Low

Boring

November 15, 2024 One day after another 1977 album with Brian Eno: “Can you not be [producing classic albums] for FIVE MINUTES?” NOT first listen; my favourite track the first time was “Warszawa”, and it may still be. The harmonica-laced “New Career in a Small Town” is pretty stiff competition. Overall, while Low introduced this experimental phase of Bowie’s music, I think I enjoy “Heroes” a bit more. Though I’m probably too much of a fan to contest both albums being on this list… HL: “Sound and Vision”, “A New Career in a Small Town”, “Warszawa”, “What in the World”

Dope.

I mean it was a David Bowie instrumental/prog rock album. I absolutely loved it.

After listening to Aladdin Sane, i did think that David Bowie definitely did have a lot of talent when it came to making music but Low showed that way more. This was just one of those albums that always would do something that i would not have expected and yet, handles it so well that it just clicks so well with me. Nearly every sound here from the regular instruments used in nearly all the tracks, to the more one-off sounds are all handled absolutely amazingly. This album was also just a really beautiful sounding one making me feel like I'm getting one of the greatest views of my life while being at a high surface. This album is a genuinely amazing one that i never expected would be this good. Best Song: Speed Of Life Worst Song: Weeping Wall

I like the textures and tones in warszawa and subterraneans

Not his best, but was fine!

I've weirdly always struggled with Bowie and I really want to get "it". This...this I got

Not necessarily as good as I remember but still some amazing tracks

Low opens with an unusual move—an instrumental, Speed of Life, kicking things off. It feels more like a mid-album interlude, leaving me wondering, “Where are you going with this, David?” That question is soon answered with Breaking Glass, where a swaggering drumbeat leads into a funk-infused verse, punctuated by strange sound effects. Bowie seems to declare, “Don’t question me; I do what I want.” The short, fragmented tracks on Side One almost make this feel like a demo tape, as though we’re seeing glimpses into Bowie’s creative process rather than fully-formed songs. It’s intriguing, though it also makes me think I’d understand him better by starting with his earlier work. For me, Side Two is where Low really hits its stride. The atmospheric instrumentals bring out Bowie’s darker, more cinematic side, echoing the mood of a Vangelis score. The Brian Eno and Tony Visconti partnership here is clearly pushing boundaries, and it’s fascinating to see how influential this era of Bowie has become. I also love that Iggy Pop has a cameo on What in the World—it’s a fun detail that adds to the album’s charm. Standout Track: Sound and Vision Score: 4/5

This was another great collaboration between Bowie and Brian Eno. The first half of the album leans more toward pop, though these are fractured versions of pop songs with a heavy experimental, electronic edge. The second half is where Bowie and Eno really dive into the experimental side, creating a deeper ambient soundscape with minimal vocals. One more thing worth mentioning is how much this album was influenced by the German Krautrock scene, which Bowie was really into at the time.

Sound and Vision is a brilliant songs. Speed Of Life, A New Career In A New Town and Subterraneans are good too. Rest ok 3/5

Interessantes Bowie Album, mit sehr viel Soundkreationen und elektrischen Soundelementen. Typisch und gut für das Album ist „A New Career in Town“. Daneben gefallen noch „Be My Wife“ und das mystische „Warzawa“. Bowies Werk ist ein erste Vorgeschmack auf die „Waves“ der frühen 80er und seiner Zeit etwas voraus.

I sort of understand why this is so hyped, and it is truly an inventive and interesting album. But I still find David Bowie less of a musical genius, and more of a rock star that had the resources to experiment with technology. The result is something that sounds experimental in a dated way, lacking the timelessness of focused songwriting in favour of experimenting with the newest toys on the market.

Absent any hit songs, Low would seem to align more with Bowie's last few albums than with, say, Ziggy Stardust. What I mean is that there were occasions in his career when Bowie was willing to shuffle off the Pop Icon garb and explore some interesting musical directions. True artists need to push themselves in new ways, and not do the same ol' thing that everyone expects.

I am a selective fan of David Bowie in that I do like a few of his songs. This album sounded a little weird for me and it is not something I would listen to regularly.

I mean, it's David Bowie -- you really can't go wrong. I hadn't heard any of these songs before and I loved them all. I listened to the whole album twice. Five stars.

I’ve never really listened to a Bowie album. Just the hits and singles. The opener was an instrumental and really good. This is a really great album. It surprised me with the amount on instrumentals. It sounds modern still today and it wa recorded in 1977. That’s quite a feat

Weird album. Not my favourite from Bowie. Felt like there were only a few actual songs

A nice listen, but felt more like a movie soundtrack than a David Bowie album.

The song fragments are all fantastic, catchy and intricate in the way that only Bowie could be, and the ambient tracks take the best parts of Eno’s contributions to the genre and expand it with Bowie’s relentless experimentalism and sheer fucking beauty. This is one of those albums that deserves to be listened to all the way through

4.5/5

What in the World gives me captain beefhart vibes. Sound and Vision is like, clearly just good. Found myself unintentionally bopping to a New Career in a new Town Warszawa sounds like a track from the Little Inferno ost. You know the dun dun dun du du dun. Good. 4/5

3.5 stars

I don't think many of the songs come together as an album. The whole thing feels somewhat disjointed as a straight listen-through. It's actually a 2.5* but i'm dinging it mostly for personal taste.

This album was tough for me to get into at first, mainly because I found the songs to be too short and end too soon. Now I realize that my poor initial comprehension of song lyrics made me misjudge this album a lot, as the lyricism here is precisely what makes it work. I'm coming to grips with the fact that there is music out there that doesn't have that strong of a focus on the shape of its voice. Here, the lyrics themselves carry most of the weight, and missing out on them severely degrades the listening experience. I don't hate this, but said observation makes me appreciate how far the music has come over the years and how much the presentation has improved in the meantime. We take a lot for granted these days, and it can make us forget that this all was made on the shoulders of our predecessors. Besides, for Bowie, and perhaps for music at large, it was uncharted territory at the time. He was there right at the dawn of electronic music, and the experimentation present here proved hugely influential, pushing rock music way farther than anyone could imagine at the time and influencing the sound for decades to come. The A-side feels like a chaotic internal monologue, a voice of depression with desperate pleas for attention and love. Now that I'm more familiar with it, I can accept its beauty, its complexity and unevenness. What I initially perceived as unfinished, I now understand as brevity, and it's quite impressive how it manages to paint a complete picture with what are essentially small fragments. The more expansive B-side, though, is what got me to truly appreciate this album. Made with heavy input from the ambient legend Brian Eno, it paints a gloomy landscape of the Cold War era. Thematically, it focuses on the city of Berlin through the lens of the Cold War, attempting to capture the tragedy of the city at the time, when it was still divided by the Berlin Wall. It wasn't Berlin that caught my eye, though. It was another city that got a presence here, Warsaw. The titular track, Warszawa, is a very haunting tune that reminds me a lot of the Blade Runner soundtrack. Much like the movie, it's gloomy, slow-paced, and synth-rich. The only thing missing here is the futurism, as the dystopia portrayed here is specifically of its time and still rather distant from Blade Runner's 80s-style futuristic dystopia.

Today is the day after the 2024 US election and Donald Trump has just been reelected to the White House. This album mirrors my feelings today. What a shame. Good music, though.

Not my cup of tea

Weird

Yeah, another one I just don’t get. David Bowie is very talented, I just don’t like this album.

Mostly instrumental which was surprising but decent

Turns out David Bowie and Brian Eno are a beast collab. Who would have thought?

Ace record. The second side in particular is so good. Ahead of its time. Favourite tracks: Speed of Life, Breaking Glass, Be My Wife, the entire second side.

The first half sounded grating to me (and not in a good way) with the only relief being Sound and Vision. The second half improved greatly, especially with Warszawa. I could imagine these songs as an epic score for an 70s sci-fi film. Unfortunately, I'm not the biggest fan of listening to movie soundtracks in my free time.

cool listen the kind of album if you played some of those songs i wouldnt just guess it was david bowie sound & vision a banger

This is one of the first albums I distinctly remember not "getting" when I first listened to it, but I also knew to keep trying. Low is a top tier Bowie album and Subterraneans is a top tier Bowie song.

I love Sound and Vision. The minute I hear the beat it makes me so happy. I hadn't spent much time with the full album and it's a little hard to get into. A lot of instrumentals I could probably do without. Not as great as some of his other albums in my opinion.

My parents gave me something of a Bowie entry in my early music diet but I realise now that I barely scratched the surface. Changes, The Jean Genie, Major Tom... Bowie snacks. Bowie purée; easily palatable and tasty in small quantities. Then I went off to university and bought a Best of Bowie compilation so I'd know it all. A Bowie buffet. Still nice and tasty and nothing too challenging. (I also bought Hunky Dory, which as far as I could tell, was fairly straightforward but I mostly skipped from Changes to Life On Mars? and gave the rest a miss.) Now this challenge is gradually educating me on Bowie in a way that puts all of my existing knowledge to shame. Full Bowie meals are hearty, complex and unpredictable. The man was obviously a genius and a total innovator, and much more of a nuanced, acquired taste than I ever realised. Listening to full albums is an eye-opener and a fascinating experience. I don't love it all, and some of it I don't really like but he picks a direction and goes for it with all of his creative force, which I can't help but respect. Low is probably my favourite Bowie discovery so far, although it's also challenging in places. There's a definite groove and mood running throughout but it feels hookier and cool in a way that I haven't quite found with his work yet. The experiments are still bizarre but this time, he kept the bass running and the atmosphere similar, so they kind of pull you along. The first half is an easy 4. The second half is more of a 3 but it's a comfortable and interesting 3, so we'll go on the high side.

I really enjoyed this one a lot!

It's fine. It can get a bit boring.

I just think its fine

David Bowie was an entertainment genius and has shown that throughout his carreer and life. He always kept innovating his own, personal sound and truly topped himself time and time again. Twisting and tweaking his own sound to truly captivate a large part of the world during the 20th century and beyond

To me David Bowie has always been Jareth, The Goblin King. Beyond Labyrinth and his few radio hits, I've done little digging into his discography. While this is not my preferred genre of music, I found myself really enjoying it by about the fourth track and looking forward to what came next. It was interesting, and the album as a whole has a good flow to it. The true artistry and experimentation with sound shines through, reminding me in some ways of the "space" portion of a Dead show, conjuring up psychedelic images in my mind, and kind of making me wish I had some mushrooms to accompany the adventure Bowie is taking the listen on. Solid 4/5

in May of 2020, when I listened to the entire Bowie solo discography, I ranked this album his second best. it's a decision I still stand by! sorry, I just really love Blackstar, but in terms of "classic" Bowie, this is the album I reach for first. it's just such a succinct and perfect encapsulation of this artist (artists, if we take Brian Eno and Tony Visconti into account) at the peak of his powers! it may not have legendary, generationally anthemic songs with roof-tearing vocal performances like Hunky Dory or Ziggy Stardust or Station to Station, but so much of what makes this album special is its understatedness and brevity. the A-side is 7 flawless rock miniatures, all clocking in around 3 minutes or less, all replete with brilliant details in their pristinely engineered instrumentation, with heavy layers of Eno synths masterfully woven into the fabric for good measure. in many ways these songs (and others from the Berlin years) feel the bedrock of new wave and post-punk. even the instrumental songs are full of intrigue! the stakes on these tracks are much lower than they've been on previous Bowie albums, but there's a straightforwardness to the songwriting on this A-side, particularly in the lyrics, which I find really compelling. "Sound and Vision" might be the most "perfect" song in the entire Bowie catalog, and there's quite a few contenders there! then side B transports you somewhere else entirely. Eno takes center stage, with Bowie acting more as an object in the musical scene than a central figure across 4 grandiose slabs of ambient goodness. fuzzy string patches, Steve Reich-esque marimbas, thundering bass tones, droning vocals, and a ton of electronic pads all come together in various flavors. the connection these tracks have to the 7 rock songs that came before them isn't immediately obvious, but they just make sense together. with the rock side, you get terse reflections on David Bowie's state of mind as he tried to kick his various vices to the curb, and with the ambient side, that focus shifts outwardly to his immediate surroundings in West Berlin and the quiet horror of the Cold War. I can't imagine one without the other! this is one of the most transcendent listening experiences you can find in the entire rock music canon. 10/10.

Yeah this album is pretty blatantly ripping off Neu! at times but honestly, who cares when the music is this good

Yeah, cool. It seems to be about half Bowie pop songs and half instrumental weirdness which I don't mind at all.

Enjoyed this….

A few years back I had a drunken and slightly heated debate with a mate who said a lot of Bowie songs are shit! My position being that a shit Bowie song is far better than most artists great songs! However on revisiting all Bowie early albums, including this one, I can’t help thinking my mate might of been in to something. There is what can only described as an awful lot of “filler” in between the undoubted classics that we all remember and love so much, food for thought?

Really enjoyable to listen to. I found myself restarting later in the evening after having listened to it once.

Interesting record. Bowie is an institution. Glad I have listened to it, but I won't put it on repeat.

This is an interesting Bowie album, but I'm not sure it's essential listening. The production is great, like all of Bowie's albums, but I didn't expect to go into this only really listening to instrumentals. Best Songs: Speed of Life, Warszawa Worst Songs: Weeping Wall,

I have this vinyl pressing in my library. Supposedly worth quite a bit. :) Interesting listen, this one. Kind of trippy.. Reminds me of 'Golden Years' and some of the music he did in Labyrinth.

my parents had best of bowie on CD so i know all the hits, and i’ve picked up various songs from soundtracks and references and other people’s playlists, but i’ve never Sat My White Ass Down And Listened to any bowie album all the way through….which seems kind of insane/borderline impossible. but it’s true! i really liked the pop songs on this album but the atmospheric instrumental chanting stuff really lost me toward the end i fear…i guess i just don’t get it…it’s kinda nuts that “sound & vision” is on the same album as all the ambient stuff but the progression to get from one to the other wasn’t in fact that jarring, so. maybe it was more effective than i’m giving it credit for? either way the bass goes crazy!!! fav tracks: breaking glass; sound and vision; always crashing in the same car; a new career in a new town

I enjoyed how cinematic this was, especially the instrumental tracks. I don't foresee returning to any individual songs from this because they feel really connected to the album as a whole; it doesn't feel like these were meant to be listened to separately. I think it's cool that he changed his sound so much throughout his career and I enjoyed learning about this kind of experimental ambient moment he had that I didn't know about. Fav tracks: What in the World, Speed of Life

after years of cultivating a vaguely continental European vibe, bowie boldly declared "actually I'm just a german guy now"

excellent

I really liked this one. I will have to give it a few more listens, but this is my first full Bowie project besides blackstar, and I must say I fully get the hype so far.

Not very good.

Bowie is a legend. I enjoyed listening to the album. Just a couple songs I really enjoyed though.

Was expecting more vocals, didn’t realize the instrumental and synth focus this album had. Could kind of take it or leave it.

Good but not his best

I don't really like instrumental albums. It was fine background music.

Among the worst! Probably deserves 1.5 for not being distinctly uncomfortable, but this album deserves a LOW ranking.

Gets weirder every track, from rock and roll to avant guard, but still sounds very cohesive. I like it

Classic.

Bowie is a classic!

Low is interesting and has some really good tracks, but it’s kind of lacking Bowie himself. Still impressed with his ability to grow and change and evolve but never release anything sub-par.

Sound and Vision is my favorite Bowie track.

Again, did not feel much for this. Definitly more good than bad and I might have been a little harsh on the last record, although I think my last assertion about standout tracks rings true here as well. Best song: What in the World Worst song: Warszawa

I really enjoyed the contrasts of each half of the album. While the first half is more experimental pop rock that's energetic, the second half is very melancholic and ambient that challenges the listener. I like the idea of the concepts better than most of the songs, and it got worse on a second listen. Best song: Sound and Vision / Subterraneans Worst song: Be My Wife

One of the favorite periods of Bowie’s career

I really liked the first seven songs of this album and just wish the second half had followed suit. If it had then a strong score of 4 would have been forthcoming. Unfortunately the last 4 songs were just a bit too experimental for me and brought the overall score down. Still, easily the best album on here I’ve listened to so far.

Now we’re talking, some great tracks on this one and a very interesting split of regulation Bowie and experimental stuff. Admittedly some of the second songs drag on a bit long. The people of 1977 must have thought they were listening to something from the distant future or distant planet!

Can I give two ratings for this please? The first load of tracks are pretty good and I could see myself getting into the album fairly heavily, and then ouch you hit track 8 and it’s utter ballbags from then on. So it’s a 4 until 7, and a 1 from then on. I’m going to give the album a 2, because you just can’t have 4 such dire tracks to end a good album.

No, Eno, no! I respect your ability to twiddle the keys and nobs but you’ve gone too far here FFS. I was really loving this (the drum style/sound in particular) until you got too heavily influential in the second half of the album which disappeared into some dull old electro noodling. A 5 album in the making if it wasn’t for you Brian.

I don't want to like this as I have reached peak Bowie but it's good. He must have spent a lot of time in German sex dungeons listening to Krautrock.

bowie’s bowie, and his (timely) 77 collab with eno proves to me that post-coke bowie sounds a lot like mid-coke bowie but… ambient? i guess? pretty alright record but not much stood out to me…

I've always really loved this album. It's very different from most of the rest of his work but I think it really paints a great picture of his headspace living in France and Berlin with Iggy Pop. What a weird time that must have been. Sound and Vision is probably the best track but I also really like Breaking Glass, that song doesn't ever get the praise it deserves. I particularly like the live version from the Reality Tour album. What in the World is great too. All the songs are great, really. And I love the second side being mostly instrumental. It's beautiful and soulful and experimental and wonderful. Brilliant album, though I wouldn't consider it one of Bowie's top 5. But I love it and will listen to this over and over again for life. 5/5

This has long been one of my favorite albums by Bowie, and a standout example of why he was always at his best when he was experimenting. No one would have expected this turn in his sound back when it was released, and it remains just a revelatory now as it was then.

Bowie. Berlin. Sober. Eno. Art. Ambient. Visconti. Weird cool drum sound. Some avant-poppyish stuff and some soundscapes, which are actually quite good. Pretty enjoyable overall, influential no doubt. First half doesn’t quit have the consistency for me.

Not great.

This hits when he's actually playing music. I don't get the filler stuff in the second half of the album. I liked this a lot more than Station to Station

Glad I listened to it. Not sure I’ll listen to it again

I understand what they were trying to do with the 2 sides of the record contrasting in style, but I think this is one of those rare records that should be listened to on SHUFFLE. Hearing the snippets of rock songs in between the long ambient tunes would give the album a nice flow from song to song. “Alluring” is the best word I can use to describe this one.

this album is the definition of a vibe

The last David Bowie album we endured on this list was, at the time, the worst album suggested within the 1001. It has since been matched by the likes of hipster Elvis impersonator Nick Cave’s bloated 2004 project, and Irish posers U2, who released an absolute zero in 1987. Suffice to say, I am not looking forward to this. No disco to start. That’s good. It’s not good per se, but I’m happy it’s not disco. It’s a lame guitar riff with some fairly interesting alien weirdness happening in the background. But! If he’s not singing, I’m a happy fellow. BLUES GUITAR?? It’s fine. I was genuinely thinking this was an instrumental album and was so excited. His voice hit like nails on a chalkboard. Lame vocals, but instrumentally, this album has been decent so far. Oh god no. This sucks. Again, instrumentation is unique and I feel like it’s not an everyday album in that regard. David Bowie is not a talented vocalist. He’s very important culturally, but musically overrated due to that importance. It’s the celebrity president phenomenon. Sound and vision eh? So far I am envisioning hell, as the sounds filling my ears seem to be hold music for a surfing resort and the only way I’d be hearing those sounds is if I was suspended in some sort of purgatorial state. It’s almost like he’s recording and doesn’t want to wake his mom up. Oh no there is the unfounded confidence. Ok, the vocals ARE interesting and weird here, there’s just an element of poor taste somehow. This time I think the actual music let us down. This song is a big nothing. Boring. Desolate without any accompanying atmosphere. Cringeworthy vocals and lyrics. Break for caterwauling. Garbage. Obligatory riverboat revival song. This genuinely sounds like Tim & Eric. Which would be great, if it was. Considering it’s not, I can only take it as a genuine attempt to be a good song, which it was not. What the hell is going on. David Bowie ambient track? Giving this one a chance. This one did NOT need vocals. A nice experience other than the ham-fisted lion king vocals. It sounds like Sid Meier’s civilization menu music at this point. Another pass. Meh. What the fuck is this? Don’t moan at me. You produce interesting atmospheres and sounds and then you wail over top of it, completely decimating any subtlety or intrigue. Medieval garbage. Hearing less singing HAS been nice. Although it makes it harder when he does pop in for a wail, just to remind everybody he’s still the premier artist of our time. To be fair to this album, it was musically interesting and as abhorrent as I believe David Bowie’s singing and lyrics to be (not sure if he wrote his own to be fair), there was more intrigue here. However, I just can’t jump into the 2 territory as there is not enough to actually enjoy for me. Even the atmospheric ambient portions seemed to be dripping with pretentiousness. David Bowie is a cultural icon and a musical mystery. This is another lacklustre project from a vastly overrated musician. 1.5 HIGHLIGHTS: Ambient portions in the final few tracks.

I did not expect a David Bowie album to be mostly instrumental music experimenting with electronic sound. There is probably some context for this, I just didn't read up on it. I think the mix of the usual Glam Rock guitars with early electronic stuff works well. It's kind of an alternative take on the Post-Punk trend - same gloomy vibe, but a unique sound. "Sound and Vision" is great as a standalone song too.

That's what you get when you own a "best of" album. You get to completely re-discover aspects of an artist when listening to full albums. That was very much the case here. I love Bowie but only knew one song from this album. Loved all of it though, more instrumental than I expected, and esp. the "B side" was unexpected (Brian Eno, good job). Sometimes, as with most art, it's difficult to explain WHY you love it, but I do. A true album that just works, the songs follow each other beautifully.

I like Bowie

Bowie is baffling to me. On one album he can conjure up a hit at will to save it. With Low he seems content to meander around a laboratory of incomplete or inarticulate ideas with mild enthusiasm. Nothing really seems to be great or really catch hold of the imagination. It's like he is showing off the worst kind of artistic entitlement imaginable. Bowie is certainly a talented songwriter and musician, but even the best creative minds lose their way.

Not my favorite Bowie record, but the worst Bowie record beats the best of most artists.

Che carino, molto belli i momenti strumentali

è stata una decisione veramente difficile perchè oscillavo tra le quattro e le cinque stelle, è davvero un capolavoro. il poco "replay value" è ciò che mi ha convinto a decidermi sulle quattro stelle, ma davvero non l'avevo mai ascoltato per intero ed è stata un'esperienza mistica.

My second favourite Bowie album. I’ve currently only listened to Ziggy Stardust and Hunky Dory (LOVE Ziggy and not awfully fussed on Hunky Dory) but this sits very nice between them

Very different from what I expect from Bowie and not my favorite.

Ça ouvre en grand, mais l’énergie se perd au long de l’écoute, contrairement à Ziggy et Station to Station. 100% réécoutable tout de même, ça reste du Bowie

Ikke hvad jeg havde forventet med fedt ‘soundscape’

It was great background music that helped me focus, but it was not memorable.

hugely risky. ambient and eerie. albums to listen to when you want something low-stimulation that makes you feel bad but in a comfy way.

I was tempted to give it 4 purely for ‘always crashing in the same car’ which might be my favourite Bowie song. I like the brooding atmosphere of this album and the synth tones. Not a huge fan of instrumentals in general but I did think this album was really well done.

Really dug this album. You can hear the Brian Eno leaking through this album. The electronic sounds are so forward looking too, it’s like the precursor to New Wave. The second half has its moments but is definitely a little too experimental and ambient-y for my tastes. Still excellent!

Very ambient and strange. Not the Bowie I've heard before but it was educational.

Great album, although its almost like two albums stuck together.

Interesting but not super accessible

Philip Glass wrote his first symphony based on this album, saying "My generation was sick to death of academics telling us what was good and what wasn't." The irony is that Glass got it exactly backwards. In praising Low as a masterpiece, he became the very academic he was criticizing. Pitchfork named it the greatest album of the 1970s in 2004. Most people don't listen to it. The Spotify numbers tell the story. "Sound and Vision" has 112 million streams, which sounds impressive until you remember it's riding Bowie's general fame and is one of the more accessible things here. The next highest track has 13 million. For "Bowie's best album" and "#1 of the 1970s," that's pretty pitiful. I enjoy Captain Beefheart. Odd and innovative are fine by me. But a record still has to be something I want to listen to, not just appreciate. If someone played guitar at twice the speed anyone thought was possible, that might be genuinely impressive. But I don't listen to music to be impressed. As is the case with the rest of Bowie's Berlin trilogy, I tend to like the second, experimental half better. If you're going to experiment, go for it. Trying to mix the experimentation into pop songs, like with the first half, doesn't work as much for me.

not my favorite Bowie album.

Man, all my notes got wiped out, but I'd call this a transitional album. Clearly Bowie, with all its influences worn on its sleeve, but not fully made his own. While I can agree that 'boring' would be a good descriptor, I think the ambient stuff is pretty decent. Not all music has to go somewhere, and especially not ambient. It's no mistake that there aren't any classic Bowie hits on here, but that doesn't make it bad, just hit-less. The separation between the first half and second half make it feel a bit more like an art project than something coherent, so on that I'm knockin' it down from a 4 to a 3.

I like this, reminiscent of a Pink Floyd album where the it feels like a journey. It stands on it own from beginning to end. Sound and Vision is a jam. I wish I could give half stars cause this feels like a 3.5. Not quite a 4 in my opinion so I'm going with a 3. I'll listen again though

Good

Pretty solid, great instrumental work and the last 4 songs I really enjoyed!

Not only one of Bowie’s best, but definitely one of the best albums ever recorded.

-This is amazing, definitely my favorite release by Bowie I’ve heard so far. Something very alien and gripping about all the sounds, especially Eno’s ambient textures in the second half. This is my second full listen and it sounds even better -Favorites are What In The World, Weeping Wall, and Subterraneans

Absolutely love David Bowie. Absolutely love this album. Definitely up there as one of my favourite albums by him. See my other reviews of his albums to know just how much I love Bowie. He's the G.O.A.T in my opinion.

2.09

Cool, vibey Not particularly exciting, but I fw it

Really liked some of it, but some tracks were just ok for me

Overall cool but weird ending

Still like picturing him in Berlin getting back on track jammin with homies. But prob the lowest ranking Bowie for me. Low Bow. 2.5

Gorgeous, varied, Bowie

Finally clicked

This album is interesting, not like the David Bowie material I know best (Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust). While I liked what I heard, I do feel that this album deserves several listens to properly digest. I'll give it a 4 for now because I liked it enough to hear again, but it is hard to know whether I'll still feel that way after more listens.

Surely there are 1001 albums to listen to before this one

Much better than the last Bowie album

Good background music but nothing extravagant 2.5 stars

Its's ok. Very much fragments, and though he was getting clean this feels like I can only imaging coming down off cocaine does. Not sure I want instrumentals from this guy, whose whole lyric containing songs are pretty good. Still some cool moments. Better than the idiot.

Almost an instrumental. Pretty boring.

Why was the album mainly noise?? Weird choice. One good song on the whole blooming album. Thanks David!

Full disclosure, I'm a big Bowie fan. As usual I love the pop rock songs but not so much the electronic instrumentals. Also, my least favorite of the Berlin Trilogy.

bowie just like many artists apparently went through a weird experimental phase, first tracks are good but the last ones are not so good

I get the 1st half being pop and commercial-oriented and the 2nd being ambient and experimental and showcasing David Bowie's ability beyond just singing, BUT it still feels like 2 different albums or EPs from different genres shoved into one. NOT for me

Not his best

Überraschend modern für seine Zeit. Schön elektronisch.

A real works of dual personality, the songs (in my view the album's best tracks) and Brian Eno inspired instrumentals have little connection imo. Enjoyable though

No Aladin Sane, but damn fine.

It's a nice album. Listnened 3 Times to it yesterday.

Weird and trippy and not at all what I expected. Very artsy though

Good album lol

4 out of 5. This album is easier for me to listen to than Heroes, especially in the second half where it feels more like a 70's or 80's fantasy movie.

me gustó 7.5/10

I love David Bowie but Low is a correct assessment for this albums rating.

Experimental, creepy and cold. Very weird but not in the worst way. It was okay.

10/10

Estaba demasiado avanzado pa su época. Su música siempre está en bomba

In my Bowie top ten.

Deeply cool, somewhat unhinged mixture of electronic music and analogue rock. Actual catchy songs emerge fully formed amid sweeping, intriguing soundscapes. The album is great, experimental and addled.

Not my favorite Bowie album, quite a few instrumental only songs. Typical unusual and experimental sounds from Bowie, but definitely less "punchy" than some of his other work and overall less exciting for me.

Listening notes: I first listened to this while on vacation in Hawaii, and the vibe was not quite right. I ended up turning it off before finishing it. Picking this back up after getting home: Kicking off with some great riffs on Speed of Life, kindof a weird Rolling Stones sound. Instrumental, interesting choice for an opener. More funky weirdness with Breaking Glass and What in the World. Sound and Vision: awesome single. Love this one. Always Crashing in the Same Car, this is pretty cool. Be my wife: guess this was a single but kinda forgettable. A new career in a new town - nice and bouncy Waszawa - alright it's getting dark and strange. More moody with Art Decade Weeping Wall - kindof a Philip Glass feel here then back into the creepy darkness with the closeout Subterraneans. Yeah this is decidedly not a Hawaii album haha. I liked it more the second time. But it just feels like the first and second half are very different albums, and I wasn't quite ready for the second one today. I'm intrigued, but left a little confused. Very experimental. Wouldn't seek out the album again. 3.5/5, round down

Chilly and bracing.

Quite average

Uno de los más influyentes discos de Bowie (y ha tenido varios). El del comienzo de la trilogía berlinesa, que si se alimentaba de pimientos y cocaína, que si Eno e Iggy Pop, que si tal y que si cual... Como temas más conocidos están la instrumental Speed of life y sobre Sound and Vision. Always Crashing in the Same Car y Be My Wife (segundo sencillo del álbum) presentan a un Bowie más convencional. Otro instrumental cierra la cara A: A New Career in a New Town, que tiene algunos trazos de TVC15 y de su periodo Thin White Duke. La B es la más reconocida, sobre todo por Warzsawa, tema con enorme carga ambiental, voces y coros tribales y todo tipo de novedades que seguramente hicieron fruncir el ceño a sus habituales seguidores. Art Decade, mantiene ese tono espectral y Weeping Wall con Bowie tocando vibráfono y xilófono. Subterraneans cierra el disco con más pasajes intrumentales y Bowie tocando un inquietante saxo. Un disco que fue recibido con tibieza por algunos, y que ha ganado mucho con el paso del tiempo. Disco esencial de la explosión del 77 (junto con los de SEx Pistols, Talking Heads, Ramones, The Clash, Television, Bob Marley, Iggy Pop, The Jam, Suicide, Mink Deville, Kraftwerk, The Modern Lovers, Elvis costello... también Fleetwood Mac y Bee Gees...).

5 stars. Loved this from the first time I heard it the day it was released.

Bastantes canciones instrumentales. Un 4.

Lidt for stenet til min smag...

Not my cup of tea...most of them were instrumentals which I'm not really into...

The whole atmosphere created here is magic. One of many peak points for Mr. Jones.. (or “Low” in this case…)

His best for me personally, he couldn't be touched on this streak from 'Station to Station' to 'Heroes', what a run. I just love the split of the album from weird trippy pop/rock in the first half into the more spacey and ambient stuff in the second half. Shoutout to Eno.

4. Sound & vision is very funky background Overall very low tempo. Cool sounds. Very atmospheric, but nothing that really grabs the attention

Cigs for breakfast vibes Sound and vision Eno good?

It may just be me, but this feels like the perfect "deep cuts" album. It seems to have hallmarks of his glam rock styles/sensibilities and space age odyssey remnants but mixed with harder rock and weird ambient sounds. Makes sense since Brian Eno got involved as you can hear some Roxy Music influence on this one. This guy doesn't really put out bad music but this is a definite listen.

Everybody’s gotta love Bowie!

Loved this album until the second half which was boring and weird. 2/5

What in the World was this? The Sound and Vision of this was Breaking Glass in the Art Decade.

Great

Sound and Vision - total classic A new career in a new town - the harmonica reminds me of the The!

Not a fan. I Liked a few tracks but it was a tad boring overall. Just not for me

I give this 3.4 rounded to 3 stars. I love Bowie but this was not close to his best despite many reviewers loving the Berlin trilogy. The first half was good and I really enjoyed Sound and Vision and Be My Wife. The second side was full blown arty electronic music mostly without vocals. While it was interesting, it's not something I'd go back to over and over like some of Bowie's classic albums.

gut, aber bleibt für david bowie verhältnisse wenig hängen bei mir

this is an album that I’ve already listened to, and it is already and has been one of my favorite albums by David Bowie of all time this album combines so many genres from art rock to hard rock to melancholic rock and I can keep on going to ambience and it’s really just a phenomenal album 10 out of 10

Ok, I acknowledge that David Bowie is a genius. But this album wasn’t it.

I liked this. I like the instrumental and I thought it was unique. I haven’t really listened to Bowie before, like actually sat down and listened.

Interesting that I got Low after Lust for Life. This record is fantastic. Rare that you encounter an artist doing something completely different on side two from side one. This is almost like two different albums and yet the whole thing is perfectly inhabits the same universe. Canadian critic Dave Winnitowy called Low "hideously interesting.” I’ve been listening to this thing for years, and it’s also endlessly interesting. With the exception of pop stunner Sound and Vision, the music on Low is experimental, often very cold, and yet somehow strangely inviting. It sucks you in. Bowie and Eno are geniuses, Low is one of the most influential albums in the history of rock/pop, and the music here is unsettling, lovely, moving, strange, and stunning. I’ve taken many naps to side two, and I mean that as praise. It is a first rate experience, slowly half-nodding off to the soothing, otherworldly sounds of Low and appreciating its beauty with a semi-conscious mind.

Very cool

Pretty cool and decently different, but not exactly life-changing or essential. And certainly not as avant-garde as it likely regarded itself to be. The experimentation is pretty tepid and derivative in the end. "Sound and Vision,” “Be My Wife” and “A New Career in a New Town” are best cuts. One doesn't much like the sound of "Breaking Glass." The instrumental second side is pleasant enough but drifts in to so much Enonian noolding. There are plenty of musty/dusty synth lines that sound as if Vincent Price may have dropped by the studio. Others are direct rip-offs of Kraftwerk or Neu, offering yet more evidence of Bowie as shameless imitator rather than true innovator. One can see why afficianados would consider this a hidden gem, but, given the significant superfluity of Bowie records on this list, impartial listeners might hear a likely candidate (among at least 3 and maybe 5 others) for culling.

This is a Bowie album I can get behind. I enjoyed the journey through the album and the exploration of other sounds likely due to the Eno collab. I thought the two worked well together and produced something new and interesting instead of recycling the same Bowie formula.

Yet another excellent album from Bowie…

Its so good oh my god I'm crying listening to Subterraneans. Crying. This is the third time I'm listening to the ambient closer and I'm crying. OMG. Side A - avant-garde pop Side B - ambient

not as prolific as I expected

I absolutely love this album, and have done since I was 15 (41 years ago, gulp). I don't think I'll ever get bored with it. The short tracks on side 1 are delivered in a throwaway manner, as if Bowie's emptying out some pop stuff that's been rattling around in his brain for a bit, perhaps. Except that every one of those short pop tracks has musical depth and complexity, and brings a sense of darkness in the lyrics. The opening and closing instrumentals on side 1 hint at what's to come: side 2 is epic, and beautiful. Having decided to get on board with the synth thing, and assisted by Eno obvs, Bowie was evidently happy to completely run with it, and create long, filmic soundscapes that perfectly describe post-war Europe. I feel as if I could write a book about this album. Did I mention that I absolutely love it? Never mind 1001 albums, this should be in every top 10, surely, for creativity and importance. I wish he was still here.

I never need a reason to listen to this. One of my absolute favourite albums of all time and it’s not possible for me to be impartial where Bowie is concerned.

Liked it but david bowie isnt my genre

I'm a big fan of Bowie, and this is one of his best. Absolutely brilliant and very varied album, where he tries a lot of different things that all seem to work. Fav tracks: Sound and Vision, Be My Wife, Warszawa

cool ambient second half

Classic

Absolute, total and utter masterpiece.

Pretty good. Brian Eno’s hand is evident on the second half. It makes for great soundtrack for a movie, but less so for a commute. As a general rule I like some of Bowie’s stuff, and this album holds to that.

This is pretty awesome, I almost gave it a 5 but it dragged at a few points later in the album. Sound and Vision was awesome, lots of cool sounds on here, so unique

enjoyable, lighthearted, "süffig"

This album is certainly interesting and worth hearing, but it’s not my jam. I’m sorry that the pretty pop/rock star got hooked on cocaine and had to go to Berlin and listen to ambient music and krautrock while getting clean, but that doesn’t make him an ambient musician or a krautrocker. It just makes him a strung-out tourist. He does well when he is making his pretty pop/rock (“Sound and Vision”) but the rest of this is Bowie doing something other than what Bowie does best. So it’s just not that great, despite the music nerds overhyping it for the last decade. Also, hey late-70’s David Bowie: https://youtu.be/-E3dwBabYBY?si=meE0-IpG0H4__NT3

Prefer funky Bowie but gotta respect the vision and impact here

I heard the singles but not the album. It was as all Bowie albums are amazing

First half was ok, but when the sounds started moving i was sold on this album!

Favourite Bowie album for sure. Shows his genius in so many ways, each song a masterclass.

Hard not to love everything Bowie did in the 70s. The critics may have been divided at the time, but this album really holds up. And the history of it is pretty fascinating too. High marks for difficulty. Sticks the landing.

1001 albums is making me consider something unexamined about my music tastes... do i just not like david bowie very much? this is a very strange thing to discover about yourself in your third decade of life. i have always been Someone Who Likes David Bowie. ziggy stardust is a masterpiece! his singles and big songs are incredible! so why am i so unenthusiastic about all these albums? i don't know, but i wasn't vibing with this one. 1001 albums being what it is, i think i still have a few more albums of his to try out, but i do not like this new frontier of doubt!!

this is my fifth david bowie from this list in under a year. I'm starting to realize that what i thought would be glam rock all the way down is actually more like a new genre exploration every album. this one has two: german electronica/art rock and ambient. i actually enjoyed the former and thought this might be my favorite album of bowie's since ziggy stardust, but then i hit the ambient part and was bored to death. favorites: speed of life, breaking glass, always crashing in the same car, be my wife, a new career in a new town

Meh.... I like words, I love lyrics. Not a fan of mostly weird musical sounds strung together in unhinged melodies. But I love David and these albums seem to bee of some significance in his musical journey.

Not my favorite of his. Some of the instrumental stuff was beneath him in my opinion. He's a better writer than that. Felt contractually obliged.

I do like Bowie's music, but this one wasn't doing it for me. It's his 8th album in the list I've run into, and making me think the author should've had a limit on albums from a single artist.

Didn't blow my mind, but I like it.

Disjointed, one half is rock and the other half is electronica?

The first half of this is stellar, the crunchy rock pop is great and balanced with melodic Sound and Vision. The second electronic side for me has always been a bore. I know it is supposed to be a huge achievement but it is not something I really have ever wanted to listen to more than once.

Cet album comporte ma chanson préférée entre toutes de David Bowie, Sound and Vision. Cette pièce est parfaite, tant dans son groove que dans son propos, dans la voix. Quant à cet album, il me semble, comme son titre l'indique, plus feutré dans l'exploration et moins dans l'ego du personnage. On en retire quelque chose d'éminemment intime.

After two consecutive Brian Eno albums, I get...a David Bowie album produced by Brian Eno. And it's a good one. Can really hear Eno starting to develop that ethereal sound which became his trademark in the 90's. As for the album. It's Bowie and it's downbeat and it's great. Unexpected bangers: What in the World, Warszawa, Always Crashing in the Same Car.

I don't quite get it. The veneration for this, or the whole Berlin trilogy, for that matter. Maybe it's because I'm listening for the first time, now and today? It all seems so aimless and random: here are some art rock ideas and here comes Eno. That said, I had a decent enough time with this album and might have liked it better than Heroes (#196). /shrug

Náði þessari ekki fyrr en um tvítugt. Gott. Meira að segja "fillerarnir" hitta í mark hjá mér.

The first of Bowie's Berlin Trilogy and like most Bowie albums it's amazing. It's experimental on both sides with rock and avant garde on side 1 and ambient mostly instrumental in side 2. Speed of Life, Breaking Glass, Sound & Vision, Always Crashing in the Same Car, Be My Wife & Art Decade are all highlights but all tracks are first rate.

I wasn't connecting with this and what's with all the instrumentals? This album gives me a forgettable soundtrack vibe.

Sound and Vision

Probably my fave Bowie album, although you have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy the second half. First half is good enough to enjoy whatever your mood. I oscillate between 3 and 5 for this so I'll go down the middle.

While I am familiar with some of David Bowie’s work, I hadn’t listened to anything off of this album until now. Time to fix that. Despite how amazing Station to Station turned out, Bowie was still struggling from his cocaine addiction at the time and it took a toll on his mental health. As a result, he left Los Angeles to move back to Europe, and caught up with Brian Eno. Also tagging along on this journey was Iggy Pop, who was also looking to clean up from his drug addiction as well. Both him and Bowie ended up working together on the former’s album The Idiot, co-mixing with producer Tony Visconti over in West Berlin. Bowie was so infatuated with the area that him and Iggy decided to move there for a while to kick their drug habits, escape the spotlight and work on new material inspired by the German experimental music scene at the time. Thus, the so-called Berlin Trilogy began, with Low being the first of this string of albums. With all that background established, I can comfortably say I enjoyed this rather off-kilter record. Make no mistake in that this album is strange by Bowie’s standards up to this point. Most of Low works in how he allows the other instruments to shine. In fact, the second half is electronically-driven ambience, where Bowie lends his vocal cadence as another instrument to be painted into the scenery. Songs like “Warszawa” and “Weeping Wall” work wonders in this lane, compilmented by the synthesizer work done by Bowie and Brian Eno. There are still tracks where Bowie delivers lyrics, either contemplative about the addiction he battled on “Sound and Vision”, or as more free-form and fractured like on “What in the World” with Iggy on backing vocals. These words may not be the focus of the album, but are a welcoming touch nonetheless. The only problems here are with the first two tracks “Speed of Life” and “Breaking Glass”, which are more like fragments of songs that don’t get fully realized here. They’re not bad tracks, but they could have been fleshed out more. In fact, “Breaking Glass” would later get reworked on a subsequent tour. At the end of the day, Low is still an amazing album, and quite the pleasant surprise for me as a fan of Bowie’s other works. I can see why this album would later be considered influential to the post-rock genre, and it shows in spades. Give it a shot.

Sort of worldwide blade runner vibes, I love Bowie and this is no different.

Quintessential Bowie album! One of the best!

Not my jam

Great Bowie album

I've listened to a couple Bowie albums, but he's mostly been one of my musical blind spots. I've really wanted to do a deep dive into his work, but it's always been a little intimidating, much as he fascinates me. I knew this project would help remedy the overwhelm. It's been interesting to contextualize Low by reading about how influential it's been on artists I know and love well, like Radiohead. Low certainly doesn't sound like anything else I've ever heard from that era. I understand that the way they processed the drums through a pitch shifting device (the Eventide H910 Harmonizer) is one of the most notable aspects of this album. I listened a second time with this in mind, because it's an effect I definitely take for granted in a lot of the music that followed. I really loved the instrumental back half the most, particularly Warszawa. Haunting stuff.

I love Bowie, but this one didn't hit for me.

1. zpeed - 1 2. glazz - 1 3. uuorld - 0 4. zound - 1 5. car - 1.5 6. uuife - 1 7. neuu touun - 1.5 8. uuarzauua - 1.5 9. decade - 0 10. uueeping - 1 11. zubterraneanz - 1.5

David bowie good but there are better albums of his

This sound is very different from all of the other david bowie i’ve heard before, and i’m here for it. It is weird listening to a David Bowie album that is for the most part instrumental, but i guess it’s like the three stacks record. Overall i really like the sound space he taps into although on some songs the phrases can feel pretty repetitive and not completely thought out (like on weeping wall and what in the world). Some songs just sound much more coherent than others, like sound and vision and subterraneans feels much more… intentionally put together.

Beautiful instrumentation, composition, pacing unlike anything I’ve ever heard from Bowie

There's better Eno ambient out there and better Bowie art rock, but this and "Heroes" (which I think is also on the list) are exceptional blends of the two. This is slightly weaker than the album after it, but features anxious-sounding pop with a noisy edge to it, and Subterraneans is maybe my favourite ambient track in the Berlin trilogy. 8.5/10

I enjoyed this album for ambient background music, but probably would not return to it. It’s all a bit too avant garde for me. I did enjoy it well enough, 3/5

Not really into that much especially the last tracks.

Sounds like I'm on a space ship. No thanks. "What in the world" indeed - my exact reaction Seems like whoever created this list had the biggest hard on for Bowie, because there is no way he should have multiple albums on this list. Shocking 1 ⭐️

Quite bad and overrated, as usual from Bowie. "Be My Wife" at least caught my attention for a while, so he gets a star for that.

Bowie’s good of course, kinda bores me half the time though

Aptly named. This album is boring on first listen…and on all subsequent listens, I’m sure. Could be the soundtrack to a movie made by third graders, starring their cats, doing nothing. If this is Bowie drug-free, we are now better informed as to why musicians eat pills until they explode.

Listening to this as a curious tourist. This is not somewhere I'd live, or even visit for long. A unique signpost in Bowie's chameleonic, protean carpet flow. The first few songs are a talking heads impersonation...Sound and Vision gives glimpses of a more layered Bowie, and "Always Crashing in the Same Car" would have been a great song to play on repeat while getting drunk after a breakup in undergrad. I like the schizophrenic variety here, and especially enjoyed the electronic/synthesizer sound experimentations....the instrumental tracks sound like he's trying to compose soundtracks---maybe evolving his concept album efforts beyond language/lyrics?

The first half finally clicked with me after years of trying of trying to get into this album and I listened to it 5 times through. The second half is interesting but can’t see myself revisiting too often.

The first 1/2 of this album was pretty OK for me but the 2nd half, around Warszawa and beyond is amazing but that's probably my love of 70's Brian Eno showing through.

Sorry. Just can’t get on with Bowie. Much over hyped, the tunes themselves are pretty good but his voice is awful and puts me off listening

Too weird for me. Just overall a bit all over the place

There were a lot of different feels and emotions in this album. At first I wasn't sure about all the heavy instrumental songs, but they were good, A New Career in a New Town was one of my favs. I don't know if they all worked together but most of the pieces I really enjoyed.

The first half of this was pretty cool and funky. Then things went super ambient, which I didn’t mind, but it felt like two different albums. Sounds like he was really going through it at the time with trying to get sober, and this was sort of a mish mash of his experimentations in the face of all that. Cool grooves overall!

#296. I don't know why there's so much Bowie on here when so much of it is trash. I've learned though that Bowie, like Dylan, should have quit while they were ahead in the early 70s, because there's not really anything particularly good going on after that. It's hard to pick a favorite song here, because none of them were even a little bit interesting. 2/5: please stop. Song added to playlist: What In The World I've created a playlist on Spotify that consists of the best and/or my favorite song from each of the albums in this book. This list can be found here if you are interested: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7MAXDGLWlwLkFLb8veGfkA?si=FqkQQPgZTFWG0jAUJXLFZA&utm_source=copy-link

Side A is really strong. Great songs, different styles, not surprising for Bowie but this was a departure from his previous work. Germany seems to have rubbed off on him. Side B is less engaging for me. Instrumentals that are often noisy, synth driven and not as melodic as the first side. Still some great moments but side B lost my attention.

The first of the Berlin Trilogy. I love This album. Not much more to say!

What a coincidence after getting Heroes yesterday. I like this one much more. I think the instrumentals here are much more enjoyable than the slogs found on Heroes. I do count this among Bowie's best work.

Can tell he was on a come down

Cara, que doido! É o segundo álbum do Bowie que eu escuto, e parecem dois artistas completamente diferentes, que interessante isso. "Low" mostra um Bowie mais introspectivo, contemplativo até, e apesar da produção em si não ser tão compatível com meu gosto, a qualidade é inegável.

When I listen to this David Bowie album, it fells like I'm at the space, felling the aura of the stars. Nonetheless, you have to find the perfect momentum to listen to it.

Spacey, mostly instrumental

70’s

it’s free brian eno ambient !! bowie the appreciator of <3:30 songs that u are. thank u. love u pookie.

Bowie and Eno. The first of the Berlin albums. I didn’t care for this much when it came out. Pretty good in retrospect

like this. I thought it would be depressing but actually it had much more going on than expected.

Love this album. Named for the low profile picture but I feel high listening to this album!

3.5

Very genre inclusive.

Unique in the way that I didn't know one could use such experimental instrumentation and still bore me. 2/5

Cool sort of instrumental record

Berlin era gorgeousness, and I have always loved that coat on the album cover

the sax in subterraneans was 🔥

Often excellent, but definitely not my favourite of his in terms of songwriting, but brilliant for textures and sounds. I loved the sounds and synths, but I enjoyed Heroes more.

Not all that popular, but I’ve always love sound and vision

Love it! 4 stars

By and large, I can't get much into David Bowie aside from a few tracks here and there, so I'm always curious to dig into a new Bowie album that I haven't heard before. Having said that, I was even more underwhelmed by this album than what I've heard previous. Almost all the songs seemed half-baked to me. As if the foundation for a good song was there, and then they just stopped building on it and said "that's good enough". I do like that there were a few more experimental instrumental tracks in there, but for an album that's already less than 40 minutes, if nearly half the tracks do not have words, there's not much else to speak of. I'm already about half out on Bowie in general, and this may push me fully into the "out" column. Notable Tracks: -Be My Wife 3/10

Lot of background music. Hardly noticed it was there. Great for working or relaxing, but not much substance.

It took me more time to appreciate the first rock side than the second ambient one. Why? Because those songs kinda felt undercooked to me, almost like demos at times. Of course, I eventually loved them for that very reason and now it's my second favourite Bowie album.

My favorite from Bowie's wide discography. There's an exceptionnal feel to it and a hint of electronic experimentations on side B. I just love it!

When David Bowie enters a studio with Brian Eno, how can it go wrong? A fine cut of art rock/pop with an electro touch.

The problem with being on the bleeding edge with new technology is that it massively dates you in the future. This album is kind of the equivalent of a 14lb mobile phone shaped like a brick. It’s not that I don’t see the foundation it set (a young Trent Reznor’s mind must have been blown), and I certainly appreciate what’s to come from this genre, but to me, this sounds antiquated as hell. That’s not to say it doesn’t have its moments! There are a couple catchy songs on the first half, even if they do sound as fresh and relevant as bluegrass, and the second half has some nice ambient songs that are thoughtful and interesting and show that Bowie is not a linear thinker. It’s about as far from Ziggy Stardust as you can get, and it was an interesting listen. I’ve never heard any of these songs, and I wonder if this is a harbinger of Bowie’s later albums/sound. I read in a comment somewhere that this project allegedly has NINE Bowie records, so we’ll see.

Very disappointing! I was hoping for better! I don’t get it! Much ado about nothing!

Geez what an incredible album. This list finally convinced me that Bowie is great and made me sort of a fan. I still think he's featured too much but yeah man's got serious talent. And good move teaming up with Eno, I love the glitchy synth sounds and LOVE the ambient tracks

It had been a while since my last Bowie album here, nice to get one that I hadn't really heard of before. This album has quite a few more instrumentals than I'd expect and is pretty chill throughout. For a 77 album it feels much more modern, but that is a common theme with Bowie. Nice album to end the week with and just relax into the weekend. Favorite track "Sound and Vision" 4/5

I’m sure for its time this album was very “ahead of its time”. I can understand how it influenced many future New Wave/Alternative bands - being a big fan of that music I appreciate that aspect of the album. That being said…..it was OK to me. Could be good background music while chilling, especially the second half of the album.

My second favorite album of Bowie’s Berlin period (third, if you count The Idiot).

One of the big man’s best!

One of the best from the star man. Every track has its place.

I appreciate his music now more than back then

Delightful. Wonderful vibes all around. This album is definitely my jam.

One of my favorite Bowie records, if not my favorite. Though that might be due to the Eno contributions. Still, a pretty terrific album in my opinion

Jesus Christ, is Bowie’s entire discography on this list? We’re 250 in and this is, like, the 10th album of his to show up. I initially enjoyed it to the point that I started checking him out more independently. I don’t think he earned this type of representation over a lot of other musicians. Anyway….this is a 4.

I thoroughly enjoy listening to Bowie, and I found with this album that's not his characteristic voice and singing style that makes him the artist I love. I could hear him in every track whether he was singing or not and I think that says a lot about him as an artist. He's unmistakable.

A truly great album. Always inspires. Never gets boring. Lots of variety in the exploration. Sonically profound without being divisive. If you have favorite group that uses electronics, they were likely influenced or affected by this record. "Subterraneans" might be of one the best ending tracks to an album ever. I was fortunate enough to see David Bowie's band perform this track with Trent Reznor on saxophone in 1995, and it was very moving. Favorites: "Speed of Life", "Breaking Glass", "Sound and Vision", "A New Career in a New Town", "Warsaw", "Art Decade", "Weeping Wall", and "Subterraneans".

Low is David Bowie's eleventh studio album, and it was part of his period of collaborating with Brian Eno. The album had a few successful singles, like "Sound and Vision," but the album met with limited commercial and critical success. Low has been reexamined over time, and has come to be regarded as one of Bowie's best albums - and perhaps his best. The album influenced post-punk and alt-pop, and created a pattern that many 80s and 90s bands explored.

Honestly this was a bit weird

"Low", if I remember correctly, is Bowie's first album in his "Berlin" trilogy. An album made as he was getting sober, it has a lot of darkness below the surface. It manages to be pop with a lot of weird twists (thanks in no small part to Brian Eno), and the latter half of the record devolves into soundscapes with some occasional wordless undulating. It's fine? I have a lot of love for this record since I know it inspired the likes of Nine Inch Nails, however, I can't help but feel the latter half of the record is a slight cop out, even if it is a pretty set of soundscapes. Call it a 3.5. Favorite tracks: "Always Crashing In the Same Car", "Subterraneans"

this album is good

Syret!

Elsker Bowie! :) Low er ikke nødvendigvis mit yndlingsalbum, men jeg bliver altid i godt humør af at lytte til Bowie. Jeg nyder hvordan han leger med musikken, instrumenterne og variationerne i det. Jeg savner lidt mere vocal i albummet, til gengæld fortæller selve musikken også sine egne historier. Favoritterne er "Be My Wife", "Warszawa" & "Speed of life". Jeg ser frem til de resterende 8 Bowie album på listen.

Clearly a very experimental album that sounds way younger than it's 1977 birthdate would suggest. Listening to 'Warszawa' for me evokes feelings of celebrated modern movie ambiance/soundtracks like Inception and Interstellar. Not my favourite Bowie tracks, but I can easily see how it challenged the notions of what music should be at the time and inspired other artists. Standouts Warszawa 3/5

Bowie is Bowie. Like it don’t love it

Weird and wonderful Berlin Bowie This must have been something else when it came out. It starts out with a bizarre and incredible instrumental opener that sounds like the end times, and it doesn’t get much less weird from there. It’s weird to say, but I fill like you can almost “see” this album when you listen to it. Maybe that’s Sound and Vision talking, but I think this is such a colorful and full sounding album it almost tangibly stimulates the other senses. It’s one of a few masterpieces by Mr. Bowie, and I wouldn’t argue much with anyone saying it’s his best.

I thought I'd listened to it before, but it didn't sound familiar. Interesting experiment with the second half being ambient music. Nothing stands out on this album. I enjoyed the second half more than the first. I wouldn't think it needed inclusion on this list but I guess it respresents a major pivot in Bowie's career.

Not bad, but too much Eno and not enough Bowie for me. If I wanted an ambient album (or at least Side B), I'd get an Eno album - where is Bowie's voice on Side B: nowhere.

I listened to this a few times and other than Sound and Vision (one of my favorite of his songs) it all sounded new and yet familiar. The second half requires being in the right frame of mind. But still interesting. I liked how the songs fade in and out. Surprisingly Speed of Life is one of my favorites now.

Very different sides. Listened to this a couple of times and it really grew on me. Amazing that this was his *eleventh* album, released in 1977 after his buddy Iggy Pop helped him sober up, and his first album was only 10 years before that. I'm realizing how little of his work I'm familiar with, even though I've heard a lot of Bowie. Probably be listening to a lot more in the future, even if he was keeping a Low Profile.

Interesting. Didn't love it...didn't hate it.

I’ve always wanted to listen to a David Bowie album but never had the chance to (I was lazy) but now that I have, I can say that I regret not doing so this is just one album that brought me into a futuristic world into a 80s 90s movie set into the future. I loved this album from start to finish. I am excited to listen to more of Bowie’s work in the future.

The most different Bowie album I've heard so far. Very atmospheric, but I feel there's something missing to really draw me in.

Loved it!

5/10, скучно это все

A breakthrough album for Bowie. Rarely strong melodically, He was always so willing to try new things not afraid to challenge his audience, such as Low. Stronger conceptually, visually than musically.

It was shaping to be my first 5 to a Bowie album, but the second half is too slow and disconnected so it ended up being a 4.

Mit yndlingsbowie-album går frem og tilbage mellem 3-4 stykker og Low er en af dem. Stensikker 5'er

Ville egentlig skrive at mit hot take er at Side A er David Bowies bedste plade og Side B er Brian Enos bedste plade. Men så læste jeg wiki siden og fandt ud af at David Bowie har lavet væsentlig mere af side B end jeg lige troede. Så måske er det hele bare Bowies bedste plade

Lidt mere ambient end de andre Bowie plader. Ikke nogle direkte bangers .

Subterraneans Sound and vision Warszawa

NOT A BIG FAN OF BOWIE, BUTTTTT The second half of this album is great.