He's (SFJ) hearing 80s production gimmicks in this? Is he listening to the samealbum?
― That elusive North American wood-ape (Capitaine Jay Vee), Wednesday, 13 March 2013 16:34 (eleven years ago) link
He's right about the drums, although I have no idea what "sports bar guitars" are. Do they sound like wine bar bass lines?
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 13 March 2013 16:39 (eleven years ago) link
Here there everywhereIt's hip to have a square over your face
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 13 March 2013 16:39 (eleven years ago) link
7-11 synth bass
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 13 March 2013 16:53 (eleven years ago) link
The female backing vocals on 'You Will Set The World On Fire' quite 80s. And the song also sounds like Iggy's 'Bang Bang', the Never Let Me Down closing track. 'Love Is Lost' sounds like a throwback to the 'Let's Dance' album and 'How Does The Grass Grow' is even a little NLMD in places.
― 'Separate Lives', by Phil Collins & Marilyn Manson (PaulTMA), Wednesday, 13 March 2013 17:10 (eleven years ago) link
Lots of little bits reminding me of previous Bowie albums (some of the better ones). Incl Bowies 80s, and maybe some gen. 80s, but not Phil Collins 80s, thankfully (sports bars guitars rule okay, if these are they). Satisfying fan-bait. Still would like more rhythmic variety, flexibility and succintness at times ("Let's Geeze" or whatevs), but the dour "I'd Rather Be High" or whatever it's called has settled into my mental replay pretty tenaciously. Thanks for descriptions of iTunes bonus tracks, will prob get CD. Those allergic to Spotify via Fecebook can still hear the 17 track version of this album, and most of his others, maybe incl.some not on Spotify:http://www.myspace.com/davidbowie/music/albums
― dow, Wednesday, 13 March 2013 17:31 (eleven years ago) link
This is the guy from Tim's Machines right? Weird, that it's taken so long for him to go solo...
― chr1sb3singer, Wednesday, 13 March 2013 18:09 (eleven years ago) link
If anything "Boss Of Me" and "I'd Rather Be High" are the two tracks on this that kill the momentum for a bit. Overall I'm loving the odd bird that is this album.
― That elusive North American wood-ape (Capitaine Jay Vee), Wednesday, 13 March 2013 18:11 (eleven years ago) link
You folks comparing this to Tin Machine, Bang Bang, Never Let Me Down and the like are really lowering the bar here. I like Heathen and Reality, and loved the tour behind it, but comparisons to those albums are also pretty modest in praise, tbh.
In the opposite direction, I honestly think SFJ overrates current interest in Bowie, let alone a "fascination" with this record or (I had to look it up) cathexis. Bowie is a Big Star, and as such will always by default be "anticipated." But what does it take for Bowie to go to number one in the UK? 20K sold? 40K? First number one record in 20 years or whatever says less about Bowie and more about the music industry today.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 13 March 2013 18:20 (eleven years ago) link
xp "I'd Rather" is not nec. one of the better ones, but its persistent replay in my headbox is more evidence of the album's viabilty, even though it can be sloggier than I'd like (don't think age is an excuse; Tempest is mostly engaging musically, even though some of the lyrics don't work; also Willie Nelson's albums in recent years--staying on the road seems to help both artists (also L. Cohen). Bowie's show could be shithot, before he had that heart attack and went into seclusion, which may have affected this set. It's not timid, but no leaps for him, thank you.
― dow, Wednesday, 13 March 2013 18:25 (eleven years ago) link
Take out the middle four (If You Can See Me, I'd Rather Be High, Boss Of Me, Dancing Out In Space) and this would be much tighter. Even though I like I'd Rather Be High and Boss of Me they do slow things down and would work better as bonus tracks or whatever. Put a couple of the bonus tracks (So She and Plan) in the middle instead and we'd really be talking. Of course I can do this myself on the iPod but it's not the same.
― Eyeball Kicks, Wednesday, 13 March 2013 18:43 (eleven years ago) link
"Boss of Me" is embarrassing
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 13 March 2013 18:45 (eleven years ago) link
^ all the saxes redeem it for me.
― nerve_pylon, Wednesday, 13 March 2013 19:03 (eleven years ago) link
Love "Valentine's Day" a lot. Hits all the right Bowie nostalgia buttons ( the nasal delivery, the chorus).
― That elusive North American wood-ape (Capitaine Jay Vee), Wednesday, 13 March 2013 19:18 (eleven years ago) link
Great piece from Douglas Wolk here on Bowie and his many collaborations
http://www.mtvhive.com/2013/03/13/david-bowie-friends/
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 13 March 2013 21:45 (eleven years ago) link
reminds me how much I like "Pretty Pink Rose."
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 13 March 2013 21:50 (eleven years ago) link
Reminds me how much I like "Watch That Man"
― OutdoorFish, Wednesday, 13 March 2013 22:14 (eleven years ago) link
Wasn't familiar with Dana Gillespie's Andy Warhol - it's cool.
― Eyeball Kicks, Wednesday, 13 March 2013 22:32 (eleven years ago) link
i actually like tin machine for real i am not joking
― u r the best magician ever. my bad levitate me pls (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 13 March 2013 22:53 (eleven years ago) link
why can't he just knock out a 'Let's Dance' or something?
He did on "Black Tie White Noise", which may have been his best album since "Let's Dance" but which was still not very good, and every album he has released after it has been better IMO.
― The GeirBot (Geir Hongro), Wednesday, 13 March 2013 23:37 (eleven years ago) link
Here's an article for the tech nerds out there. Good read!http://www.sonicscoop.com/2013/03/11/engineering-david-bowies-the-next-day-inside-the-magic-shop-sessions-with-mario-j-mcnulty/
― That elusive North American wood-ape (Capitaine Jay Vee), Thursday, 14 March 2013 01:51 (eleven years ago) link
'...hours was just pish
― 'Separate Lives', by Phil Collins & Marilyn Manson (PaulTMA), Thursday, 14 March 2013 02:02 (eleven years ago) link
There's two of us around these parts.
― 誤訳侮辱, Thursday, 14 March 2013 03:19 (eleven years ago) link
"http://www.myspace.com/davidbowie/music/albums"
this is the first time I've seen someone actually use myspace in quite a while
― akm, Thursday, 14 March 2013 04:33 (eleven years ago) link
+ 1
especially tin machine 2
― mark e, Thursday, 14 March 2013 07:53 (eleven years ago) link
This is not even true! It starts off slowly and the production's a bit Natalie Imbruglia, but it still has loads of great songs e.g. "If I'm Dreaming My Life", which - performed and produced in the appropriate style* - would have stood out as a good one on any of his albums.
*I appreciate that these words are doing a lot of work here.
― Eyeball Kicks, Thursday, 14 March 2013 08:29 (eleven years ago) link
Agree that it is production to some extent but I often question his choice of musicians.
― OutdoorFish, Thursday, 14 March 2013 10:13 (eleven years ago) link
Anyway looking forward to next album, 'White Smoke, White Pope'
― OutdoorFish, Thursday, 14 March 2013 11:17 (eleven years ago) link
well, considering that Bowie and Reeves Gabrels played most of the instruments on ...hours and produced it themselves, they get the blame for how flat those songs are.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 14 March 2013 12:07 (eleven years ago) link
Well Gabriels was in Tin Machine
― OutdoorFish, Thursday, 14 March 2013 14:05 (eleven years ago) link
Have the Sales Bros done anything since Tin machine? They're awesome.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 14 March 2013 14:09 (eleven years ago) link
Gabrels was the best thing about Tin Machine iirc. Sons of Soupy were good on the rhythm tracks and lousy when they got their turn at the mic
― time turns all men into pies (flamboyant goon tie included), Thursday, 14 March 2013 14:11 (eleven years ago) link
'hours' has easily the worst production on any Bowie album. I wonder if I like it even less than Tonight and the Tin Machine albums. I put it on every few months to see if I've missed anything but it never really comes. 'Thursday's Child' is always good though.
― 'Separate Lives', by Phil Collins & Marilyn Manson (PaulTMA), Thursday, 14 March 2013 17:56 (eleven years ago) link
liking this album far more than i thought i would
― the craziest half-court shots and wildest WAGs (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 14 March 2013 18:09 (eleven years ago) link
hours is a hard listen. I think the problem is just too much gabrels. he's fine in more limited doses, and I even like all his tin machine work, but he had too much of a hand in everything else on hours and just stinks it up.
― akm, Thursday, 14 March 2013 18:37 (eleven years ago) link
Listened to Never Let Me Down Again today and a lot of it is fun. Glass Spider is camply exciting. Hours is the better album, but in terms of production depends whether you prefer garishly ugly to mild and dull.
Also watched the video for the (terrible) NLMDA single Day In Day Out. A 40-year-old Bowie on roller skates watching the hooker get raped is something to see I guess.
― Eyeball Kicks, Thursday, 14 March 2013 18:40 (eleven years ago) link
I've never minded the stoopidity of "Beat of Your Drum" ("Disco brat...follow the pack!").
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 14 March 2013 18:43 (eleven years ago) link
Time will crawl
― OutdoorFish, Thursday, 14 March 2013 18:47 (eleven years ago) link
Liked that one at the time
― OutdoorFish, Thursday, 14 March 2013 18:48 (eleven years ago) link
About Beat of Your Drum, according to Pushing Ahead of the Dame, Bowie said, "It’s a Lolita Number! Reflection on young girls... Christ, she’s only 14 years old, but jail’s worth it!"
― Eyeball Kicks, Thursday, 14 March 2013 18:48 (eleven years ago) link
I watched the Glass Spider live video last night while drunk, it was massively entertaining.
― 'Separate Lives', by Phil Collins & Marilyn Manson (PaulTMA), Thursday, 14 March 2013 18:49 (eleven years ago) link
the Bowie blog was fair to the Glass Spider, which is embarrassing but not more so than Bowie often is.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 14 March 2013 18:53 (eleven years ago) link
Time Will Crawl, Never Let Me Down, Day in Day Out are ok, the rest of it is bah. Bang BAng was ok for another Iggy cover, just not as good as the original. But shining star and stuff is PAINFUL.
It's always important to remember the amount of hype that record got. He was getting compared to Lennon a lot as well (for his vocal timbre on the record I think), I distinctly remember "this is the best bowie album since Scary Monsters" getting thrown around on release. WTF.
― akm, Thursday, 14 March 2013 21:16 (eleven years ago) link
Well, check this interview out. He's enthused!
http://www.teenagewildlife.com/Appearances/Press/1987/0800/musician.html
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 14 March 2013 21:20 (eleven years ago) link
MUSICIAN: What do you play on this album?
BOWIE: I do a lot of keyboard things, like synthesizer parts, some rhythm guitar and I play lead on a couple of tracks: "New York's In Love" and "'87 And Cry".
MUSICIAN: On those songs you wanted to have a go at it yourself?
BOWIE: I'd done it on the demo. Peter laid down a couple of solos in the middle, and it wasn't quite what I wanted. So I thought, maybe I should put down what I did and see if it works the way it did in the demo. No disregard for Peter's playing; it just wasn't the kind of guitar I wanted. Peter's too controlled. Mine is a lot of effects and ambiance, just trying to get an atmosphere rather than play. I don't know about "playing".
MUSICIAN: Was it difficult assembling the band on Never Let Me Down?
BOWIE: Physically, no, because Erdal and I put down such a lot of work before anything really started. I'd prepared everything pretty well on the demo at my house. I'd done all the head arrangements, I knew exactly how I wanted it to sound, so Erdal and I spent the first two weeks putting down everything as a backbone. Then Carlos came in, then Peter. It was really that simple. I had a very fixed idea of how it should be. The longest time was just putting my vocals down.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 14 March 2013 21:22 (eleven years ago) link
Tonight the Zeroes were waiting for you
― OutdoorFish, Thursday, 14 March 2013 21:24 (eleven years ago) link
Hagiography but a friend who worked as an assistant in the Montreux studio at the time swears up and down that NLMD was ruined in the mixing process and that there's a great album in there. I don't care? but I can believe it
― time turns all men into pies (flamboyant goon tie included), Thursday, 14 March 2013 21:28 (eleven years ago) link
ok let's stop talking about that shitty album. new one is better
― akm, Thursday, 14 March 2013 21:29 (eleven years ago) link
Even if I want to believe "Shining Star" and "New York's in Love" are good songs, there's still the matter of Bowie singing them.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 14 March 2013 21:32 (eleven years ago) link
so, is now the right time to ask if anyone has a ripped copy of bowies version of 'love missile f1-11' that was featured on the dvd single of 'new killer star' ?
― mark e, Thursday, 14 March 2013 21:57 (eleven years ago) link