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Post by personunknown on Mar 21, 2020 7:20:50 GMT
Are you sure I can't tempt you with the sublime pop of Prettiest Star? Or the raucous rock of Watch That Man? The cinematic Panic in Detroit, with that Linda Lewis orgasmic backing? Are you sure? Quite sure?
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 21, 2020 7:48:29 GMT
Are you sure I can't tempt you with the sublime pop of Prettiest Star? Or the raucous rock of Watch That Man? The cinematic Panic in Detroit, with that Linda Lewis orgasmic backing? Are you sure? Quite sure? All v tempting I think Aladdin Sane is all killer and no filler - but you gotta draw the line somewhere. Or have you? Buddha of Suburbia today I'd forgotten what a gem the title track is
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 23, 2020 11:09:38 GMT
My album by album voyage continues
Saturday was The Buddha of Suburbia soundtrack...
I enjoyed revisiting it
The title track is great - some of the other songs are better than I'd remembered.
The instrumentals are pleasant enough but lack the atmosphere and substance of those on Low or Heroes.
Although it's listed as a soundtrack the music was never used in the TV adaptation.
Sunday was Black Tie White Noise....
Again, good to revisit it
It’s got clear evidence of DB trying to be relevant and interesting again after some very fallow years.
It’s actually pretty patchy though
I’m not keen on the slick and smooth jazz funk stylings which seem to pepper the album but at least he’s showing some ambition
Tunes I particular like are Pallas Athena, Looking for Lester, and Black Tie White Noise
The Morrissey cover is horrible though I note online that some people seem to love it.
Today it's the first Tin Machine album - a record I've barely listened to, but each time I do I find it very trying - still, got to be done
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 23, 2020 15:42:17 GMT
I have only listened to Tin Machine a handful of times prior to today
When it came out, I was alienated by it from the off
With its unreconstructed, back to basics, hard rock sound and dense arrangements it’s an unrelenting listen - plain annoying in parts
I tried to leave my prejudices at the door this time round but, after listening again, I’m still not having it
It’s only in context it makes any sense, Bowie having got the commercial acceptance he craved (albeit with diminishing returns after 'Let’s Dance') wondered if he was all washed up creatively. His response was to assemble the democratic Tin Machine - four equals, supposedly. He loved the experience, or so he said, and it seem to help him get his mojo back, so worth it in the end
‘I Can’t Read’ is unquestionably the best tune on it and it's where he lays bare his creative bankruptcy. ‘Heaven’s In Here’ is acceptable enough too and has also gone on my definitive DB playlist
Stuart Maconie once quipped, “interviewing David Bowie with Tin Machine is like getting a date with that gorgeous girl you’ve always fancied and finding out she’s brought her three ugly mates”
Tin Machine - I Can't Read
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 26, 2020 9:09:39 GMT
Spent the last couple of days with David Bowie (1967).... Expanded version - natch + the Deram anthology My personal faves are Let Me Lay Beside You, In The Heat Of The Morning, The London Boys, Love You Til Tuesday, Uncle Arthur, London Bye Ta-Ta, and Sell me a Coat. I find most of the songs quite charming though, and a fascinating insight into that period when he was swimming so furiously against the tide of what was hip and happening. I can happily listen to both albums in their entireity, which I can't say about Tin Machine or Black Tie White Noise - though most definitely can for Aladdin Sane and, to a lesser extent, Buddha.
Next up it's the unreleased 'Toy' album
Bowie recorded the album Toy for release in 2001 or 2002. It was meant to feature some new songs and new versions of some of his lesser-known songs from the 1960s. Toy remains officially unreleased. In 2001, on his own site, Bowie participated on a virtual chat with fans and when one of them asked about the release of Toy, he replied: "I'm finding EMI/Virgin seem to have a lot of scheduling conflicts this year, which has put an awful lot on the back burner. Toy is finished and ready to go, and I will make an announcement as soon as I get a very real date. Meantime, I'm already started writing and recording for another album (untitled at the moment). So far I have to say it's back to experimental. But knowing me, it doesn't mean that's how it'll turn out. I shall be writing and recording throughout the summer, but daddyfying is really my priority at the moment." Tony Visconti would later say that Bowie was 'hurt terribly' by the label's refusal to release Toy and as a result, Bowie left Virgin/EMI and announced in March 2002 that he had signed an agreement with Columbia Records to launch the new album Heathen via his own ISO label instead. Several of the Toy tracks were then released as single B-sides and Bowie announced his intention to "continue to release tracks as specials for CD singles so that not too much time goes on before they are available. Then, along with all the other tracks, gather them all up an release them as an album."
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Post by personunknown on Mar 26, 2020 11:51:19 GMT
I still have a rather worn copy of Images in my collection a double lp set of the Deram years. As you say, charming in that swinging sixties innocent style. A couple are best forgotten, Laughing Gnome and the hopelessly fake atmosphere of Please Mr Gravedigger. But Karma Man is sumptious pop and When I Live My Dream soars. Images and a similar but less tracks World of David Bowie were rushed out around the time of Ziggy as a cash in. Not sure if Bowie was happy with that but a couple of my mates weren't and tried to offload them after a couple of plays. I'm glad I bit my lip and hung onto it.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 27, 2020 15:35:41 GMT
Next up, today, it's the unreleased 'Toy' album
Bowie recorded the album Toy for release in 2001 or 2002. It was meant to feature some new songs and new versions of some of his lesser-known songs from the 1960s. Toy remains officially unreleased. In 2001, on his own site, Bowie participated on a virtual chat with fans and when one of them asked about the release of Toy, he replied: "I'm finding EMI/Virgin seem to have a lot of scheduling conflicts this year, which has put an awful lot on the back burner. Toy is finished and ready to go, and I will make an announcement as soon as I get a very real date. Meantime, I'm already started writing and recording for another album (untitled at the moment). So far I have to say it's back to experimental. But knowing me, it doesn't mean that's how it'll turn out. I shall be writing and recording throughout the summer, but daddyfying is really my priority at the moment." Tony Visconti would later say that Bowie was 'hurt terribly' by the label's refusal to release Toy and as a result, Bowie left Virgin/EMI and announced in March 2002 that he had signed an agreement with Columbia Records to launch the new album Heathen via his own ISO label instead. Several of the Toy tracks were then released as single B-sides and Bowie announced his intention to "continue to release tracks as specials for CD singles so that not too much time goes on before they are available. Then, along with all the other tracks, gather them all up an release them as an album."
I'll report back - feel free to join in
Toy is great. I can really understand why DB was so keen to get it released - and it's a shame it never officially saw the light of day. Still, he made use of a few of the tracks. I have a great affection for many of the tunes on this LP and I think the reworkings are generally very successful. I'm compiling a David Bowie Definitive playlist on iTunes and quite a few songs from Toy are now on it: In The Heat Of The Morning, The London Boys, Toy (Your Turn To Drive), You've Got A Habit of Leaving, Afraid, Hole In The Ground, and Silly Boy Blue. Uncle Floyd would have made the cut too but it turns on Heathen as well.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 28, 2020 8:01:26 GMT
I listened to Tonight twice yesterday. It must surely be the worst album Bowie ever put out. Truly awful. Despite being a massive fan I had the good sense to give it a swerve at the time. I seem to recall hearing it at a friend's house and not believing how bad it was. Overall the 80s production really hasn't aged well at all - and it sounded pretty awful at the time too. Nine songs of which five are cover versions tells its own story. That said, I have put Blue Jean and Loving The Alien on my definitive playlist - neither is brilliant but both are significantly better the rest of it.
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Post by personunknown on Mar 28, 2020 9:18:11 GMT
Awful album. Apparently, he was trying to build on the new found fans that bought Let's Dance. Despite it going platinum and number one in several countries, the critics savaged it. Personally, this album clouded my judgement for future Bowie albums to come.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 28, 2020 12:08:31 GMT
Awful album. Apparently, he was trying to build on the new found fans that bought Let's Dance. Despite it going platinum and number one in several countries, the critics savaged it. Personally, this album clouded my judgement for future Bowie albums to come. Yes me too Talking of which, today's selection is... Never Let Me Down
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 29, 2020 11:47:11 GMT
Never Let Me Down was a pleasant suprise I'm not sure I've ever listened to Never Let Me Down before. I didn't recognise the opening tracks. I have a digital version of the Loving The Alien boxset which contains a 2018 reworked version of the album, which is very different and preferable to the original version. It's so much better than Tonight which, I know, is not saying much. It's still a mess but an interesting one, with Bowie showing some ambition and a desire to be interesting 'Time Will Crawl' is a goodie It's an album I would listen to in its entireity - especially the 2018 rework. A really pleaant surprise. David Bowie - Time Will Crawl, 2018Today it's "Hours"
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Apr 2, 2020 8:14:53 GMT
My Bowie album-by-album, song-by-song journey continues. Here's the latest despatch from the frontline.... Hours I've aways had a bit of a soft spot for Hours and really enjoyed revisiting it It is very tasteful and adult, with a uniformity of sound which makes it an easy listen. DB seems to be in mournful and reflective mood throughout and, perhaps, it being 1999 n all, ruminating on the passing of time. ‘Seven', 'Thursday’s Child’, ‘Survive’, ‘The Pretty Things Are Going To Hell (Edit)’ are my personal faves. None of the tunes is up there with his best work, but nearly all are solid and, as a listening experience, it's really cohesive. The Man Who Sold The WorldI’ve always struggled with this record No arguing with the title track - or indeed 'All The Madmen' and 'After All' The rest of it is fine but I don’t really like listening to the entire album Songs like 'The Supermen' and 'Width of a Circle' are great when they pop up in live sets, or on a playlist, but not one after the other. There’s only so much Hard Rock I can take in one sitting. That said, Mick Ronson does really shine on a few of the tunes EarthlingAs I recall, Earthling came along when the original underground Drum & Bass scene was drying up, and when the press was raving about Roni Size, Goldie etc and so, at the time, it seemed like a somewhat desperate, bandwagon jumping LP. I never paid it much heed but, coming back to it now, it’s a fun listen, with sharp lyrics. DB probably never expected anyone to take it seriously as a Jungle record, that was just a jumping off point for some serious sonic exploration. DB also appears to be trying to reconnect with his Englishness, and his past, in many of the songs. This has been the biggest revelation so far - get beyond the arrangements and there are some great tunes, and from the 2020 perspective the D&B rhythms and Pixie riffs give much of it a real vibrancy. The various remixes are often great too, some outshine the album versions. Favourite tracks: 'Telling Lies' + 'Seven Years in Tibet' - but quite a few more have gone onto my David Bowie Definitive playlist
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Post by personunknown on Apr 2, 2020 9:29:10 GMT
Man Who Sold The World is my favourite Bowie album. Not to argue their are better, more consistent records, there are. But this was the first of his I ever owned, bought for me by an very music knowledgeable older cousin. She'd seen him live in the Visconti/Hype years.
I find the lyrics very cinematic, Saviour Machine is a sci fi masterpiece. All The Madmen throws up a dystopian landscape. Running Gun Blues, a soldier goes AWOL with his gun.
Width of a Circle is a lyric with mystical twists and turns, citing eastern mythology. Bolan must been gnashing his teeth when he first heard it.
Weakest? She Shook Me Cold is a cock rock guitar fest but probably with the original Laura Ashley dress cover, very much tongue in cheek.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Apr 2, 2020 10:23:39 GMT
Thanks PU. Many cite it as one of his very best. I do like it but it would be some way down my list of all time favourite DB albums
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Apr 6, 2020 14:27:48 GMT
Young Americans just might be my favourite DB album - some of the time anyway. Definitely in the conversation. I love the title track, Fame, Win, Fascination, John I'm Only Dancing (Again)....
...however it is really as an overall listening experience that it works so well.
It's a huge difference when compared with Diamond Dogs and David Live (though a few signposts there).
Young Americans (the song) now tops my ongoing chart of the best songs by DB ranked.
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