I was working in a music shop in Albany when I first heard this album. My boss there quite liked the cover of Cream's I Feel Free, so the CD got the odd spin on the inhouse system. Up until that point, my knowledge and exposure to Bowie was very much confined to the hits. The only albums of his I owned were compilations.
Through being exposed to this CD on numerous occasions, I eventually became enamoured enough to purchase a copy. While not one of his better efforts, I still think it's a decent listen. The good definitely outweighs the bad, in my opinion, and I feel that this is more listenable than 1987's Never Let Me Down, 1995's 1. Outside, 1973's Pin Ups or even the second half of Let's Dance. I might be wrong here, but I think Bowie plays more saxophone on this record than any of his other ones.
I really like the way it starts and ends with the same song, The Wedding (Song); albeit the opener is instrumental and the closing features vocals. It now seems to be a tip of the hat to 1980's Scary Monsters... being bookended by It's No Game parts 1 and 2. Apparently Bowie wrote it for his wedding ceremony when he and Iman married in April 1992. Another track here, Pallas Athena, was also written for their ceremony. The riots in L.A. after the Rodney King verdict were a big inspiration for the title track, and Bowie collaborated with American singer/songwriter Albert Joseph Brown III (AKA Al B. Sure!) on it. It's one of my favourite songs on the album, and I still think it holds up pretty well.
The aforementioned Cream cover and the record's first single Jump They Say have strong connections to Bowie's step-brother Terry. The latter is loosely about him being hospitalised with schizophrenia, and tragically, committing suicide. Bowie took Terry to a Cream concert in the late sixties, and during their rendition of I Feel Free, Terry started feeling very uneasy and eventually collapsed on the ground when they got outside. Bowie had starting working addressing his feelings surrounding Terry's death, and saw these songs as a way of moving forward. I Feel Free also has the notable distinction of including guitarist Mick Ronson, his first appearance on a Bowie album since Pin Ups. Ronson would unfortunately pass away shortly after this record's release. Also from Bowie's past comes Nile Rodgers, who not only co-produced the album, but co-wrote the instrumental track Looking for Lester.
You've Been Around was written by Bowie and guitarist Reeves Gabrels while they were still part of Tin Machine, and is an okay track. While this is the only song to feature Gabrels in this album, he would become a big part of Bowie's 90s output. Indeed some of the songs here feel like a stepping stone between Tin Machine and 1. Outside or Earthling, particularly Pallas Athena. Other highlights for me include Don't Let Me Down & Down and the almost melodramatically performed cover of Morrisey's I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday.
While the sound of the album is certainly a product of being made in the early nineties, I feel that time has been fairly kind to this record. It was during this period that Bowie started experimenting with CD-ROM including music videos and an interactive experience that would allow the user to remix some of the songs from the album. Although not received well, or being an accurate release of what Bowie envisaged, many artists in the 90s would use CD-ROM features on their new albums with mixed success.
I give this album 3/5. Would listen again, as I have done over nearly thirty years.
NEXT UP: Aladdin Sane - 13th April
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