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Joined: Thu January 24, 2013 9:20 am Posts: 2687 Location: Great southern land.
When I was about 8 years old my older brother (by 11 years) made me a C90 mixtape of David Bowie songs. The first 2 songs were Space Oddity and Starman. That tape is the actual thing that kick started my life long love of music. I have no idea how many times I played it but I knew every word of every song.
I owe a big debt to both Bowie and my brother for that gift.
Bowie is still one that i need to explore, ive always loved everthing ive heard from him but have never listened to any of his albums. Ive been watching hi fidelity on hulu the other day( the show) and Rob was doing her top 5 Bowie and it made me want to listen to blackstar, so i got through about half of it at work yesterday, but really need to think about upgrading to spotify premium because i can only listen to shuffle right now.
Knowing that i havent heard a Bowie song i havent liked, is there a better starting point then just at the beginning?
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Joined: Mon February 04, 2013 3:03 pm Posts: 795
Seeing that you like his songs, I think you have to develop your love for the albums. The obvious choice is his glam period, the one with the hits: Start with Ziggy, Hunky Dory & Aladdin Sane. I feel you can pretty much follow his discography in chronological order to appreciate the sense of evolution.
Blackstar is a terrible album to begin your journey, given that is a swan song and you have to know him first to feel the emotional impact.
likes rhythmic things that butt up against each other
Joined: Mon February 04, 2013 3:03 pm Posts: 795
This is an excellent guide from someone on reddit:
Quote:
PHASE 1:
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars: Phase one is going to be the album that made David Bowie someone to be interested in in the first place. Arguably, the most important album here is The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. It has some of his most iconic tracks on it, and the character of Ziggy Stardust is almost always the first thing people think of when they think of Bowie. It's a very accessible album with some good rocking tracks on it.
Hunky Dory: The other album in Phase 1 is Hunky Dory, which contains another few of his most iconic tracks. Very accessible. Has a mix of poppy tunes, folksy ballads, and some more intimate moments on there as well.
After Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust, you've got your foundation set. There are a few different directions you could go from here, but I suggest going through some of the albums related to Ziggy Stardust will be a good bridge to later stuff, such as:
PHASE 2:
Aladdin Sane: Aladdin Sane is a pseudo-sequel to Ziggy Stardust, but this time without any real central story to it. This is one of Bowie's sleaziest and energetic rock albums, with a good blend of supplementary genres mixed in, like blues, flamenco, and piano ballads. This should get you ready for some genre-mixing that Bowie is famous for.
Diamond Dogs: The theatricality of Ziggy is at its peak here, but Ziggy is not longer a thing. Diamond Dogs is three partial albums in one. It's one part and original story, one part a straightforward rock album, and one part a love letter to George Orwell's 1984. It's not generally seen as a fantastic album, but this is where you really start to see Bowie's literary side peak through.
Now that you're well acquainted with Bowie's theatrical nature and dips into genre changes, you're ready for his darker rock albums and experimental electronics. These albums are all in some way tied to Bowie's downward spiral brought on by cocaine addiction.
PHASE 3:
Station to Station: Now heavily addicted to cocaine and dabbling in the occult, Bowie took the persona of The Thin White Duke and released one of his most concise and well-crafted albums of his career. The lyrics tell the tale of the Duke and his isolation from human emotion over some of the greatest musical performances on a Bowie album. There's a bit of funk, rock and roll, and krautrock. Many people consider this Bowie's best album.
Low: Bowie moves to Berlin and begins the Berlin Trilogy of albums with Low. The songs capture the particularly low moments and feelings that Bowie went through. His marriage was collapsing, his image tanked after some controversial statements, and cocaine use had nearly killed him. Half of the album is more rock oriented, and the other half is instrumental electronic pieces that build atmosphere. This is also an album many people consider his best.
Heroes: Same structure as Low, but this time with a stronger emphasis on the lyrical tracks. Bowie's biggest hit, Heroes, is on here.
By this point, you should like David Bowie. If not, here's where you should stop. Here's some of the great oddball albums that I think are worth a listen before you complete his discography. These are the albums people talk about when they say "I think X is underrated."
PHASE 4:
- If you want some folk rock, check out Space Oddity - If you want more rock albums, check out: Scary Monsters and The Next Day - If you want to hear Bowie take on Philly soul, check out Young Americans - If you want another dark album with strong electronic components, check out 1. Outside and Earthling. - If you want a Black Sabbath-esque hard rock album, check out The Man Who Sold the World - If you want Bowie doing some middle eastern/African inspired music, check out Lodger - If you want some great 80’s pop, check out Let’s Dance. There’s some disco, some new wave, and most of Bowie’s popular songs from that decade.
PHASE 5:
Everything else. Heathen, and Reality are the best albums left, except for...
PHASE 6:
Blackstar: Bowie's final album. It's a swan song that directly explores his coming mortality. It was his final album, and the last one you should listen to. Artistic statements in music don't get better than this.
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Last edited by Hypnos on Thu February 20, 2020 4:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
This is an excellent guide from someone on reddit:
That is a pretty great guide. I'd have Station to Station in Phase 1 but understand it's placement. I find his latter day output, from 1. Outside on the be amazing for an artist three, four and five decades into their career.
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