Low

meh

I have a feeling this album will grow on me with more listens. Always extra stars for sax.

Bowie stands out. Even his weak albums sound unique and like him.

At least I got the total junk Bowie--his 234th and 235th albums--out of the way a couple weeks back. Way back at his 11th album now, at least the stuff sounds a little more inspired. The first two songs are pretty rocking. Third track is pretty whack. A New Career in a New Town is like proto-house in the beat. At some point the album starts sounding like the movie score for an explorative science fiction in the 80s. I guess heroine is a hell of a drug. 3/5, as one of the better Bowie albums I've heard from the 400 on this list.

Just a great album and it’s crazy to have an album this good not even be in your top 5

I'm a Bowie fan - this is really solid. Some of the electronic tracks get a bit unfocused for my taste, but really entertaining overall.

I love Bowie but man what a snoozer. Why listen to a Bowie album when it does not highlight the best part of listening to a Bowie album which is Bowie himself. Instrumentals from a pop singer is dumb.

No moze grac w tle w pracy

Speed of Life - 10/10 Breaking Glass - 7/10 What in the world - 7/10 Sound and vision - 8.5/10 Always crashing - 7.5/10 Be My Wife - 8.5/10 A new career - 8/10 Warszawa - 10/10 Art Decade - 6.5/10 Weeping wall - 7.5/10 Subterraneans - 10/10

3/5. Eerste deel matig tot goed. Tweede deel vooral saai en vervelend

Really enjoying this one. Lyrics aren’t catching me like I enjoy but the texture is so ahhhhh. This album is making me enjoy instrumentals

I appreciate that it wasnt straight forward and every track wasnt the same. Slowly turning into a instrumental album by the end shocked me but didnt turn me away. Tracks with vocals had a lot of glam rock/new wave flare which is an era i prefer when it comes to Bowie.

An absolutely fascinating project in that its second half is demonstrably more captivating than its first half. It seems like two of Bowles friends were big inspirations for this one: Iggy Pop & Brian Eno. The front side of Low sounds like the Iggy side; standard proto-punk rock that was a slog to get through. But the back half is soooo worth it; mostly lyricless, electronic, ambient, and experimental. Seriously, as soon as “Warszawa” starts off side B, things get interesting. Dramatic, suspenseful, and eerie. “Art Decade” has the same drum machine sound that much of Eno’s “Another Green World” has. “Weeping Wall” continues to sound like a progenitor for AGW, with some waiting-room-style keys and bells. “Subterraneans” closes the project out on a climactic note, I love the horns coming in at the end of it all. Really hard to be fair about this one, as I enjoyed none of the first half, while I loved the second half. Let’s go 3/5, Bowie seemed to be reaching for things more than executing an exact idea to his usual standard of perfection. But always a good day when it’s a Bowie album regardless

A solid 70's record, it's easy to have this play in the background. But then, I have to compare this to other Bowie records, and then it's just mediocre. Would not be in my Top 5 Bowie picks.

Sehr angenehme Komposition, wirklich schön, dachte nicht unbedingt, dass Bowie was für mich ist, gut dass ich mal reingehört habe :)

what a beautiful trip

It's not my favourite Bowie album, but you can't deny it is one of his most daring.

"Speed of Life" is a jam. "Sound and Vision" fun, classic. "Be My Wife" fun bass. Cool sounding piano Gets nice and weird in the second half.

I appreciate the experimentation.

Very strange instrumental start that didn't really do it for me. Glad to get onto Sound and Vision for some singing. End tracks were instrumental but interesting.

I'm positive that the song Be My Wife has never helped anybody obtaining a wife. It's odd. I don't know much Bowie but I like this, different sounds but a few songs are just instrumental which is also unique.

This one is an interesting choice for me. I return to "Low" less often than I do to its predecessor "Station to Station" and its successor "Heroes," which is probably my favorite Bowie album. It was quite a daring move for the pop star to begin the album with an instrumental composition and have a second side that seemed like a soundtrack to an unrealized movie project. While the A side tracks have fine moments ("Sound and Vision" is a favorite), I'm distracted by some lyrics that run counter to the futuristic vision Bowie had seemed to be about. Phrases like "little girl" and "be my wife" seem to harken back to older, more conservative values than we'd heard from him before. Maybe he was always this sexist and middle class. I think there may be more of Bowie in another album he produced around the same time: Iggy Pop's "The Idiot" (Iggy contributed vocals to the "Low" track "What in the World").

Name reflects my opinion of it.

Half this album was instrumental which I like as long as there’s lyrics anywhere in the song. Some of them took 3 min to start singing or just didn’t sing at all. The songs that did have lyrics were pretty good. Very 70’s vibes

I feel like every Bowie album is at least a 4, most are branching on 5. Love the musicality in this album, the band feel a bit more like they’re the attraction and Bowie is just running around then singing about random shite. 4.8/5.0 Best Song: Sound And Vision COME ON

Such a cool album, so funky and trippy and weird. This is the peak of his cocaine powers, when he was eating 1 red pepper and drinking 1 glass of milk a day and grams of cocaine. Bands still want to sound like this so bad. Best song: Sound and Vision, my favourite Bowie song.

8/10

Of the many Bowie records I've generated so far, this one has the most Goblin King energy of them all by a factor of about 100. The more I hear, the more I'm convinced this is no mere record, but a prophetic rite of some sort. He will rise again. Just believe.

Good album

Love Bowie

The first Bowie album I listened to (and only one so far), which is now the first Bowie album I listen to for this project. The album really just blows my mind. The four songs between Sound and Vision and A New Career in a New Town is such a great run. The rest of the album, which are mostly some nice-sounding instrumentals, don't really hold up for me. Not as much as that middle. Still a very strong album for me, and a close 5.

good

Very vibey album. If I am in the right headspace I would listen again.

Grateful that this stuff exists! It is prog pop like we know from Bowie. After a few songs it more moves to being a Brian Eno album though. I thought it not to be distinctly Bowie and more general ambient-like. Not necessarily bad it was fine but it takes away from the vibe I got at the start of this record.

Yeah, I still don't get David Bowie, but I did like one song on this album, so if I could, I would rate it 1.5 stars

I’m instrumental part of the album was great.

🗯 In a world without Hunky Dory, this might be my favourite Bowie. Side A rocks, Side B floats. After the excess and near-collapse of mid-’70s LA, Bowie fled to Europe to clean up, recalibrate, and reinvent himself. Low was the first chapter of the Berlin Trilogy — recorded partly in France, partly in West Berlin — and it sounds like someone rebuilding from the ground up. The hedonism of Ziggy and Diamond Dogs is gone; in its place, fractured pop songs on one side and expansive ambient instrumentals on the other. Side A is jagged, twitchy brilliance (Sound and Vision, Breaking Glass, Be My Wife), miniature bursts that distil Bowie’s art-rock instincts into sharp shocks. Side B dissolves into widescreen soundscapes (Warszawa, Subterraneans) — abstract, melancholy, cinematic. It’s not just Bowie experimenting, it’s Bowie rediscovering possibility, with Brian Eno at his side. You can hear its influence everywhere: post-punk, synth-pop, industrial, Radiohead’s Kid A. Low isn’t just an album — it’s Bowie detonating the past and sketching out whole new futures. Verdict: Essential (the reinvention that kept Bowie immortal) For fans of: Brian Eno, Joy Division, Radiohead, drifting through alien cities at 3 a.m.

Good, but not special.

Sound and vision

More Bowie that gets me in a good place. Surprised once again with these Berlin albums as to how much instrumental music is on it. Much broader use of instruments on this one compared to Heros. Liked it.

As the first if the "Berlin" trilogy albums this is one of my favorites. I love how it starts with the instrumental "Speed Of Life" this is one of those albums where you just know it's going to be great when you look at the cover. I know that a lot of people don't like 'The Man Who Fell To Earth' but it's a great movie and the cover of this album is a very alien way to represent the music that, I think at that time might have been quiet alien. Bowie always gets max.

Solid album, lovely sound, the better Bowie I’ve heard so far

Sorry Bowie I just dont like your music

Bowie took more risks on this album than his previous ones I’ve gotten, and it does not pay off for him in my opinion

Great

Unexpected, with a striking contrast between the two halves. Not sure how often I'll be reaching for it, but I did find it enjoyable, if a bit opaque.

Big fan of this one, it was a relaxing vibe throughout the album that was a nice change of pace from his previous albums

the first half is pretty fun, even if it's not really my thing, but the second half is the meat of the album. it's crazy that a commercially successful artist was allowed to put that out. very steve reich-influenced, and thus i like it a lot. music for 18 musicians should be required listening for anyone seriously interested in the history of modern music - its fingerprints are all over everything today.

I've never listened to this album before and I enjoyed every song.

Bowie’s Berlin era is among the best work of his career

Bowie has better albums!

The first half was solid if uninspired Bowie, then the back half shifts to solid but out of place ambient music. Overall I liked it more than I expected! Probably because the ambient tracks sound like they could be Disney World area loops.

I could just copy paste my 'The Next Day' review here. I won't but I could. And why? Well, dear reader--really just Newman--you deserve better, more trenchant insights. 'Low' is in one of Bowie's low--there's a pun here--periods. I'm not a big fan of the Berlin Trilogy--it's bleak and reminiscent of living near the Berlin Wall. This album also sounds half and half--half good stuff in front and half film score in back. Still though, it's a Bowie, my fave solo artist, and has two good tracks, so that merits 'Low' a three. Top tracks: “Sound and Vision,” “Speed of Life”

Meh. Didn't need to hear this before I died tbh.

Indeed a low!

I generally like Bowie, but this one did not do it for me.

Very experimental

Who doesn’t love Bowie 🩵

I really like Sound and Vision, and the other instrumental tracks are pretty cool as well. Not as iconic as some of his other work but pretty good.

Ahhh the first record of the Berlin trilogy. If I’m honest the Berlin trilogy has always been a little overrated for me. Not bad by any means still better than most artists ever did but I’ve always like glam Bowie best. This album is great. “Breaking Glass”, “Sound And Vision”, and “Always Crashing The Same Car”, are particular highlights. However it loses some points because the mostly ambient experimental music which isn’t my thing, but it’s interesting at the very least and I love Bowie.

Fantastic, experimental as hell, this is not your Hunky Dory, Changes Bowie.

I bit too jittery for my taste

One of my favorite albums of all time and my favorite Bowie album. Insanely beautiful yet desolate atmosphere. Even features some of my favorite sax playing by him too.

David Bowie doesn't have a bad album

5/10

Good listen.

Really good stuff. Probably better than Ziggy Stardust in my opinion. 4.5/5.0: Excellent

really great instrumentals. i was surprised how spare the vocals are

4.5/5

5 stars. Fantastic. Love the ambient second half

Not a fan of this Bowie period, but not unlistenable.

An interesting listen without having any stand out classics. You can feel the influence on later works here, especially in the latter half of the album, but there wasn't a lot to really hold my attention. Minus one star for a needless sax solo.

4.5 stars

First time I ever listened to all of Low, and though it didn't produce many chart toppers, this was one of Bowie's sonically best projects. It's on display in Sound and Vision, the most accessible song, but songs like Warszwa also take you on a musical journey. I found it superior to the Heroes album.

David Bowie goes Germany and makes an album while doing heaps of cocaine that would make Tony Montana jealous.

Showcases some guitar skills.

Weird is all I can say. I can appreciate wanting to experiment with different sounds, but this one fell flat for me.

Like walking through a gallery full of different pieces of art, each song is different but shares a theme. I liked hearing a couple of instrumental pieces though they weren't my favorite. This album is decidedly funky, with an assortment of music forming a colorful bridge between the 70s and 80s and beyond.

I was not a fan of this album. Upon first (2nd, 3rd...) listen I was so biased because of Ziggy and Diamond Dogs (which I absolutely loved) that I could not give a non-biased ear to this album. Then I moved to Germany and spent so much time in Berlin with my then girlfriend (mid-80s to mid-90s)...and I absorbed so much of the grungy Berlin/German underground music scene. And it dawned on me: I loved this album . If you ever nodded out at the Frankfurt bahnhof, missed your train to Berlin (before the wall came down) and met your junky friends (Germans and GIs) behind the wall, you'll get more of why this album means so much to a gen-X German/American crowd. Warszawa was about the time you'd be nodding out...popping into/out of your nod while the rest of the album played on...and hopefully some of your friends (Germans, Americans, New Zealanders...) could keep you safe enough to see another sun....

So good. I’m not usually down with the experimental especially with no vocals. This just lived in me today. Maybe it’s my mood. I just jammed out to it all day. Also bonus hearing Iggy Pop version of China Girl. I was today years old when I learned he recorded it first. Thanks Spotify! 7.3

9/10

Great album. So varied and interesting. The second half in particular. Looking back, it’s admirable how many risks Bowie took with this album, and a lot of his albums. One of his best albums in my opinion.

Really great album!

I’m am pretty much entirely unfamiliar with Bowie’s music and had zero expectations for this. Started off kinda meh, not offensive but unimpressive. There were a few moments of conventional songwriting that were pretty accessible. The shift halfway through to ambient, experimental sounds is where it really started to grow on me. The later tracks were did more for me than the first half. I appreciate how nothing on this album stayed past its welcome—every idea was direct and then it moved on. No chance for boredom. I could see this growing more on me with repeat listens. 6/10 Standouts: Be My Wife Warszawa Subterraneans

Not his best album, but it was interesting

A lot of instrumental tracks that feel epic. I enjoyed all. Favorite songs: Speed of Life, Sound and Vision, Warszawa.

Melodic. Needs a relisten

Kind of experimental. Unexpected wordlessness

The B side is heavy Brian Eno. Good stuff.

It's a great album throughout, but not quite a 5* for me.

David Bowie: Low: A pretty cool and varied album. It feels experimental, and it mostly sticks the landing, though some parts do feel like he was just trying things out for the hell of it. A lot more of an instrumental album than I expected, but it is pretty good. Pretty enjoyable and pretty out there, it has my respect. 8/10

Слабо знайомий з доробком Боуі, але це альбом слухав раніше. Перша половина - класне поєднання досить попсових мелодій з цікавими моментам та з легким флексом артистичності. А вже в другій пішли експерименти з інструментальною частиною з яскравою Subterraneans. ЯЯки

Боуі це не моя чашка чаю, скільки не намагався його слухати.

мені завжди подобалася така розмова форма співу у боуі, і мені дуже подобається трек sound and vision своєю простотою, як ніби він просто є видображенням твоїх думок і подібні моменти. легка музика о різних складних речах

This is incredible. A masterpiece. I can't believe I've never listened to Low in it's entirety; the tonal shift after A New Career In A New Town is compelling, almost a song in its own right. I love it, one of those albums that feels personal.

Preferred the ambient side of the album.

okay. not my fav bowie album

really boring sounds like something that would be playing in a star wars scene. not my thing i almost fell asleep.

#DÍA 35: 1001 Discos Que Hay Que Escuchar Antes De Morir (English Translation Below) Buenos días, hoy es turno de un álbum muy especial para mí y me hace infinita ilusión tener aquí un espacio para hablar del mismo. No voy a hablar de primeras impresiones puesto que es un LP que he escuchado muchísimo. Bowie por otro lado es mi artista favorito, así que coged esta reseña con ese dato subjetivo que me hace conectar de un modo mucho más profundo con su música. Low es un proyecto peculiar dentro de la historia de la música moderna, a veces llamado el “primer álbum de rock moderno” o también llamado “incoherente” y “ruido de fondo”. Sin duda divide mucho en opiniones, aunque a día de hoy está más establecido como uno de sus mejores álbumes. Es fácil de entender por qué puede producir una respuesta negativa al oyente: la radical diferencia entre las dos mitades del LP, lo surrealista y a primera vista ilógico de las letras, el sonido tan distinto a la anterior música de Bowie o la falta de estructura musical en la mayoría de temas. Para encontrar el sentido a todo lo que contiene Low se debe entender como lo que es: una creación artística concebida en un tiempo y un espacio. La estrella no estaba pasando por un buen momento de su vida, la adicción a la cocaína había llegado a un tope intolerable durante la creación de Station to Station, se sentía falto de ideas y de creatividad, su relación con Angela Barnett estaba en decadencia y parecía sentirse fuera de sí mismo tras casi una década de fama, llegando a hacer apología al nazismo durante su era de Thin White Duke. Se mudó a Suiza con Angela pero pasó mucho más tiempo en el Berlín Occidental junto a Iggy Pop para ambos rehabilitarse y también grabando el disco en Francia. Por otro lado, entró en contacto con Brian Eno, que sería la segunda mente creadora en la elaboración de Low aportando toques de ese estilo del que él fue pionero: la música de ambiente. Por supuesto también hay que considerar que se ubicaban en el espacio donde más se estuvo desarrollando la electrónica y el Krautrock, por lo que la influencia de grupos como Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk o Harmonia es evidente en el resultado final. Sin una fecha límite impuesta por RCA y con unos sentimientos muy fuertes, fue un momento de alineación de los planetas para crear una obra de arte única. Lo que es comunica en Low es un dolor y angustia universal, transmitido de un modo algo críptico y mediante recursos formales poco habituales en la música popular de entonces: sonidos electrónicos, técnicas de escritura de vanguardia, modificaciones de timbres y un modo de cantar mucho más sombrío y pálido de lo que solía ser Bowie. Este LP es un testimonio de una estrella tocando fondo. Speed of Life es la instrumental que inicia el disco, que presenta un brillo, un color y una sensación surrealista. En la última pista de su posterior proyecto de estudio, ‘Heroes’, cantaría “I was running at the speed of life”, lo que interpreto como una referencia a su modo de vida descontrolado al caer en la adicción. Aunque solo sea una pieza sin letra ya nos presenta una idea fundamental, anteriormente el cantante corría veloz y sin preocupación, pero tras un momento de realización, se encuentra imbuido en depresión y soledad, tratando de huir de su Yo anterior. Se evidencia en Breaking Glass, un tema que parece incompleto pero que expresa muchísimo con lo poco que contiene. Dirigido por un ritmo pegajoso, similar a los que bailaba en Young Americans o Station to Station, aunque ahora con una atmósfera distinta: la batería parece traída de otro universo y la voz de Bowie parece estar perdiendo la cordura según avanza la canción. Fuera de sí mismo, se refiere a sí mismo constantemente en segunda persona y rompe espejos para escapar de su persona: “Baby, I’ve been breaking glass in your room again”. Aunque también puede referirse a realizar estas acciones en la habitación de Angela y sentirse avergonzado. En What in the World la estrella habla a su Yo infante, refiriéndole como “Little girl with grey eyes”, posiblemente una muestra de problemas de identidad y género. Es un tema que juega una carta común en esta mitad del LP, que es usar elementos que en principio suenan alegres y coloridos pese a estar reflejando sentimientos de ansiedad en la letra. Esto genera, junto a un uso alocado de los sintetizadores, una sensación de locura y paranoia; parece un intento de convencerse a sí de estar bien pero el engaño es tan ruidoso, torpe y caótico que solo suma al delirio. A continuación Sound and Vision nos vuelve a adentrar en un espacio solitario, uno con las paredes pintadas de azul. Es curioso hacer el paralelismo entre cuando en 1969 cantaba “Planet Earth is blue and there’s nothing I can do” en Space Oddity, refiriéndose a la tristeza general de nuestro mundo, y en 1977 expresa “Blue, blue, electric blue, that’s the color of my room”, para ilustrar su propio aislamiento y depresión. Por otra parte Bowie tarda un buen rato en aparecer en la canción, realmente su papel en este LP es bastante reservado y tímido, solo hay que compararlo con su presencia imposible de ignorar en Station to Station. La desesperación y angustia llevan a un doble clímax al final de esta segunda mitad: uno bajo y lento en Alway Crashing in the Same Car, y otro alto y casi vigoroso en Be My Wife. El primero de los dos es un momento de realización y frustración, mediante una sencilla metáfora entiende que siempre comete el mismo error. En ese coche, que representa su modo de vivir, la cocaína y la fama, acaba constantemente chocando y haciéndose daño a sí mismo y a quiénes le rodean. Por lo que es momento de bajarse de ese automóvil y empezar su rehabilitación y cambiar de ambiente. Aunque, en la segunda, el delirio de Bowie parece llegar a un extremo de paranoia tras darse cuenta de todos sus errores y no sabes qué hacer para arreglarlo. Pide con desesperación “Be my wife”, no hay razones, no hay promesas, tan solo un desesperado intento de acabar con la soledad que le ha provocado su modo de vida. De nuevo todo envuelto en unos ritmos y texturas que evocan a la perfección esa imagen de una estrella que se está apagando, que no parece aceptar que su corazón no es capaz de transmitir el brillo de su música anterior porque es momento de cambio. A New Career In a New Town es la aceptación de este cambio, una transición a la parte ambiental del LP que parece un miedoso pero optimista vistazo hacia el porvenir de su vida. El solo de armónica desde luego que transmite la soledad que ocupa el resto del álbum, solo que con un giro esperanzador, en lugar de tener miedo de sí mismo quiere convivir consigo para viajar a nuevos lugares. Una esperanza que parece ser brutalmente destruída con la oscuridad de Warszawa, pero en esta segunda mitad Eno y Bowie parecen atender más al espacio que les rodea, no son temas tan introspectivos. El contenido de Low se hace lógico al atender a estas dos mitades del siguiente modo: la primera es el individuo y la segunda es cómo él mismo percibe su alrededor o su sociedad. Algo que también se podría considerar ilustrado en su portada, en la que el artista se encuentra de perfil, pálido, abrigado y con los ojos cansados, mirando hacia el futuro. Sin embargo, pese a su estado de introspección, no puede evitar que el entorno le afecte, algo que se refleja en cómo su pelo parece mezclarse con el color anaranjado del fondo. Volviendo a Warszawa, la pieza fue inspirada por la visita de Bowie a la capital polaca, vista por él como una ciudad sumida en pesimismo y pena tras los desastres de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. La pista es cinematográfica, con un bajo de sintetizador que te penetra el corazón y unos vientos que cantan como homenaje a las tragedias ocurridas en Varsovia. La muestra de empatía ante esta situación se muestra en la decisión del artista de tratar de imitar cantos regionales de Polonia, creando una atmósfera aún más poderosa emocionalmente. Finalmente, los tres últimos temas son paisajes inspirados en distintos aspectos que Bowie observó en Berlín. Por un lado, Art Decade (homófono de “Art Decayed”) representa un mundo en el que la expresión, la cultura y el arte están en un punto bajo. La pieza consta de un juego de sintetizadores que descienden y otros que parecen intentar ascender, pero acaban creando una sensación inquietante. Luego Weeping Wall está basada en los sentimientos que provocaba el Muro de Berlín, un elemento que simbólicamente inspiraba separación y encerramiento. Ambas ilustran dos sentimientos con los que Bowie se identifica en la primera mitad del álbum, la falta de inspiración y la soledad. Como cierre del disco, Subterraneans trata de ser una oda a aquellas personas que se encontrasen en el Berlín Oriental. Al igual que Warszawa, es increíblemente oscura, pero en este caso mucho más triste, parece hablar de montones de personas con sueños y metas que jamás van a poder cumplir por encontrarse en unas condiciones de vida nefastas. Las cuerdas, las melodías en reversa, los desoladores solos de saxofón de Bowie y el pseudo-clímax que canta con palabras sin sentido, componen un final emocionalmente muy duro. De hecho, fue algo también criticado del álbum en su momento, ser demasiado pesimista. Pero tampoco creo que haya que tomarse la música o el arte como un escape de la realidad y punto, es importante que sea genuino, que refleje emociones y que genere pensamientos. Hay que aceptar que lo malo existe y que todos nos sentimos bajos, también que vivimos en un mundo complicado en el que el dolor no se va a extinguir nunca. Pero invisibilizar ésto solo lo empeoraría, y creo que es mucho más enriquecedor y humano crear una pieza mediante la que podamos realizar conexiones emocionales, haciéndonos sentir a todos un poco más unidos en un mundo tan grande en lugar de alienarnos más como los grandes nombres intentan hacer. Mi fascinación por Bowie comenzó cuando escuché este LP y desde entonces no ha dejado de sorprenderme canción tras canción. Era alguien imperfecto, alguien inteligente, infinitamente creativo, con las emociones a flor de piel y que mantuvo el arte siempre vivo. Ojalá haberle podido ver actuar, ojalá haber podido ver noticias sobre él o esperar impaciente por nueva música. Sin embargo, el destino me ha hecho empezar a apreciarle bastante tarde, pero también es signo sobre como fue un artista que realmente hizo de su expresión algo inmortal e inagotable. Descansa En Paz, Black Star. Favoritas: Todas Menos favorita: Ninguna #DAY 35: 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die Good morning, today it’s the turn of a very special album for me, and I’m infinitely excited to have this space to talk about it. I’m not going to write about first impressions since this is an LP I’ve listened to countless times. Bowie, on the other hand, is my favorite artist, so keep in mind that subjective fact that makes me connect on a much deeper level with his music. Low is a peculiar project in the history of modern music, sometimes called the “first modern rock album,” or alternatively called “incoherent” and “background noise.” Without a doubt, it strongly divides opinions, although today it’s more widely recognized as one of his best albums. It’s easy to understand why it could produce a negative response in listeners: the radical difference between the two halves of the LP, the surreal and at first sight illogical lyrics, the very different sound from Bowie’s earlier music, or the lack of conventional musical structure in most tracks. To find meaning in everything Low contains, one must understand it as what it is: an artistic creation conceived in a specific time and space. The star wasn’t in a good place in his life: cocaine addiction had reached an intolerable peak during the making of Station to Station, he felt drained of ideas and creativity, his relationship with Angela Barnett was falling apart, and he seemed to feel outside of himself after nearly a decade of fame—going so far as to flirt with Nazi imagery during his Thin White Duke era. He moved to Switzerland with Angela but spent much more time in West Berlin with Iggy Pop, where they both sought rehabilitation, while also recording the album in France. At the same time, he came into contact with Brian Eno, who became the second creative mind behind Low, contributing touches of the ambient style he had pioneered. Of course, one must also consider that they were in the epicenter of the development of electronic and Krautrock music, so the influence of groups like Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, or Harmonia is evident in the final result. With no deadline imposed by RCA and with very powerful emotions in play, it was a moment of alignment of the planets to create a unique work of art. What Low communicates is a universal pain and anguish, conveyed in a somewhat cryptic manner and through unusual formal resources for popular music at the time: electronic sounds, avant-garde writing techniques, timbre modifications, and a much gloomier and paler singing style than Bowie usually employed. This LP is a testimony of a star hitting rock bottom. Speed of Life opens the record, an instrumental that presents a brightness, a color, and a surreal feeling. In the last track of his later project “Heroes”, he would sing “I was running at the speed of life,” which I interpret as a reference to his out-of-control lifestyle while falling into addiction. Even though it’s only an instrumental, it already sets forth a fundamental idea: the singer once ran fast and carefree, but after a moment of realization, he finds himself steeped in depression and loneliness, trying to flee from his former self. This is evident in Breaking Glass, a track that feels incomplete but expresses so much with so little. Driven by a catchy rhythm—similar to what he danced to in Young Americans or Station to Station—but now with a different atmosphere: the drums seem imported from another universe, and Bowie’s voice seems to be losing sanity as the song progresses. Out of his own mind, he refers to himself constantly in the second person and smashes mirrors to escape from himself: “Baby, I’ve been breaking glass in your room again.” Though it may also refer to him acting this way in Angela’s room and feeling ashamed. In What in the World, the star addresses his infant self, referring to him as “Little girl with grey eyes,” possibly a sign of identity and gender struggles. This is a track that plays a common card in the first half of the LP: using elements that sound cheerful and colorful while actually reflecting feelings of anxiety in the lyrics. This, combined with a wild use of synthesizers, generates a sense of madness and paranoia; it feels like an attempt to convince himself that everything is fine, but the deception is so noisy, clumsy, and chaotic that it only adds to the delirium. Next, Sound and Vision plunges us back into a solitary space, one with walls painted blue. It’s interesting to make the parallel between when, in 1969, he sang “Planet Earth is blue and there’s nothing I can do” in Space Oddity, referring to the general sadness of our world, and in 1977, he expresses “Blue, blue, electric blue, that’s the color of my room,” illustrating his own isolation and depression. What’s more, Bowie takes quite a while to even appear in the song; his role on this LP is rather restrained and timid, especially compared to his stunning presence in Station to Station. Desperation and anguish lead to a double climax at the end of this first half: the first is low and slow in Always Crashing in the Same Car, and the second is higher and almost vigorous in Be My Wife. The first is a moment of realization and frustration: through a simple metaphor, he understands that he always makes the same mistake. In that car, representing his lifestyle, cocaine, and fame, he ends up constantly crashing and hurting himself and those around him. It’s time to get out of that vehicle, begin rehabilitation and to change his surroundings. But in the second, Bowie’s delirium seems to reach a peak of paranoia after realizing all of his mistakes, he doesn’t know how to fix them. He begs desperately: “Be my wife” with no reasons, no promises, just a frantic attempt to end the loneliness brought about by his way of life. Again, all wrapped in rhythms and textures that perfectly evoke the image of a fading star, one who cannot accept that his heart can no longer shine with the brilliance of his earlier music, because it’s time for change. A New Career in a New Town is the acceptance of this change, a transition into the ambient part of the LP that feels like a fearful but hopeful glance toward his life’s future. The harmonica solo conveys the loneliness permeating the rest of the album, but with a hopeful twist: instead of fearing himself, he wants to live with himself and explore new places. A hope seemingly crushed by the darkness of Warszawa—but in this second half, Eno and Bowie seem more concerned with their surroundings than with themselves. The content of Low makes sense when viewed this way: the first half is the individual, and the second is how he perceives his environment or society. This might also be symbolized in the cover art, where the artist is shown in profile: pale, bundled up, eyes tired, looking toward the future. Yet despite his introspection, he cannot escape being affected by his surroundings—reflected in how his hair seems to blend with the orange background. Returning to Warszawa, the piece was inspired by Bowie’s visit to the Polish capital, which he saw as a city sunk in pessimism and grief after the disasters of World War II. The track is cinematic: a synth bass that pierces the heart, and winds that seem to mourn in homage to Warsaw’s tragedies. Bowie’s empathy is also shown in his attempt to imitate regional polish chants, creating an even more powerful emotional atmosphere. Finally, the last three tracks are landscapes inspired by aspects Bowie observed in Berlin. Art Decade (a homophone of “Art Decayed”) represents a world where expression, culture, and art are at a low point. The piece consists of descending synthesizers against others trying to ascend, ultimately creating an unsettling sensation. Then Weeping Wall is based on the feelings evoked by the Berlin Wall, a symbol of separation and confinement. Both illustrate feelings that Bowie himself identifies with in the first half of the album: lack of inspiration and loneliness. As the album closes, Subterraneans serve as an ode to those living in East Berlin. Like Warszawa, it is incredibly dark, but this time even sadder—it seems to speak of countless people with dreams and goals they will never be able to fulfill under dreadful living conditions. The strings, reversed melodies, Bowie’s desolate saxophone solos, and the pseudo-climax sung with meaningless words all compose an emotionally devastating ending. In fact, this was one of the criticisms of the album at the time: that it was too pessimistic. But I don’t think music or art should be treated merely as an escape from reality, full stop. It’s important that it be genuine, that it reflect emotions and generate thought. We have to accept that bad things exist, that we all feel low, and that we live in a complicated world where pain will never disappear. But invisibilizing this would only make it worse. I think it’s much richer and more human to create a work through which we can make emotional connections—making us feel a little more united in a vast world, instead of further alienating us as the big names often try to do. My fascination with Bowie began when I first listened to this LP, and ever since, he’s never stopped surprising me, song after song. He was someone imperfect, intelligent, infinitely creative, with emotions on edge, who kept art alive at all times. I wish I could have seen him perform, followed news about him, or waited impatiently for new music. However, destiny made me begin appreciating him quite late—but that in itself is a sign of how he was an artist who truly made his expression something immortal and inexhaustible. Rest in peace, Black Star. Favorites: All Least favorite: None

2.5 Experimental Bowie. Just ok. The redeeming quality here is that you can see where the jazz and orchestration experiments led later on, and that is fulfilling

One of the later entries in Bowie's great 1970s albums, this is a great atmospheric album. While leaning on some of the German synthesiser bands of the time (via Eno's influence), it in turn became very influential.

This was an interesting listen and felt like a departure from Bowie's early days.

I just don't like Bowie.

Not for me.

--ATTENTION!!!-- This album needs multiple listens to fully enjoy!!! When I first listened to this album 10ish years ago, I didn't really enjoy it, I thought it was fine, but that was about it. However, this album just gets better and better after every listen. For a long time this used to be my favorite Bowie album until I rediscovered my love for Station to Station. Anyways, I just finished a challenge where I went through Bowie entire discography and had a lot of fun doing it, so this album couldn't have come at a better time. There is so much to love about this album, I love how funky side A is and the productions and synths sound so good. I also love the melody of Sound and Vision, it will just randomly get stuck in my head. I also love how the end of side B gets more ambient, Warszawa is probably a top 5 Bowie song for me. Sometime I realized on this listen that I never noticed before are the guitar solos, there are a couple of guitar solos on this album that are a little buried but sound really great. Also some fun stats: I am currently at album number 596, and have gotten 6/9 David Bowie albums but 0/5 Sonic Youth albums (which is who I am currently doing a discog dive of) High 5!!!

How many Bowie albums are on this thing....... Some of the instrumental stuff towards the end would have been interesting in a different context, but by the time it got there I was already done with the album.

Can't say I loved this

My least favorite Bowie LP. Its just like he was still finding his mojo

it wasn’t too memorable! I think David Bowies songs/singles stand out. plus a lot of instrumentals that didn’t vibe with me

Well, I never thought it would happen, but here's a Bowie album that's going into my Tidal library. I really like the mix of instrumental ambience and somewhat more conventional vocal numbers. This is, for me, the best David Bowie album I've heard so far.

This album feels very incoherent. Not sure what his head space was during the making of this one. Some good individual tracks but they don’t vibe with each other. The mood is all over the place.

At the first listen I didn’t like it at all, but then the secind listen was different. I started to appriciate it and even like some of the songs. I can see how inspirational could it have been.

Not one of his good albums.

I'll never understand people's obsession with Bowie.

I liked this more than other records of his tbh, I don't know why.

It's kinda like if David Bowie did a soundtrack for an indie movie and he had a sore throat so he couldn't sing at all that day.

Probably the most interesting Bowie album I’ve ever listened to. The instrumental songs were something alright.

Experimenteel as fuck. De nummers aan het begin van het album zijn te kort om er een deftige en volwaardige mening over te hebben. Hoe verder in het album, hoe langer de liedjes worden en hoe meer er ook is om van te genieten.

A little experimental for my tastes. No bangers. Still Bowie so high floor.

me deu vontade de dirigir a parte musical de um filme

Não atinge o meu gosto musical, desculpa David Bowie

Yay more David Bowie! "Low" is my favorite of Bowie's Berlin trilogy. It perfectly blends his signature glam rock sound with Eno-esque ambience. A unique and enjoyable listening experience. Favorite track: Sound and Vision

Complex album. First listen I did not liked much/at all, sounded like some rolling stones the opening track, then some instrumental, too much too flashi.. however, I gave a secong and even third listening, and it grows on you. It will not be more thatn a 3,5 starts. But to be frank with the other records I judged on a first listenint this is a 2 star. Definitely not my favourite Bowie album.

3/5.

Loved this. Great instrumental

Contains probably my fav Bowie song

This one slips through the Bowie cracks, suffering from the lack of an enduring single most likely. The musicality is here, however, if this isn't a "Bowie Album," it's not on this list. The context makes this one worth a listen.

this was good! didn't save anything, but enjoyed listening to it.i was a fan of how it sampled through songs with lyrics and without -- added a nice break, in a sense.

Good album. First time really listening to a Bowie album from beginning to end.

15/05/25 - afternoon 4/5 I missed reviewing yesterday due to it being results day - I got into my desired uni for anyone reading. Anyway, seeing David Bowie as the day's album got me excited. I had not heard of this album before or any of the songs on it, overall I really enjoyed the tracks on the first half. The second half escaped my interest. From Warszawa It seemed to become a experimental conceptual free for all. Which I would have usually liked if it hadn't have come out of nowhere. Highlights of the album were the 1st track (loved the instrumental), 2nd track and 'always crashing into the same car'. However, the weird beeping on the 3rd track annoyed me. Some of these tracks will definitely be added to my regular playlists. This album would have easily been 5 stars if side 2 were different.

I do like the one

I think the more I listen to this one, the more I'll like it.

Never a huge David Bowie fan and this album confirms my general sentiment. Was hoping to find at least one “new” song that I’d want to listen to again. Favorite track probably “A new career in a new town” but purely instrumental, which is really not my thing, and repetitive. C-

this was cool!! definitely not what i expected from a Bowie album but good nonetheless. it was basically instrumental which makes me wonder if it came from using tracks that didn’t make it onto other albums and worked better without any vocals.

High

Love Bowie, album is solid, but definitely not my favorite of his. Realistic rating of 3/5

As a Bowie fan, I’m embarrassed it’s taken me this long to actually listen to Low in full. I came in with partial familiarity thanks to Philip Glass’s Low Symphony, which I’ve loved for years, so I knew the melodies in a very different, orchestral form. But hearing Bowie’s original was a surprise in the best way. This isn’t the glam swagger of Ziggy Stardust or the soul of Young Americans. It’s chilled, atmospheric, and oddly weightless, more like a Brian Eno album that just happens to have Bowie singing on a few tracks. The instrumentals on the 2nd half in particular feel like you’re drifting through some strange, beautiful space station in the late ’70s. For an artist so associated with reinvention, Low still manages to feel unexpected. It’s understated but hypnotic, with a mood that lingers long after it ends. A strange, serene gem in Bowie’s catalog.

Repeat listen

Comforting. Movie soundtrack.

Disappointed with this album

Not my favourite Bowie album but a good listen overall, felt like it fell a bit flat in places and tbh was kind of expecting more from him.

I had high hopes for the "experimental" side of the album but only "Subterranean" worked for me. As far as the pop side "Speed of Life" is a promising start. I am not a huge Bowie fan but usually I find one or two cuts each album that takes me by surprise, but there was nothing there the stood out.

Legendary album, insane, vibey, this was my jam at around age uhh 20-24 maybe 25, I would bump this all the time. Easiest 5/5 don't even need to think about it.

Interesting sounds for the time

One of bowies most eclectic.

The second half is on a whole 'nother planet

Probably my favorite of the Eno-Bowie albums. But more so when looking at the album as a whole, in all its colours, strange directions, and interesting segways. When it comes to standalone songs, there are few that I actually return to - 'Sound and Vision' being the obvious one. It's one of Bowie's best songs, that super fun bass, playful lead guitar line, wave of synths that come in during that intro, and Bowie's very lowkey vocals make for one hell of a pop-rock song that feels like a party in a little, well-lit apartment room in the middle of the night (the 'night' being the rest of the album, cause it gets DARK). I also really like 'Be My Wife', it's just super catchy and has some of the best guitar playing here. But when I say the album as a whole, I do mean that Eno-touched production, where every instrument feels like a living creature, something he did very well on his solo albums 'Before and After Science' and especially 'Another Green World'. The guitar and bass are paramount in the mix, but you have some other odd, standout moments, like that panning SAW in 'Breaking Glass' or that harmonica on 'A New Career in a New Town'. This one song, and a good chunk of this album's vibe, reminds me of the DKC2 soundtrack (lol). And in typical Eno fashion, this thing goes full ambient and instrumental in its closing tracks with songs like 'Weeping Wall' and 'Subterraneans' sounding like they're from two decades in the future with those breathtaking pads and chord progressions. I think I mentioned Eno here more than Bowie (even though Eno isn't even the main producer on this album, it's Tony Visconti), because I'd say it's his influence that's the most clear in the music here, it doesn't sound like many Bowie albums that came before this. It is Eno and Tony's album as much as it is Bowie's at the end of the day.

Late 70s Bowie. Iggy Pop collaboration, with Brian Eno. Experimental rock. Mostly instrumental. Short songs.

Overall quite disappointed with this one. Definitely my worst Bowie album so far. The instrumental tracks at the end genuinely bored me. Top Track - Sound And Vision

Best album I’ve listened to so far, I know it’s only day 3 but still, decent album, the songs with just the instruments sound amazing however, I feel like the album needs more body to it or more experimental sounds Overall it’s a decent album, it just needs a little more body, more of that Classic Bowie Best listen “Breaking Glass”

Rica zona desconocida. Me gustó lo moderno que es para ser del 77. Segunda escucha asegurada. Nota: 3.9

que nivel el Bowie de Berlin

interesante este bowie. Después hay gente que se queja de los discos tranquilos de los monos!!!

3.0 RYM

Spiky angular cool funky strange unsettling uplifting futuristic (for 76/77) challenging intelligent arty swinging layered pop rock synth complex light dark darker moving fascinating heartbreaking absorbing enveloping cinematic innovative groundbreaking influential. Bowie. Eno. Brilliance.

The good tracks are some of Bowie’s best. As with Heroes, I’m not too fussed about the ambient tracks towards the end. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust is still the greatest David Bowie album.

Low as in a low point for Bowie. This didn’t work for me.

Nice and chilled

Overrated

4.1 I liked it

dårlig bowie

Pretty low on my list of Bowie albums tbh Best Song: Be My Wife Rating: 4.0/10 Stars: 2/5

Well produced album, prog rock experimental sound. Once again Bowie is just not my thing. Pink Floyd has a lot of similar albums but their stuff is cohesive whilst this is more random. 6/10

197/1089 - Kind of like a happier and more electronic version of The Idiot. It seemed somewhat unfinished to me. I would have liked if the songs on Side A were longer. It also seemed more like a half-Bowie half-Eno album. Pretty alright and I may warm up to it over time.

I love Bowie. I forgot how good the B side tracks are on this one.

Love the songs. The instrumentals are great but less repeat value.

Apparently this is one of the first post rock records, which is damn cool. I expect to get more into it in the future.

Felt like a bunch of b-sides that turned out to be one awesome flow of an album.

Bowie deserves all the fame he has, INSTRUMENTATIONS ARE CRAZY

Oh, it's THIS David Bowie album. Sound And Vision is the first track I recognise, good tune (first on the album), like it. Everything else is ok at best. The second half of this album seems dominated by the Brian Eno / Krautrock sound, but I like both of those things more than I like this take on them. Wikipedia has a very long article on this and then every individual track on it bar one. I think that's too much attention.

Weird even for Bowie

Stranissimo, ma bello

Wonderful!

Zuhause, Heidenheim, Deutschland. Ja, geht so.

Some of these tracks I loved, like “breaking glass” and “sound and vision” (“I’ve been breaking glass in your room again” is a great line). Other songs seemed like meandering soundtrack fodder for a sci-fi movie.

I went into this album blind. I've always thought Bowie was just a cool musician. He had significant impact on music and managed to turn up in some of the cooler pop culture moments in my youth. He was the guy you liked if you really understood music. Well, that's what my younger self thought. Fast forward fifteen years and he died. Around that time I was playing in a band where the singer was obsessed with all of his music, and the radios were blasting his hits at full force. I tried to listen, but I lost interest Low begins with the instrumental, 'Speed of Life'. There are cool, quirky synths, tasteful (but also quirky) guitar lines and a dance beat. I was hopeful that this was a taste of what was to come on the album. Certainly making my playlist. Low is littered with instrumentals. Sadly, very few match the energy of the opener. They range from strange and ambient which could feature as a soundtrack to a 70s sci-fi, to sad and miserable. There's only once that they set up a song too. The songs themselves are Bowie. You can see his stamp on them. There's no absolute catchy banger, but there's what I can only guess if him experimenting without losing his identity. I read up about the album and see what he was aiming for. Did I enjoy it? Yes, I think I did. Would I listen again? Probably not in a hurry. 3 stars.

This album was like walking back to your car with your wife after eating dinner at a restaurant. Your car is in a parking building and you're not 100% which level you parked on. After about 10 minutes, you find your car, only to realise your wife has been talking to you non-stop along the way. You haven't really been listening to her conversation.

Fairly easy listening but nothing too exciting

Aw, geez. A high-water-mark for Bowie. Great all around. Seeing Hansa Studios in person made it even better!

Pop rock with a little edge to it. Bowie's distinctive voice works well over the music. Some solid guitar playing and riffs. Rhythms vary across rock, pop, punk, and even a little disco (it is from 1977 after all). Some ambient effects, I assume from synths, which are definitely a prominent instrument on this album. A few mostly instrumental tracks too in that ambient electronic style.

Love second half first half is not my vibe

This album has enough standing and history for it to be genius. But I didn't get it at all.

Prefer Bowie before Low. I liked the album.

Not a fan

I found myself torn between rating this album a 4 or 5. While I still consider Station to Station and Heroes superior works, Low stands as a masterpiece in its own right, making it hard to compare it to its predecessors. This album marks a big transformation in Bowie's artistic trajectory, presenting what feels like two distinct albums unified under one vision. Eno's influence can be heard on every track, even on Side A, which features some of Bowie's most compelling material. The sonic palettes and experimental textures clearly draw from Eno's solo work, particularly Another Green World and Before and After Science, yet they're seamlessly integrated with Bowie's trademark (but evolving) aesthetic. What emerges is a collection of songs that maintains the art rock sensibilities you'd expect from Bowie, but executed through an entirely fresh and distinctive lens. Lyrics here don't really tell stories and remain vague and fragmented, but there are still some striking and interesting lines, especially on "Sound and Vision" and "Be My Wife". Side B features mostly ambient work, except for Bowie's vocals in an invented language on "Warszawa". What I find compelling about the lyrical/vocal aspect is how it matches perfectly with the atmosphere that evokes alienation, desolation, and cold beauty. Even though you won't understand a word Bowie sings, the vocals still feel emotionally potent and powerful. It sounds like some forgotten language being sung through ruins in a post apocalyptic world. There's a haunting, ghostly atmosphere throughout the entire second side, which is fitting since at the time Bowie was living in Berlin and drew inspiration for the sound and atmosphere from his bleak experience passing through grey post war Warsaw on a train. You can hear this album's influence even in modern music, a perfect example of an album with similar traits is Radiohead's Kid A. 5/5

Crazy that this dude is a pedophile.

Listening again after a number of years, I have to say this is quite enjoyable. Certainly a much different direction than the rocknrolla Ziggy years and the TWD, a signpost for the new and improved David. Side One is a sorta peppy pop album; Side Two will make you question what planet you're on. 3 stars? 4? Probably in between, but I'll go 4. I'm feeling good today.

This is Blondie's favorite album. The arcade noises on What in the World are not a welcome addition. They sound like sped up King Hippo noises. Just when I think I'm liking this album more, it has a track like Warszawa and I feel differently. I get the video game noises now. Art Decade could be the score for Final Fantasy VIII. These mostly instrumental sides on Heroes and Low just aren't great. The whole second side is like an emo video game soundtrack.

This was very vibey and kinda felt like it should be the soundtrack for a film. Interesting album from Bowie!

Weird. But not what I normally think of Bowie weird to sound like. Ambient boring weird. Wasn’t offensive weird, mostly just forgettable. We hit another Low moment with this album

A pretty good record. This is one of Bowie’s most revered records. While I do respect it’s ingenuity and originality I find the first half to be inferior to Heroes, however I find the second ambient half of the record to be amazing. 4/5.

3.5 stars

It’s ok.

The crown jewel of Bowie's masterpieces. Every track is breathtaking, but Subterraneans stands out to me as totally transcendent – I lose myself in it every time I listen.

I enjoy Bowie's ambient experimentation in the Berlin trilogy.

It's Bowie - so automatic 5 stars from me. One of the albums I'm less familiar with, so happy to spend some time with it today.

Not my favorite Bowie stuff, but the sound was interesting.

A Bowie blind spot for me, I’ll add it to the rotation. The first half of the album doesn’t meat with the second half, but I like them both separately. From a 70s Bowie rock album to a like Werner Herzog film score.

Hopefully the worst Bowie album on this list. Very 3 star

A side was great. B side not so much

Great start, went slightly weird in 2nd half but still good

Never heard this one

I feel like David Bowie is insanely talented and known for his artistic approach. I just don't think this is my favorite of his albums.

Weird and hard to listen to

I wasn't ready for this. I didn't realize it was conceptualized at least partly as a film score so I had to listen a second time with that in mind so I could understand it better. The film score stuff is beautiful and haunting and interesting. I like the songs in the front half too. I will be listening to this again.

pretty good, hella ambient

The first half of this album is an absolute gem.

A Bowie album I don't love, but that is actually quite good. 4 *'s.

Top tier genius.

feels like im listening to the dune soundtrack with no lyrics

This album slithered into my brain, coiled around my spine and whispered: shhh, just feel it. This isn't just music. It's a full-sensory takeover. Hypnotising, oddly arousing, and somehow both soothing and wild. My ears are still tingling after that 11 track long eargasm.

Asfett. Skitbra nästan jämt! Når inte hela vägen till en femma av anledningar jag inte kan förklara eller förstå mig på. Femma i hjärtat.

4.5/5. Brian Eno really brought the best out in Bowie.

Dit voelt wel even als een momentje jongens. Ik onthul m'n album voor vandaag en ik krijg die rare drop waarmee ik m'n David Bowie sidequest eindelijk kan voltooien. Ik mag hem morgenochtend inleveren en dan is het hopen dat ik meer krijg dan een handjevol xp, maar ik ben er bang voor. Ik heb Bowie inmiddels twee keer 3 sterren gegeven en één keer 4 sterren, dus ik ben al lang geen Bowie hater meer. Wat opvalt aan dit album is dat het uit twee duidelijke helften bestaat. Normale liedjes met wat gekke arcade-achtige geluiden tijdens de eerste helft. Rondzweven in een eindeloze ruimte in de tweede helft. De trouwe volgers zullen snappen dat ik die tweede helft dus best tof vind. Ik ben er uit. Ik heb m'n Bowie-sporen verdiend. Ik kan vanaf nu zonder te knipperen zeggen dat Ziggy Stardust m'n favoriete Bowie album is. Als ik een interessante snob wil uithangen kan ik zeggen dat ik de B-kant van de eerste plaat van de Berlijn trilogie ook gaaf gedaan vind. Ik vind Bowie nog steeds een klein beetje overhyped, maar tegelijkertijd heb ik me uiteindelijk (het had even een aanloopje nodig) meer vermaakt met zijn muziek dan ik vantevoren had verwacht. Dit album krijgt gewoon een prima 3 (en een half, als dat kon) sterren.

Low is not my favourite Bowie album, but it contains one of his very best songs, and that alone lifts the whole record for me. When it was first released it divided opinion, and I can understand why. The minimalist approach and the instrumental heavy second half make it a challenging listen. It is not an album that immediately opens itself up. It takes patience. That said, I appreciate it far more now than I did when I first heard it. With time, the atmosphere really starts to reveal itself. There is something brave about how stripped back parts of it are. It feels experimental without being careless, and the mood it creates is genuinely striking. Sound and Vision is the clear highlight. It is upbeat, melodic and full of colour, and it stands in perfect contrast to some of the colder moments elsewhere on the record. Favourite track: Sound and Vision Least favourite: Art Decade. It still feels slightly impenetrable to me Album artwork: Very cool and iconic. Simple, bold and instantly recognisable

Started pretty well then got weird and slow....

meh

Again didn’t appreciate Bowie until he died.

Imagine 1977 and this drops. Ziggy is gone, The Thin white Duke is a memory and then.. DB goes and finds himself in West Berlin. Fascinating to think... Some very nice melodies in the front half (Assuming Side 1 of the record) Speed Of Life was the gem. Sound and Vision was catchy. Always Crashing the same car has cracking guitar bits by Gardiner. Honestly wasn't expecting much, but I should know better than to underestimate Bowie.

Glad to have got ‘The Idiot’ before this and understand the story and where this fit in. Also interested to see how I find Eno’s contribution, when not the main artists. Some pretty whacky, experimental electronics but nicely brought together by Bowie. My first full Bowie album and interested to hear more, over the span of his career (and without ENO!) interesting to read his bio - so ridiculously varied and rich. Feel like the last few tracks lose Bowie and more of the Eno experimental, ambient, electronic music I’ve come to resent on this list. Yeh, last four tracks not needed and take away from Bowie’s style and offering. Love ‘Breaking Glass’ and first half seemingly better (and quite different) to first (3.5)

A very Bowie album. Not my favourite of his, and the experimental stuff hit and miss

I guess this is a situational listening experience. I listened to this while driving on a quiet, dark highway and it was a momentarily hypnotic experience. Lying on a sunny beach, there would hardly have been an album nearly as impressive.

Hearing references to Neu! and Kraftwerk, but also ambient mentions, I was very interested in listening to this album. I was however left with dissapointment after listening, due to this sounding like David Bowie pop record, meaning something I found very familiar. I'm not that familiar with his discography, but I have heard atleast two of his previous albums and don't immediately find the difference as staggering as it's made out to be.

soso

Just didn’t click for meeeee

It was alright

Sound and vision is a good song, wasn’t aware that the second half would be part nature documentary and part blade runner soundtrack. Kinda cool but not something I think to be great

Aside from Sound & Vision, I haven’t really listened to this album before. Wow. What a listen. The soundscapes are just gorgeous, it really took me away. Subterraneans was an incredible way to end the album, when the horn came in I got goosebumps. Incredible production all around, I’m not surprised to see that Brian Eno was involved. Not your usual, gaudy Bowie fare. But absolutely stunning.

David appears to be a man of very few words on this record. Instead he lets the music drift and flow, very much in the style of Brian Eno perhaps. Mostly always pleasant all the way through, but the ceiling for ambient music is only so high. 8/10

Escuchar “Low” de David Bowie te hace sentir en un viaje hacia un lugar nuevo. Un cambio de rumbo, de vida, un renacer. Desde la ruidosa intro de la experimental “Speed of Life” sabes que lo que estás por escuchar no es un álbum convencional ni mainstream. Los sonidos experimentales y vanguardistas de las guitarras y los sintetizadores te introducen de lleno en un recorrido sonoro repleto de sentimientos. A lo largo del álbum Bowie expresa rebeldía y destrucción en “Breaking Glass”, la falta de inspiración y la tristeza (blue, blue) en “Sound and Vision” o el amor en “Be My Wife”. Las piezas instrumentales están cargadas del poder de la imaginación, por ejemplo en “A New Career in a New Town” es la representación de un nuevo comienzo en una nueva ciudad, Berlín. Desde el bombo del principio del tema, suena a Berlín, a optimismo y felicidad. En contraste con el tema anterior, “Warszawa” suena fría, triste y desoladora. Los sonidos de una ciudad de postguerra. Las tres últimas canciones se sienten como el final de una aventura sonora, que en realidad no había hecho más que empezar. “Low” es una de las obras maestras del genio Bowie. Es un proyecto ambicioso, experimental e influyente. Cuenta más con sus sonidos que con sus palabras. Elevó el rock y el art pop de los 70 a otro nivel. No cabe duda de que este álbum es una joya imprescindible de su carrera.

♫ Listening to "Sound and Vision" by David Bowie (Low (2017 Remaster), 1977) ♫ I enjoyed it, but I prefer Bowie's other works to this.

4- Stars (10/15)

I don't know - I just never click with this album at all

Hmm, yes. This ambient track that sounds like a malfunctioning fax machine in a freezer? Profound.

This is the first album from the list that I also own on vinyl and I could'nt have dreamt of a better one. David Bowie is peak Rock 'n Roll and 'Low' is peak David Bowie. Side one is an amazing rock record, very instrumental oriented with 'Sound And Vision' as the cherry on top. Side two is an evenly amazing avant-garde soundscaping project that never fails to entertain.

This is one that grew on me. It's the only Bowie album I actually like.

57/1001. 2nd Bowie in this list and for the three first songs I thought it was Bowie at his lowest. If avant-garde is synonymous to boring, uninteresting songwriting, songs that are not more than demos, count me out. Thank god Sound and Vision saved that thought, for a moment. Around about the B-side (stupid Spotify doesn’t let me flip the album) the music began to be interesting again, which I credit more to Eno than Bowie — this might be a wrong thought but perhaps not far from the truth (which is: David Bowie alone is super boring). Well, according to wikipedia: ”Eno arrived after the backing tracks for side one were "essentially" finished.” So, for that and Sound and vision, a 3

I know it’s a good album. I probably need to listen to it a few times to truly “get it.”

What an incredible album

Prob third favourite Bowie after station to station and Blackstar. No main standout tracks (e.g. heroes, life on mars, station to station) but the flow and sounds and shit is awesome. Brian Eno is brilliant

If I wanted to listen to instrumental shit i wouldn’t pick Bowie 😭. First half banged

not my jam

my advice is to listen to this slightly tipsy while in a record store looking at vinyls you cannot afford

a much more jazzy Bowie album

as with anything involving brian eno, synths are ever present. i normally am a bowie fan, but i just don’t get this album.

Meh?

Love David Bowie. Love this record. While I was too young to know this record when it came out, I have grown to appreciate it in my years. Sound and Vision is a favorite of mine and if one song can encapsulate the mood, feeling, sound of the record, it is this one song. The production is fantastic and this record is a favorite of many and I can see why. Certainly a top three record from David Bowie for me.

This is a great album, but I wouldn't put it in my to 5 Bowie records. I would argue that this isn't even the best of the "Berlin Trilogy" and say "Heroes" is actually the best of the 3. It's still a great album though with some absolute bops in the first half ("Sound and Vision" is one of the most ear worms of a songs I think I've every heard from Bowie). Not quite a 5/5, so I'll give it a solid 4

As much as I love David Bowie this is definitely not one of his better albums

Not a huge Bowie fan, couple good ones though

I'm a fan of Bowie, but I just couldn't get into this album. The ambient tracks are pleasant, but in my opinion, overstay their welcome. I have no problem with instrumental tracks, but the ones on this album felt like they went nowhere and had no payoff or catharsis. fav track: "Sound and Vision" 2.5/5 Great musicianship as always, but not my favorite era of Bowie.

This isn't high on my list for Bowie Albums, but there are a few highpoints here. I especially enjoy Sound and Vision and Breaking Glass.

Really incredible album. The ending was phenomenal. I wanted to listen to this album again right after finishing it the first time. 5/5

I do not get the David Bowie thing

Gorgeous soundscapes and really cool experimental vibes. Bowie was the worst part.

I wonder if bowie ever read mein kampf

Bowie is exceptional, so even his "weaker" albums are amazing

I'm just not a Bowie guy unfortunately, not my fav

This is like my 500th Bowie album on this list and my patience is worn thin with him 1. Terribly repetitive atonal noise and not worth my time 2. By the time I decided to skip this track, it was already over, so that was kind of a blessing 3. More of the same. Skipped 4. A worse version of Hand Jive with coffee dripping on the burner. 5. Just plain not interested in this 6. There was no point going past the first verse/chorus and I don't know why I did 7. Not offensive, so I listened all the way through 8. Um, alright? Skipped ⅔ of the way through 9. Skipped. No value for me 10. This wasn't bad, but at this point I'm really looking forward listening to something else 11. See 10 I just can't with this guy anymore. After my album ended yesterday, it started a station based off the last track. Mississippi Kid by Lynyrd Skynyrd was the first track on that station, and I had a great time remembering that song. That's where I'm headed now ⭐⭐

What a big mood. If grief could be sonically reproduced this is how it could sound. No idea what’s actually behind the album. I’ll read up.

I really love this album. You wouldn’t want to play the second half at a party but it’s such good mood music. Bowie/Eno go together like PB&J.

A weird, fun ride. Not his best work but Sound and Vision is an all-timer.

Ears ringing from the feedback

This was a fun, groovy ride. Not sure I'll be returning, but liked the listen.

Easy listening, would listen again

far out

Such a cool unique Bowie album. Love this one. Feel like it could be the soundtrack to a Bowie video game

Oh i dig this one

Great album

Damn. I actually found the back half of ambient tracks to be more interesting. Very cool sounds that are somehow unmistakably Bowie.

I've heard some Bowie before, but nothing off of this album. "Low" starts off a little slow, but by the middle of the album, we get some bangers. David Bowie has always been a staple of art rock and this album shows it, intertwining high-energy tracks like "Be My Wife" with more thoughtful, experimental pieces like "Warszawa". Favorite tracks: Be My Wife, Subterraneans

The last couple instrumental tracks were really cool. I enjoyed "Subterraneans" and "Art Decade."

Dope

This album is sonically groundbreaking, but the fractured songs on the first half of the record are somewhat uneven. Tracks like "Breaking Glass" and "Always Crashing In The Same Car" are stunning in their originality but others like "What In The World" are disjointed experiments don't always gel. Bowie's decision to devote the second half of the album to moody, mostly wordless instrumentals is a gamble that largely works. What's remarkable about these tracks is that they still have the imprint of Bowie's personality even though his literal voice is mostly absent.

I guess I really haven’t listened to Bowie… not what I was expecting but good.

Weird… weird … weird!

I want a lot of these songs to go on longer.

Didnt know david was so experimental

Started of pretty decent but after the hit sound and vision the rest of the album was weird. Didn't enjoy the experimental stuff at the end.

No me gustó. Nada

Great Bowie Album. Strange, experimental, but also a bit divided. The first half of the album is chock full of great hooky jams. The Eno collab with his dirty synth drums and chunky noise FX are a great complement to Bowe's guitar hooks. Sound and Vision is also one of my favorite Bowie songs ever. The 2nd half starts to take a turn into instrumental jams, and eventually trails off into drawn out soundscapes. While they are interesting, they also seem to go on a little too long, and I'm left wondering where Bowie's vocals went.

Low profile! Not my favorite Bowie, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a 5. I prefer the coked-out ‘I don’t even remember making that one’ album before this. But Sound and Vision is one of his best songs all-time.

Solid. Eclectic. Loved the range of style! The ambient part was perfect for what I was working on last night 😌

front half is better than the last half. Not my favorite album of his.

If I could give it 2.5, I would've. It's one of those ones where if someone played it, I wouldn't mind or complain, but it's not an album I would've actively went to listen to if not for this project

Good stuff, nice step up from the previous album, Off the Wall by Pichael Jackson. I did't mind the more ambient stuff at the end.

almost wished for a little more weirdness in the back half, things got nearly there

This is my first listen for this particular Bowie album. I wasn't particularly impressed with this effort by Bowie. The side A songs didn't really do anything for me personally, like other works by Bowie have. Side B was an interesting foray into an ambient experience with Brian Eno. Interesting in the sense that I was unaware he made ambient soundscapes with Eno at all. The songs themselves however are not. ....Is what my initial impression was of this album honestly. This morning I relistened to the album. Same thoughts about side A of the album...but I enjoyed side B much more this time around. Though Weeping Wall didn't seem like it really fit with the other 4 tracks. Maybe Eno and Bowie should have just done a full length ambient album together.

decent album, great synths

Not my cup of tea at all, really struggled to finish this. Sorry.

Around the time of Earthling, David Bowie played 4 small club shows on the east coast of the US and I somehow found my way into the Boston gig. The man who plays stadiums in a 2,000-person club. I went with my friend Alyssa and Low is her favorite David Bowie album. I picked it up around that time and went "eh". I knew of Brian Eno as an ambient pioneer and working with U2, so I was honestly expecting a whole album of side 2. Haven't really listened to it since. Now that I know Brian Eno from Roxy Music as well, I totally get side 1 now. 4 lads from Manchester formed a band called Warsaw inspired by Warszawa, but since that name wasn't dire enough, they changed it to Joy Division. This is a great album, but I think the legend precedes it a bit.

This one really surprised me. I was only familiar with the hits and Hunky Dory coming into this.

Kind of whack ???

Overall, I enjoyed food prepping for dinner and doing dishes while listening to this album. The first two vocal tracks (2 and 3) were rough and it was not because of the onions I was cutting. I don’t think so, anyway. Album picked up for me at Sound and Vision (track 4). I really dug the instrumentals and ambient sounds on this album. For me, I believe it would have been a better album solely instrumental with maybe the only vocals being on “Subterraneans” to close it out. Due to this thought, it gets a 3 from me. There’s better Bowie.

Bowie - stick with rock and roll man. You are not to write ambient stuff. The first half is OK but then you get into that ambient back half and while ambient music can be enjoyable it seems Bowie doesn't really know how to make it interesting in any way. If half stars where an option this would be a 2.5. Since I gave this a 3 the first time around I'll average it out by giving it a 2 this time. Give me Byrne and Eno over Bowie and Eno any day.

This is my favorite Bowie album. The album starts off with a bang, the instrumentals are amazing, and it foretells the kind of experimentation Bowie would continue doing until the end of his career. From the get go, Speed of Life sets the tone for the record, with some typically Bowie hits like Breaking Glass and Sound and Vision. MY favorite bowie song of all time, A New Career in a New Town sets the tone for the B side. Although the back half starts with the oppressive Warszawa, it is followed by some hauntingly beautiful melodies showcasing a beautiful collaboration between Bowie and Brian Eno.

While I absolutely love Bowie, and think that "Sound and Vision" is one of the greatest songs he's ever made, the ambient back half of this album supplants the first half. HOWEVER, I think it’s something that’s more obvious and highlighted in contemporary music consumption. As a streamed album, or even on CD, you lose the fact that the ambient stuff is clearly the B-Side of the record originally produced for vinyl and compartmentalizes the two halves. For some reason, that let me appreciate the instrumental, ambient half much more. And if you didn’t like any of the ambient stuff, you never flip the record, and just stick with the A-side bangers. But how can you NOT love “A New Career in a New Town”? That and “Sound and Vision” are sooo fucking good.

Warszawa through the end of the album was nice. The journey to get there was painful.

I can see why he called it Low. Listening to this is a bit like doing maths homework - I know it’s important, and making the effort now might lead to greater things, but, ugh, do I have to? At times, it clicks into place and makes glorious sense, and I can hear how it influenced those post-punk, synth-pop records that I love, but for the most part, it just gave me a headache. Can I have a snack?

Off the cuff remark: a strange beast of an album and I don't think I recognised any of the songs which I was very confused by. I can't decide if it sounds very of its time or ahead of its time. Standout track: Sound and Vision Revisit?: it would certainly stand up to repeat listens and it might need that to get a handle on it.