By: David Bowie Average Rating: Binding: Audio CD Format: Enhanced, Original recording reissued Label: Virgin Records Us Number of Discs: 1 Release Date: September 28, 1999
Amazon.com: Always up for messing with the formal expectations of rock, Bowie teamed up with Brian Eno for three frustrating but compelling albums, starting with Low. Treated instruments are claustrophobically crowded together, and Bowie's voice leaps in and out of the mix seemingly at will. Where it seems like it might show up, it's replaced by wailing synths or nothing at all, and it vanishes altogether from most of the second half-- a series of long, menacing, barely mobile synth explorations. To prove that they could make pop out of these herky-jerky mix tricks, they pull off "Sound And Vision" in the middle of the disc, but the essence of Low is that the "star" is either absent or alarmingly in your face. --Douglas Wolk
Eastern Euro Chill! David Bowie has had various watershed albums, I think 'Low' is one of them. It has to be said that at the time of release it was not received as well as previous works - his label being disinterested in sufficiently marketing it must have definitely contributed to the situation, forcing him to change contracts. It was a difficult period for Bowie, living a year in LA, alienated, troubled with drugs. 'Low' is a powerful result of that mid 70's era finding Bowie as always, willing to experiment with new ideas, to twist the expected. Together with Brian Eno he produced a David Bowie masterpiece which I for one still find exasperating considering the period it was done in and its context amongst other contemporaneous music being produced and retailed by major artists and labels. It still stands up well today. The chill of Eastern Europe dominates.
Best of a career Fascinating and unique album that topped Pitchfork's list of the greatest albums of the 70's. I don't rate it quite that highly, but it remains Bowie's masterpiece, even as marked a departure from the sound, texture, and attitude of much of his earlier work. Bowie shows a largeness of spirit in his ability to work with and through Brian Eno, and Eno shows that he is comfortable in a supporting role; the album could not have been made without Eno, but the credit belongs to Bowie. The vocal tracks are uniformly strong, and two of them, the shimmering "Sound and Vision" and the warped, disembodied "Always Crashing in the Same Car" are truly classic. The four instrumentals that close the record are various shades of Eastern block grey, all interesting, and influential for the likes of Nine Inch Nails. The standout from this part of the record is the spooky "Warszawa", but the best instrumental track is the first, the propusive, driven "Speed of Life." In "Always Crashing in the Same Car," Bowie manages to get his whole being into a single phrase, the way he enunciates "the hotel garage" ("I was going round the hotel garage/ must have been touching close to 94/ Oh, but I'm always crashing/ in the same car") encompasses an entire existence--boredom and satiation, routine and acceptance, passivity and fame. Awesome, awesome song.
Very Good Taken on the merit of musicianship alone, Low can be charming and catchy, but does not possess significant musical or lyrical prowess to be considered Bowie's best. Some of his new inventions are a bit jarring and clunky, not unlike comparing a studio recording to live. The ambient tracks on Low never reach the heights that the Eno brothers were able to ascend in this realm. Pioneer artists such as Kraftwerk, New Order, and Caberet Voltaire took the synthesizer much further than Bowie and paved a much more obvious path to a new generation of "New Wave" and electronic based pop bands that were so common in the eighties.
Though fans of Low are quick to point out its contributions to other musicians and the electronic keyboard genre that arose in the early eighties, I feel it is overstated. It can easily be argued in the opposite direction, that Bowie borrows styles from more obscure musicians, the European ambient artists in the instance of Low, and adds his own artistic touch. Bowie was probably more influential to the eighties generation with his flamboyant presentations. The synth pop that Bowie served up in the eighties was much different than the sound that was revealed on Low.
Great album This is my favorite Bowie album, brilliant and original and mysterious. My only problem is that Some Are and All Saints, the 2 additional tracks added to the Rykodisc release, are so good and add to the experience so much that any subsequent release without them makes the album feel incomplete. If the Rykodisc version is 5 stars, taking 2 great songs away cannot also be 5 stars.
Low What can possibly be added to what has already been said? Except that if you like Bowie ~ Buy this one! It's different. Brian Eno's collaboration adds great new dimension to Bowie's talent. If you like it ~ Check out Roxy Music.
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