Reality

David Bowie's 23rd studio album turns 18 today, and the tour of this album is when I got to see him live! Rhones and I made the jaunt to sunny Melbourne in February 2004, along with some of our friends, to catch him at Rod Laver Arena on the 26th! I wouldn't have thought that that concert would be the only time I'd see him perform. It was in Germany the following year, that Bowie would suffer a heart attack onstage while at Hurricane festival. He pretty much disappeared from the public eye for ten years.

But, this is a pretty good album, full of energy and boasting an excellent stable of musicians. Headed by legendary guitarist and MD Gerry Leonard, this record features previous band members Earl Slick on guitar and Mike Garson on piano. Tony Visconti is also here as a co-producer again, adding a bit of keyboard and guitar along the way. Drummer Sterling Campbell joins Mike Plati on the bass in the rhythm section, although it would be bassist Gail Ann Dorsey taking up that role on the tour. She also contributes background vocals along with renowned jazz singer Catherine Russell. Filling out the core band is guitarist David Torn as well.

I can remember seeing the film clip for the album's first single New Killer Star on the TV, possibly when we still had Foxtel, so it must have been the now defunct Max channel. There was only fifteen months in between the release of this album and Bowie's previous studio effort Heathen, so I remember being quite surprised to see a new song from him. I also remember liking it instantly. It's a great track, great way to kick off the album. I'm still very fond of it. Always thought it should have more of a ripple through the music charts at the time.

Sonically similar to Heathen (you could treat them as siblings), but still with its own sense of purpose in Bowie's catalog, this a very enjoyable album. Some of my favourite songs of this century's Bowie are here. Never Get Old has taken on new meaning since his passing, but it remains quite a fun track, and the reflective Days is a nice ballad about looking back. While I don't get what the song is about, I also quite like the vibe and production of Fall Dog Bombs the Moon.

On the cover front, Bowie tackles The Modern Lovers and George Harrison, who had passed away in late 2001. The former is a track called Pablo Picasso, and is something of a novelty tune. Not heard the original, although I like some of their stuff, but this doesn't do much for me. I really like the Harrison number though, Try Some, Buy Some, from his 1973 album Living In The Material World. Fun fact: the song was first put out as a single by Ronnie Spector in 1971.

There are a couple of tracks that I don't really dig, one being The Loneliest Guy. Nice premise, nice spooky arrangement, but I think it misses the mark and doesn't quite land for me. The title song is a bizarre monster too, starting with a big punch, production wise. The band sound great, but the song doesn't seem to go anywhere. It's a weird choice to have as the penultimate track too, because it would end up being in the first few songs for most of the concerts on the A Reality Tour. She'll Drive the Big Car plods on a little too.

The album's final offering, Bring Me the Disco King, is a huge favourite of mine. I love that it closes the record too. Sparsely produced, the track only features Garson on piano, Bowie's vocal and session drummer Matt Chamberlain. It's quite different from anything else on this record, and the rest of the Bowie canon at the time. It's a huge standout for me, and I got a wonderful surprise at the A Bowie Celebration show at the Perth Concert Hall a coupla years back. They started the show with BMtDK, sung by Bernard Fowler! Very cool. Never saw Bowie sing it live, but I can watch him do it on the A Reality Tour DVD. 

So, yes, much to like about this album. I give it 3.5/5. Listened to it again day.

NEXT UP: 1. Outside - 26th Sep