Low

Today, David Bowie's 11th studio album Low turns 44! Far out. I was not even a year old when it was released. I don't think I listened to the whole thing until I was in my mid-twenties. Before that spin, the only song I had heard was Sound and Vision. Anyway...this album is now in my Top 5 Bowie Albums Ever. The first of the 'Berlin Trilogy', and in my humble opinion the best, this LP featured a whole side of (mostly) instrumental tracks. It even opened with the instrumental Speed of Life - almost unheard of for a popular artist back in its day. Coming after the blue-eyed soul of Young Americans and cocaine-fuelled space funk rock of Station to Station, this must have polarised his fans upon its release. However innovative it was, it's a far cry from the glam rock of Ziggy Stardust. Interestingly, the album's recording session began in France, at the residential Château d'Hérouville before Bowie and the band moved to Berlin.

I can't remember specifically when I spun Low for the first time, but it would have been a few months before Bowie's concert at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, February 2004. I was on a mission to listen to all of his albums by then, as his setlist was changing dramatically between cities. So, I'm going to blog about the album as I revisit it right now. 

1. SPEED OF LIFE
As I mentioned earlier, the opening track is instrumental, and right from the immediate sound of the squelchy keyboards, you can tell your in for something different. The heavily reverberated drums signal a change in direction as well, with multiple keyboard lines crisscrossing over the guitars. First listens may have anticipated an incoming beautiful Bowie vocal delivery, but of course, it doesn't arrive.

2. BREAKING GLASS
One of my favourite songs on this album, and quite possibly, one of my favourite Bowie songs in general. Co-written by drummer Dennis Davis and bassist George Murray, this track could almost be seen as a precursor to the punk movement. Minimal lyrics outlining glass breakage and carpet vandalism punctuated by that amazing rhythm section while Ricky Gardener's amazing guitar riffs tear through the speakers. Why did it fade out before the two minute mark? Crime against music, if you ask me. The live version from Stage is mercifully longer.

3. WHAT IN THE WORLD
This frenetic track sees the keyboard blips turned up to eleven. It's almost impossible to hear any other instrument. Some of that deep-voiced croon was seeping in Bowie here as well. Probably my least favourite song on the album, but still very listenable. If you like keyboards. He he he...

4. SOUND AND VISION
I first heard this track when I was about thirteen, while visiting Bali with my family. I had bought Changesbowie on cassette (1990 version) and was introducing myself to more of his work pre-Scary Monsters. At the time, I felt that it had an unusually long intro, but I still enjoyed it (not as much as other tracks, it should be said). I was particularly taken by the keyboard noise that sounds like a splash. It must have been produced by Brian Eno, but on what instrument? Of course now, the song feels like it should, with Bowie's wonderful sax lines coming in before his vocal starts. Who doesn't singalong to "Blue, blue, electric blue,..." when it comes on?  

5. ALWAYS CRASHING IN THE SAME CAR
Probably the most sombre of the songs that feature vocals. A downbeat tune meditating on the dangers of auto travel and recklessness. Apparently there was a third verse written that alluded to Bob Dylan's mysterious accident in 1966, but it didn't make it to the recorded version. Tony Visconti, who was co-producing the album with Bowie, found it too creepy. One wonders, doesn't one? 

6. BE MY WIFE
Another great track that kicks off with a positively rollicking piano line. Quite simplistic and repetitive lyrically, but hugely appealing from a melodic perspective. By this point in the album, you'd be forgiven for knowing where the rest of the songs were heading. The band are certainly gelling, and you've warmed to the arrangements and squelches. Bowie's voice gets a little rest from here on in.

7. A NEW CAREER IN A NEW TOWN
The second instrumental song, and the closing track on the first side of the LP, you could almost describe as having a jaunty feel. It’s quite easy to whistle along to, and it’s fairly upbeat in vibe. While the track is nothing exceptional, it has a nice melody.

8. WARSZAWA
This absolutely floored me the first time I heard it. I found it to be very similar to Angelo Badalamenti's work on Twin Peaks. It even shares structure with Love Theme From Twin Peaks, which starts off with the same ominous feel before moving to something more uplifting. Again, it was Eno who was responsible for those opening notes, which were created in one of his experimental sessions. I would be surprised if Angelo didn't spin this album as a fortysomething with headphones on, keeping some ideas for later compositions. 

What is quite unexpected about this track, is that after about four minutes, Bowie starts singing. It's not English though, and it's quite layered and eerie in places. Allegedly there are over a hundred voices, all performed by Bowie. Co-written with Brian Eno, this piece is inspired by Bowie's visit to the city of Warsaw, and the lyrics are based upon a Polish folk song called Helokanie. The words are sung phonetically, and not identifiable as a particular language or dialect. It's very emotive, and was infused with a sense of bleakness to reflect the feeling of Warsaw at the time, but there is some sense of hope in the music too. It makes me feel a sense of calm when the song shifts to those moments.

9. ART DECADE
Another stunning instrumental that feels like it could be on the soundtrack for Blade Runner. There's a sense of narrative here, that there's a story being played out. It's a great song to close your eyes to and imagine some sort of science fiction movie playing out in your brain. Again, influenced by what he saw, the title is a pun on 'art decayed', reflecting Bowie's impressions of post-war Berlin.

10. WEEPING WALL
The production on this number is a little sparser, with no percussion or bass. The driving force behind it is a pulsing keyboard part, while permeated by an industrial-sounding guitar. Bowie's voice comes back again halfway through this song, but is simply ahhs and ooohs, created a kind of vocal melody part without words. Indeed the deep noises made by Bowie would return again on the title track to 2016's ★. Bowie played all of the instruments himself on this one, but apparently, Iggy Pop is featured on backing vocals. 

11. SUBTERRANEANS
Another fairly sombre sounding track, and the final one of the album. Again, we are treated to an unsettling sonic soundscape, mainly consisting of various synths, xylophones and vibraphones accompanied by Bowie's wordless and deep drawls. A saxophone kicks into gear adding to the unease before the eerie vocal refrain of "share bride failing star" starts. Bowie repeats the words 'care-line' over and over before building in pitch and volume to deliver "Driving me, Shirley, Shirley, Shirley, own...". What it all means is anyone's guess, but it's an unsettling five minutes, and a bizarre way to finish an extraordinary album. It was actually recorded in LA at the end of 1975, allegedly meant for the aborted soundtrack of The Man Who Fell to Earth. The cover of the album is actually a still from that film as well. 

Wow.

I certainly enjoyed that. 4.5/5 - would listen again.

NEXT UP: Station to Station - 23rd January 

Bowie-versaries!

One of my favourite things about January is the opportunity to celebrate David Bowie anniversaries, or Bowie-versaries, if you will.

Today is a big one, January 8th, because it's his birthday. It's also Elvis Presley's birthday, so if you're a fan of The King and The Thin White Duke, it's a doubly good day for you. Rounding out this random trifecta is Mr Paul Hester, who among other things, was the drummer for Crowded House. Sadly, like the aforementioned rock royalty icons, he has also left the building.

Anyway, back to David Bowie. 

January 8th is also the release date of Bowie's last studio album, ★ (pronounced Blackstar), which came out in 2016. On his birthday in 2013, he released the single Where Are We Now? from his upcoming album The Next Day. This would be his first studio album of original material since 2003's Reality. 

If you're a bit of a Bowie fan, here's a few choice dates to mark in your iDiaries:

Jan 8th - Happy birthday Bowie!
              ★ (2016)
              Where Are We Now? single (2013)

Jan 14th - Low (1977)

Jan 23rd - Station to Station (1976)

Feb 3rd - Earthling (1997)

Mar 7th - Young Americans (1975)

Mar 8th - The Next Day (2013)

Well, that will do for the first quarter of the year. April is a big one for Bowie too! I'll try to remember to post another Bowie-versary post! 

While We're Blogging on Bowie...

After finishing up that last blog post I moved on to the "Heroes" album, which is the second of the Berlin trilogy. Despite its iconic black and white cover and an absolutely fantastic title track, I find it lacking compared to Low. Sure, the same Eno influences are there, and if anything, the crazy keyboard stuff is even amped up a notch. 

Rather than opening with an instrumental, we are given a fairly frenetic track in Beauty And The Beast, which isn't a bad song; it's just not as immediate as some of his other work. Similarly, Joe The Lion is energetic but a little aimless. When the third song in, "Heroes", starts up all is temporarily forgiven when Robert Fripp's guitar riff sweeps through your speakers or headphones. It is arguably Bowie's best song, if not one of. I love the album version too, because it runs over the six minute mark.

Sons Of The Silent Age is probably the second best track with vocals on the album. No idea what the song is about, but the mood, production and melody are great. Once we get into the flipside, and the instrumentals, things dip a bit. I quite dig V-2 Schneider, but the other three are all about ambiance and the hooks just aren't there. 

I'm sure that "Heroes" has been just as influential and successful as Low, but it just pales in comparison to me. I also find Lodger a little hit and miss, and I'm interested what I'll think of that when I give it another re-listen. I think that "Heroes" is the weakest of the Berlin Trilogy, but hey, it's still Bowie. And that ain't bad. 

14th January 2015 or Feeling A Bit Low

Today is the anniversary of the release of David Bowie's 11th studio album Low. It came out on this day in 1977 and was something of a commercial failure at the time. A lot of copies were returned to record stores, who in turn returned them to RCA, Bowie's record label. They were quite concerned about the downturn in sales, but apparently Bowie was unperturbed.

I went through a pretty massive Bowie phase in the early 2000's. I had always been a casual fan, particularly of his hit singles in the eighties. I was given The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars for my birthday early on this century and it became something of a gateway album. When Bowie announced that he would tour Australia in early 2004, I set about getting all of his albums. Knowing he would be an artist who would play anything from his then thiry-five-year-plus career, I thought it best to bone up on his back catalog. I was lucky enough that EMI had just re-released all his albums before 1993, and had remastered them all. It was perfect timing to get into some serious Bowie. 

My first listen of Low underwhelmed me. It seemed like a lot of noise without purpose and some very disjointed songs. The only track I was familiar with at the time was Sound And Vision, which I kinda liked. With each subsequent listen, it grew on me. I had initially dismissed most of the album, but slowly I was being won over.

There's been a lot said about Brian Eno and his contributions to Low, and I always assumed he co-produced it. While he did play on a lot of it, Tony Visconti co-produced the album with Bowie, and Eno is only credited on one of the songs (Warszawa) as a co-writer. You can't deny Eno's influence on album though, particularly the sounds of the synthesisers and the ambient moods of some of the tracks. 

I imagine listening to it for the first time in 1977 would have been quite jarring. After the poppy, blue-eyed soul of Young Americans and Station To Station you are given an album that starts with an instrumental piece before assaulting you with six unpredictable tracks that feature squelching keyboards, nonsensical lyrics and odd rhythms. If that wasn't enough, the entire second side is totally instrumental. 

As I write this blog, I'm listening to Low on repeat. While it's my favourite of the so-called "Berlin trilogy", it's not my favourite Bowie album. I mean, it's up there, but the top spot has been reserved for Hunky Dory for some time now. However, I think each listen gives me a higher appreciation of it. Of the instrumentals, it was Warszawa that I became drawn to. It's so haunting, but somehow beautiful as well. It reminded me of Angelo Badalamenti's work, particularly on Twin Peaks. The instrumentals are all quite different from each other, and when they are put together they create something quite unique. For a musician like Bowie, releasing an album with over half of the music sans vocals must have been hugely brave. It's not something you could imagine Bruno Mars or Taylor Swift doing now.

When Rhona and I saw David Bowie live in 2004 we flew over to Melbourne. He hadn't announced a Perth show at that time, but we loved the city and were happy to return. One of my friends, Kieran, was just as big a Bowie as fan as me, possibly more so, and decided that he'd go to both the Melbourne AND Perth concerts. Being Bowie, all his Australian shows were slightly different and Kieran managed to score his cover of Neil Young's I've Been Waiting For You, which he recorded for the Heathen album. I was even more envious of the people who went to the second Melbourne show. Bowie pulled out four tracks from Low: Sound And Vision, Always Crashing In The Same Car, Breaking Glass and Be My Wife! On the night we saw him though, they attempted Quicksand from Hunky Dory which was awesome!

But I digress! We were talking about Low. The older I get, the more I am in awe of Bowie and the innovations he has made during his career, and continues to make. If you haven't listened to Low before, today is a good day to do it. Even after 38 years it is just as important and vital as it was on the day it was released. Actually, it's probably more important now. In an industry where artists find it hard to change musical direction, Bowie has shown that the only important thing is the belief in yourself and the music you choose to make.