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Lodger

David Bowie - Lodger Audio CD

A fair review of the David Bowie "Lodger" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all David Bowie reviews here, or go back to the David Bowie tabs.

Band: David Bowie
Title: Lodger
Rating:

Release Date: 1999-09-28
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Fantastic Voyage 2: African Night Flight 3: Move On 4: Yassassin (Turkish For: Long Live) 5: Red Sails 6: D.J. 7: Look Back in Anger 8: Boys Keep Swinging 9: Repetition 10: Red Money

very good

But, when I don't mind having nightmares and find the courage to give them a shot, I find myself preferring Lodger over the other two. First of all, I want to say I will NOT be listening to these late 70's David Bowie albums very often (Heroes, Low, and Lodger) because for some reason, they give me incredibly severe nightmares. Yeah yeah, unpopular opinion. I'm no stranger to going against the norm!

The opening song is probably the prettiest and saddest song Bowie ever wrote. That's one fine little moment of brilliance there. But then quite possibly my favorite song from the album "African Night Flight" is next. I LOVE this song! The verse melody, the way Bowie sounds drunk and sings "ahhhh trapped on islan-in Hawaii" over and over (actually that's not what he says at all, in fact I don't think he's actually putting words together there, but when you play the song enough times you begin to think he IS saying something!) and just everything about the extremely strong vocal melody. . . a classic!

"Yassassin" rules a lot. It's like reggae almost, but with extremely catchy vocals. "Red Sails" is another really spectacular song. I like how diverse David Bowie is. All these experiments work really well on Lodger.

"DJ" took me YEARS to appreciate, because for a long time I thought it was just a Talking Heads rip-off without any of the charm that makes the Talking Heads so great. I was wrong though, don't worry. I love the song now. "Repetition" is PROOF that David Bowie has a lot of talent, because not anyone can write a song like this and make it good. In fact, less than 5% of the musicians out there wouldn't have a clue how to make this song as great as it turned out to be for Mr. Bowie.

The rest of the songs are just really really good.
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Pop Goes The Concept

Gone was the experimental edginess and creative power of Low and Heroes, which was replaced by a bland pop framework. The "Berlin" trilogy - and David Bowie's collaboration with Brian Eno - was a penniless and weary traveler by the time of this May 1979 release. Only the excellent Red Money dares to venture into a unique soundscape.

The first single - Boys Keep Swinging - is as bland as DJ - the follow-up 45 rpm - is energetic. The solid Look Back In Anger remains a Bowie gem that gets lost in the shuffle of his vast discography.

This was grand potential probably lost by a lack of new studio ideas and boredom. Too bad the rent came due much too soon for Bowieno.

.

experimental masterpiece
This is my favorite one of the three, and possibly my favorite Bowie album period. This is the last of 3 albums Bowie did with Eno (his "Berlin" period, although this one was not recorded in Berlin. This one has no instrumental pieces, like on "Low" and "Heroes". The first half of the album has a vague "travel" theme to it. In several songs Bowie mixes in bits of African drumming or arabesque sounding string synthesizer sounds. These are all rock or pop songs, but they are all "deconstructed" pop songs, because everything from the instrument sounds to the songs' construction is turned on its head, at least that's how it seemed in 1979. This album features Adrian Belew on guitar making sounds that were basically unheard of at the time. "DJ" and "Boys. . " are highlights - absolutely brilliant, and Belew truly uses his guitar like a weapon on his solos. The only really weak song is "Red Money", which is the music from Iggy Pop's "Sister Midnight" set to different (inferior) lyrics. Fortunately it's at the end, so it's easy to skip that tune, but the rest is highly recommended.

Bowie's Most Underrated Album
It's hard to pinpoint which of Bowie's albums deserves the title "greatest". . there was a period from 1970 to 1980 where pretty much everything he released was an instant classic. From the timespan between "The Man Who Sold the World" and "Scary Monsters", the man could do no wrong.

"Lodger", the last piece in Bowie's Berlin Triology(following "Low" and "Heroes")is probably Bowie's most overlooked album, which is a shame as it's one of his best. Beautiful compositions such as "African Nightflight" and "Move On" easily stand alongside the more sonically groundbreaking tracks of "Low" and "Heroes", while more straightfoward numbers such as hits "D. J. " and "Boys Keep Swinging" lend a pop aspect to "Lodger" that the previous Berlin trilogy albums lacked at times. Just as it is more accessible than the previous Berlin albums, it is also much darker in its subject matter(Just take a glance at the cover art, where Bowie appears to be lying dead/incapacitated on the sterile floor of a morgue).

Another plus: "Lodger" lacks the meandering instrumentals that, in my opinion, weighed down "Low" and "Heroes" at times. It's not that those instrumentals were bad. . . just that they sound REALLY dated nowadays, and distracted from the otherwise solid cohesiveness of those two albums. "Lodger" wisely skips out on the instrumentals in order to make room for another batch of great songs.

Bottom Line: Just as arty as "Low" and "Heroes", but with more pop appeal relevant to more casual fans. Probably a good starting point for those wanting to get into Bowie's music.

The weakest of the Bowie/Eno collaboration, but still superb.
Recorded two years after the landmark "Low" and "Heroes" albums, "Lodger" does not quite live up to the legacy the previous two albums allowed for it, as though taking time out of the studio to tour somehow derailed the Bowie/Eno partnership a bit. "Lodger" is the third and final collaboration between David Bowie and Brian Eno in the 1970s. Having stated that, had this is a great album.

I think perhaps my reason for feeling this way is that while "Low" and "Heroes" were mapping out new territory, "Lodger" tends to mine on those successes and embraces the burgeoning New Wave sounds that Eno and Bowie previously anticipated. Mind you, when it's good, it's fantastic-- the proto-industrial "African Night Flight" is built around essentially the sound of crickets and electronic noises with Bowie frantically speaking out the lyrics as though there's too many words to get out, "Yaassassin", featuring a superb violin performance by Simon House mixes a Middle Eastern organ line with reggae (or perhaps Police-like?) guitars for an unusually natural sounding blend, "Look Back in Anger" finds Bowie at his most passionate and explosive over a new wave backdrop and a decidingly Enoesque arrangement of frantic rhythms and instruments waxing and waning in prominence and the pounding rhythms of "Boys Keep Swinging" nicely offset the total goofiness of the lyrics (and guitarist Adrian Belew is unbelievable in his solo channeling all sorts of noise). Along the way, Bowie provides a couple features for Belew on guitar, who eats up "Red Sails" and "D. J. " with his fierce and highly original guitar lines.

Still, the record has its weak moments-- "African Night Flights" is a bizarrely bright and somewhat dull piece, "Move On" has a fine galloping beat but misses altogether and even Belew's pyrotechnics don't save "Red Sails".

I suppose it's all small complaints though, the good in the album far outweighs the less than good, and I realize my initial assessment was pretty harsh. This is a good album, and for many other artists, it would be the best thing in their catalog.

You can see a complete list of all David Bowie discography, or go back to the David Bowie tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.