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Scary Monsters

David Bowie - Scary Monsters Audio CD

A fair review of the David Bowie "Scary Monsters" 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: Scary Monsters
Rating:

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

Tracks: 1: It's No Game, Pt. 1 2: Up the Hill Backwards 3: Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) 4: Ashes to Ashes 5: Fashion 6: Teenage Wildlife 7: Scream Like a Baby 8: Kingdom Come 9: Because You're Young 10: It's No Game, Pt. 2

beginning of the...end
compared to albums by any other artist, it deserves five. i could've given it five stars. but. . . i think this was the beginning of the end. actually, Lodger was the end. it just happened before the beginning of the end instead of after it, if that makes sense. (there were a couple of good songs on Lodger, but only one, DJ, came up to bowie's standards. ) but, about Scary Monsters. . . all the songs are goods. in fact, almost all the songs are very good. maybe even great. there just seems to be something missing. maybe there's a more blatant attempt to be commercial. (Lodger's DJ certainly does). maybe a more blatant attempt to be cool. (the business with nine-inch-nails hints at that). maybe it comes from knowing what happened to his career afterward. (Let's Dance is a great song, but it's not a great David Bowie song. " Now, one thing, YOU SHOULD BUY THIS ALBUM. IT'S GREAT. YOU'LL LOVE IT. but, there's no way this should be the only david bowie album you get. especially if all you have is Let's Dance. there's Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, and Diamond Dogs. There's Young Americans and Stay and Station to Station. There's Low and Heroes. There's The Man Who Sold the World, and Hunky Dory, and Space Oddity. there's the live albums, David Live, Stage, Santa Monica Civic Center. these are the essentials. this isn't about music. if it was about music, you wouldn't have to get any of them. it's about quality of life. - david.

After the Berlin Trilogy
The German industrial music scene had an obvious influence on Bowie, as proven by the grinding guitar and screaming keyboards on these recordings. This release is the first after the "Berlin Trilogy", recorded in Germany, including "Low", "Heros" and "The Lodger". This disk begins with a Japanese version of "It's No Game", which is repeated in English to conclude the release. "Up the Hill Backward" is a catchy tune with layered vocals throughout. "Scary Monsters", with Robert Fripp's famous guitar work, dueling Carlos Alomar's sleek style is a racing number with interesting vocal effects. Chuck Hammer's guitar synthesizer provides an interplay to Andy Clark's synthesizer and E Street member Roy Bittan's piano on "Ashes To Ashes", which revisits the "Space Oddity" theme of Major Tom. Clark, Fripp and Alomar also star on "Fashion", another of the charting singles off this one. Bitton's memorable piano is one of the highlights of "Teenage Wildlife", "Scream Like a Baby" features Bowie's soaring vocals and Clark's synthesizer lines. "Kingdom Come", the only cover on this one (Tom Verlaine) shows Bowie's reverence for Television and their punk purism. Pete Townsend guests on guitar on "Because We're Young", and the recording ends with an English version of "It's No Game". The re-release features better sound recording and four nuggets that were not previously available, including different versions of "Space Oddity", "Panic in Detroit", "Crystal Japan", and a version of "Alabama Song", the Brecht classic also covered by the Doors. Fripp's and the influence of Brian Eno (who did not appear on this release, but was instrumental in the sound of the Berlin trilogy) shows on the arrangements and orchestration of the entire album. This is great release, quite definite of the times. Get the re-release for the additional cuts, they do not disappoint.

Scary Monsters
The cd booklet is very avantgarde and has Bowie dressed in some clown outfit and has a very nice personel list and lists whom and what they played. Scary Monsters being Bowie's 1980 release was a major hit and peaked at nr 1 in the UK albums chart and contained such hits as "Ashes to Ashes", "Fashion", "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)" and "Up the Hill Backwards". 4/5.

From a 40 year career one of the half-dozen best
When reviewers mince about whether the latest Bowie offering compares to his classics, "Scary Monsters" is typically namechecked as the latter bookend formalizing the classic years of Bowie's peak. There are so many reviews of this album already I don't want to be redundant but as someone who has every album that Bowie ever released and then some, I want to chime in and encourage you to check this out.

I don't agree with that; Bowie's albums may have slumped in the 80s but powerful CDs from the 90s like 1. Outside and Earthling, not to mention Buddha of Suburbia and Black Tie White Noise, measured on a par with Bowie's classics. That said. . .

Scary Monsters is indeed one of Bowie's finest. Once you get past some of Bowie's very best songs, "Ashes to Ashes", "Fashion" and the title track, you delve into Bowie's most harrowing work with stellar moments like both versions of "It's No Game" and the cover of Tom Verlaine's "Kingdom Come". But it's not like the other third of the album is filler, not at all. It merely had the misfortune of sharing disc space with classics like those already mentioned. Oh, I suppose I could do without "Teenage Wildlife" but 9 out of 10 is par for the course for so many Bowie albums.

This belongs in the shortlist of Bowie's finest, next to Station to Station, Diamond Dogs, Aladdin Sane, Low, Earthling, and 1. Outside, and just a titch better than 'Heroes', Young Americans or Hunky Dory. The best thing about getting this album as opposed to a 'best of' is that you get the full length versions of some of Bowie's finest moments rather than hatcheted edit versions. Did I mention this album was strongly recommended?.

Scary Monsters is Bowie's struggle with heroin
Genesis had Duke while Peter Gabriel had Melt. 1980 was a great year for albums. David Bowie had Scary Monsters. It starts with Its No Game and never lets up. Thank God Robert Fripp's guitar stands out like a bull in an apartment. Bowie had to fight his demons with the release of Low. The Lodger and Scary Monsters. Although many fans were turned off others were turned on. This album will be played by old and new fans reguardless of age.

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.