Low

Got weird there for a bit, but I dug it.

Parts of the first side don’t really stand up to the rest of the album but still it’s great

Two-thirds of a good album. Some familiar tunes in there like Sound and Vision and A New Career in a New Town. The final four tracks - nonsense on stilts.

Decent. No truly memorable songs like his others

It was okay, allot of instrumentals, it all sounded really good, but it’s just not something that’ll stick with me yk

A Bowie album I’m less familiar with, but I’m glad to have changed that.

Spricht mich jetzt nicht so an ...

First real eureka moment with bowie undeniable genius holy shit

This felt a bit like a brian eno album in that a bunch of the songs felt more like good but short ideas as opposed to fully fleshed out songs, it was fun throughout the whole runtime though and is one of bowies best even with minimal vocals. The latter half of the album is very dreamlike and ethereal due to lack of vocals, very fun. Standouts are Breaking Glass, What in the World, Sound and Vision, Weeping Wall and Subterraneans.

"Speed of Life" is a fantastic ride to start off with. In contrast with "Heroes", I felt like the instrumental tracks here were really fantastic. The rest is uneven. "Sound and Vision" is a bop in the fun, dance-Bowie mode. I also very much dug "ALways Crashing in the Same Car." A lot of the rest was so-so. Good, not great.

Bowie for me can be hit or miss. I fully appreciate his music and his creativity but some of it just doesn't make me want to come back time and time again. This is an interesting album because I genuinely liked most of it. Its calming, mostly instrumental and in some ways, reminds me of some of Peter Gabriel's instrumental stuff. I'd listen to this again.

One of the best ever with one his best.

Ещё один из отличных альбомов Боуи. Время, когда он лечился с Игги Попом от наркоманских угаров. Время углубления в прогрессив и арт-рок. Первые попытки в электронику с Брайаном Ино. Прекрасный альбом

Spoopy

2nd half makes this a 5

What can I say, this album is fucking incredible. Among the extendad list of masterpieces in David's discography, this one is a special one, no doubt. Sounds almost futuristic in a way to this day- the blend of rock and even funk kinda predicts disco in a way. But the richness and creativity is on another level. I mainly, always loved the way it sounds. And David's voice, that's great always, is really in a sweetspot here. Magnificent listen always. A masterpiece. A 5

ahora mismo 4 estrellas, tiene pinta de 5 en reescuchas

Better than the last one

An amazing experiment. Evidence of the musicianship and adventurism of both Bowie and Eno.

Eno + Bowie = great sounds

First half of the album seems like classic Bowie to me. Good driving passages. Nice vocals. The last half morphs into some sort of soundtrack. Completely different, but I thought it was super neat. 3.5/5.0

Interesting

Nah. Not for me

“The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.” Mulan (1998)

Not my favourite Bowie album

This album got better and better as it went along. The slow, moody instrumentals at the end were really, really good. I vibed hard with this album, I just didn't like the start as much.

I was already a fan of this album before, but now that I'm older and my tastes have developed more... I can positively say I love this album. It ended on such a mellow note, genuinely very nice.

Fantastic album that creates a universe for only itself to inhabit and simultaneously feels like visiting an alien planet and making you feel like an alien visiting your own. 10/10

Always love some Bowie!

The first half was excellent, I loved Sound and Vision but lost me at Warsawa through the end of the album.

Not enough Bowie on this Bowie.

The second half was uninspiring but inoffensive ambient stuff which sits in the 3 star realm for me. It was fine, although there is plenty of ambient stuff out there I'd prefer. Heck even Bowie did ambient better on Heroes. The first half though... The drums sounded like they had a thick plastic bag stuck over them, there was lots of random noises, and it was all a bit... Well, it was a bit shit. Not offensively shit but not 3 stars as if this was playing somewhere I'd just be thinking "I'd rather be listening to any of the other Bowie albums I've had so far".

Love the drums and synth textures. The quieter instrumental side is really nice too.

My ex absolutely adored this album. And while I'm a much bigger fan of the other well known Berlin Bowie album, this one is equally good, if not better in some aspects. A lot less pop orientated, side A has this neurotic, coming down from a high, fuzzy electronic feel with David pretty much nailing how it feels to be alienated and lonely when you're a little too much in tune with your surrounding, while the B side is just as sad and evocative of those same feelings, but this time without Bowie's singing and with a lot of SYNTHS BABY! A philosophical statement of an album.

I think I might understand why people like bowie so much after listening to this album. Very artful and well executed

I never know what to do with Bowie. It's funny listening to this the day after Rumors, since both are from '77. So different. Bowie feels much more rescent. I hear him doing these little things where he uses extremely basic musical movements (like simple arpeggios you'd use for warmup or tuning) and incorporating them into a rich song. It feels like he's making a joke. Not something like he's so amazing that even arpeggios sound good, but that if you're expecting him to do something profound, he's going to subvert you and do the most basic thing possible, with a straight face. I don't think I like his music, but I can't deny it's influence on everything listen to today. It's quality, creative, rebellious, purposefully discordant, and artistic through and through. I feel like he's one of the cool kids, a trend-setter, and doesn't care for anything that holds to status quo. Like he's got to bring chaos and anarchy as a force to balance the world. Am I going too far with this? I give it a 5 because I see the far-reaching impact of his sound on our music today. I don't give it 5 because I like it, but because I respect it.

I don't always read up on these albums before or during listening, but in this case, knowing the context helped me appreciate this one more. I was initially prepared to give this a miss: No clearly hook-y songs, and meandering instrumentals on the back half made me wonder why this made a limited list. But once I understood the context a bit better (Bowie moving abroad to get clean and reinvent himself), I gave it another listen. It's still not a pop-friendly album, but I can hear him working on ideas that would come to greater fruition in his later phases. In particular, the harmonica on "New Career in a New Town" made me flash forward to the closing instrumental of "I Can't Give Everything Away" on Blackstar--a full 39 years later! The instrumentals still feel like unfinished sketches to me, but I'm glad I took an extra minute to sit with them and hear what he was working through. I think this probably had some influence on later post-punk & indie rock albums, or at least brought some of these experimental sounds a bit more into the mainstream. This is unlikely to be an album I'll just put on for a fun listen, but it was worth spending a bit of extra time with this week.

enjoyed this one! kind of stuff i'd put on whilst cleaning the house :)

Slightly disappointed by this album

Its OK, fairly ethereal. Not my favorite Bowie album, but Sound and Vision is a banger

This project has made a David Bowie fan out of me! Started with tepid distain and grudging appreciation. A few months in and I am looking forward to his albums and am just… always discovering something new. Which is good, given how represented he is on the list. I do appreciate that I am getting a pretty clear layout of sign posts in Bowie’s discography. He had such a long and impressive career. And this right here, Low, I LOVE its experimentation. Weeping Wall, Subterraneans - awesome- ahead of their time! This is only 1977! Man, I have started gushing about Bowie to people who don’t want to hear. I would almost give this a 5, but it’s not unified enough. And I am handing out plenty of 5s to Bowie it seems. But this is a strong 4! 4 Boolean: True

Bang on

One of my favorite artists, so its a 5, for sure!

I'd forgotten 2 things about David Bowie: how prolific he was, and how many drugs he was taking in the 70s! I enjoyed the album, and discovered some deep cuts I'd not heard before, but I think there is a reason only 2 tracks (Breaking Glass and Sound and Vision) made it to the various Greatest Hits compilations over the decades. The album itself is a 3 star for me, but I'm glad it's made me listen to more David Bowie again.

Great listen! Not one of my favorites by Bowie but had a lot to like and felt like a coherent album. This seems to be the start of his electronic era, but also love the shift from songs to instrumental with the last four tracks. After Googling how the vinyl was broken down it looks like the last four would have been on side B. It’s a shame we don’t get that breakdown on streaming services. Tops are Sound and Vision, Speed of Life, Be my Wife. Also honorable mention to What in the World which somehow pioneered the sounds of Pac-Man before it even came out lol

I really liked this. Especially the instrumentals on the second half of the album that I wasn't previously aware of. Interesting sounds and creative arrangements throughout. Only fly in the ointment was so many fade outs at the end of songs, it broke the flow for me. I'm sure it was a conscious decision but it wasn't for me. Saying that though, although the keyboard sounds sound a little dated, the tracks still seem fresh. A solid 4

Don't believe the hype. Really not sure what people hear when listening to this. Sound and Vision is great a couple of others are ok but I just don't get it.

First listened November 14th 2021, rating 10/10. One of Bowie's best. God bless Brian Eno. Key tracks: Sound and Vision, Subterraneans

no es mucho mi estilo pero era movido e interesante de escuchar

I did zero research for this one beforehand and so I wasn’t prepared for this album to be so lyrically sparse, but I really enjoyed it!

Listens: 3 Standout Tracks: Sound and Vision This is David Bowie number 6 for me. It's mostly an instrumental album with a few songs here and there that have proper lyrics. It's number one of three in the "Berlin Trilogy". "Heroes" is also on the List, and is the second album. I gave that a 4; It resonated with me. This album is growing on me. I like the electronic and art rock elements he's fused together on these albums. On paper (according to my ratings) electronica is my second most disliked genre. This is weird, because I like a lot of modern electronica. The whole thing is sort of ironic - I don't much care for Kraftwerk (2 albums on the List; way to German) and Tangerine Dream's Phaedra was a bit too long and sound-scapy for my taste. I think the art rock elements help bridge the gap for me. Sort of tangentially related, I also really like Iggy Pop's The Idiot. Anyway, all of this is to say this album is okay in my book. Not as good as Ziggy Stardust, but not terrible either.

i appreciate it more than i like it?

Better even than I remembered it from back in the day. When music becomes ethereal i often loose interest but not with this album. Unlike other albums, the tuneful tracks add to the coherence of the album rather than jumping out as the only high points.

You can’t go wrong with Bowie. And with Brian Eno producing, this has to be a 5.

Rock, 1977 -> 3

Oh man. I was excited for this. Only knew Sound and Vision on this one. On first listen I was a bit dissapointed with the last half, as it was mostly instrumental with the occasional wail or hum from Bowie. However, I clicked on the comments for one of them, and someone had likened it to a "space lullaby". Once I read that, and listened again, I really appreciated it for that. Sounded great in headphones. Also loved the first half. Very surprised with how I ended up enjoying the second half. I hope the Starman is really still out there. I have to give it 5 stars. Maybe i'm biased because I already love his work. Don't care. This was fantastic.

Not my fav of the Berlin Trilogy but still contains some bops.

4 stars because it's a great album "A New Career in a New Town" was my fav

アルバムの前半は、ポップ寄りのロックで、あまり他では使われていないようなサウンドが多数使われていて、後半になると一気にアンビエント感が増す(ブライアンイーノを共作者としてることもあって)アルバムで、飽きずに聴くことができた。 でも、最近Hunky Doryを聴いて、僕はそっちの方が好きかなと思った。 このアルバムは当時の最先端であり、音楽性の成長という観点では、こっちのアルバムの方がすごいんだろうけど、好みなのはHunky Doryかな。

A good album. Three stars...

Nothing unpleasant, just boring. Another Bowie...

Probably my favourite Bowie. Like a lot of songs on the first half and really enjoy the second half.

This was just aight

Not sure if I'm a Bowie guy. Some interesting sounds at the end but I don't think I'll revisit this.

1. Outside is my favorite Bowie album and one of my favorite albums of all time. I'm not sure it would exist without this albums deeper experimentation. LOW is also just a great album in its own right. I think I enjoyed basically every track on some level and most very much.

It's 4.5

A pleasantly unspectacular listen. The album holds a fine atmosphere, but lacked any songs that overly made an impression on me.

This frankly goes way harder than I remembered. So full of great pop sounds but all very strange. All I remembered from the Berlin years was the really atmospheric shit. This is so good

I've been coming around on David Bowie, but this album's a stinker. Some of the instrumental compositions are interesting, but they generally lack impactful (especially the last few tracks), and I really don't like the synth. The singing isn't good either.

It blended seamlessly into the background. Some people might like that, but what's the point of something made to be ignored?

Given enough time, Bowie starts to feel a bit cloying or something. I know this is one of the good ones. I liked it before and I still like it now. But I wasn’t disappointed when it was over, ya know?

I like Bowie and I really liked this album but holy shit is his entire discography on here?

#234 I listened to this album with the windows down on a car ride back into town, and I realized with the car noises, and volume I had the music at, I needed another day to give it a proper few listens. I probably should pause on days to give myself additional time with albums. It does me no service to just try and fit my day around it. Reading more about the album in the context the time period for the artist helps, as opposed to just listening blindly. If I did that, I might have given this a 2. But the extra listens helped and sent me down a little rabbit hole of this Bowie era too. Part of the unofficial Berlin trilogy, Low gives us Bowie when he's starting over, coming down from his high over the last few years. The sounds itself are as influential as any of the Kraut-rock that plays influence. Those sounds from Low and otherwise, helped shape the sounds of future bands, but if you just listen to the album to hear the album you miss out on those details. The back half of the album admittedly was a tougher listen but the sounds were still beautiful. Biggest Hit - Sound and Vision Biggest Miss (if I had to choose) - Art Decade Hidden Gem - Always Crashing in the Same Car

I like the instrumental

Reminds me of Armed Forces a little but, in that Bowie is reaching for a new sound and coming up a little short. Some cool moments but overall incomplete ideas and a lot of window dressing. Sound and Vision and Low were highlights.

In contrast to the Iggy album lust for life that Bowie chose to promote over this one, this sounds like one weirdo’s singular vision. Even tho I wouldn’t relisten to every indicidal song on here, it all works together as a cohesive work of art. Man I fucking love Bowie. One of the only pop artists who I think actually made the world a better place solely by the fact that his music is now in it. That said, a few too many instrumentals to give this full credit.

Im kind of lost on the mission here other than exploring the fancy new sounds du jour and trying to mimic (IMO unsuccessfully) what the kraught rock Germans were doing. Brian Enos influence is clearly all over here which Ive found to be very hit and miss on all of his contributions Some songs have pieces of interesting lines that hold your attention for a few seconds, but hardly ever go anywhere. I wonder if the rest of the trilogy is a more mature approach to this. Warszawa and Art Decade were decent. 2 stars

Unconventional, but enjoyed how starts kind of rockin' and then devolves in the back half to the weird Eno. Not a big Eno guy from what I've heard, but Warszawa is a beautiful composition.

I think I need to listen to this many more times before I’ll get it

Artist sobered up. Collaboration with other famous artists. Atmospheric and lightly experimental. This album is basically the 1001 Album trifecta. It's a good album, too. Definitely something I would thrown on while resting my eyes in my recliner, as I am an old man what appreciates such things.

If you are a fan of Radiohead, you better thank David Bowie for Kid A, because he pulled a Kid A over a decade before Radiohead was even a thing. When David Bowie finished recording Low, RCA records refused to release the album for months, saying that he needed to make it sound more like Young Americans. Thankfully, the album was finally released three months after the intended release date, and was initially met with mixed reviews. Nowadays, it is deemed to be among his best work, a sentiment which I couldn't agree more with. The A-side of Low contains some of Bowie's catchiest tunes, which also most notably has the greatest snare sound of all time (thank you Eventide H910 Harmonizer). The B-side however is equally as good, comprised of mostly ambient tracks, which makes me feel like I'm aimlessly floating around in space. In fact, I almost think they could belong on the Super Mario Galaxy soundtrack. Even though the two sides of this album vary wildly, they still fit together to create one of the most interesting albums ever made. 9.5/10 Favorite tracks: Speed of Life, Always Crashing in the Same Car, Warsawa, Subterraneans

Saturday, 5 September, 2026 Amazing record. Bowie + Eno + Visconti + Berlin = the best possible vibes.

2/3

Love. Moody, textured, psychedelic. No bangers really, or even memorable songs… reminds me of watching a Coen Brothers movie for the first time, I know I’m going to like it more each time I hear it

At first glance, I felt this album was something I would love but would need to revisit it at a different point in my life. This completely changed by the end. I love the melodies, the instrumentals, and the electronic elements so much. It feels very much ahead of its time.

I love this!! Brian Eno made bowie even more amazing

the Joni Mitchell’s Blue of Berlin

Like all Bowie albums there are some great tracks some good ones and some pish. I actually quite like the 2nd half Eno stuff so it scrapes into a 4 for me but that might just be because I have a soft spot for DB in general. 3.6

3.7/5.

I think there are better Bowie albums but the Brian eno stuff is cool

Great album.

I love low but I also love lodger and they are both admittedly weird. But Low has the songs Sound and Vision, Warszawa, and, Subterraneans! Lest we forget about Eno’s involvement so yea there’s some smooth ambient action. Let’s get weird with this one.

Finished this album a couple of minutes ago and I liked it. I liked the synths that were used in the album, all of the usage of brass instruments, ETC. This was a good album, I'd give it a 9.5/10

No encuentro qué le ven a Bowie

I had to listen to this a few times to really get into it. It’s definitely not my favorite Bowie work, but it’s solid. 7/10.

George Underwood, Bowie's school friend, designed Low's cover artwork. featuring an altered still frame from The Man Who Fell to Earth. Excellent cover, excellent album.

Some of the first half hits good. The second half is too experimental, Brian. Eno. But it does get better upon multiple listening. 3.5 out of 5.

This a very interesting album. A lot of atmospheric tracks mixed in with some more traditional ones. I'm going to have to relisten to this one to form a better opinion, but it definitely stood out overall.

Possibly my favorite Bowie song appears on this album (probably write that on each review!) Sound and Vision. Love side B and its Brian Eno influence. Should be able to give it 6 stars but will have to settle for 5.

I might get in trouble for this - but I only really liked Subterraneans 😬 sorry Ian!

Good production and pretty lively!

Ruff

Banger

Bowie is awesome but this is a little out there....like should be the soundtrack to the space odyssey.

Сара - 3 Марко- 3.5

Some amazing stuff and some boring stuff.

Saved? ❌ Would listen again? 🤔 Would recommend to anyone? ❌ Would buy on Vinyl? ❌

Vähän tasapaksua materiaalia, eikä hittejä. Hyvää soittoa ja Davidin ääni ja sen väri on upea.

Lots of instrumental songs... ❤️ "Warszawa", "Speed of Life", and "New Career in a New Town" are very nice❤️ "Art Decade" is my favorite ❤️ Among the songs with vocals, "What in The World" and "Be My Wife" are pretty good, but "Sound and Vision" is perhaps my favorite because it sounds like the David Bowie I know 😄 "Subterraneans" was also incredibly cool ❤️ Thank you 😄😄

# An In-Depth Review of David Bowie's *Low* (1977) *Low* is not merely an album; it is a landmark document of artistic reinvention, personal crisis, and sonic pioneering. Released in January 1977, it marked the first installment of what became known as Bowie's "Berlin Trilogy" . However, the album's significance extends far beyond its geographical tag, representing a complete dismantling of Bowie's rock-star persona in favor of fragmented pop, haunting ambience, and a future-facing sound that would define post-punk and alternative music for decades. --- ## Music and Production: The Sound of a Fractured Future The sonic architecture of *Low* is its most immediately striking feature, largely due to the revolutionary production of **Tony Visconti** and the guiding influence of **Brian Eno** . Although often misattributed as a Bowie/Eno production, *Low* was co-produced by Bowie and Visconti, with Eno serving as a crucial creative catalyst . Visconti's contribution is monumental; his treatment of Dennis Davis's drums, particularly the use of the Eventide H910 Harmonizer, created a signature "gated" snare sound that was both metallic and cavernous, influencing countless recordings to come . Musically, the album is defined by its stark division, a decision shaped by the vinyl format. **Side One** consists of seven relatively short tracks—some with vocals, others instrumental—that marry icy avant-funk with electronic disruption . The influence of German *krautrock* bands like Kraftwerk and Neu! is palpable, replacing traditional rock structures with mechanical rhythms, buzzing synthesizers, and jagged guitar riffs from Carlos Alomar and Ricky Gardiner . Tracks like "Speed of Life" and "Breaking Glass" are bursts of controlled chaos, their abrupt endings leaving the listener in a state of perpetual unease . In stark contrast, **Side Two** is a suite of four longer, predominantly instrumental ambient pieces. Here, Eno's ambient sensibilities and Bowie's fascination with minimalist composers like Steve Reich come to the forefront . These tracks—"Warszawa," "Art Decade," "Weeping Wall," and "Subterraneans"—are vast, atmospheric soundscapes built on layered synthesizers, processed pianos, and subtle melodic motifs. They create a sense of desolate, haunted space, evoking the cold-war tension of a divided Berlin . --- ## Lyrics and Themes: Fragments of a Recovering Mind Coming off the back of his harrowing cocaine addiction in Los Angeles, Bowie's lyrical output on *Low* is sparse, fragmented, and deeply personal. As he admitted, he was struggling to write lyrics at all, making a virtue out of a creative block . The lyrics on Side One are haiku-like admissions of vulnerability and isolation. Tracks like "Sound and Vision," often interpreted as a song about writer's block, and the desperately lonely "Be My Wife" ("I've left every place") convey a sense of emotional ruin and a yearning for connection that Bowie was unable to find . "Always Crashing in the Same Car" metaphorically details his cyclical self-destruction in Los Angeles . The lyrics are not narrative but impressionistic, reflecting the mind of a man in recovery, trying to piece together a new reality . On Side Two, Bowie's voice becomes another instrument. On "Warszawa," he sings in an invented language over Eno's synthesizer drones, creating a moment of profound, wordless emotion that is arguably the album's emotional centerpiece . This shift from explicit lyrical confession to abstract sonic emotion suggests a process of healing through pure sound . The overarching theme is one of rebirth and the search for stability after a period of intense self-destruction, framed by the desolate beauty of a post-war European landscape . --- ## Influence and Legacy: The Blueprint for Modern Rock *Low*'s influence is almost immeasurable. Despite its initial commercial risk—RCA Records initially delayed its release, fearing it would flop —the album proved to be a seismic shockwave that reverberated through the next generation of music. It provided a direct blueprint for the post-punk and synth-pop movements, with acts like Joy Division, The Human League, and Cabaret Voltaire owing an obvious debt to its cold, electronic textures and melancholic atmospheres . The album's experimental spirit and structural audacity can also be heard in the works of later artists like Trent Reznor, James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, and Arcade Fire . *Low* showed that rock music could be cerebral, abstract, and deeply personal without relying on traditional song structures or bombastic guitar solos, permanently expanding the boundaries of popular music. --- ## Pros and Cons ### Pros: - **Visionary Production**: Tony Visconti's innovative use of studio technology and Eno's conceptual approach create a sound that was decades ahead of its time . - **Emotional Depth**: Despite its sparse lyrics and instrumental passages, the album conveys a profound sense of vulnerability, loneliness, and recovery that is deeply moving . - **Musical Innovation**: The fusion of *krautrock* rhythms, ambient textures, and avant-funk creates a unique and genre-defying sonic palette . - **Structural Audacity**: The decision to split the album into two distinct halves (jagged pop vs. ambient soundscapes) was a radical, influential move that challenged the very definition of a rock album . - **Enduring Legacy**: It is a cornerstone album for post-punk, new wave, and alternative rock, influencing generations of musicians . ### Cons: - **Lack of Conventional Structure**: For some listeners, the fragmented nature of Side One and the meandering ambience of Side Two can feel disjointed and challenging to engage with . - **Minimalist Approach**: The sparse, sometimes "goofy" vocals and the absence of traditional hooks may alienate fans accustomed to Bowie's more accessible work or classic rock song structures . - **Splintered Focus**: The dramatic shift in mood from Side One to Side Two can break the momentum for those who prefer a more cohesive, consistent listening experience . --- ## Conclusion *Low* is not an easy listen, nor is it intended to be. It is the sound of an artist hitting rock bottom and emerging, not with a triumphant anthem, but with a fractured, beautiful, and profoundly honest document of reconstruction. It remains a towering achievement—a record that sacrificed commercial comfort for artistic integrity and, in doing so, helped shape the future of music. For its courage, innovation, and enduring emotional resonance, *Low* stands as one of the most important and influential albums of the 20th century.

Low is such a high point. When I think of the music in my soul it’s Warszawa.

...

wauw, hoe cool is deze plaat. vooral naar het einde toe (blijkbaar de B-kant), het flirten met jean-michel jarre. de laatste track klinkt alsof die vanop blackstar zou kunnen komen. wat een ontdekking. love it

I like Bowie but this has no sticking power for me

Sound and Vision really carries this album. Overal not a bad album, but compared to the other Bowie albums on this list it falls flat. The second ambient side feels like a different artist.

I'm all for listening to experimenal music, this

After all this time, I've finally gotten through all 9 of the David Bowie albums on this list. Once again, I still feel that 9 albums is too much for any artist to have on this list, but if any artists were to have 9 albums on a list like this, it would be David Bowie. I got my first album of his, Ziggy Stardust, as my 6th album of the entire project. Now, a mere 35 days away from finishing this thing, I've gotten my last album of his, Low. I've got to experience his highest highs and now I get to experience his "low." Ha. Get it? Okay, for real, Low is excellent. My 1001 Albums list would probably have a 5 album limit, and Low would absolutely be one of the 5 albums that I include for Bowie. This was the first album in his "Berlin Trilogy," and while I haven't heard the trilogy's final album, Lodger, I have heard Low's successor, "Heroes" and I think I prefer Low as an album. "Heroes" does admittedly have a higher peak with its phenomenal title track, but I think Low is a more cohesive album experience with highs that are still very high. Something that the two albums have in common is the pacing regarding their sides. Both albums have a side A filled with more accessible art rock songs and a side B filled primarily with ambient instrumental tracks. This is where Low really establishes itself as the superior album to me. Low's second half is really great, but I do want to talk about the first half first. Side A starts and ends with instrumental tracks, which definitely adds to the cohesion of the album's overall pacing. Said instrumentals, "Speed of Life" and "A New Career in a New Town" are really cool. They're super fun and I love them. The 5 songs between them are pretty great overall. I think the lyrics on these 5 songs are some of the most introspective and fascinating in Bowie's entire career, with songs like "Breaking Glass" and "Be Me Wife" showing a more vulnerable side of Bowie. I really appreciate this. The best of the bunch though has got to be "Sound and Vision." It's almost country in a way, and I think Bowie does the sound really well. Okay, now we can talk about the second half. Despite lacking words for most of its runtime, side B is just as emotional, if not more so, than side A. These songs are quite captivating, with "Warszawa" and "Subterraneans" being my favorites. The keyboard work here is stellar. Despite his voice not being present, you can still feel his presence and vision for these instrumentals. Of course, it helps that Brian Eno is here to make these songs sound as amazing as they do, but the second half is so much more than just "listen to Brian Eno do cool things!" I have a ton of respect for it all. In conclusion, Low may not be at the very top of my Bowie ranking, but I can't deny that it's one of Bowie's finest albums. It's really impressive that an artist like him can have so many outstanding albums that are all great in such different ways from one another. The fact that I have just as much respect and love for Low as I do albums like Station to Station and Blackstar despite how different those albums all are is incredible. I think Low might be the best representative of that insane creativity. It's an excellent album and a great way to end my Bowie journey... for now. 5/5.

I think this album is so interesting not only because of the background but how Bowie creates this atmosphere that makes you feel all kinds of different emotions at once. I love how short and sweet the tracks with lyrics are almost feeling like spoken word compared to the drawn out ambient tracks. I think this record could have been sequenced better and I’m not the biggest fan of the first track but it’s a great record when you boil it down. Fav tracks: sound and vision, be my wife, A new career in a new town, warszawa, and subterraneans

It was a David Bowie album. It was fine. You can hear some of the prog influence in the electronica, and that’s kind of neat, but as a whole it doesn’t do much to make me love Bowie.

Amo mucho a Bowie como artista, es un genio y un tipazo. Es la segunda vez que escucho el álbum, esta vez con más atención, no me sentía bien soltando cualquier calificación tratándose de el. Me gusta mucho el sonido de todo el álbum, me hace sentir algo de tristeza pero de la buena, por ese lado la ambientación es un 10/10. Cuando escuché Sound and Vision por primera vez, oír ese sintetizador me hizo recordar al inicio de Just Like Heaven de The Cure, investigué un poco y descubrí que a Robert le inspiró Bowie, me llevé otra sonrisa al descubrir que también han colaborado, dos personas que amo y admiro juntas es algo que me alegra el corazón. Puedo ver de donde sacó esa inspiración y teniendo esto en mente es agradable escuchar ese sintetizador en varias canciones. Me quedo con A New Career in a New Town, Sound and Vision y Always Crashing in the Same Car como mis favoritas de todo el álbum, en ese mismo orden.

Bowie.

Not what I expected at all. Really experimental and lots of instrumentals. It'll need a few listens to really digest.

Tämä bowtie levy vähän yllätti, koska olin asennoitunut edellisten levyjen tapaan vähän roskahtavaan. Mutta tämä ei ollut niin roskaa. Alkupuolisko oli okei ja loppupuoliskon ambientit maalaili ehkä jotain avaruustaulua, emmätiedä. Mutta kuitenkin, paras bowtie kuunnelluista

Levyn alkupuoliskon David Bowie -osuus kuulosti hyvinkin itseltään. Loppupuoliskolla on vähän enempi eksperimentaalia instrumentaalibiisiä, jotka noin keskimäärin kuulosti ihan mielenkiintoisilta. Toistaiseksi ehkä miellyttävin levygeneraattorin Bowie-levy ainakin näin lonkalta.

pretty mid album

A bit too concept/experimental for me, but decent enough

Like all things Bowie… a bit weird. Always feels like music you are supposed to like, but are always trying to figure out. Some good songs , but a bit more techno than I like.

On its own, it’s just fine, but this would have made a killer film score. Also, we just happened to get Ziggy Stardust earlier this week, and it’s hard not to be disappointed in comparison.

Damn, David Bowie is a 4/5 machine. I have yet to rate any of his albums higher or lower. While I don't think any of his individual albums are "special" by themselves, the fact that he put out so many solid albums for so long while employing vastly different styles, is probably what makes him special as an artist.

One of the things I like about David Bowie generally is that his music is a little strange. This got a little too strange for me.

Its still absolute crap but for the first time I can hear a couple of decent things. Sound and Vision is really good and there's a lot of times on the album where he's not singing

Felt less like a David Bowie album and more like a split David Bowie EP and Brian Eno EP. Not a bad thing…

It's a great album, I really love this one. Also how much it changes from side A to side B. It must have blown people away when it came out!

I really enjoyed this - never really knew it existed. Some of the later tracks had a bit of a "Matt Johnson" vibe to them which is right up my street.

I’m hit and miss on Bowie. But this one is pretty average

fand ich nicht schlecht, aber auch nicht sonderlich gut. Ich glaube, Bowie, zumindest in diesem Album, catched mich ganz einfach nicht. 2.41 Sterne

Well, I am becoming a Bowie fan. One album at a time. Went into this project honestly semi hostile to the man. Now I’ll go to the mat over the genius of Ziggy Stardust and Blackstar. And the albums in between, while still uneven, well, here is another example that really surprised me. Didn’t like Aladdin Sane much. Not a fan of Heroes. So I didn’t think I would like this first installment in the Berlin Trilogy any better. But Station to Station was pretty awesome. And Lo and behold, I DID like Low. And I appreciate Bowie’s sax playing. He DOES understand that instrument, imo. 4 Boolean:True

Oh Bowie and Eno, you wildly creative weirdos. I always love hearing early electronic experimentalism and ambient music, and the second half of this album is a real treat. Subterraneans is especially wonderful.

Good concept Good for a more psychedelic vibe Bad for general listening

Groovy front half with a sick film score after. Loved it.

All of Bowie’s previous albums had one or two smash hits (and many unlistenable songs). The hits (and the androgynous Bowie himself) were so big that he was pretty much everywhere. And then Low happened. One minor hit with Sound and Vision. He kinda disappeared off the radar until Let’s Dance. I didn’t know this album or anyone that owned it, so I never heard it before this listen. My thoughts are that it’s better now than it was upon release, we’re a more forgiving public now, and he was in a low mood trying to beat addiction. B Side is very different than anything we heard from him previously. I enjoyed the first time listen (in 2026) realizing that this would not have gone over well with anyone fan of his that I knew in ‘77. (2.92*s) He was truly ahead of his time…

I think it is now safe to say we officially have too much Bowie on the list. "Sound and Vision" is by far top track. No doubt an overlooked classic but not strong enough to bring the whole record up (somehow Beck did it better...incredibly [actually not surprised...it's Beck]). After SNV, it takes a real dive and hits a Low with "Warszawa" and "Art Decade." The instrumental tracks throughout are a bit odd and slow. I'm gonna give the man credit though for experimenting with electronica...even if it wasn't all that good. "Weeping Wall" is not half bad and the bleak finish with "Subterraneans" does rouse something buried deep inside. Obvious Eno sound and the Kraft-work influence is also apparent. I can see how this album spurned future bands to stray from classic instruments and towards the computer. 2.09 stars for expanding out.

Low is certainly a tale of two album sides. For the first 20 minutes I was really digging an electro-pop version of Bowie. Despite a couple of them seeming like unfinished demos or segments of bigger songs I liked the new angle he was taking and Sound And Vision is still a great Bowie hit. As we rolled into side 2 I was unfortunately met with experimental ambient music. Clearly Eno got his hooks in Bowie. Unfortunately it derails what was otherwise a very solid album to that point. The ambient stuff is whatever, and I maybe wouldn't have minded a separate album of it, but it really does make Low seem like it has a personality disorder. I wish I could give this album separate grades but unfortunately one half of it significantly drags down the other half, so it ends up as an overall mediocre album. Would be a good one to play on the brother's record play for Side A though in the future. 1.89 stars

Number: 226 Familiarity: Aware (2) Rating: 2 Before: ======= Believe it or not, this is my first Bowie album from The List... Woah, there 9 total? Well, that is at least 6 too many. During: ======= Not impressed by the first track. Nor the second... I ended up rating all of them a 3 except for Sound and Vision which got a 4. After : ======= Totally forgettable. However, there were some interesting unexpected instrumental numbers on side two but, all in all, I see no justification for this album being on the list so I'll bump my rating down one notch from 3 to 2. I don't generally modify my personal rating but in this case I think it is warranted.

This album is frequently held up as one of Bowie's best, so I'll be seeing how it holds up to that reputation here. It's definitely one of the more experimental Bowie albums in this list, showcasing him experimenting with different song structures and electronic/kraut-style instrumentation. The first half of the album consists of short and fairly poppy songs, while the second half(beginning at "Warszawa") is more atmospheric in nature. Lyrics are mostly irrelevant to the album's sound, and vocals are mostly added as an extra layer of haunting sounds. This album is pretty good, but it's not really my favorite Bowie album(and a lot of his stuff is overrated in general). This album is ranked #9 of 27 albums for 1977. Other 1977 albums rated by me: Rumours(1/27)-5 Exodus(2/27)-4 The Stranger(3/27)-4 Out of the Blue(4/27)-3 "Heroes"(5/27)-3 Lust for Life(6/27)-4 Talking Heads '77(8/27)-4 Marquee Moon(11/27)-4 Aja(12/27)-3 Zombie(13/27)-4 Bat Out of Hell(15/27)-4 My Aim Is True(16/27)-2 The Idiot(18/27)-3

Better than Coldplay

Blew me away! Had low expectations but the instrumentals really pulled me in deep.

1977 Synth rock, ambiental, experimental Uno de esos álbumes raros de Bowie - Sound and Vision - Weeping wall

the contrast between a and b side is wild. when I learned Eno had a hand in this album, it all made sense. not my fav Bowie, but chapeau for experimenting

If Aladdin Sane was a 3, then this has to be a 2 for me. The last 1/3 that just turned into weird orchestral tunes was not my jam

Fine. Went off on one towards the end, but Sound & Vision balanced it out.

Way too much instrumental shite. Still about enough for a 3.

A strong 4

A rare Bowie album that I can somewhat stomach, I suspect largely because of Brian Eno's contributions.

Nothing special.

spox, czillowy album do puszczenia w aucie. warszawa najfajniejsza. 3.5/5

Lots of instrumentals on this album. Very mellow vibe. Good for background if meditating or something. The one or two songs with vocals I added to my playlists.

The highlight of this is Sound and Vision and on first listen the rest of the album doesn’t really measure up. What the album does is give an insight to the musical exploration and creativity that would normally be behind closed doors. It feels like we’ve been let in to an early jam session. It doesn’t have nearly enough vocal but also shows some of the versatility of Bowie voice and mind that isn’t always obvious in some of the commercial hits. It takes a bit of patience but for an insight on the process behind Bowie characters and hits this is unique.

En tiiä olinko tätä ikinä aiemmin kuunnellu. Hyvää settiä ja vähän heikompia biisejä välissä

Ihan jänniä soundeja ja ratkasuja. Ei mikään biisi kuuhun mennyt, mutta tasasta tappavaa.

Kunnon game of two halves -liepu. Kokeilevan keittiön äärelle lähtenyt taavetti kun ei oo huvittanut perinteinen väykky. Mut ihan ok.

Vähän entuudestaan vieraampi Bowien levy, mutta oli oikein jees! Voisin kuvitella että tää on 70-luvulla kuulostanut melkoisen raikkaalta tavaralta, minusta kuulosti yhäkin siltä.

Warszawa is absolutely amazing, also I love Brian Eno

Because I appreciate Bowies work and I really, really wanted to give it the four stars I gave it a few tries. Side A has some nice tunes and catchy pieces. And "Sound And Vision" and "Be My Wife" are great. But there is too much instrumental stuff on side B that don't catches me at all. So this album lands a bit lower in my rating than expected. 3,5

I like David but this album wasn’t it. Couple bangers but nothing special

Psychedelic, not much of Bowie singing, bit of a flop. Shouldn't of got sober.

Pretty good classic rock album but some odd experimental tracks in there. Not entirely my thing but not bad either

There are three kinds of albums I get through this project: the ones that I knew already and (usually) already liked, the ones I had never heard of and thought were mediocre, and the secret gems. It is this third kind that makes this project worth doing and returning to. While perhaps not so secret generally, Low was an entirely new album to me, and….wow. It’s haunting. It’s interesting. It’s experimental in the best way. While I don’t think it beats Ziggy Stardust (yet), it certainly comes quite close. One that will definitely enter my usual rotation. Favorite Tracks: Always Crashing in the Same Car, Sound and Vision, Speed of Life, Subterraneans

64 albums in and already the 3rd Bowie album first was good, second was ok, but this is pretty crap. I'm worried that they might get worse than this and there is still more to come. I mean half this album is instrumental, and it's not even interesting. I enjoyed a couple of tracks in the middle but the back half is a real chore to get through. A generous 2*

I thought there was no such thing as a bad David Bowie album, but this is at best mediocre. It starts well enough, but from Warsawa onwards it turns into an ambient record taking up three quarters of the album. Not even good ambient music. I can’t get myself to rate it below three stars, the album has Sound and Vision after all. But Bowie was pushing it here.

Definitely an album that needs a few listens to work. Radical, but perhaps because of who he is and what else he has done, not defining.

Sound and vision is great. Lots of electronica which I didn’t expect. That’s it was Gary Numan a couple of times! I want to give it more…but it would be just for S&V really…so

I'm glad he took a break from drugs. Didn't mean I loved all of this but I'm still glad.

Liked the first half. Second half bored me. Not bad but I wouldn’t go back to it.

This was really interesting, kind of dark and kind of jazzy and cool.

Listened with Zach home from SLO

soso

Definitely different, but trying to put it perspective of it's time However, it mostly instrumentals and "jam" sounding at that. This isn't selling me on Bowe. But there could be more there after repeat listens or other albums.

Enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would. Or maybe I was just in a good mood lol. But either way added to my faves on Spotify

I love David Bowie. A different album than his others with some moodiness to it. Enjoyable as always.

I wish I wasn't listening casually. This album is world building.

First Bowie album I've gotten so far in the series. I had one idea in mind of what David Bowie sounds like, and I didn't really seek out his music, though I was familiar with his biggest hits. I did not recognize the sheer range this man has. Very interesting album.

Not feeling this and I don't think it would be on the list without Bowie's name. But I'm not really an electronic Eno guy. A couple of cool tracks, but the rest no thanks.

Maybe my favorite David Bowie album probably because he's hardly on it. Sounds like a bunch of musicians playing chord progressions that occasionally resemble songs. Bowie "phones in" some vocals every now and then to remind us we should love this album. All joking aside, it did keep my attention for the entire album and I would listen again. A rare feat from the albums on this list.

Wonder how anyone can give less than four stars. Normally, I would give Bowie an instant 5-star voting, but the second half of the record looses some drive. Nonetheless, I appreciate all the songs on side B but they should be spread out between songs with lyrics (kind of transition between those songs). 4/5

I like it the instrumentation is interesting and adds to the vibes of the album. Best track is sound and vision

I loved all of the instruments and it’s so easy to listen to!! My favorite song was speed of life! The only thing I didn’t like was the vocals

Simply more Bowie Bangers.

Very very cool album feels like supergirl when they were just like travling through space or even the martian maybe? Idk theres probably better movies to describe it but it was atmospheric immersion with david bowie flavor

Återigen ett sånt album som uppenbarligen är ett mästerverk och jättestort men som inte riktigt lyckas beröra mig. Känns lite väl smart och genomtänkt för att faktiskt kännas intressant. Inga låtar som fastnar heller. 6/10.

Starts off strong but meanders into New Age synth territory. Not his best.

Never particularly liked his Berlin trilogy of albums. There are highlights on them all (on here its Sound and Vision, Breaking Glass and Always Crashing in the Same Car) but the remainder doesn’t connect or resonate much for me.

Not Bowie's best, in my opinion, which I know is against the expert view. This album does contain a few good tracks, like Sound and Vision, but it also contains below par tracs.

um álbum pra deixar tocando no spa de plano de fundo enquanto vc faz uma massagem uma yoga

Definitely an interesting album, more instrumental than lyrical, which I don't like in general, but that is Bowie - he can't be put within confines of a genre and/or of any other kind ⚡

Not his best work, but there's always something interesting to listen to with Bowie.

Middling - none of these songs I had heard before despite listening to quite a bit of bowie. Lacks the punch and catchiness of other albums. Ambient. Subterraneans sounds very EDM at the start - ahead of its time. Not my favourite Bowie album - not sure I'll revisit.

Excellent album which greatly exceeded my expectations. I think if there is one takeaway from the first 200 albums it's that Bowie did some amazing work that I never would have listened to otherwise and I am a convert - all the way to his Blackstar. Highlights for me were "A New Career in a New Town" in which I can hear early elements of the great 80s New Wave music I came of age to and love so much -- I totally hear some New Order in this song from the metronomic drumbeat which conjures up Vanishing Point and Love Vigilantes. I love the second half with its ambient tunes - Warszawa and Weeping Wall - what masterstrokes! I guess Eno deserves some credit too!

Mad how good this is. Bowie blew the doors off with this. Light years ahead of its time. 5 - even if you hate it, it’s still like a signpost to the future.

Bowie moves to Berlin and discovers Krautrock. Sound and Vision is good. Too much Eno.

worried this is a hot take...i love david bowie plus sound and vision is one of my favs on this album but besides that i feel like there's not much for me to come back to. i liked some of the instrumentals but again i just don't see myself turning to this bowie album compared to his other works. (i also listened to part of this while on a run so maybe i wasn't the most attentive).

Starts out with great tracks, and slowly gets more weird, but still great Not listened to much Bowie (apart from the mainstream hits) but this was a solid listen

Pas de déception avec David

First half definitely sounded Bowie, second half Eno. As a result, rounding down from 3.5*. Aside from, “Sound and Vision,” mostly a “meh” result.

This album started well but got lower in my estimation as it continued, with the majority of the songs having little form and no/limited vocals.

One of my favourite Bowie albums - possibly the favourite. Prefer side 1 to the mainly instrumental second. Can feel some of his angst but like the starkness. Found that second side not quite as memorable as I’d expected so a 4 rather than a 5.

Gotta hand it to Bowie, he loves to dominate proceedings...not half way through the list and all 9 of his albums have been and gone. I suppose Iggys The Idiot is still to come as a quasi-Bowie studio album for a Quantum of Solace... Anyway, love the 1st half (Bowie maybe at his most abstract lyrically) not into the 2nd Eno half. At least on Heroes his contributions are bookended by 2 bangers but here there is nothing to draw me in nor wait around for, so I usually play this more as a 1 side EP. So ,(5+2)/2 = 3.5, rounding up as this album is no reminiscent for me of my trip to San Diego '04...only Sufjans Chicago is able to tie me as much to a specific time and place..

Evidence if you ever needed it that great artists can produce less than great works. I’ve never got the love for this release. It’s an album of two distinctive halves bizarrely cobbled together into a singular package. Sound and vision is the standout track for me, and the album finds its feet for a few tunes after that following a tedious start, but there’s little else to get me excited here, and it is, frankly, all bit boring down the finishing straight. A relative “low” in Bowie’s body of work for sure AND despite the heavy dusting of kraftwerk like synth sounds, it wasn’t even recorded in Berlin contrary to the popular mythology!

This album is such a gem. Be My Wife absolutely rips. Classic Bowie stuff up front followed by a bunch of instrumental pieces clearly inspired by his time in Germany/in close proximity to Kraftwerk. Sobriety looks good on a man.

Album is all over the place, some songs don't have any words but still sounded good. Nothing memorable or catchy.

Bowie's best album, the pinnacle of one of the best discographies in pop history, let alone rock history. The proto-post rock of the back half in particular is immaculate. Not much else to say, the easiest 5 I have given out so far.

This one is phenomenal.

Gotta love david Bowie! He is such a unique artist and every album seems so different yet the same lol

Bit strange, and basically all instrumental. Not unenjoyable per se, but probably not going to be my top choice to listen to

1.6 Meh. It was mostly instrumental, and I wasn’t into any of it. Kinda experimental and synth-y. Too bad, since I liked his other album

solid high four. giving a 5 cuz i think the global rating is too low 😁

I actually semi liked this album. The instrumentals were actually really interesting and way better than chord chord chord. It had life that’s for sure. Where the album doesn’t stand out to me was Bowies actual singing….his lyrics weren’t the best and more than half the songs were plainly instrumental- which isn’t bad but like I think only 1-2 songs max should only be instrumental not half the album. I would definitely re-listen to the songs that Bowie actually sings in, they were decent

I judge anyone who likes this nonsense just a little bit.

I don't actually know anything about Bowie or his discography and career, I just recognize the name as important. Thusly, I kinda had high expectations but, like, not for anything in particular. The first half of the album was thoroughly underwhelming. Chill and a bit groovy, at least, but not particularly fun. Then A New Career In A New Town had a hint of something interesting, but didn't go where I wanted. Warszawa, Art Decade, Weeping Wall, Subterraneans... Now this is interesting! Very interesting. Picturesque (yes I know that doesn't make sense). I am not sure if those last 4 songs are enough to elevate the whole album in some numerical sense, but they were what I was hoping for. Enjoyed them. I guess a weak 4 on this odd rating system...

I definitely don't mind the more ambient vibes this album gives. For the most part, I actually preferred them to the first half of the album. This is my first experience with a Bowie album front to back, but I can't say I was really wowed, merely entertained for its duration. Scoring this middle of the road to give ample room in case I'm more impressed with other stuff.

Weird instrumental songs

4.5, rounded up!

Truly a masterpiece, one of the best albums of the 70s and Bowie's best, in my opinion. This is what music should be about: testing the boundaries, and having an emotional depth at the same time. The only problem I have with this album is that I've listened to it so much that there is not much more to discover.

Some interesting moments on this album that don't seem very "Bowie-esque". Specifically the songs Warszawa, Weeping Wall and Subterraneans. Can't say its on the level of Ziggy Stardust, but very few albums are.

Low: a highlight from big Dave. You see what I did there?

Enjoy some songs but other are ambient nonsense which does nothing for me

Brauche ich nicht zu kommentieren

I have to say I preferred other Bowie's albums. This one is nice to listen to, but nothing caught my attention particularly.

Two very different sides to this album. Almost feels like a concept album in parts. Much better on the second go through, the ambient side explains side A in a way you don't quite hear the first go round. 3.5

Not my favorite David Bowie songs

Me gusta, es más como ambiental; pero te teletransporta algunas de las canciones.

David Bowie has always been one of my favorites. His diversity made his music fun to listen to. I remember buying his early albums l albums and racing home to play the album and look at the album art. I was never disappointed. While this album was a different aspect compared to his early work it shows the evolution that continued to make him great.

I liked it a lot. It just needed a soupçon of something to get to a 4. Maybe a few more listens.

Damnit Bowie how did you make this album sound like 1965 and 2025 at the same time

nobody judge me this is the first bowie album i've listened to (⁠｡⁠ﾉ⁠ω⁠＼⁠｡⁠) (i know i have blind spots! the older music i listen to was mostly just electronic and prog rock 🤡)

I do love non classical uses of the flute

interesting album. i did not expect this type of music from what i heard of david bowie. i did enjoy it

70s generic Rock slop for the first half, second half actually interesting ideas, nothing too exciting though. Didn't hate it, just not memorable.

It was okay! Didn’t listen much

I appreciate that Bowie was someone who didn’t care to make overly popular hits and definitely liked making “weirder” stuff. This album was a little too odd for my liking sadly

Iconic album I know but never one which has ever gripped me. Much prefer the second side ambient tracks the pick of which is Subterraneans and which is one of my favourite Bowie tracks. Good and as famous as he is I think that 9 albums on this list is a bit excessive. Hunky, Ziggy, Heroes and Blackstar is all you need to know about Bowie. 3/5 29/7/26

It has its moments but overall an album I can appreciate more than love. Given the man's stellar back catalogue I can only rate accordingly.

Not really my type of music, but I still enjoyed it. It really helped me focus and lock in while doing math homework, and I found myself nodding along to the beat and the instrumentals.

Good not great. Intriguing and stylistically varying, but not Bowie’s best work

A fascinating and important album, both in Bowie’s career and popular music in general. It sets out its stall by opening with an instrumental track that fades in, like you have missed the start of the film due to arriving late (which I have done, once, for Mulholland Drive - I don’t know whether this made the film more confusing or clearer). Songs which could have been stretched out are kept short. Even in the short run-time of each song, Bowie, Visconti and Eno cram each song with interesting sounds, exploring all the ways that the emerging electronic technology could be used. In other hands this could be a disaster but it all serves to elevate the songs to another level. The bridge track between the sides, A New Career in a New Town, perfectly mixes the electronic sounds with a glam rock stomp, with a harmonica responding to synth call. The second side is radically different, more akin to a film soundtrack, which understandably bemused critics and audiences alike. This is not just a bunch of aimless soundscapes, though, each song has a purpose and an atmosphere of its own; each song uses a different sound or technique, building on the work of others, bringing avant-garde experimentation into the mainstream. This is Bowie at his peak.

Possibly the best album of the 80s. The absolute brazenness to transition from pop/rock star to put out something like this which I’m sure alienated some fans shows Bowie (et al) at his restless best. The choice of instruments here, as well as the more angular, post-punk/art-rock inspired songwriting is obviously in part influenced by the music emerging at the time, but also a product of his environment and people he was surrounding himself with which allows something of this caliber to gestate. To open with such a synth driven instrumental and the final 4 tracks is (and an often trite and overused phrase) a musical journey that this album takes you on and is again, a testament to the album as a musical format.

Party in the front, electronics in the back

This is tough to rate- overall an enjoyable listen but the synth stuff is not my style

Liked it, especially the low, tired end of the album. But something is missing, even with two listens, maybe it just didn't vibe with me today, or maybe it's because i got a fire-er eno album yesterday.

Can't believe it's barely the 2nd album i get to review of Bowie's. Brian Eno really likes to make this experimental 2 sided album thing similar to the Heads 'Fear of Music' and 'Remain In Light'. Am I crazy to think that he got in the way of making 3 perfect albums and rather indulged into his personal artistic voyage instead of letting Bowie and Byrne land their own projects? Being a fan of Bowie's it's essential to listen to this album one way or another, but in a list of essential albums, i'm affraid that we started with the 2 weakest projects listed with this and The Next Day.

Front to back, top to bottom, end to end perfection. We didn't deserve Bowie.

lo esperaba mejor porque conocía una canción, pero no

Ever the trendsetter, Bowie looked at the avant-garde and crafted something that's fairly accessible out of it. He embraces the blossoming electronic music scene to create his alien pop music. This is a futuristic and lonely listen, feeling like pop music from a world where something isn't quite right and it's trying to convince itself that everything is going well. The second side of this record is my favourite side due to it solely consisting of ambient soundscapes that rely heavily on synths to create a dystopian atmosphere. Whilst it is not my favourite Bowie, it's very hard to play down the influence this has on music as a whole.

Listened

Didn't grab me. I've always like Sound & Vision but the rest was a bit meh

Le voy tomando bastante cariño a Bowie.

Love this album. A huge album in terms of bringing electronica to the masses. Saw David do this in it’s entirety at Meltdown Festival which he curated.

Very few vocals, Music heavy but still decent. 6.5/10

Første gang jeg lyttede til dette var på LP da jeg boede ved Søren og Britter. Kan huske at Søren kom ind med en omgang plader han anbefalede jeg skulle lytte til og der var denne en del af dem. Jeg lyttede til det et par gange husker jeg og læste om hvordan det var en del af hans berlin triologi, hvor han eksperimenterede med elektroniske lyde sammen med Brian Eno blandt andet. På trods af hvor eksperimenterende pladen var nåede den stadig op til nr 2 på hitliste i england. Den har været tydeligt med til at skabe den efterfølgende synthpop og post-punk bølge som Joy Divison og Depeche mode. derfor betragtes det også som at være proto post-punk. Den handler overordnet om manglende kontakt til andre mennesker, omverden og til ens eget tidligere jeg som jeg læser det. Det blev ikke produceret af Eno, men han spiller med på synthesizers. Det var også i denne periode han arbejdede sammen med Iggy pop på hans tracks hvor de også havde de her tørre trommer som der er et gennemgående tema der åbenbart er vigtigt at lytte efter. Ideen med hele albummet var åbenbart, at han gerne ville trække sig fra den store kendte glamour lyd fra glam rocken og ligesom gøre sig selv "smallere" og mindre igen for at opdage en ny musikalsk fremtid. Der er nogle danceable tracks fordi der er lidt funk og rytme over det på f.eks. sound and vision ville jeg sige. Synes det har lidt et stærkt minde i, at det er en af de albums jeg har fået anbefalet af nogle andre og jeg også lyttede til det på LP, det er langt fra alle albums jeg gør det med jo.

I’ve been loving Bowie for a while now but I’m struggling with this one. I know Brian Eno wrote and possibly produced this. The album has my favourite and lest favourite parts of Brian. The first 7 songs are brilliant, catchy and perfect Bowie songs. Then the last 4 instrumental songs do nothing for me and are really boring. Shame

Bowie is just amazing

Liked the dichotomy of the poppy, synth side A and the haunting Side B

(Light 8/10) It's grown off of me since my first time hearing it, the A side of the record weirdly feels unfinished to me. The songs are very short and vignette-like to the point where it feels like a tease. Side B is very good though and the ambient/electronic experiments are wonderful mood-pieces. Yeah, of the Berlin trilogy this may not be my favorite but it's still great.

Meu preferido da trilogia de Berlin, embora as quatro faixas finais, com suas opções quase experimentais e melancólicas, "derrubem" o clima do disco. Ótimo álbum!

Feels like a movie soundtrack. Really enjoyed sound and vision and subterraneans.

not really my thing

Interesting. I can't deny that in terms of sound and atmosphere It is captivating, nevertheless I think It's a little lifeless in terms of emotion, and even when experimental It's kind of academic. Not the best of Bowie, but important.

Love it , maybe not my favorite thing but its unique.

Overall Rating - 3.68/5 (7.36/10). Experimental/Transitional Bowie. It's the step between Glam Rock, "Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" Bowie and "Thin White Duke" Bowie, and I like it less than either of those. It's still Bowie songwriting, and (sometimes) Bowie singing, but it's not on the same level as either before or after.

First Listen Favorites: Sound and Vision A New Career in a New Town Subterraneans

Good.

funny getting this one three days later than young americans and two after life in the bush of ghosts, an accessible way to tackle two intimidating discographies the album has a very clear stylistic separation between its two sides; the first still maintains a certain pop structure, although many ideas are explored without being expanded, the songs remain short and are supported by hard hitting percussion sounds the b side is an exploration of ambient sound with long instrumental developments and slow melodies that aim to paint landscapes with sounds; this is where eno's obsessions take center stage, although this also follows bowie's pattern of mastering a language, such as glam or soul, and taking a new path when this language becomes a limitation for expressing his artistic concerns

I'm nearly 400 albums in and so far more than 2% of them have been David fucking Bowie. I am displeased.

Moyen

Me esperaba un álbum bueno (o por lo menos interesante) tratándose de Bowie, pero no me esperaba que me lo haya escuchado 3 veces en las ultimas 24 horas. La primera mitad es muy buena, art rock como me esperaba que fuera. Sonidos interesantes y excéntricos, buen ritmo, pegadizas, composición fuera de la norma. Pero es que la segunda mitad es un viaje digno de repetir alguna noche con los ojos cerrados. Reconozco que la música de ambiebte es un concepto que a mi me encanta, pero no me imaginaba que Bowie pudiera hacerlo tan bien. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Mención especial: Subterraneans

3,5/5

If I never get another Bowie album, I’ll be happy.

When Bowie released Low, a lot of people must have wondered whether he’d simply stopped writing songs. After some time inside it, I think the opposite is true. He’d stopped believing songs had to explain themselves. The first thing that struck me was how physical the record is. For an album with a reputation for introspection, it’s remarkably muscular. Dennis Davis, George Murray and Carlos Alomar are an astonishing band. These are tracks with shoulders. Visconti’s production bends the air around them while Eno’s interventions constantly interfere with your sense of certainty. What I heard on side one wasn’t so much “Berlin” as a consciousness having trouble parsing what it sees. Bowie’s narrators are damaged, accusatory, compulsive. They try to keep control of situations they don’t fully understand. The lyrics arrive as fragments rather than stories. Burroughs rather than Broadway. There isn’t an ounce of padding. Bowie says only what absolutely needs saying, leaving the music to carry everything else. “Sound and Vision” still has one of the most audacious intros in pop music. That extraordinary delay before Bowie even bothers to sing isn’t self-indulgence; it’s the album teaching you how to listen. The drums materialise through warped air, George Murray’s bass pops and struts through the haze, Carlos Alomar’s wonderfully restrained guitar quietly tells its own story, and somewhere in the middle a saxophone blooms into one of the ugliest beautiful sounds I’ve ever heard. By the time I reached “Warszawa”, I realised I’d stopped hearing this as an album about Berlin. I was hearing Europe. Not postcard Europe, but underlit stations, municipal architecture, new towns and a continent quietly rebuilding itself after exhausting its moral certainties. Warszawa was the masterpiece for me. It imagines a civilisation constructing a future because the alternative is glowing, smoking ruins. Modernity becomes an ethical choice because nostalgia has become dangerous. That thought coloured the rest of the second side. “Art Decade” became stately yet damaged, reminding me of the half-lit tunnels beneath București Nord - infrastructure built during an age of constrained ambition, where the future was still being constructed, just without enough money to illuminate all of it. “Weeping Wall” has a Reichian insistence, while Robert Fripp magnificently worries away at the tiny flaw in an otherwise immaculate surface. “Subterraneans” inhabits the world of insomnia: silence, inexplicable thoughts and a saxophone acting as nocturnal witness to the narrator’s hypnagogic mutterings. Calling Low “influential” almost undersells it. Predictive feels closer. Bowie isn’t simply inventing sounds that later artists borrowed; he’s imagining an entire way of thinking about pop music. Space becomes dramatic. Subtraction becomes expressive. Instruments stop behaving like themselves. The album doesn’t point towards the 1980s so much as quietly wait for them to arrive. And then it does something rather wonderful. It doesn’t end. It leaves.

7/10

Kind of weird.

Let's start with I LOVE DAVID BOWIE, but I've tried "Low" a few times now without understanding or embracing it's genius apparently. It feels more like rough drafts or incomplete songs. "Speed Of Life" is a catchy instrumental to open things up and I absolutely love the music and vocal on "Sound And Vision" which is a masterpiece. "Breaking Glass" and "What in the World" are just odd additions that add no value. The last 4 tracks are just instrumentals and none of them are all that great or enjoyable. Did he need to churn out an album to meet a contract or something? "Weeping Wall" is something I could do in my parents basement on their old Casio. No impressed this time either. 3 stars, it's all ok, but aside from one really catchy song it's slow and boring. It DOES NOT deserve a spot on the Top 1001. And let's all agree the man is good, but no one artist deserves more than 3-4 albums in the Top 1001, and not a single one deserves 7 (seven).

Low é, para mim, o melhor álbum da Trilogia de Berlim. O que mais admiro no David Bowie é sua necessidade constante de se reinventar, sem jamais se prender à zona de conforto. A primeira metade do disco traz faixas mais acessíveis e quase otimistas, enquanto a segunda mergulha numa introspecção belíssima que sempre me prende. E boa parte dessa magia também passa pela genialidade do Brian Eno, fundamental para transformar Low em uma das obras mais autorais e corajosas da carreira do Bowie. Discaço, e um dos talvez, subestimados da carreira? Junto com a ótima trilogia.

One thing's for sure, this doesn't sound like 1976. There are a few other anachronistic albums, sure (Roxy Music, for example....), that this fits with, but generally, you can't listen to this and peg it as mid-70s. The thing that makes it really remarkable, though is that it doesn't sound "groundbreaking" -- you never say "Ooh listen to those dated sounds, that was probably the first example of [whatever novel electronic sound or production trick or whatever]." It sounds more timeless than that. It's not a novelty. Very cool to catch up on yet another one of my blind spots. But I don't really love it. Very interesting, but it doesn't move me as much, I don't enjoy it as much, as some other Bowie albums. I don't appreciate the different character of the two sides that much, it tends to make it easy for me to drift away on the "night" side. (I really ought to listen through Bowie chronologically sometime... That would be a fun project to listen to Bowie's music and Bowie-adjacent music and productions (e.g., Iggy Pop, Brian Eno, Lou Reed's Transformer...?) chronologically.)

Influenciou muita coisa que veio depois no pós-punk. É uma espécie de odisseia: do quarto (referencia constante nas letras do lado A) a uma nova cidade cuja sonoridade remete a algo extra-terrestre (lado B). É o primeiro da trilogia de Berlim. Não é um disco para ser ouvido frequentemente, mas me agrada.

an interesting album from Bowie. Largely instrumental with a couple of vocals. Some good stuff, some forgettable stuff as well. Not sure I would listen again nor would I buy this

Welcome to an Alien planet -David Bowie

Sound and Vision is one of my all time favourites, for me nothing beats that. Side two of the album is a little darker, not sure what it represents, with bits of chanting going on. Maybe it chimed in with Bowie getting sober and finding himself and his health. I didn't like this album much at the time, I felt that after Station to Station that was an end of an era, I had pretty much moved on to other music by then anyway. Revisiting I can see why, it needs a more mature ear. Either that or its a load of shit with one decent track!

Very interesting listen. I’ll def have to relisten to this again some time later to see if this should be increased, as I very much enjoyed many of the tracks here.

1 David Bowie Album would have been enough.

As a surprising fifth (!) Bowie album assigned in the first third of this project, I reacted with maybe some negativity. I actually quite liked it though.

I may be reaching Bowie fatigue, and this may have scored higher if it arrived in a different order, but here we are.

Better than I remember. It's a lot, but there's some good parts. Second half is bizarre... only the last track stuck with me. BUT I think it was my favourite song on the album. First half was alright and second half wasn't exactly my thing. An interesting experience

A: Så glad att dom lät David Bowie ta droger igen. Även om det inte är bra musik så är det helt angenämt att lyssna på #lovewhitenoise. David Bowie lyckades även fånga den LOW man känner då man försöker förnya sin hemförsäkring och elavtal på samma gång. Can't wait fö hans nästa album 3/5 D: It's giving master Bo Wie från bergen i södra Kina. Det började med något intressant men sen blev det lowk ancient monk ambiance. Dom låter honom verkligen göra vad som helst. Gillade början men blev nog väldigt väldigt ambient mot slutet. Skulle aldrig ha gissat att jag inte skulle kunna avgöra ifall David Bowie eller Hans Zimmer spelar. 2/5

I love this album.

A low profile start to the Berlin trilogy.

Was well on its way to at least 4 stars but there are far too many instrumentals. They should be a whole separate project.

Surprisingly fun and interesting. Don't think I was in the right mood for it but I can respect the hustle and innovation. 6/10

Low feels dated because its structure feels dated, not because its sounds are old. The record cuts itself in two. I understand the idea, and I don’t think the second half is worthless. I just don’t love divided albums. An album should feel like one piece. A paragraph can turn, but it still has to stay with itself. The first half does that. It sounds like rock being pushed forward without losing its body. The songs are sharp and strange. The backing tracks have depth. The drones give them motion instead of just mood. Then the album changes shape. The second half has dread and distance, and I can hear what it is reaching for. But it moves me less than it interests me. It feels like an early sketch of ambient as a full language. Eno would make that argument better on Music for Airports. Here, the idea is there, but it still feels unfinished. That is where Low loses me. The first half still feels alive. The second half feels important, but more tied to its moment. I respect it more than I want to return to it. Bowie’s vocals add personality, but they also push against the texture sometimes. They can feel scattered, like he is pulling the song toward himself instead of sinking into it. I don’t think modern vocals have less character. Geese makes the opposite case. The voices are strange and specific, but they still belong to the songs. So Low is interesting, especially song by song. As an album, it feels uneven. The second half matters. It just does not make the record feel whole.

I’ve never heard a single song from this record until now. Much more punk rock influenced or sounding than any Bowie I’ve heard before. Very solid 70s rock album so far. Be my wife is the standout track. I love the combo of rock and roll and alien synth rock sounds. I feel like this album influenced my own style of playing without even having heard it.

Best Track - "Sound & Vision"