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As we're talking about Bowie..career highest & lowest


Barking Spiders
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[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1489697436' post='3259101']


I assume you're talking about the album rather than the song, not that a lot of people have much time for either :D

I think Tonight (the album) gets a bad rap, some of which is justified, but I do like to defend it.

For a start, I think if Hugh Padgham hadn't been at the helm, it would have sounded very different. The whole album is almost drowned in a sea of 80's production. You would be forgiven for thinking parts of it were from a Phil Collins album and Padgham is part of the reason why. Also, Hugh allegedly didn't think Blue Jean was good enough for the album :blink:.

Bowie himself said that Loving The Alien sounded completely different on the demo. I guess it was probably more in line with the version he later did live with Gerry Leonard, which is just beautiful IMHO. Here he is talking about it.


[/quote]

That's a beautiful version of Loving The Alien! Thanks..

Yep, the 'Tonight' album as a whole for that overblown 80s production and for being so patchy in terms of the quality of the songs.

'Never Let Me Down' wasn't much better to be honest, and the Glass Spider tour that accompanied it was probably Bowie's artistic low point for me.

However, what came afterwards, e.g. Tin Machine, the 90s drum & bass exploration stuff like Earthling, at least had Bowie's artistic integrity back at it's core that was there throughout his great 70s albums, even it it wasn't his most commercial material.

Like someone else has said above, I think 'Where Are We Now' is one of his best ever songs and IMHO, Blackstar has 2 or 3 absolutely incredible songs on it (Lazarus, I Can't Give Anything Away and the title track) so he was definitely on an upward curve as an artist before he died.

Edited by silverfoxnik
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Highest - Aladdin Sane. Also the piss take of Ricky Gervais on Extras.
Lowest - The Christmas thing ^^ with Bing Crosby where Crosby obviously had no idea who Bowie was. Also thought the Alabama Song was dreadful.

Edited by Japhet
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[quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1489884603' post='3260613']
I liked and still like "Dancing in the Street", Great driving version which doesn't take itself seriously.
[/quote]

Yep - me too. I like his version of the Alabama Song as well, but i think its one of those 'marmite' pieces of music that really divides opinion​...

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[quote name='bazztard' timestamp='1489718441' post='3259220']
Space Oddity, tho it's really Herbie Flowers' bassline that kills it, one of the most complex basslines to learn note for note as it travels over every inch of the fretboard.
[/quote]

No-one else in my Bowie covers band seems to believe me when I tell them what hard work that line is! I've tried and given up learning it a few times now and they still insist I could do it standing on my head.

Lots of highs for me, anything with Carmine Rojas playing on it is a joy to play, adore Blackstar. Too many to mention really.

We always start our set off with Station to Station which I'm not a fan of but that's a personal low. I find some of his later output a little MOR but none of it's bad as such. Never heard Tin Machine so maybe I should just to have a definitive answer here!

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[quote][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]No-one else in my Bowie covers band seems to believe me when I tell them what hard work that line is! I've tried and given up learning it a few times now and they still insist I could do it standing on my head.[/font][/color][/quote]

Glad it's not just me then. :D

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