Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
And Diamond dogs. Arguably superior to Ziggy.

Agreed. I need to listen to more of his late '70s/early '80s stuff though, I get the feeling there's a huge heap of great material I've barely explored.

Did he do much with Eno other than the second side of Low?
 
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droid

Guest
Agreed. I need to listen to more of his late '70s/early '80s stuff though, I get the feeling there's a huge heap of great material I've barely explored.

Did he do much with Eno other than the second side of Low?

Heroes (another B side of eno/krautrock style instrumentals) and Lodger (overrated IMO).

If you like the B side of Low, the instrumental compilation 'all saints' is worth a look.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Station to Station is like the connoisseurs choice of Bowie LP's isnt it? Joint 2nd for me with Heroes after Low.

Maybe it's because it's the first Bowie album I ever got, but I think it documents a unique crossover between the two halves of his 70s - a properly hybrid sound.

My three'd Be Station, Low and Diamond Dogs, though not sure in what order. DD is incredibly underrated, though gratifyingly not on this board. Sweet Thing-Candidate-Sweet Thing Reprise is one of his greatest.

And I'd put Scott Walker's suite of songs on 'Nite Flights' as an honorary addition to Bowie's 70s catalogue. It's so closely matched.

Aladdin Sane is always better than I expect when I listen to it - almost has the feeling of a 'lost' Bowie album despite the massive hit. Lady Grinning Soul is magnificent.
 
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droid

Guest
Aladdin Sane is always better than I expect when I listen to it - almost has the feeling of a 'lost' Bowie album despite the massive hit. Lady Grinning Soul is magnificent.

'Panic in Detroit' is the standout for me.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Yes! I used to listen to that obsessively. Also, the demo version of Candidate is outstanding.

it's crazed dystopian cocaine psychodrama at its very best. I'd go to more opera* if it sounded more like this. fuck alone knows what his mental process was when he wrote it.

the demo version absolutely, love it.

* or musicals, maybe
 
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droid

Guest
Just found a weird US release of 1984/dodo on Spotify. Finding alternate cuts of major label records is probably the thing its most useful for.

Woah. 'Rebel Rebel' with weird reversed background vocals!
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
I love the last three tracks that gradually descend into total insanity. 'Chant of the Ever-Circling Skeleton Family' has to be one of the most aptly-titled songs ever. And there's that weird vocal loop at the end that sounds like someone saying "Brian! Brian! Brian! Brian! Brian!" over again. Just nuts.

You know that record started out as a soundtrack to a musical based on 1984? Can't imagine Bowie making something that earnest, somehow (and of course he didn't, in the end). Fuck knows what it would have looked/sounded like if he'd gone through with it.
 
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droid

Guest
I love the last three tracks that gradually descend into total insanity. 'Chant of the Ever-Circling Skeleton Family' has to be one of the most aptly-titled songs ever. And there's that weird vocal loop at the end that sounds like someone saying "Brian! Brian! Brian! Brian! Brian!" over again. Just nuts.

You know that record started out as a soundtrack to a musical based on 1984? Can't imagine Bowie making something that earnest, somehow (and of course he didn't, in the end). Fuck knows what it would have looked/sounded like if he'd gone through with it.

There's some footage in the Nicholas Roeg film of rehearsals for the diamond dogs tour, which retained a bunch of the ideas he'd had for the musical AFAIK.
 

Leo

Well-known member
What, no Tin Machine love from you guys? ;)

man, this thread has me pulling for all my old bowie records. station to station was my first bowie record as well (still pretty amazing), can never say enough about diamond dogs, and always loved to hot/raw guitar of "cracked actor" and his cover of "let's spend the night together". and the wonderful drum sound on "sound & vision" and other cuts from low.

i might even go out and buy his new album.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
I love the last three tracks that gradually descend into total insanity. 'Chant of the Ever-Circling Skeleton Family' has to be one of the most aptly-titled songs ever. And there's that weird vocal loop at the end that sounds like someone saying "Brian! Brian! Brian! Brian! Brian!" over again. Just nuts.

You know that record started out as a soundtrack to a musical based on 1984? Can't imagine Bowie making something that earnest, somehow (and of course he didn't, in the end). Fuck knows what it would have looked/sounded like if he'd gone through with it.

Never really thought of it as Brian! It's a sample of the beginning of 'brother', isn't it, done by a 1974 sampler which has about 10ms of memory?
Big Brother is a fucking wonderfully mad track. Sounds like decaying totalitarian disco, and that wonderful double-vocalled acoustic interlude prior to the last chorus....wow.
 
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Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Someone to fool us, some brave Apollo!

Dammit, gonna have to listen to this on the way home now.
 

CrowleyHead

Well-known member
I strongly dislike Tin Machine, and actually a lot of this LP reminds me of that kinda, so there you go.

TBH, I think Bowie needs to go and become an Elder Statesman. This whole rocky vibe on the album is very unbecoming, and actually really toothless. It's telling that "Where Are You Now" and the fake Scott Walker song are his best ones on the LP, because that's where he should be... Bowie as Space Sinatra. He's earned the right to be more graceful and retiring, he shouldn't feel like he has to be 'ready to go out with one last BANG!'.
 

rubberdingyrapids

Well-known member
the nature boy song from moulin rouge a while back was very scott walker. that album also had one of the best covers ive heard of bowie or otherwise by beck of diamond dogs, produced by timbaland. if you ever wondered what timbo and bowie might have done, thats probably as close as youre going to get.

id personally like bowie to do a more modern scott walker type of record.
 

Leo

Well-known member
on a different tip, i also went through a belated "man who sold the world" kick at one point, i think cobain used to rave about it as a fav of his (or maybe he just admired other dress-wearing male rock stars).
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
'Don't talk of dust and roses/ Or should we powder our noses?'

Oh David, what could you be referring to....?!

For some reason, songs that reference or glorify cocaine use usually annoy me, but Bowie and Black Sabbath are two artists that get a free pass every time.

And hey, at least it wasn't smack (except of course it was, for several years).
 
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IdleRich

IdleRich
You don't rate "Let's Dance"? That's the greatest cocaine album ever.
I do like that song but I don't really know the album I have to admit. Maybe I should get hold of it.
What about all the early stuff? Not very dissensus but I even like all the plastic-mod, plastic-psych stuff when he was just kinda trying to decide what would give him the best chance of a hit (I guess).

Let Me Sleep Beside You

Can't Help Thinking About Me

I would have thought that the raawwk fan's album of choice would be The Man Who Sold The World - some great bluesey guitar on that for those who care about that kind of thing.

Re the Bowie/Prince thing - both almost cartoonishly flamboyant at times I suppose. Bowie wrote All The Young Dudes for Mott the Hoople and I think Prince might have given away a few good ones too.
 
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