Low
David Bowie
1977
Album Summary
Low is the 11th studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 14 January 1977 through RCA Records. After years of drug addiction when living in Los Angeles, Bowie moved to France in 1976 with his friend Iggy Pop to sober up. There, Bowie produced and co-wrote Pop's debut studio album, The Idiot, featuring sounds Bowie would explore on his next record. After completing The Idiot, Bowie began recording the first of three collaborations that became known as the Berlin Trilogy with American producer Tony Visconti and English musician Brian Eno. Sessions began at Hérouville's Château d'Hérouville in September 1976 and ended in October at Hansa Studios in West Berlin, where Bowie and Pop had relocated. Grounded in art rock and experimental rock and influenced by German bands such as Tangerine Dream, Neu!, Harmonia and Kraftwerk, Low features Bowie's first explorations in electronic and ambient styles. Side one consists primarily of short, direct avant-pop song-fragments, with mostly downbeat lyrics reflecting Bowie's state of mind, and side two comprises longer, mostly instrumental tracks, conveying musical observations of Berlin. Visconti created the distinctive drum sound using an Eventide H910 Harmonizer, a pitch-shifting device. The cover artwork, a profile of Bowie from the film The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), was intended as a visual pun, meaning "low profile". RCA refused to issue Low for three months, fearing it would be a commercial failure. Upon release, it divided critical opinion and received little promotion from RCA or Bowie, who opted to tour as Pop's keyboardist. Nevertheless, it reached number two on the UK Albums Chart and number 11 on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart. Two singles were released: "Sound and Vision", which peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart, and "Be My Wife". The success prompted RCA to release The Idiot in March 1977. In mid-1977, Bowie played on Pop's follow-up album Lust for Life before recording his album "Heroes", which expanded on Low's musical approach and features a similar mix of songs and instrumentals. In later decades, critics have rated Low one of Bowie's best works, and it has appeared on several lists of the greatest albums of all time. It influenced numerous post-punk bands such as Joy Division, and its drum sound has been widely imitated. A forerunner in the development of the post-rock genre of the 1990s, Low has been reissued several times and was remastered in 2017 as part of the A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982) box set.
WikipediaBowie! It's hard to dislike anything Bowie has done, honestly. He was so alien and ahead of his time that there's always something new and strange to learn when listening to his albums. This was one that I hadn't spent any time with in the past so I hit the wikipedia article for context which was helpful. It's electronic and pop and undeliably Bowie. Is it dated? Yes. But it also feels like it's a decade younger than it actually is. While the rest of the world was making disco pop, Bowie was making electro bangers and synthetic, cinematic dreamscapes.
I've again deferred to my cat named Bowie on this review. When I told him that Low was today's album, he legged it from room to room around our apartment, bouncing off every wall and surface like he was off his tits on catnip. When he finally came down off his Low induced high, he told me "this is Big Dave's finest hour". So there's your review.
6/6 First half is avant-garde, second is alien civilization. Standout Tracks: Speed of Life, Sound and Vision, Warszawa, Art Decade, Weeping Wall, Subterraneans
I am a massive, massive Bowie fan, and I think even amongst his pretty great catalogue that the Berlin trilogy is quite near the top. Bowie and Eno. What a dream team. Every one of these songs slaps, but Sound and Vision and Be My Wife are the big standouts. Perfection. We didn't deserve Bowie.
I love Bowie but for me this was too dramatic and artsy with too many random sounds and instruments. It's risky, I just didn't like it that much.
Had a great time listening to remastered versions of Bowie’s classics plus some new ones that I’d not heard before. It has a psychedelic electro soul which puts me in mind of “war of the worlds musical”. Blooming brilliant
Anything Eno touches is electronic gold, and this collaboration with Bowie is one of his best works I've seen. I admit it hardly even feels like a Bowie album. It's a series of avant-garde pop rock tracks that knows how to control the unusual noises it's dealing it. The first side is absolutely perfect and if the whole album were like it I would have no doubt awarded the full score. But I'm mixed about the 2nd side. I've tried looking at what people had to say about it. Some say people only now started to appreciate it while others say it feels dated now... Ok? To me, it's a series of carefully crafted melancholic ambient pieces that are long enough for appreciation with enough variation to prevent us from growing tired of them. They apparently reflect geographic locations like Warsaw and West Berlin. They're excellent pieces that bring a calming feeling to the album, but how should I rate this album? Does it detract from the perfect score I should give? Well it's different and amazing as well but doesn't fit with the other side yet doesn't distract from it either. Maybe I'm hesitant because I already awarded 2 5-stars in the past couple days, and an avant album seems like the perfect excuse for me to break that. But I admit this is a perfect album that I commend Bowie and Eno on. In the end, they deserve the perfect score of this random listener.
5.0 + I've listened to this album many times over the years. My first listen left me utterly confused. However, being a huge fan of Bowie's more pop-oriented music, I hung in and with subsequent listens that confusion turned to distaste, to understanding, and finally to absolute reverence. My journey to love this album in turn has made me appreciate experimental music and the artists that successfully struggle to present truly original sounds to my ears. I'm grateful for this album, for the supernova forces behind Bowie and Eno that briefly collided, as well as for my being able to finally appreciate the fruits of that collision.
It's hard to imagine what modern music would sound like without this album. Bowie and Brian Eno create an album with a satisfying rock front half, and a ethereal, dreamlike, and somewhat menacing back half. The experimental and ambient elements here are crucial to the development of post-punk. I remember when I first heard Blackstar, I thought that it was coming out of nowhere because I had not explored this period of Bowie. This album has given much such a deeper appreciation of this artist and of the history of music in general.
This album woke up at 5:45 pm to a house party happening downstairs, and quickly got sick of it, deciding to bar hop and scuttle around town. Never finding what it was looking for, it finally decided to walk the city streets alone through the night, stuck in its own head, until passing out in an alley behind a dingy jazz club. 10/10.
My favorite of the "Berlin Trilogy" albums. -- At least I think. I need to relisten to Lodger The instrumental tracks are sublime. Especially Warszawa.
When initially listening to Low, you get the sense of it being very David Bowieesque. It seems to have influence from free form jazz in the way that the instrumentation is arranged. The production definitely is the center of each song, as the lyrics are sometimes drowned out by the repetition of the production. There are long pauses in the spoken word, so this album almost becomes an instrumental album. At just 39 minutes in runtime it is an easy listen, an album you throw on a turntable as background music.
"All hail the Berlin trilogy!" I think they should be called Low, parts 1, 2 and 3. This is music that only sold because of his name. I wonder how many praise these albums because they don't want to admit that they wasted their money. I've learned a frightening word since I started listening to 1001 albums: AMBIENT. It is code for plain boring, weird boring, or monotonous pretentious twaddle. This album is just boring because I've heard it before. Back in the day it was weird boring. I assume Lodger is also in the list. I hope not. Yesterday I had Paranoid, more of that ilk, thank you.
The feeling of exited trepidation I feel before refreshing the page each day to reveal my next musical journey was very much dampened on this occasion when I discovered a David Bowie lp. Not being a huge fan I was still interested to hear what is supposedly one of his best pieces of work. If this is considered one of his best albums then it kinda confirms my long held opinion of Bowie’s music...blandish and boring’ish. David Bowie was universally acknowledged for sounding different, looking different and pushing boundaries in general yet I still find his songs fatiguing and uninspiring. Quit frankly the last three tracks on this album all sounded like instrumental lullabies aiming to set you off to sleep...which was a hazard in itself as I was driving at the time. It’s no coincidence that the only Bowie material I own is a Greatest Hits on vinyl. After listening to this album, that’s not going to change any time soon. 1 Star!
Probably my favorite Bowie album. The last half of this album makes feel like I’m in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
An amazing album. I just love the way he moves from his expected (great) pop songs into instrument soundscapes.
Like two different superb albums. Krautrock meeting kraut electronica. The Berlin masterpiece!
Capolavoro. Due lati completamente diversi, il primo di canzoni più tradizionali (senza una vera hit), la seconda più atmosferica. Il secondo miglior Bowie.
Bowie plus Eno. Really hear it on Breaking Glass. I am really feeling this sonic landscape. Warszawa and the second side where this album really stretches out its legs. Need to re-spin it.
Another Bowie album and it's (obviously) great. It's very much an album of two sides. Side one is the poppy stuff that everyone knows like "Sound and Vision"; side two is longer, more pensive and mostly instrumental pieces.
This is tomorrow calling, wishing you were here. Fabulous, defiant, uplifting, the sound of a man reinventing himself. The side of instrumentals is brave and rich.
I haven't listened to the rest of the Berlin trilogy yet, but I really like it's first album, Low. The influence from the Krautrock artists was a perfect fit for Bowie's evolving style as he transitioned away from the fascist cocaine monster called the Thin White Duke. The mythology around Bowie and his personas could only really be meaningful if he backed it up with his music, which he does in spades here. Working with Brian Eno and hanging out with Iggy Pop brought a feel to this album that's hard to describe. Just like Kid A, it seems to come out of no where and go back there after we are allowed to enjoy it. The first half of this album is super cool, the second half is why its one of my favorite Bowie albums 5/5
I don't care what y'all say, this is Bowie's best, and one of the greatest albums ever created.
that was a really, really cool album I’ve listened to a few Bowie albums but I guess this one slipped past me it had such cool instrumentals and production overall 10/10, I look forward to hearing more Bowie
Some great tracks on this album, Bowie shifting styles again. Synths and whispered vocal throughout, guitars a little less to the fore. Top tracks: Sound and Vision, Warszawa, always crashing in the same car
Hi- Speed of Life, What in the World, Sound and Vision, Be My Wife, Weeping Wall, Subterraneans The first act opens up with rapid-fire ditties that we've all come to know and love from Bowie, with some fresh experiments in electronic sounds. What in the World starts off with what should be an annoying bleeping that somehow just works and wouldn't be the same without it. Be My Wife is filled with hard-hitting honky-tonk piano hits and driving beats. The second act (right after you'd normally flip over the record or cassette) features more atmospheric, electronic tapestries; Weeping Wall features marimbas that provide the backing for a moody exploration. Subterraneans is a thickly-layered scored like you'd experience on the big screen, complimented by that classic Bowie baritone sax to remind you what you're dealing with here. Fantastic album, just amazing, you're stupid if you don't love it.
I had high expectations going in and was a little apprehensive that the album might not deliver. But my concern was redundant, the album is fantastic. It’s such a full sounding album, with so many surprises and melodic ear worms. Its pretty experimental in parts but it really showcases Bowie as an artist first and foremost. The second half of the album isn’t as punchy as the first; the pace slows down a bit during the instrumental sound scapes. But they’re gorgeous to listen to, it doesn’t matter that the album isn’t packed with pop hits, it doesn’t need to be, the beautiful art rock is such a pleasant listen. 5/5 - Loved it.
Bowie introduces some electronic sounds! I'm a Bowie fan but have never listened to this one, so this was a treat. I enjoyed the exploration of new sounds, and you can definitely see the influence this had on subsequent artists. The second side was particularly interesting and unexpected. My top pick is 'Sound and Vision', but I also really liked 'Be My Wife' and 'A New Career in a New Town'.
This album's A-side is perfect, from "Speed of Life" from "A New Career in a New Town", being "Sound and Vision" one of the greatest songs of all time. The B-side is also great, of course, but it's very different from anything else Bowie did or would do, since you can feel Brian Eno's presence everywhere. It's near perfection.
Hi- Speed of Life, What in the World, Sound and Vision, Be My Wife, Weeping Wall, Subterraneans The first act opens up with rapid-fire ditties that we've all come to know and love from Bowie, with some fresh experiments in electronic sounds. What in the World starts off with what should be an annoying bleeping that somehow just works and wouldn't be the same without it. Be My Wife is filled with hard-hitting honky-tonk piano hits and driving beats. The second act (right after you'd normally flip over the record or cassette) features more atmospheric, electronic tapestries; Weeping Wall features marimbas that provide the backing for a moody exploration. Subterraneans is a thickly-layered scored like you'd experience on the big screen, complimented by that classic Bowie baritone sax to remind you what you're dealing with here. Fantastic album, just amazing, you're stupid if you don't love it.
1,001 albums... Back in the seventies, the gormless DJ-cum-presenter (who was far more interested in his - it was always a he back then - own fame than the art he pretended to like - that *we* liked) would bid his faux-cheery farewells towards the end of Top of the Pops then the credits would roll as one final song was played but then faded out way before its proper end. One week, when I was still to be a teenager, it was the turn of one of the most extraordinary things I'd ever heard. \"What is this shit?\" I might have wondered, had I not just been told by Bates or Travis or whoever it was that week, just like Charles Shaar Murray famously did - though he in disgust and disappointment rather than the breathless awe I felt. Don't you wonder sometimes? I had a bit of a problem with David Bowie at the time - he looked completely different every time I set eyes on him. It used to really confuse me. Just before Low was released (around the time RCA were refusing to release it, so dismayed by it were they), he'd had his first UK number one with a song he'd recorded and released seven years earlier. In the video he didn't seem to be the same impossibly exotic and otherworldly being as on the covers of his albums. He was quite gawky and ordinary, in fact. Like everyone else but in my own little way, I didn't know who David Bowie was. And neither did he in 1976. Famously, he couldn't even really remember recording the stately Station to Station a few months earlier and so decamped to Europe in a bid to get off the Bolivian marching powder with his mate, Jim. Between them they somehow managed to channel their shared withdrawal psychosis to produce four seminal albums in less than twelve months, each with a slightly different flavour. Of the four, Low, with its artful split personality, its shattered fragments of paranoia-infused recovery and redemption and its icy dislocation, is the greatest. So ahead of its time that even the NME didn't get it - a brutally honest document of Britain's greatest star struggling to straighten himself out before he turned thirty. (Decades later, my Polish wife would hear me playing Low and instantly recognise a fragment of a Silesian folk song that Magpie Dave had nicked from a record he'd bought in Wilsonplatz as he journeyed by train through Warsaw. It amuses me that calling his track \"Warszawa\" was a bit like sampling a colliery brass band and calling it \"London.\")
Low ist eins der besten Bowie Alben mit Abstand, ich mags auch mehr als Heroes. Ultra gut einfach
A bloody perfect album. Love it so much. Atmospheric but with some absolute bangers too
Excellent album. For me it's the best one from the Berlin trilogy for sure and I might even go as far to say it might be Bowie's best overall. For me Low and Ziggy are Bowie's peak and depending in the mood I might say that one is better than the other.
This one is pretty easy. Top 3 Bowie albuma, pogotovo što se u ovaj album upleo Ivanov najdraži artista (Brian Eno) i viola - odličan album. Dakle Honky Dory, Ziggy Stardust i Low (ovaj album) su mi topčine od albuma.
This a cacophony of electronic beauty the instrumentals are what absolutely puts this album on a different level it feels like a resurgence for Bowie and is one of my favourite albums from him. I love the Berlin trilogy!
Stop, Bowie! I can only handle so many amazing albums from one artist! Still waiting for that Bowie album that I don't like, but I don't think it'll ever come. 'Low' is one of Bowie's best works, which is saying a lot. Wasn't familiar with this album before I got it on vinyl a few months ago, and it shocked me when I listened to it. Bowie experimenting with different sounds and styles might be the best Bowie you'll find, and he certainly does a lot of experimenting with this album. I thought the orchestral section would be a turn-off, but the otherworldly sounds, classic Bowie, kept me enraptured. Came for the catchy hits, stayed for the overarching magnificence.
Now that I've had some time, I reflect on "Heroes" and think about how much I love side two, and how I wish it sounded like that throughout. And then I listened to this, and it was like my prayer was answered, which is silly considering this was the predecessor to that album. I love the instrumental artsy direction, and enjoy the lack of classic pop rock Bowie vocals.
A stunning, innovative, compelling and unique record, full of atmosphere and character. Bowie’s artistry is firing on all cylinders, pursuing his own vision, daring us to catch up to him.
Very cool record. I dig this album more every time I listen. Bowie’s band had one of my favorite rhythm sections and their playing is so different on this record. The drum sounds are so crazy on Breaking glass (sounds almost like they are doubled with electric drums). Also love the guitars on What in the World. Favorite tunes are Sound and vision, Breaking glass, and What in the world, new career in a new location. This album has a really beautiful balance of electric sounds and acoustic instruments. I love all the textures .Two of my favorite instrumental moments are the harmonica solo on new career and sax on Subterraneans (both played by Bowie). Least favorite song is Be my Wife. This album helps me appreciate Bowie as a composer and multi- instrumentalist. They definitely made something that sounds totally unique.
My first full album by Bowie was not a disappointment. More artsy than expected. Pretty good.
A couple cool songs. I get this might have been really influential at the time, but idk. Can’t see myself listening to it a ton over the next few years. Some of the ambient stuff is kinda cool, but not like a great tangerine dream album or anything like that.
Vibey, no words really so we just chillin. Good to listen to while emailing but also could see potential of laying on ur bed high/sober and just contemplating an shit
Cool album. Very blade runner esque (pre BR) lot of ambient sounds. Mostly instrumental but I dug it.
I really liked this. Atmospheric and cool. I would not have listened to this before. Glad I did.
So surprisingly upbeat and felt like a complete album. Hardly a stinker on it. Groovin and then reflect on the groovin'. Don't think I had the patience for the end though.
I've not listened to the Berlin trilogy before. I liked this record. Very Blade Runner-y.
Minimal lyrics, bit Pink Floyd sounding. A new career in a new town added it my liked songs The harmonica part sounds like a tune from Black Star album
Chyba sie zmowili, w poprzednim piku hejtuje pana brajana eno i od razu dostalem dokladke, tym razem z legendarnego lowa bowiego, ktory otwiera berlinska trylogie, ktora tak w ogole zostala nagrana w wiekszosci we francji, o tej plycie mozna smialo powiedziec, ze ma dwie strony, pierwsze 19 minut klasyczny rokowy bowie, mocno walacy po drumsach w tym wydaniu i z epickimi gitarkami, ktore o dziwo atakuja jedynie lewy kanal, jak na traku breaking glass gdzie slychac to najlepiej, bo takie solowki odjaniepwala pan carlos, ze glowa mala, jako ze eno sie czai w produkcji to synthy mocno weszly jak na what in the world, ale na szczescie wokale bowiego ratuja sytuacje i nie daja sie zawannowac, tak mniej wiecej gra pierwsze 19 minut, potem nastaje druga strona i warszawa, jak czlowiek slyszy cos takiego, to sie zastanawia co tam musial bowie zobaczyc w tych latach 70, ze takie post apo zrobil, najbardziej kojarzy mi sie to z bookiem peanatema, pewnie z powodu tych wokali ktore przypominaja zawodzenie mniszkowe, a matematykowe mnichy z tej ksiazki swietnie pasuja do konceptu, przekazywania info za pomoca notacji muzycznej, kolejne traki rowniez praktycznie w calosci instrumentale lecz juz nie o tak przerazliwym klimacie rowniez trzymaja poziom czegos niespotykanego w muzyce popowej, bo przeciez to jest jednak bowie, nie mam plejki na takie instrumentalne, wiec dam do jednego wora braking glass i warszawke, chociaz to jedna z tych plyt ktore warto przesluchac od openingu do endingu, bo traki maja swietne przejscia i stanowia plynna calosc tworzac unikatowy klimat, ktorego u bowiego nie mozna bylo wczesciej dostac na zadnym albumie
Always love Sound and Vision. The other songs on the album take a little more work to get into, but I do like it. Also it's like half-instrumental.
Had only heard Sound and Vision before, which is a favorite. The whole album has a really nice range from the pop-flavored to the somewhat experimental, with a lot of influence from German synth bands of the 70s. A fun evening listen.
well, there it is, the good bowie album. only ever listened to him as a greatest hits kind of artist. i bet germay was shit in the 80s and that is what this album nicely conveys.
Wenn ich mir überlege, dass es seinerzeit etwas ganz Neues war, gefällt es mir sehr. Ich würde es gerne mit den Ohren der 70er hören und noch mehr die neuen Töne entdecken. Ich mag das dünstere und die Geräusche und das man irgendwie darin verschwinden kann.
Für David Bowie Verhältnisse kam mir das Album über weite Strecken regelrecht garagig und roh vor.
Not too catchy but really good as background music, more instrumental than other Bowie albums I've heard
Good opening track. Wish that Sound and Visions didn't have that hissing noise. The later Eno experimental tracks are interesting, weird but drag on with repeat listens.
Didn't specify 3.5s and 4.5s before now. Previous 3.5s - Sheer Heart Attack, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, The Cars, Dire Straits Previous 4.5s - Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
There might be a reason this isn’t one of the Bowie “canon” albums, but I like it. It’s very different, with electronic instrumental tracks. I think listening to it offers a new perspective on Bowie and a different sort of experience. I approve. Favourite track: “Subterraneans”
Bowie will always be great. I think this was my first time listening to this one though. It's quite haunting.
This is a record that I've heard many times. I think I might own it. But it's never top on the list of Bowie records that I reach for. The sounds are interesting, but in some ways they all feel like short ideas for things that could have become more fully-fledged songs. Because there isn't a lot of change happening in the songs, I'm thankful they are short. I prefer the record before this "Station to Station" and the record after "Heroes." Since this is the first of the Berlin trilogy, I think it gets lumped in with better records. But I guess in the context of the time its pretty remarkable. Highlights: The lead guitar and quirky synths in "Breaking Glass;" The lightheartedness of "Sound and Vision;" The obvious influence of the intro of "A New Career in a New Town" on Radiohead's Kid A (which has to be on this list somewhere, right?); I love how cinematic "Warszawa" is.
Bowie and Eno, why am I not surprised. Good album, has its legacy in ambience and electronic, but not as big an album as Station to Station.
Hadn't realised the second half was all instrumental. I dig it. I think I'd enjoy whatever imaginary film it's a soundtrack to. Also, Sound and Vision is one of my favourites and worth big points on its own. FOUR STARS.
I like this album because it has some classic tunes, but mostly because it loses its shit from track 7 onwards, its as if Bowie finished the album and then left the tape recording and another band came in and recording 5 more tracks onto the end....madness
Initially, I rolled my eyes at having to listen to a Bowie album, and one I'd never heard of at that. Surprisingly, I found myself quite enjoying it, thought it was a 3. Went back for another listen and I think it deserves more than that. Four stars - Bowie, but not as you know it, and all the better for it.
The start of this was a proper bop. Way more chill towards the end, but it still made good background music. I probably won't come back to the last few tracks though.
Absolutely a classic album - who wouldn't want to listen to full Bowie album (answer - me - i'm not sure i've actually listened to anything that wasn't a greatest hits). Minimal 'hits' - i.e. Sound and Vision. It was challenging and fascinating. Look forward to the next Bowie album (must be a few more in the list!)
-I like the melody rhythm in "Breaking Glass" -"A New Career in a New Town" and "Warszawa" have a pretty spooky ethereal vibe to them -Generally pretty good, just never god really epicly
Currently at track 5 - very futuristic for the fact it was made in 1977. Bowie's vocals are good but wouldn't be a repeat listen for me as is. I read some things about this being the first of the Berlin Trilogy: I'm very excited to hear the other 2 albums because the ambiance of Subterraneans is fantastic. The general "soul" of the track, the feeling it carries with it is very good in execution. I'd rate this album a 7/10 on first listen, but I can imagine some of these tracks really growing on me soon. Looking forward to listening to the first 3 tracks of the album as I didn't like those at first.
I did not know this album from him, but again, Bowie did not disappoint! I did not like the last song though...
Really good album and the one before Heroes. So it's interesting to see how he developed a sounds on this album already.
a Bowie album that hits my spot a bit, but I can't help but think 5 Bowie albums in this list is a bit much... pick a lane!
Good album, I only knew Sound and Vision (which I like). Warszawa has some serious Twin Peaks vibes. As many have said: not my favourite Bowie, but still enjoyable.
-chill and funky but good to do homework to -not too many words which was unexpected -first time listening to David Bowie 6/10 -2 skips
David Bowie is a weird dude. But as I got into this album, I realized how hard I was vibing with it. Loved how instrumental it was, more listens on the way.
Could this be the Bowie album for listeners who are not Bowie fans? I've tried (admittedly not *that* hard) over the years to like Bowie, or even "get" him - but aside from a few cuts (mostly Ziggy Stardust) here and there I never enjoyed him and if I could pick only one reason it'd probably be his voice. No getting around his voice, really... unless... he recorded an album that sounded a lot like a focused Brian Eno record (hmm...) and he didn't sing a lot on it and when he did it was mixed down low with every other instrument.... Low! Eno worked on this record with him a lot which after listening to 3 early Eno records over the past few months it's not hard to pick out the similarities. But as referenced above, this is more focused (at least on the first half!). The first "half" (7 songs) are tight songs that are nonetheless not predictable; a lot of which has to do with lack of vocals or even just not having them come in when one might traditionally expect. That second half is weird and I love it - put on some headphones and turn out the lights and you can lose yourself in the sounds; I'd hesitate to call most of these "songs" but there is melody and depth to them. Shocking to me that this is the same guy that sang "Fame" or "Young Americans" - at any rate, the 2nd side is like a different album entirely, yet still fits under the same experimental melodic umbrella. A lot can be read about the production techniques on the album; especially the drum sounds on a few songs; they have a crunchy gated effect that suits the music really well. I enjoy the mix as well (again: headphones). This one surprised me - I saw David Bowie and thought "meh" but what a great surprise and a keeper. 8/10 4 stars.
It wasn't the best David Bowie album but it was in fact a David Bowie album which means it was still pretty darn good. I did love the instrumental tracks.
Listened to this for the first time when I was 15, after Bowie had passed away. Most recent time was this past Saturday. The album dips a bit towards the end with all the instrumentals, but I've never been big on instrumental music anyway. It took a second listen to really appreciate and feel the emotion of all of them. Tracks like Be My Wife, Sound and Vision, Speed of Life and What in the World are brilliant, and for me it made sitting through Warszawa worth it. Bowie's Berlin period (and the album Station To Station, which preceeded it) was fantastic and it broke ground for the genres of post punk, new wave and 80s indie music. It also appeared to be necessary for Bowie's life in general as it was this period in his life that helped him overcome his crippling addiction to cocaine.
Second track, I'm looking in the mirror lol Be my wife is sweet I like the synth, very alien along with the cover of the album. Evokes curiosity and exploration a lot of instrumentals which makes for ambient bowie noise Subterraneans interesting, kind of ominous and like a death march on Mars. would make a great soundtrack
mais ou menos, boazinha mas não é algo que eu vou pensar “nossa tava afim de ouvir um low by david bowie”
My brain may be addled, because I find it impossible not to hear Dune in Warszawa and Blade Runner in Art Decade. And in that light, Low is a slightly disjoint effort by Bowie. The goofy hair weirdness is gone from this music, vocal shrieks replaced by guitars. It's a wonderful choice, as the abstraction and applied effects are only really effective on instruments. I am sure that there is a sample or quote of New Career on Blackstar. The weirdness here is more outsider, more Trout Mask Replica. I love it, and the instrumentals somewhat less. Low's a better album than many 4s on this list.
I love this period of Bowie....the Berlin period. And Low is generally regarded as the masterpiece from the Berlin period. But I actually prefer both Station to Station and Heroes. I acknowledge that Low is the more unconventional and atmospheric of the three, but I find myself wondering what the point of songs like; Art Decade and Weeping Wall. Having said that Low is one of the greatest post-punk / New wave albums of all time. Considering that it was released in 1976 three years before post-punk was invented that's something. 4 5 🌟
Really enjoyed this. I like Bowie but I enjoyed the instrumentals and wouldn’t necessarily known it was him. Some were contemporary symphonies. 4*
Not the most accessible album by Bowie but an interesting sonic exploration - this one needs more than a day to savour but clearly a lot of pedigree
This album (along with Heroes, Lodger, and Lou Reeds’ Berlin) was responsible for me hitchhiking across Europe to Berlin in the summer of 1984.
What a jam! Fairly straightforward rock on this album (with a couple strange signature Bowie tracks). Loved Breaking Glass! Not his best album ever, but I liked it.
I've always listened to Bowie's earlier eras of music - though, of course, I've heard this album or at least many of the songs on it. This is an interesting transition from the earlier, glam stuff. I love the moody, atmospheric stuff on here. Seems fitting for the soundtrack of Bladerunner. It's a great album that continues to show Bowie's musical depth
7/10. Pleasant album, but a bit boring, at least for driving. So far, definitely a low for David Bowie albums on this list.
Love it, its not what I listen to normally, but I will definetely get on vinyl when my record player arrives. Its an incredible album and I will definetly be listening to the whole thing again.
An interesting and experimental Bowie sound that stays pretty strong for the first 2/3rds. Around Warszawa we get a bit more atmospheric and electronic, but it becomes a bit less interesting and doesn't quite keep up the momentum of the earlier album. Still enjoyable.
More of a dramatic cinematic soundtrack than album but not in a bad way. Again not my favourite Bowie but still incredible enough to justify his placement on the wall with the other gods of good tunes
Crazy how all of David Bowles album sound ahead of their time, futuristic, and emblematic of the time it was made all at once
There's a frantic energy to this album. It's a little messier and unpolished than some Bowie albums are. That being said, it's undeniably catchy. The opening instrumental is surprisingly engaging. The album is also very bass-forward. Sound and Vision is the only song on here that I knew already, which is not really that indicative of the rest of the album. It continues Bowie's inter-galactic, alien, space kind of vibe, but it's hardly stale. Interesting listen.
This album isn't what I usually think of from Bowie. Almost all of these songs could easily have been in FFVIII
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKoY1fw7yCo sori idiot sam mozak mi je spržen od ispita.
Vrainent un bon album avec beauxoup d'experimentatione t des sons de malaxes. J'adore 4.70
Half experimental art rock album. Half dark Brian Eno-esque ambient album (which makes sense since Eno is a producer). Not sure if the two halves create a satisfying whole, but I can easily appreciate the beauty of each side on its own; the former a bit more so than the latter. Second Listen?: Definitely Favorite Tracks: Sound and Vision, Speed of Life, Breaking Glass, Always Crashing in the Same Car
Not my favorite Bowie album. Not one of my 5 favorite Bowie albums. Side 1 is great, but Side 2 is overrated. Too much art, not enough Bowie. Still a very good album, just not that good.
Someone mentions avant guarde and I usually cringe because it has been done so badly. Bowie makes the unusual, alien, and sudden acccessible. Like he knows all those weird parts of each of us and can use that to interface with all the wider weird.
Heard before: yes First half of the album was awesome, second half was good. I don’t think I *love* Bowie when he’s being ‘experimental’ - I much prefer him when he’s being pop. Case in point, Suffragette City started playing just after the album finished, and I much preferred it to anything on here. Favourite songs: Breaking Glass, Sound and Vision Least favourite songs: Weeping Wall