David Bowie

[k thx 0]

Having heard the singles, I've never been compelled to listen to a David Bowie album in the past. However, thanks to the magic of shuffle, I heard Moonage Daydream, and from that The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars.

 

Man, this album is great. Anybody else have an opinion on it or Bowie in general? Any recommendations?

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

I used to be the same way and then wised up. Ziggy is great, Hunky Dory might be better and is a totally uniquely beautiful album, and the Berlin albums are different still, with Low being an absolute high point. The second half being all instrumentals initially gives you a feeling of "weirded out!" but grows on you pretty quickly. Others will inevitably chime in with even more exciting thoughts.

 

I also love "Panic in Detroit."

[spiny norman 0]

The Bowie albums I'm a fan of:

 

Hunky Dory

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

Aladdin Sane

Station to Station

Low

Heroes

Lodger

Scary Monsters

Let's Dance

 

While I am a fan of Low, I do think it is a bit overrated. It would be my least favourite of those I listed, aside perhaps Lodger.

[Copper Feel 0]

I'm just getting into Bowie.

 

I love his overt charisma, lyrical ability and he's quite the impressive composer.

 

I own Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust and Station To Station, Ziggy is the best of the 3.

 

I'm looking to get all of his 70's stuff soon.

[2GOLD 0]

Bowie is an oddity for me. I like him for individual songs but I cannot make it through an entire album. I've tried on many occasions but I don't know, I just tire of him very fast. He seems to be the only artist I run into this problem.

[Annabelle 0]

Bowie is an oddity for me. I like him for individual songs but I cannot make it through an entire album. I've tried on many occasions but I don't know, I just tire of him very fast. He seems to be the only artist I run into this problem.

 

how is he an oddity? hunky dory is about as poppy as anything in the 70's. you have no clue.

[Copper Feel 0]

Bowie is an oddity for me. I like him for individual songs but I cannot make it through an entire album. I've tried on many occasions but I don't know, I just tire of him very fast. He seems to be the only artist I run into this problem.

 

Just find a few songs you like on an album and build from there. It's not like any of his early 70s albums could alienate anyone at all..............

[2GOLD 0]

Bowie is an oddity for me. I like him for individual songs but I cannot make it through an entire album. I've tried on many occasions but I don't know, I just tire of him very fast. He seems to be the only artist I run into this problem.

 

Just find a few songs you like on an album and build from their. Its not like any of his early 70s albums could alienate anyone at all..............

 

I've tried, it's just I cannot really get into a full album. Invidual songs, yeah. Whole albums just aren't doing it for me. I hold nothing against him, I rather enjoy his music in doses but I just cannot get into any of his full albums.

[godthedog 0]

what a coincidence, i just bought 'hunky dory' today.

 

the only other bowie album i've ever owned is 'low', which is fantastic. took some getting used to, but the first side especially is surpisingly infectious.

 

first thoughts on listening to 'hunky dory': maybe my standards from 'low' were set too high, but the tracks seemed a little samey and saccharine. i've never liked "changes." i also don't like the high nasal register he uses on this album.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

Give it time. I was dimissive of Hunky Dory for years before realizing its greatness. Not saying you'll ever feel the way I do about it, but I think you get what I mean.

 

As for where to go after TRAFOZSATSFM:

 

Hunky Dory

Aladdin Sane

Low

Scary Monsters

 

Bowie has other good albums, of course, but those four are my favorites. I've still never heard Lodger, by the way. I should do something about that.

[Ravenbomb 0]

my opinion of him varies from song to song

[Special K 0]

Going by the radio play I've heard, he can do no wrong. Hunky Dory and Ziggy are the two albums I own, and they are FUCKING incredible. He's one of the few artists that I'll say, if you don't appreciate him, you're a douche. And I'm not even that educated in his stuff.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

Aladdin Sane was the follow-up to Ziggy Stardust; it covers a lot of similar ground, but does a better job of it, in my opinion. Less concerned with the establishing the Ziggy persona, the songs get to stand out on their own.

[Red Baron 0]

My opinion, Lets Dance was his best album, mainly because of Stevie Ray Vaughn guitar work on the record.

[Annabelle 0]

My opinion, Lets Dance was his best album, mainly because of Stevie Ray Vaughn guitar work on the record.

 

ya, you're wrong. although the album starts off with a 1-2-3 punch that is very difficult to beat...by any artist.

[Guest Coffey]

He's a musical genius. One of my favorite artists.

[Red Baron 0]

I never really got into much of Bowie's albums much, but like I said the reason I liked Lets Dance over anything else is SRV guitar work. Just adds a whole other feel. Hell the title track alone is one of his best songs ever written and has a very groovy and underrated bass line ever.

[Kinetic 0]

I've come around to liking Heroes better as a whole album than Low, mostly because the ambient stuff on the second side is a lot more interesting and there's a real song, "The Secret Life of Arabia," at the very end. I'd be willing, however, to make a case for the first side of Low being the best side on any rock record ever.

 

Something not yet mentioned here is his 70s covers album, Pin-ups. It's surprisingly good, considering that the covers on his proper albums are generally low points, with "Let's Spend the Night Together" being particularly ill-advised. But this record has a solid cover of "See Emily Play" and a really excellent version of "Where Have All the Good Times Gone?" I wouldn't suggest it as the first Bowie record to buy, but if anyone familiar with his stuff can find it used, it's a pretty good pick-up.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Side 1 of The Joshua Tree and side 2 of Abbey Road are probably better

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

"The Secret Life of Arabia" is awful, awful shit and Pin-Ups is totally fucking gash except for "Rosalyn."

 

The Czech Republic is wrong, too, on both counts.

[Guest abowen33]

Hunky Dory is in my top 5 albums of all time list, easy. Just about everything he released in the 70s is ace. I guess Diamond Dogs was kinda weak, and I'm no huge Pin Ups fan, but I think I liked Young Americans more than most did. Oh, and even though it was 1980 Scary Monsters counts in the awesome list too.

[Kinetic 0]

Can you use "gash" as an adjective? In any event, I'll cop to the Who covers on Pin-ups being pretty mediocre, which I can see being a sore spot for Incandenza, but at least half of that record is totally passable. And, seriously, "Where Have All the Good Times Gone?" is at least the equal of the Kinks original and much better than the subsequent Van Halen cover. If any argument can be made against Pin-ups, it's that the covers don't vary much at all from the originals. That's fair.

 

"The Secret Life of Arabia" is OK, and I definitely think that Heroes benefits from having a real song to close it, whereas Low ends on a pretty anti-climactic note.

 

I haven't heard all of The Joshua Tree because I'm really not that interested in U2, but I would absolutely argue in favor of Low's Side 1 over any Beatles' side based on how completely mesmerizing every one of those Bowie songs is and how little precedent there was for anything he was doing. That said, I own all of about 10 records and only kinda think of things in sides, as opposed to having to actually get up and flip the record over. So someone with more experience might disagree with me.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

The first side of The Joshua Tree is wonderful, but in a much more conventional way than, really, any of Bowie's, particularly Low. I mean, you've probably heard almost everything on it at some point or another: "Where The Streets Have No Name," "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," "With Or Without You," etc. Great songs, but they sure aren't "Breaking Glass."

[The Czech Republic 0]

Hey, War side 1 is really good too.

 

I don't know why, but I never really got into Bowie. I'll probably try again soon.

[Red Baron 0]

Changes by Bowie reminds me of Bob Dylan, maybe because of the vocals or something.

[Special K 0]

It's always been curious to me why accents rarely translate when someone is actually singing.

[The Czech Republic 0]

I'm reading this as I listen to "These Days," so that comment is really, really funny.

[5_moves_of_doom 0]

"Where The Streets Have No Name," "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," "With Or Without You,"

 

It should be noted that these are all the exact same song (hey, I'm a big fan, but it's true!)

 

I would put War over The Joshua Tree, and probably put Achtung Baby over War, for that matter.

 

I have no clue what I would rank as my best album side, but I would put money on it probably being something by Prince, or the second side of The Velvet Underground & Nico.

[The Czech Republic 0]

"Where The Streets Have No Name," "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," "With Or Without You,"

 

It should be noted that these are all the exact same song (hey, I'm a big fan, but it's true!)

 

Not true. See, if you went with "With or Without You" and "Miracle Drug," in which they both have the exact same D-A-Bm-G progression, you'd have a case, but those three are pretty distinct from one another.

[Annabelle 0]

i don't like this u2 discussion in a bowie thread. can we agree that side a of hunky dory is the best in the bowie catalogue? i think we should all agree with that. sincerely.