David Bowie - "David Bowie In Bertolt Brecht's Baal" (1983)

In 1982, BBC aired a TV version of Bertolt Brecht's Baal (recorded in 1981), in which Bowie played Baal. It's an EP with 5 songs, 11 minutes of playing time, the album was recorded in Berlin, and it was the last record Bowie released on RCA. His next album was released on EMI. Brecht wrote Baal in 1918, and it was set up in 1923 for the first time.

I bought the record about ten years ago when I lived in the city of Quebec, mostly because I thought it seemed to be an odd album with Bowie. I thought I had a pretty good idea about his catalog, but had never heard of this one. It was cheap, so I decided to cure my curiosity (and maybe it was worth a lot more than the store asked!). Since then, it has mostly remained standing in the shelf without being played. Perhaps one reason has been that it has hardly been worthwhile to put it on for 11 minutes of music, which includes one turning of the record. The CD / Streaming era has probably made me a bit lazy.

The TV version of the songs has only banjo accompanying the singing, but it was decided to have a slightly fuller arrangement on the record. Remember these are not Bowie's own songs, the songs are of Brecht character, so if you like that kind of music, you probably like this album. I have never been a Bowie fanatic, I find his songs quite mixed, with both bland and fantastic creations. Brecht is also not someone I've had very much interest in, so for me this album is nothing special. If I want to listen to Bowie, I will definitely choose another one of his albums. It may be added that the album was released during Bowie's Let's Dance period, but the music on Baal is very far from put on your red shoes and dance the blues ...


Tracklist

Side A
1. Baal's Hymn 4:02
2. Remembering Marie A 2:04

Side B
1. Ballad Of The Adventurers 1:54
2. The Drowned Girl 2:24
3. Dirty Song 0:37

David Bowie - "Heroes" (1977)

A summer has passed, and a longer stay in the motherland of Sweden paused the blogging for a while. But now the Canadian everyday routine is back, and so the blog starts again.

The thread running through the last posts has been recently deceased musicians, and Bowie is perhaps the greatest legend of them all. His passing spread shock waves throughout the world. Just like Lemmy and Prince, Bowie always went his own way without too much worries what others would think. This must be respected.

Heroes offers a pretty messy and noisy side A and a much calmer side B, more towards the ambient genre. I am fascinated that Bowie became such a huge artist as he did, for his music is not always easy to grasp. This very much applies to Heroes, which is the second part of Bowie's Berlin trilogy. On the album both Brian Eno and Robert Fripp participate, and with such a company it's not strange that the musical result becomes a challenge.

I'm not entirely fond of the A-side, it's a little too messy and loud for my taste. The obvious highlight is of course the title song, perhaps the highlight of Bowie's whole career. It is a song which in itself makes a record worth buying, and though I've heard it so many times I haven't grown tired of it. The other songs are not really my thing, though. Generally concerning Bowie, his voice always creats a sort of unpleasant neurotic feeling within me, so I don't really know how to handle the listening.

When you switch to side B, it gets more interesting. It's more experimental where Bowie, with the help of amongst others Eno, creates different instrumental soundscapes. Perhaps not music for the radio or the pre-parties, nonetheless of high quality and interesting. The album ends with a more "normal" song with voice, perhaps to bring the listener back to the reality again.

Although Bowie was / is popular amongst the masses, and even though Heroes is an album that has sold large quantities, I consider the record to be a challenge. It requires a lot of listenings to be fully understood, and I don't know if I've really understood it yet.


Tracklist

Side A
1. Beauty and the Beast 3:32
2. Joe the Lion 3:05
3. Heroes 6:07
4. Sons of the silt Age 3:15
5. Blackout 3:50

Side B
1. V-2 Schneider 3:10
2. Sense of Doubt 3:57
3. Moss Garden 5:03
4. Neuköln 4:34
5. The Secret Life of Arabia 3:46

David Bowie - "Hunky Dory" (1971)

The first time this album was in my possession was my 11th or 12th birthday. I owned it for a few days, until I returned it to the store. I had wished for Let's Dance, which my father was not really aware of. A Bowie album is a Bowie album, I guess he thought, and obeyed the staff's recommendation that this was the album to have.

At the time, Let's Dance surely was the right album for me, but seen in a larger perspective, I without a doubt prefer Hunky Dory. It's relatively new in my collection, but since my older brother owned it and played it regularly during my younger years, it has been in my life for many years. So it doesn't feel like a new album to me.

The version I have is a Spanish reissue with the addition of  A Pedir De Boca in the title, and I don't know how official it is. What's different with it is that it's a brown vinyl, which when held up to the light becomes almost purple in color. I have read online about Spanish editions with different colors, but the brown one I have found difficult to find information on. But the other colored Spanish editions are usually mentioned as non official releases, so I guess this goes for mine as well.

This is almost a classic and it's a really good album. Songs like Changes, Life On Mars? or Andy Warhol are well known to the public (I think anyway). This was Bowie's fourth album but the first on his new record company RCA. When he began the recording he was actually without a contract, but RCA heard a demo tape and signed him.

Hunky Dory sold quite OK initially, but it wasn't until Bowie's big break the following year, with the album Ziggy Stardust, it began selling in higher numbers. It is on countless lists of best album ever made, best album from the 70's and so on. Bowie himself considers it one of his most important album throughout his career.

It's relatively easily-accessible music, while at the same time not mainstream. I think it can suite quite a lot of people, whether you identify yourself as a music connoisseur and a knower of great stature or prefer to listen to today's radio with more impersonal computer-generated music. Should I mention something negative, it's Bowie's voice, at the time a little thin and nasal, which I can't say I'm overly fond of. It gives the songs a touch that feels on the verge of somewhat neurotic. Nevertheless a really good album that should probably be in every person's album collection.


Tracklist

Side A
1. Changes 3:37
2. Oh! You Pretty Things 3:12
3. Eight Line Poem 2:55
4. Life On Mars? 3:53
5. Kooks 2:53
6. Quicksand 5:08

Side B
1. Fill Your Heart 3:07
2. Andy Warhol 3:56
3. Song For Bob Dylan 4:12
4. Quen Bitch 3:18
5. The Bewlay Brothers 5:22

David Bowie – “Let’s Dance” (1983)

My dad gave me this album for my birthday. Probably it was the year of its release, possibly the year after. In other words, I was 11 or 12 years old. I remember this birthday morning well. I was in Jämtland (in the northern part of Sweden) at my grandmothers place with the rest of my family. Of course I recognized the shape of the present and understood what was hidden inside. Let's Dance had been on my wish list, thanks to the hit Let's Dance, so you can believe I was surprised when I opened the present and looked down on the album in my hand. Sure, it was a Bowie album, but not Let's Dance. Instead, it said Hunky Dory on it. What was this? I will not deny that a certain feeling of disappointment appeared.

My dear father, whose interest in music was primarily focused on jazz and classical music, had a vague idea about modern music. Therefore, he had walked into a music store and simply asked for a Bowie album. I imagine that the business owner probably had a pretty good knowledge of music and thought Hunky Dory was the Bowie album to own.

Like my son today sometimes says he doesn’t want to hurt my feelings if he thinks he will make me disappointed, I had a feeling this birthday morning of not wanting to make my dad sad by refusing to accept the gift. He had meant well, so I said with concealed disappointment that this album was problably also good and that I could keep it. However, my other family members said I should change it to the album I actually wanted, and so it was.

Bowie had already at this time had a relatively long and interesting career with a long list of hits. The album Let's Dance must probably still be said to be the first truly commercial album he did. The album earned three big hits - the title track, Modern Love and China Girl (which Bowie wrote together with Iggy Pop and appeared on the latters album The Idiot, 1977). Bowie’s videos for the songs China Girl and Let's Dance also caught a lot of attention and were played heavily on MTV. Bowie had by this time become one of the most important video artists.

When I listen to the LP today, I think it’s a good commercial pop record, but there is some sort of twist, something that makes it a bit different from other commercial pop music - as if someone has tuned the music an inch to the left. Maybe it's Bowie's voice that evokes this feeling. I have listened to some of Bowie's other creations, most not as commercial, and perhaps this has led me to associate his voice with a touch of weirdness. He doesn’t always seem to have been the most uncomplicated person.

I liked this album as a child and still think it’s alright. I don’t know what kind of audience Bowie had in mind when he made this record, if he had any such in mind, but it’s impressive to make an album both a 11-year-old and a 38-year old can enjoy and discover quality in. I'm not listening to this LP today, since this kind of pop music is not what I now prefer, but would recommend it if you want a good pop record. All the songs are not good, some are a bit boring, but overall it’s an okay album. The production is quite timeless and is not suffering from a typical 80's sound, according to me. It can be mentioned that Stevie Ray Vaughan plays guitar on the album, he later got a successfull solo career of his own.

Although I give this album an OK, I think today that I should have kept the Hunky Dory album. What had my (musical) life looked like if I, as an 11-12 year-old, had been spinning that album on the turntable on a nearly daily basis? How would it have shaped my mind and my perception of music? Maybe I would have been a totally different person than the one I am today – I might have been successful, well liked and admired. On the other hand, I might not have understood anything of it, lose my belief in music and eventually become a bitter man. I guess there’s no idea to regret things in past. Let’s dance, baby!

Favorite Tracks

China Girl

Without You

Cat People

 

Tracklist

Side A

1. "Modern Love" – 4:46
2. "China Girl"  – 5:32
3. "Let's Dance" – 7:38
4. "Without You" – 3:08

Side B

1. "Ricochet" – 5:14
2. "Criminal World"  – 4:25
3. "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" – 5:09
4. "Shake It" – 3:49