B-Sides Rate an artist: David Bowie

[johnnyhoward]

What about "Sunday" - one of his more recent tracks? I like the Moby remix.

A lot of his 80s stuff utilised the cheesy synths typical of the era, his early to mid 70's work (straight rock to the wigger periods) were sensational - what a great album Ziggy Stardust is, as well as Young Americans. I never heard his first album from 1967 - was that any good?

 

[Barry Zuckercorn]

Re: Davie Bowie

I was just having lunch with my bro and his gf and we were taking the piss out of her for pronouncing him ; david bow(rhymes with 'how')-ee. She thinks everyone pronounces it that way.

Understandable mistake to make considering that's how Brett Bowey's name was pronounced.

 

[wally funk]

Re: Davie Bowie

which begs the question, who's brett bowey?

 

[nicky]

Re: Davie Bowie

which begs the question, who's brett bowey?

WHO is he?

 

[AndSmithMustScore]

That's not a Bowie.

This is a Bowie!

 

[cats56]

Re: Davie Bowie

WHO is he?

Hey nicky. He's an ex St. Kilda rover.

 

[cats56]

Re: Davie Bowie

About 5/10 for Bowie for mine. Ziggy Stardust, very good, Man Who Sold The World, good, and Aladdin Sane o.k. Pin-Ups was a total embarrassment and showed how inferior he was from some of his idols.

To me Ronson was the potent force and the main reason i own the 3 albums positively mentioned. Just love his guitar playing. I just thought that Bowie took his campness too seriously and at the time most of his music was considered "too girly." A good showman heavily influenced by vaudeville.

Credit for saving Iggy from complete destruction.

His Eno period interesting without being essential to me.

I find tracks like "Fashion", "Fame" , "Let's Dance", "Golden Year's" "Blue Jean" to be downright horrid.

A very eloquent chap. Kudos due for rating Legendary Stardust Cowboy's "Paralysed" so highly.

 

[evo]

what cat said.

good early,his stuff in the 80's was an atrocity.

'lets dance' must be one of the worst songs ever penned.

 

[wally funk]

yet it remains one of his more popular tunes.

 

[johnnyhoward]

Apparently he had some degree of cred in black music circles for his "soul" music - can anyone see that?

 

[materamagic]

His soulful vocal break on "Young Americans" was nothing short of brilliant.

 

[nicky]

Re: Davie Bowie

Hey nicky. He's an ex St. Kilda rover.

Thanks cats56, I'm anticipating your input in the "greatest songwriters thread"

 

[BomberGal]

Re: Davie Bowie

I was just having lunch with my bro and his gf and we were taking the piss out of her for pronouncing him ; david bow(rhymes with 'how')-ee. She thinks everyone pronounces it that way.

I'm fairly sure a lot of English people say it that way?

I have heard a number of well known British musicians pronounce it like that, too.

I have 11 Bowie albums and have listened to none of them. I should get around to that...

 

[UpForGrabs]

Re: Davie Bowie

Bowie's a freakin' legend.

Doubtful that anyone has changed their sound so often with outstanding results as Bowie has.

So many great tunes and albums. In my top 10 artists of all time, easily.

 

[wally funk]

Re: Davie Bowie

I'm fairly sure a lot of English people say it that way?
I have heard a number of well known British musicians pronounce it like that, too.

i've noticed some poeple pronouncing it as "boo-ey". example, some song by mylo, forget the name of it.

 

[John]

This is an interesting read and I suspect a younger group have posted here and were not around when Bowie was at the top of the tree in terms of popularity in the early 1970's.

It is always interesting to note that one will always consider their own era more important than that of the past. I always chuckle at 5 out of 10 ratings for artists such as the Bowie's, Stones, Beatles etc etc.

At the time of their popularity their music was cutting edge or at least in the vanguard of the then "brand new sound" and Bowie was no exception.

His influence In the early 70's should not be underrated to the generation ( my generation) that is now in it's mid 40's and older. In the UK Bowie's had at one point 5 albums in the top 20. He was the epitome of the glam rock scene that spawned the likes of Slade, T Rex, Roxie Music, Mott The Hoople to name but a few. Also do not underestimate the influence he had on the punk/New Wave genre that followed in the wake of Glam rock. There was always a school of thought that Punk/New Wave was a reaction to Glam. Far from it. Punk was a reaction to Yes, ELP, Jethro Tull, bands that were full of musicians of the highest ability but not so attractive a 13 year old who was a fan of glam.
Bowie also influenced fashion. His hair style on Ziggy and Alladin Sane was copied by many a youth in the UK at that time. He was also debatably the first androgynous and I have vague memories that he claimed to be homosexual. His wife Angie denied this and claimed that it was all part of the persona. I suspect that to be the truth. He was also not scared to change and was quick to discard glam for Soul, electronic experimental and even Disco. His persona along with his music at that time made him one of the most important artists in rock history.

 

[The_Eagles]

in the mix with Elton John, Billy Joel, Sting, Paul Simon etc

ie near the pinnacle

 

[BomberGal]

It is always interesting to note that one will always consider their own era more important than that of the past. I always chuckle at 5 out of 10 ratings for artists such as the Bowie's, Stones, Beatles etc etc.

Well, not entirely true. I rate the 70s far more than my own generation's music. If we say that my generation is 2000+ (gah).

That and the 90s, which has produced most of my favourite music...and I was only a teenager for the last year of the 90s, so I think that also counts.

 

[UpForGrabs]

It is always interesting to note that one will always consider their own era more important than that of the past. I always chuckle at 5 out of 10 ratings for artists such as the Bowie's, Stones, Beatles etc etc.

Well, to be fair, some Bowie albums deserve a rating of less than 5/10 (Tin Machine anyone? Or maybe Tonight?).

But the thing that makes Bowie so great is that he's willing to do these albums not because it's what he thinks the public will like, but it's because he wants to. The only other comparable 'major artist' is Neil Young, although Neil's more weird experiments were nowhere near as successful as say, Bowie going to Berlin, or the whole blue-eyed soul period of Young Americans.

 

[John]

Well, to be fair, some Bowie albums deserve a rating of less than 5/10 (Tin Machine anyone? Or maybe Tonight?).

But the thing that makes Bowie so great is that he's willing to do these albums not because it's what he thinks the public will like, but it's because he wants to. The only other comparable 'major artist' is Neil Young, although Neil's more weird experiments were nowhere near as successful as say, Bowie going to Berlin, or the whole blue-eyed soul period of Young Americans.

No issues with what you say but to be fair the thread was Rate an artist. Bowie in his younger days is in the list of most influential.

You have got to love a line from a song by Bowie called All The Young Dudes that was made into a hit by the very under rated Mott The Hoople.
"Well my brothers back home with his Beatles and his stones, we never got it of on that revolution stuff". A lyric for the ages.

 

[finrod]

in the mix with Elton John, Billy Joel, Sting, Paul Simon etc

ie near the pinnacle

Are you kidding? Bowie was much more creative. Sure, they are good songwriters but compared to Bowie all those artists you listed are mainstream conformists!!

 

[The_Eagles]

as if he's rated above those guys..they're all in the same stratosphere IMO. Maybe he was more creative because he was before them and had more room to be creative. I rate hit songs because the simple obvious catchy and classic stuff is the hardest to nail sometimes.

 

[johnnyhoward]

as if he's rated above those guys..they're all in the same stratosphere IMO. Maybe he was more creative because he was before them and had more room to be creative. I rate hit songs because the simple obvious catchy and classic stuff is the hardest to nail sometimes.

Before them? Bowie's debut was in '67, and that was a pretty derivative album from what I've heard. Simon, John were at their peaks around the time Bowie was starting (late 60s, early 70s), so a couple of strange examples if that's what you mean.

Bowie could match it with those guys though, sure he made a lot of experimental crap, but some of it was genius. Good point on the simple, back to basics stuff often being the best. Was listening to McCartney's "Chaos & Creation" today and while it's a quiet reflective album, when "Promise to You Girl" came on it reminds you how great a fun pop song can be and what music's all about.

 

[John]

Before them? Bowie's debut was in '67, and that was a pretty derivative album from what I've heard. Simon, John were at their peaks around the time Bowie was starting (late 60s, early 70s), so a couple of strange examples if that's what you mean.

Bowie could match it with those guys though, sure he made a lot of experimental crap, but some of it was genius. Good point on the simple, back to basics stuff often being the best. Was listening to McCartney's "Chaos & Creation" today and while it's a quiet reflective album, when "Promise to You Girl" came on it reminds you how great a fun pop song can be and what music's all about.

Just to correct a couple of things. Elton John had his first hit single 1970 with Your Song and followed it up in the nest 2 years with Honkey Cat and Rocket Man. After that he became massive in the true sense of the word. From 72 to 75 he had 16 straight top twenty hits in a row and I remember reading that Captain Fantastic sold 1% of all records sold that year (happy to be corrected on that). Elton is a bigger seller than Bowie but IMO and I also think the music world in general Bowie was more influential due to his Glam period. Elton wrote cracking good tunes that had mainstream appeal.

I know that Paul Simon was part of the US fold movement in the early 60's with Simon And Garfunkel so he was certainly around prior to Bowie and John. As popular as they were I am not too sure that they had a cultural impact.

 

[nicky]

simon and garfunkle >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> bowie and elton john