful thing. I can almost guarantee you that a lot of people loved this. Played it constantly on repeat and learned every word. The problem is; the public are not like that. They need something that is quick, simple and memorable. This only ticks two boxes. As such it really is just another mediocre 1960’s release. Apart from a few, easily overlooked, quirks there is nothing that separates this from all the other pop albums of the time.

Little Bombardier
[youtube]6lLm3L-bp4Q[/youtube]​

So while there’s technically nothing wrong with the album, there is a massive room for improvement. There is nothing for the listener to connect to immediately, which is incredibly important for a pop album. Bowie’s voice shows a lot of promise and so do all the nice little effects and instrumentations. All I can say is; we’re very lucky this is a man that changes with the times, and does so masterfully. Because no one would remember David Bowie now had he kept doing this.

5/10​
 
Top review there. Couldn't agree more with that last paragraph. I don't really regard this album highly at all - Come and Buy My Toys is an excellent song, but that's virtually the only reason I listen to the album at all. It's all a bit twee and uninteresting for me.

I'll get my review up in the day or so btw.

Also, for those who don't know their 60s Bowie, you haven't lived 'til you've heard this song :D

[YOUTUBE]gFoEjAMsmtg[/YOUTUBE]
 
i actually have never had the balls to listen to this record all the way through. i got about thirty seconRAB into the second song and buggered off after that. like you said, not how fans want to remember Bowie at all.

looking forward to the next review. :)
 
Love the reviews so far, brilliant idea to have different reviewers do different albums. Makes this a very quick review thread by the forum's standarRAB. I'll hopefully have Ziggy Stardust done before I go to bed this morning.
 
There's actually a mega-rare demo called Zion which is where that guitar breakdown comes from. It's about 5 minutes long, has Bowie la-la-ing where he'd put the lyrics (which I don't think he actually did do), and you can hear a lot of snippets of musical ideas he'd use throughout the album. I've got it on CD somewhere, but it'd be one of those needle-in-a-haystack scenarios to actually try and find it.
 
JayJamJah's not around these days, and he's in line for the next review.

Pity as I was quite enjoying this thread. When/if it gets sorted, I'll take care of the Tonight and Buddha Of Suburbia reviews if that's alright.
 
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