David Bowie's "Low"

[Teratogen]

Haven't started my own thread in a while. I was just now searching the monstrosity of music on my computer for instrumentals of various artists and came to this album, which I hadn't heard in a while, but went through most of it again and remembered how great of an album it was. Low certainly documents the best elements of fusing David Bowie and Brian Eno. I recommend this to any Bowie fan who hasn't heard it, or even anyone looking for something definitely off-kilter.

[Teratogen]

10 days gone by, 65 views, but no one cares to comment on this Bowie album? I KNOW there's gotta be Bowie fans here.

[david birkett]

Dear Mr. O'gen -

More by inertia than conspiracy, it's the only Bowie I own and I think it's a strange, mutated but lovable child of his brain. I find the tracks on what we used to call side 2 very haunting and even disturbing, what with their alienated soudscapes and wailing in fictitous tongues.

I hate to see a good post be unreplied (to).

David

[Teratogen]

Thank you Mr. birkett. I find it strange too that Low happens to be the only Bowie album you own. But, yes, "Side 2" is definitely haunting and, as you say, alienated and disturbing. Especially with "Subterraneans" and "Warszawa." But I think Brian Eno has much to do with that. A lot of the album musically sounds like old Roxy Music stuff. However this makes me think... was this album not put out around the time of The Man Who Fell to Earth? That may also explain the state of mind Bowie was in.

[Kevin]

I've personally viewed this topic 83 tmes - so don't put too much stock in the "viewed" total. I like Low, with my favorite song of the album being Be My Wife. There's another lesser-known Bowie work, and one produced in the same general time frame, that I particularly like, and that is Lodger. Heroes is pretty good, too. I haven't listened to any of them in quite some time.

[Teratogen]

Yes, "Be My Wife" was the best track on there. My friend and I really noticed the video for it as it stood out among the others. That is, on the DVD he released along with his Best of Bowie which had many, many music videos. The pounding piano also made it stand out sonically. Not to mention in the video he looked like Steve Buscemi with bright orange hair. We were also shocked and quite pleased when he performed that song live when we saw him. Lodger is also a good album, where several songs he collaborated with either Brian Eno or Carlos Alomar. I heard that for the song "Boys Keep Swinging" Bowie wanted everyone to play an instrument that they weren't familiar with, i.e. Alomar played drums on the song and Eno played something other than keyboards I think.

[lizzytysh]

I heard that for the song "Boys Keep Swinging" Bowie wanted everyone to play an instrument that they weren't familiar with, i.e. Alomar played drums on the song and Eno played something other than keyboards I think.

Innovative and . Guarantees some unexpected results .


~ Lizzy

[Teratogen]

Exactly. Which is why when you listen to that song closely it sounds like a garage band is playing it.

[david birkett]

That cheeky satirical chappie and musical chameleon Nick Lowe responded to Bowie's 'Low' by releasing what we old people used to call an EP entitled "Bowie" which inluded a satirical take on "Breaking Glass" called "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass", a ditty which scaled the pop charts to a not inconsiderable height, I seem to remember.

Can't add any more Bowie cd's to my collection due to storage space, and not sure if I would like any others sufficiently anyway. Quite proud of having as many as 1, although I have 2 Focus and all available Godley and Creme.

Can't agree with elevating "Be My Wife" to best track status. Much prefer the long quasi-instrumentals. Of the straight 'songs', "Always Crashing in the Same Car" is my vote - sinister, atmospheric, yet acceptably whimsical.

David

[Teratogen]

Well, the opener, "Speed of Life" is a great instrumental itself. It has more definition than the longer, more synthetic atmospheric songs towards the end of the album. And I guess we musn't forget that "Sound and Vision" was a minor hit as well. When you mentioned that Nick Lowe "responded" to Low with a song of his own, but I thought I remember reading somewhere that Morrissey had once said something along the lines of, "Bowie should have died in a car crash after this album was made." I'm pretty sure it was a compliment, figuring Low was a favorite of his, as his quote also alluded to the song "Always Crashing in the Same Car."

[david birkett]

Morrissey is a wet and a weed, as any fule kno. If it were possible to have a negative number of Smith's albums, I would.

[Kevin]

Sorry Moz, both Lodger and Scary Monsters are fine albums.

[Teratogen]

Such nasty remarks about the man who put the 'M' in Manchester!

[john82]

Haven't started my own thread in a while. I was just now searching the monstrosity of music on my computer for instrumentals of various artists and came to this album, which I hadn't heard in a while, but went through most of it again and remembered how great of an album it was. Low certainly documents the best elements of fusing David Bowie and Brian Eno. I recommend this to any Bowie fan who hasn't heard it, or even anyone looking for something definitely off-kilter.

I never heard about this album before - and i really like bowie's music!
when you put david bowie and brian eno together, something good has got to come out of it!
i'll see if i can find this somewhere, i'm very curiuos to hear it...

Johnny from guitars101

[Teratogen]

Hey, someone interested in Low! I don't know how you could not have at least heard about this album. It is the first of his "Berlin trilogy," which consists of Low, Heroes, and Lodger, all done with Briano Eno and/or Carlos Alomar.