The David Bowie Thread

[Guest]

For me, I have very little interest in Mr Jones' music after 'Scary Monsters'. I bought and enjoyed 'Let's Dance' as a teenager and adored his 'Serious Moonlight' Tour, but now on reflection I think his best and most consistant work was from 'Space Oditty' in 69 through to 'Scary Monsters' in 80.

I have tried to get into his later albums but they tend to just leave me cold.
For me it feels as if he kind of dropped his mojo in the early 80s and from that point on he was a guy that had just happened to have woken up in the body of this rock star called David Bowie and so decided to just act as if he was the same person by churning out albums. But oh...some of us spotted you faker!!! What have you done with the real David!!!???

Who agrees with me?

[Frank]

Yes, Lee, the period from 1969 through to 1981 is the 'core' of the Bowie output. He went seriously astray from about 1983 onwards. I thoroughly enjoyed 'Let's Dance' as a pure pop album and the 'Serious Moonlight' tour was awesome. I managed to catch that in the UK and in Rotterdam. Ah, heady days.

The nadir of the post 83 period was certainly the 'Tonight' and 'Never Let Me Down' albums. They were shit. He was shit. Like you say, it was almost as if someone else was inhabiting his body. I think he did redeem himself with 'Black Tie White Noise' which was a half decent album. Then you get the truly awful 'Tin Machine' mid-life crisis period where all true Bowie fans took to their air-raid shelters and waited until the poor man got bored with it.

Slowly, in my opinion, he's rediscovered himself. '1. Outside' is as mad as a box of frogs and often very difficult to access, and I really like the contemplative 'Hours' album, some very nice songwriting on that. But I would completely recommend 'Heathen'. That's pretty much the best thing he's done since 'Scary Monsters' and it's a very strong album. Certainly a return to form. 'Reality' is patchy but it's still head and shoulders over most of the stuff he churned out in the late 80s and throughout the 90s. Just when is he going to deliver another album? It's been well over 4 years ?

Lee, I'd recommend David Buckley's 'Strange Fascination' book. It's thorough, detailed and from a fan's perspective. Highly enjoyable.

[stanmore]

I think every album since The Buddha of Suburbia has included stuff worth listening to. Generally his 90s albums have about a decent album's worth of material on, but he has fitted another half an hour on top of it (don't own Black Heat White Noise). I do feel, though - and I can't understand my logic behind this - that other people are being Bowies now. From this man whose birth pretty much coincided with his decline, he looked like the only Bowie that existed at that point.

[sparacus]

I'd agree that Bowie went downhill quality-wise in the 80s. 'Lets Dance' is pretty weak apart from the singles and 'Tonight' & 'Never Let Me Down' are awful. However the worst album is 'Tin Machine II' which varies from dull Bowie songs to awful things like 'Stateside' written by Hunt Sales.
However I do like 'Hours' and 'Heathen', both of which were a major return to form.

[Rich Flair]

Is that really you, Master?

[stanmore]

I think every album since The Buddha of Suburbia has included stuff worth listening to. Generally his 90s albums have about a decent album's worth of material on, but he has fitted another half an hour on top of it (don't own Black Heat White Noise). I do feel, though - and I can't understand my logic behind this - that other people are being Bowies now. From this man whose birth pretty much coincided with his decline, he looked like the only Bowie that existed at that point.

What on earth am I talking about here?

[The Co=Ordinator]

You tell us!

[stanmore]

Nope, a week staring at it and still no idea. The first bit is about the fact that Bowie did good stuff in the 90s. The second bit could be anything at all.

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