Diamond Dogs (1974)
This was Bowie's first album after firing his Spiders from Mars backing band as only keyboardist Mike Garson remained. As such, Bowie played most of the instruments himself, giving the record a rougher, slightly unfinished sound. Bowie did deliver some of the best guitar playing of his career, from the incredible riff of the immortal "Rebel Rebel" to the thrashing outtro of "Sweet Thing (Reprise)". The album was originally intended as a full-length reenactment of George Orwell's 1984 but due to issues with Orwell's estate, the concept ended up being shifted into something more Bowie-esque, which I think was for the benefit of the album. This is the Bowie album I remember hearing most when I was young. The spoken-word intro "Future Legend" outlines his unique dystopian concept using a heavily processed vocal technique that reappears throughout the album. Overall, this album used more electronics and post-production techniques than its predecessors. The songs are almost uniformly excellent, with the sole exception of the questionable "Rock 'n' Roll with Me", the only song on the album not solely written by Bowie. The album has the same dystopian, futuristic darkness that is common to The Man Who Sold the World, Scary Monsters, and Outside, which are some of my favorite Bowie albums. My favorite tracks are the title track, a strong rocker with intense cowbell and the great opening line of "This ain't rock and roll, this is genocide", as well as "Big Brother", one of the few 1984-specific songs on the album, which has a very powerful chorus and outtro and hints at some of the experiments of future albums.
Young Americans (1975)
Bowie's attempt at what he called "plastic soul" is an album that was new to me until recently. It is not one of my favorites but I can definitely see its merits, particularly in terms of lyrics and songwriting. With only eight songs, one of which is a cover and two of which are co-written, this album has the least original Bowie content of any of his proper albums up to this point. Bowie's vocals show major development here but also shows a move away from the high-pitched yelp of the Ziggy albums to a deeper croon that is closer to Bryan Ferry or Scott Walker. A young Luther Vandross contributed backing vocals and arrangements to the album while John Lennon co-wrote and played on the album's hit "Fame". Bowie also covers the Beatles' song "Across the Universe" with very limited success on this album. Overall, the album is an interesting one-off experiment but certainly not an essential part of Bowie's catalogue. This album can also be seen as a precursor to some of Bowie's worst material from the 1980s. My favorite tracks are the title track, which has an excellent, complex arrangement, a great melody and solid lyrics, as well as "Somebody Up There Likes Me" which is a powerful and affecting ballad.
Station to Station (1976)
One of my absolute favorite Bowie albums and a massive leap forward creatively for him and his band as he entered his "Thin White Duke" phase. This album sees the late 70s band firmly in place along with some excellent guitar work from Earl Slick, who is still working with Bowie today. Bowie and his band were deep into the cocaine at this point and Bowie claims to remember nothing of the album's recording sessions, contributing to the often vague and obtuse lyrics. Despite this, Station to Station has some of the best musicianship and songwriting of Bowie's career. "Golden Years" and "TVC 15" from this album are two of Bowie's catchiest songs (I think I first heard "Golden Years" in an American Express commercial). My picks for this album are the title track, which is ten minutes of pure greatness, as well as "Stay", which fuses hard rock and funk to great effect and has one of Bowie's best vocals.
Low (1977)
The beginning of Bowie's so-called Berlin Trilogy as well as his first collaboration with Brian Eno, Low sees Bowie diving in head first into electronic and experimental music. In addition, the influence of German artists like Can and Neu! is evident when listening to this record. This album has a completely unique sound and deserves a listen in the highest-quality form possible. Guitarist Ricky Gardner, who only played on the one Bowie album, produces an amazing phasing, driving guitar tone that gives momentum to the fractured pop songs of the album's first side. The lyrics on this album have a dark and somewhat empty feeling, reflecting Bowie's mood after giving up cocaine. Despite the challenging nature of the material, Bowie still managed a hit with "Sound and Vision", a song whose pop structure disguises one of the most intricate and progressive arrangements ever heard. This album is known for being hugely influential and the influence of "Subterraneans" on Nine Inch Nails is obvious. The instrumental tracks of the second side are more challenging than the first side but no less enthralling. Brian Eno's contributions to this album are often overstated but "Art Decade" sounds very much like one of the instrumentals on Eno's "Another Green World." My favorites from this album are "Breaking Glass" for its insane rhythm and great guitar riff and "Warszawa" for its mournful sound and plaintive vocal.
"Heroes" (1977)
A continuation of the ideas from Low, this album in nonetheless very different from its predecessor. Both more uplifting and crazier, there is huge variation from one song to another on this album. The iconic cover image was reappropriated for 2013s The Next Day cover. Robert Fripp of King Crimson played much of the guitar on the album and his work heavily contributes to the general wildness, especially on the track "Blackout" which sounds like it's about to fall apart completely at any moment. Bowie's vocals are wilder and listening to the album now, I can see how his vocals were a huge influence on The Cure's mid-80s material. To me, the instrumentals that make up this album are not quite as strong as those on Low but the vocal songs are more fully formed and memorable. The title track is one of Bowie's most enduring and best loved songs and anchors much of the record with its huge vocal and melody. My picks are the title track, of course, as well as "Joe the Lion", which fuses all the best elements of Bowie's divergent styles at the time.
Lodger (1979)
A shorter and more song-oriented album compared to its predecessors, this album is often neglected by Bowie enthusiasts despite its many excellent songs and particularly great artwork. While this album is considered the last album of the "Berlin Trilogy", it is not recorded in Germany, nor does it have the instrumentals that figured prominently in the previous two albums. Guitar on this album is provided by Adrian Belew, who previously toured with Bowie and would go on to play with the Talking Heads as well as becoming the frontman for King Crimson. An excellent player, he holds much of the album together with his unique style. At times, especially with songs like "Yassassin", this record is very similar to what the Talking Heads were doing around the same time. Despite the great songwriting, this album didn't manage to spawn any real hits. One issue with the album is that most of the best songs are on the second side. My two favorites, both from the second side, are "Look Back in Anger" which is powerful and anthemic with a strong groove and "Repetition" which joins a strange and unsettling rhythm to disturbingly real lyrics about male privilege and domestic abuse.
Stay tuned for my next installment where things start well but get very ugly!
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