Whoops! I spaced on the date again. This album celebrated its 37th anniversary on the 1st of September, one of a handful of maligned releases Bowie issued in the eighties. But, is it really all that bad? Let's take a look. It's been a while...
The follow-up to Bowie's hugely successful Let's Dance features the return of bassist Carmine Rojas and drummer Omar Hakim, who both played on that record. Gone are Stevie Ray Vaughan and Niles Rogers unfortunately; but old friends Carlos Alomar and Robin Clark are back on guitar and backing vocals respectively. Another big presence is multi-instrumentalist, and the album's co-producer Derek Bramble. Hugh Padgham also earns a production credit, also acting as the record's engineer and mixer.
I did get this on CD in the leadup to seeing Bowie live in Melbourne in February 2004, but I don't think I've listened to it from start to finish since then. Now seems like a good time to rectify that. Let's go track by track, yeah?
1. LOVING THE ALIEN
For me, this is the album's absolute highlight. I think I was aware of this song before I ever heard it in full, which must have been around the early '00s, but my first impression was 'Ooooh, that's the bit from the Red Dwarf feem toon!'. It's a great track, and I think I became a little more enamoured with it when Bowie and Gerry Leonard stripped the arrangement back to basics on the A Reality Tour DVD. The full album version breaches the seven minute mark, which is basically the outgoing guitar solo, courtesy of Alomar. The single edit certainly works for brevity, but it's nice to hear the whole thing. One of only two songs wholly written by Bowie on this album. The themes of alienation and isolation that was present in a lot of his early work returns here, with the hope that the rest of the record will follow suit.
Unfortunately, not. A faux reggae feel permeates this track, and while it's not a terrible song, it feels a little half-baked. It's actually a cover of an Iggy Pop song, which I would not have picked. Bizarrely, it's the first of five tracks here that were co-written by Iggy. Maybe the success of China Girl prompted Bowie to look at some other songs of his..?
3. GOD ONLY KNOWS
Bowie covers The Beach Boys? Yes, indeed. This feels like a big swing and a miss, which is a shame. I don't know if it's the arrangement, which is full of pulsing horns, or a badly picked key to perform it in but it doesn't really land. I guess this is just one of those songs with a 'Cover at Your Own Risk' clause. Missed opportunity, I think.
4. TONIGHT
Enter Tina Turner! And more eighties poppy reggae vibes; complete with key change at the end! This is another Iggy Pop cover, which was co-written by Bowie, and originally featured on the 1977 album Lust For Life, which Bowie also co-produced. Again, I've not heard the source material, but it feels a little lacklustre. Even Tina's vocal is relegated to back-up duties, rather than this becoming a true duet.
5. NEIGHBOURHOOD THREAT
Again, another Iggy Pop cover, and also taken from Lust For Life. This has a little more punch and presence than the other two though. Some nice quiet menace in Bowie's vocal delivery and the stabby horns are great, particularly at the end, which is the perfect lead-in for...
6. BLUE JEAN
The album's first single, which was issued as part of a 21min short video directed by Julien Temple called Jazzin' for Blue Jean. I first heard this track as the final song on the Changesbowie tape I bought in Bali when I was 14. It took a while to really enjoy the track. It came on after Modern Love, which let's face it, is a much better song, and probably a better way to end the compilation. So, for years Blue Jean felt like an interruption or a final thought better left 'unthunk', for want of a better word. Thankfully, I've garnered more affection for it over the years. I think the turning point might have been seeing Kate Ceberano live and she belted out a ripping cover version. Anyway, it's easily one of the album's few highlights.
7. TUMBLE AND TWIRL
Another song co-written by Bowie and Iggy Pop. This hadn't turned up on either singer's album, and again comes across as a bit of pleasant filler. There are some nice bits of horn, and cool octave harmonies from Bowie. There's some nice slap bass guitar work here courtesy of Mark King (Level 42), who was uncredited for some reason.
8. I KEEP FORGETTIN'
Now, here is another cover from the sixties, very much in vogue during the eighties. Not heard the original, which apparently was done by Chuck Jackson, who enjoyed a hit with the Bacharach/David penned Any Day Now. Not an unpleasant listen, but a little tepid.
9. DANCING WITH THE BIG BOYS
The final song of the album was a lot of eighties bombast, and was co-written by Iggy Pop and Carlos Alomar. Iggy actually appears on the track, although you wouldn't really know it. His vocal is buried behind Bowie and the three background singers. It doesn't take long for this one to lose its charm as well, as the lyrics are quite repetitive. Thankfully, it ends quickly, as does the album. It barely breaks thirty five minutes, which isn't a bad thing, I guess. Wait, that means that Loving the Alien takes up a fifth of the album? Far out.
Yeah, not great, but not terrible. I'd almost give it three stars just for Loving the Alien and Blue Jean. But I won't. 2/5 from me. Can't see me revisiting it for a while, he he he...
NEXT UP: Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) - Sep 12th
No comments:
Post a Comment