Favorite David Bowie album?

[HotRats]

Having listened to the Five Years box, I think it's the best these albums have sounded on CD. The only disc that could have been improved is Santa Monica which is still the compressed 2008 master. Unfortunately they still haven't included all of the bonus material from the Ryko issues, so no Lightning Frightening, Bombers or Sweet Head.

[JeffTheMovieGuy]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kszLwBaC4Sw

[Scottie]

Friday!

[Al_The_Strange]

I haven't heard enough of these albums to make an informed decision - I'm mostly familiar with his "greatest hits" type of stuff. Of the few albums I do have, I find myself most attracted to his more modern works, so right now my favorite is probably Earthling. I also dig Reality though, that might be a close second.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

I haven't heard enough of these albums to make an informed decision - I'm mostly familiar with his "greatest hits" type of stuff. Of the few albums I do have, I find myself most attracted to his more modern works, so right now my favorite is probably Earthling. I also dig Reality though, that might be a close second.

The greatest thing I did throughout 2015 was familiarizing myself with every one of his songs and albums.

[Groot]

As much as I love Bowie, his last album was pretty mixed and verged on terrible and his new one seems to fall into that from the clips I've heard. He hasn't done anything memorable since Earthling at this point. And some of his new music..it's pretentious and it is so blasphemous even for him that it turns me off.

[Scottie]

I could listen to Reality on repeat all day.

[Groot]

Reality and Heathen are good albums, but the last time Bowie really brought a new character and broke genres was with Earthling. The new album wants to bring back the Low-era but it doesn't work. It's missing something.

[Al_The_Strange]

The Next Day didn't do much for me either - the only song that really grabbed me was "(You Will) Set the World on Fire."

Hmm, looks like he's got another album up for preorder this year. Blackstar - just like some of my favorite Celldweller music. Do I dare place an order...?

In any case, it sounds like I may have to invest in his other, classic albums someday.

EDIT:
Ah, JeffTheMovieGuy posted it. Couldn't see the video at work. I like what I hear, sounds kinda like Bjork or something.

[Groot]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

The Next Day didn't do much for me either - the only song that really grabbed me was "(You Will) Set the World on Fire."

Hmm, looks like he's got another album up for preorder this year. Blackstar - just like some of my favorite Celldweller music. Do I dare place an order...?

In any case, it sounds like I may have to invest in his other, classic albums someday.

EDIT:
Ah, JeffTheMovieGuy posted it. Couldn't see the video at work. I like what I hear, sounds kinda like Bjork or something.

Go for:

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust
Aladdin Sane
The Man Who Sold The World
Low
Young Americans
Let's Dance

If you dig those, since you are familiar with their main hit tracks, you should find some gems in his discography.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Groot

Go for:

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust
Aladdin Sane
The Man Who Sold The World
Low
Young Americans
Let's Dance

If you dig those, since you are familiar with their main hit tracks, you should find some gems in his discography.

Sounds good. I decided to put the Five Years box set on my wishlist. Hope it doesn't sell out soon or anything - I figure I'll be able to afford it next month, assuming my movie-buying habits don't drag me down first. Looks like the set has a few of those albums in there.

Wound up pre-ordering Blackstar as well.

[Groot]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Sounds good. I decided to put the Five Years box set on my wishlist. Hope it doesn't sell out soon or anything - I figure I'll be able to afford it next month, assuming my movie-buying habits don't drag me down first. Looks like the set has a few of those albums in there.

Wound up pre-ordering Blackstar as well.

Nice! It's a gorgeous set, hope you like it!

[Scottie]

Also add Hunky Dory and Station to Station to the above list, Al. They're fantabulous!

Pretty sure my favorite album is Low, but I fancy The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, and Hunky Dory.

[Groot]

You pretty much can't go wrong with any 70's Bowie records.

Interesting choice picking Low as the favorite, as it is one of the more experimental albums. Sound & Vision 2013 was one of the better remixes he's put out in recent years.

[Scottie]

I haven't dabbled much with his remixes, but I do like his collaboration with Lenny Kravitz on Buddha of Suburbia.

[Groot]

http://pitchfork.com/news/52598-list...-love-is-lost/

Probably the best thing to come out of The Next Day is this remix of "Love is Lost" by James Murphy. It's on soundcloud, it's in the article. It's pretty awesome.

[The Great Owl]

I've heard all of the songs on David Bowie's Blackstar by way of some YouTube videos that appeared (probably illegal) a few days ago. I suspect that some of the songs might have been sped up a tad, but I got the general gist.

From what I've heard, I really enjoy the new album. These new songs are all challenging and quite incredible.

"Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" was released as a single just over a year ago to promote Bowie's compilation album, Nothing Has Changed, but the song has been radically reworked for this album, and it has an even more disturbing aura to it.

"Girl Loves Me" and "Lazarus" are highlights of the album so far, and I suspect that the former track will be quite divisive among fans.

I love the idea that David Bowie has reached a point where he no longer needs to be popular, and he is now unapologetically recording some truly weird and freaky stuff. That's the vibe that I get from Blackstar.

That said, I don't think that Blackstar is as much of a radical departure as all of the official music reviews seem to indicate. In fact, it reminds me of the stranger tracks from Bowie's mid-to-late 1980s stuff with Tonight and Never Let Me Down. That's a compliment, not a complaint.

I cannot wait to pick up a physical release of Blackstar on Friday, because I know that I'll be playing it for months.

[MechaGodzilla]

I really like The Next Day, initially I wasn't completely sold on it (though I always did like at least a couple songs) but it has grown on me with repeat listens and I have several favorite songs from it now. Lots of good bonus tracks on The Next Day Extra too.

Blackstar sounds promising from the couple songs I've heard, it seems he's gone back to doing somewhat more experimental stuff and indulging his "weird side" like he did in the late '70s/early '80s with the "Berlin trilogy" and Scary Monsters so that's cool.

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Sounds good. I decided to put the Five Years box set on my wishlist. Hope it doesn't sell out soon or anything - I figure I'll be able to afford it next month, assuming my movie-buying habits don't drag me down first. Looks like the set has a few of those albums in there.

Wound up pre-ordering Blackstar as well.

That would be a great place to start, you get pretty much all the essential stuff from his early years.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by MechaGodzilla

Blackstar sounds promising from the couple songs I've heard, it seems he's gone back to doing somewhat more experimental stuff and indulging his "weird side" like he did in the late '70s/early '80s with the "Berlin trilogy" and Scary Monsters so that's cool.

The interesting thing about Blackstar is that David Bowie worked with a new assortment of musicians. His previous album, The Next Day, was recorded with basically the same musicians who had worked with him during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Tony Visconti was still on board as a producer for Blackstar, but saxophonist Donny McCaslin and others are new to the fold.

From what I heard, I disagree with most of the official reviewers so far that Blackstar is a "jazz" album, though. There are some jazz elements, but there's a lot more to it than that. It's really a cool sound.

[MechaGodzilla]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

The interesting thing about Blackstar is that David Bowie worked with a new assortment of musicians. His previous album, The Next Day, was recorded with basically the same musicians who had worked with him during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Tony Visconti was still on board as a producer for Blackstar, but saxophonist Donny McCaslin and others are new to the fold.

From what I heard, I disagree with most of the official reviewers so far that Blackstar is a "jazz" album, though. There are some jazz elements, but there's a lot more to it than that. It's really a cool sound.

I didn't know that, that's pretty interesting. I guess once in a while he feels the need to change things up a bit, he did the same for Let's Dance which obviously is the complete opposite of this album in that it was Bowie aiming for superstardom with a poppy, accessible album for the masses while Blackstar represents the side of him who doesn't care and mainly wants to experiment and make something different.

I agree, from what I've heard I wouldn't call it a jazz album either. Like you say though, there is some jazz influence in there which isn't necessarily a bad thing either, it's something new for him.