Heroes

One thousand and one. I know this isn't quite the end of the journey, but it feels like a momentous occasion all the same. And what a fitting album to mark this milestone, exactly 1000 entries since I pulled "Ziggy Stardust" as my second album on the project. The title track is a song I have long been familiar with. If you asked me for my favorite David Bowie song, "'Heroes'" would easily sit somewhere in the top three. Beyond that, I was mostly unfamiliar with this album heading into it. At first, I was a little bit let down. Tracks like "Joe the Lion" and "Sons of the Silent Age" were good, but they sounded like fairly typical David Bowie songs and didn't wow me the way that "'Heroes'" does. I did really like the opening track, "Beauty and the Beast." It reminded me of Iggy Pop even before I read the Wikipedia page and saw that was kind of what Bowie was going for. Hey, I guess this whole experience is starting to teach me things after all! Still, it didn't click with me until "Sense of Doubt" that this was also a Brian Eno ambient album. (It's only been 850-ish days since I listened to "Low," but once I remembered that album it of course makes sense that Bowie's next work with the same collaborators would be an evolution upon that theme. The problem with listening to an album a day is it means sometimes it takes me a long time to return to an album, even if I liked it quite a bit!) It's a really great combination, and listening through the album again I was able to pick out the electronic and ambient influences throughout the whole album. The little krautrock homages and the oppressive atmosphere of divided Berlin permeate this album and give it a strong sense of place. This one truly is a masterpiece, not just from Bowie but from a whole group of creative minds that produced so many other masterpieces. Favorite track(s): "'Heroes,'" "Moss Garden"

So, how many Bowie albums have YOU received so far? "Heroes" isn't a bad album, and I don't blame you if it's a favorite. It has a good sound and a great collaborator involved (Brian Eno), even if the change from art rock to ambient synth is a bit abrupt. I admit I even enjoyed the first of the ambient tracks before I got to the "lemme outta here!" phase. The closing song was cool. Lotsa, lotsa, lotsa Bowie on this list. And from me, lotsa 3/5.

Another tale of two halves, right after The Police's Synchronicity. I certainly don't mind the ambiental stuff, especially the interestingly East Asian-sounding Moss Garden, but I can't help but feel it's just a long outro to the amazingly rocking first half.

Brilliant album, Bowie was always breaking new areas of music genre without even trying. Great session artists in this one too.

So awesome and groundbreaking and strange, the ambient stuff really works here

David Bowie — “Heroes” (1977) 6/10 — ★★★☆☆ A Tale of Two Halves This was an interesting listening experience, and one of the more difficult albums I've had to rate. I was really enjoying the first half. Bowie delivers a solid collection of energetic, experimental rock songs with interesting arrangements, strong musicianship, and plenty of personality. "Beauty and the Beast," "Joe the Lion," and the title track all worked for me, and by the time I reached "Blackout," I was thinking this was shaping up to be a solid 7/10 album. Then everything changed. The second half shifts dramatically toward ambient and experimental instrumental music, and that's where the album lost me. It's not that I think the music is bad. In fact, I can appreciate what Bowie and Brian Eno were trying to accomplish. It's creative, atmospheric, and certainly different. I just personally find that style of music boring. My biggest issue isn't necessarily the music itself, but how it affects the album as a whole. I was enjoying the direction of the first half, and the sudden shift completely disrupted that experience. I almost wish the ambient compositions had been released as a separate album, allowing both styles to stand on their own. One thing I've learned through my musical discoveries is to stop labeling music I don't enjoy as bad. Sometimes it's simply not for me, and this is a perfect example. I can recognize the artistic ambition and importance of an album without necessarily enjoying every minute of it. Despite my reservations, I absolutely believe “Heroes” is an album worth hearing. It's an ambitious record that showcases two very different sides of David Bowie, even if only one of those sides really connects with me. Ultimately, this is a tale of two halves: one I thoroughly enjoyed and another I respected more than I enjoyed. The first half had me heading toward a 7, but the complete listening experience brings it down to a 6/10 and 3 stars.

I think this may be Bowie’s best album. The second half is just perfect

An album of two halves. The first is more straight up rock pop songs. Beauty and the Beast is pretty by the numbers Joe and the Lion is slightly more madcap. Heroes as the title track and one of Bowie's biggest hits doesn't really need an introduction. A great tune. The second half is more interesting starting with V-2 Schneider with it's ambient drones and sparse drums and then brass coming in and be percussively propelled along by the piano. There are some harmonies here that remind me a little Queens' radio ga gag. Neuköln is just hauntingly beautiful, my favourite track on this album by a long way. The Secret Life of Arabia is a nice tune that closes out the album. Over Heroes is up and down but does contain some wonderful moments - as always I'm torn between two marks, if this was out of 10 I'm solid 7. I'm feeling generous today so lets go 4/5

good

4.4

Very good

i really liked the instrumental tracks

Never listened to this album before but glad I did. The famous title track seemed a bit incongruous with the rest of the album which was outstanding. The second side was a surprise but I really enjoyed the instrumentals. Great album and I must check out the other 2 ‘Berlin’ albums.

Heroes is one of the best songs ever written in my opinion. I believe that the story goes he saw his producer/manager or something with his secret lover at the Berlin Wall. He took something like that and saw the fleeting nature of it and wrote a beautiful song. I just think the song is brilliant and perfectly captures the time. I used to be super into Bowie, nothing happened, I just got a new favorite artist. I loved this album because of its separate-ness. The first half of the album is classic bowie with maybe a little dreamy twist, and the second half is this totally experimental music that I so dig. The Berlin trio are classics, but "Heroes" is indubitably the most so.

My guy

I am not into that swirly Eno shit. This one does have a couple of classic songs, but also some coked-out nonsense at the end

S'OK. I like Heroes, but don't really get a vibe from the rest

A tale of two albums really. Not a classic album, but I loved the melodies on B side. Bowie does it again

Rockish. I like it but somehow it’s not really that much my style, but it’s very unique and fun tho. Solid 4/5

Great tunes but 2nd half weird

Instantly knew this would be a very high point for me in Bowie's catalogue after that intro song with its weird background vocals and synths sounds quickly setting the odd experimental tone this was gonna take. I enjoy me some weird, artsy and experimental rock especially if theres also gonna be elctronic influence too, so right away I felt I would like this one a lot. This was further confirmed by the Heroes which is just incredible with its strong electronic sound scape and it beautifully bittersweet lyrics. The way the instrumental feels so watm and inviting during the chorus while Bowie's words portray a doomed love just offset each other perfectly. Bowie is at his best to me when hes being extremly weird in the instrumental and production choices and emotional in his lyrics and this is thus far one of his most weird, unique, and thoughtfully albums of his in my eyes. All this to say, the first half of the record is awesome and an incredible string of uniqe tracks with great as always Bowie performances. Second half just like Low is instrumental and there is still some pretty great stuff here too even though I do wish Bowie was singing here on the second half. Sense of Doubt definitely caught my attention with its strong piano keys and shinny sounding synths. It sounded like something you'd hear in a vampire movie with how menacing the piano is and the noisy uneasy in the background with the groans and really high synth noises, just a very neat track and my highlights of the three leading into each other. Moss Garden was also neat still sounding a bit less ominous just with that interesting oriental sounding guitar added as well. The final part of these tracks Neukoln was pretty neat too adding in sax which I don't think I had heard on a Bowie song. This little series of tracks are really cool and some of my favorites of Bowie's ambient instrumental works. Another great Bowie album that tries lots of ideas and makes them work out excellently.

2.5

I think listening to this so soon after hearing Low was really setting me up for disappointment, cause truthfully this album follows the same formula as Low, but it doesn't work as well. Obviously there are some extraordinary heights, I think the songwriting in the first half is some of his best, and the ambient pieces are nothing to scoff at either. But it just didn't do it for me in the same way. I can understand that there's probably a lot of people who like this more than Low, but I think as an album experience it doesn't work as well as Low does. It just doesn't have that spark to it. Favorites: Beauty and the Beast, "Heroes," Moss Garden

Not my favorite Bowie album.

Det var ok. Lidt kedeligere og kortere end ventet. Det var ikke de bedste forudsætninger jeg hørte det under (i bilen til Jylland, talende børn, talende kone). Især instrumentalnumrene var ikke så spændende. Jeg kunne godt høre det igen, måske det handlede om at jeg havde forventet noget andet. Jeg tror det fortjener en chance mere.

enjoyed classic ‘heroes’ and ‘beauty and the beast’ but found the rest of the album to be a bit disappointing and random compared to the first tracks.

I’ve come to the unfortunate realization that Berlin Era Bowie might be my least favorite era? It’s important and transitional and still really good, but it’s just not five stars.

Heroes is the best song of all time

I love Bowie. I've loved every David Bowie record that I've had on this project. (including this one). However, this one was different. The first few songs feel almost like Talking Heads, but obviously before Talking Heads. Its kind of proto-punk and less glam, but then Heroes stands alone in being kind of indie rock anthem right in the middle of the album. Heroes is so good, that it makes this whole record go from a 4 to a 5. Its a song that you just want to listen to loud and let it all out. Incredible song. The rest of the album is weird. It feels like Brian Eno atmosphere music before launching into The Secret Life of Arabia to take this thing home.

From this album I only previously knew the title song. This is an interesting album. It's much more ambient than his other material. I enjoyed it and would listen again.

It's a very guitar forward album, with the guitar lines almost competing with the vocals sometimes. I like the end best when it goes full peaceful-garden-with-rockets vibes.

Never realized David Bowie was so experimental. Some of the songs are pretty cool and I really like heroes.

Spooky stuff ey?

I really liked this it was a solid sound and heroes awesome of course

The first side sounds timeless, the second side sounds ahead of its time.

Clássico

Ремастеринг 2017 года плохой. Звук грязный. Вторая часть альбома хороша-больше музыки, меньше Боуи. Я слышу основы пост минимализма и неоклассики Макса Рихтера. В этом плане Law , первый из трибьюта даже лучше. Очень кинематографичный . В остальном, приехал англо-американским бог и нашел, что у немцев есть музыка и решил о ней рассказать миру.

A typical Bowie album. Some decent tracks, an absolute anthem and some pish. Credit though, his pish isn’t safe, he is not afraid to take a swing. The decent stiff and Hero’s lifts this enough to say overall it’s good…. But not great. 3.3

1 brilliant song and the rest is a bit hit and miss.

Side 1 is more my jam with Heroes being one of my favorite Bowie songs. Side 2 is mostly all instrumental and I would have preferred this to be mixed throughout the album.

Не знаю, мне не зашла подача. Реально реально выделяется только Heroes. Боуи уважаю, но альбому правда не хватает изюминки. Песни без текста вообще выглядят как сюр

10/10 album, Bowie is always be of my favourite artists I love all his music especially the Berlin trilogy.

Bowie fan but not my favourite album of his!

The man carves his through Disco, Soul, Rock and Punk to deliver his own take. He stands out for a reason

Good

This album is a perfect example of a mixed bag. Literally the first half of it is all art rock tunes with a bit of new wave thrown in, then it turns into some experimental ambient soundscapes that border on pretentiousness. I had to skip ahead a few times but at least by the last song it goes back to something a bit more easy listening. I would have given this four stars (maybe five) but those last few songs kinds ruined it a bit.

Okay other than Heroes was there any other single on this? Alot of instrumentals blending into themselves

Like a paraller universe version of Queen. Alot of the same vibes and stylish choices. Yeah Bowie has a good voice. Hard to deny that. "Heroes" was a nice powerful song. Fun and experimental. Ooooh Moss Garden is a beautiful piece. Like meditating and peaceful.

"Heroes" is a great track. The others I didn't really warm to. Maybe it's familiarity or maybe it's something also recognised by the record label.

Favourite Songs: Beauty And The Beast "Heroes" V-2 Schneider Sense Of Doubt

It's a duo you never thought you wanted, David Bowie and Brian Eno. I'll refer to them as "Bono" for short. Based on the production I thought this was early Bowie. I guess the raw sound was what he was going for. They supposedly didn't have any lyrics written until he stepped to the mic either which is a cool detail when listening. But besides that I wasn't that impressed with the album. I appreciate his more formed, cohesive projects better.

Seems like a cool guy

Everything I wanted Hunky Dory to be and more

Classic! Such good jams. I think I'm getting DB for the first time in my life.

Bowie might be over-represented on this list. Outside of “Heroes” I wasn’t familiar with the songs. I liked the instrumental songs.

All of these David Bowie albums are running together. It's fine.

3 - This one has some good stuff.

2 bowies in 1 week!! kinda wish the second half kept the same momentum as the first, didn't really need the soundscapes

Ah yes, one of those albums where it feels like two EPs stuck together as one LP. One of my favorite things about Bowie is what a musical chameleon he was, never doing the same thing twice, so Heroes is right up my alley.

these album raters got some favorites

"Is Heroes the best song from David Bowie?" "Heroes is not even the best songs in its own album"

Nothing special here. Intriguing how he mixes rock ‘n’ roll with ambient music but not intriguing enough to want to listen to it again. Favorite song was Arabia.

I really only liked beauty and the beast. I couldn't get into my feels with them album. It felt like an amalgamation of rock plus funk with all the distinct sounds used in the songs. The concept of having only instrumentals was nice, but it felt like they broke the flow of the fast paced songs. I mean I could see what they were trying to do with the break from all the fast tempo tunes, but the slower instrumentals disrupted the songs flow imo. Not a bad album, but not for me.

Nao tinha ideia que o David Bowie tinha tantas músicas instrumentais, gostei!

Bag on

Wonderful. The second side is a bit of a Fripp&Eno journey, but that's a fun exploration

Ok

I love David Bowie and the song "Heroes" is a masterpiece, however the rest of the songs are weird :((

I'm discovering that I like Bowie more when I listen to a curated list of his singles rather than an entire album at once. This was fine, some obvious standouts and old favourites, but I don't know that I'll be putting this in my personal frequent rotation.

It’s good. Has some more 60’s sounding guitar rock songs. I didn’t recognize any tracks though so I wonder if this is another case of an artist who has almost all albums on the list.

Yeah, that one song is pretty great.

The songs in the first half are fun and interesting, the performances are good, and the melodies are memorable. The 3 ambient songs in the second half were really interesting (Eno's influence is obvious here), totally unexpected, and ultimately enjoyable.

i think i said this about the last bowie album we had but i think this is my favorite so far

Cant even be bothere to rate this tbh. 3/5 album at best. Insttumentals are kinda good but that it.

not a David Bowie fan

not my fav david bowie album

Besides Heroes, I think I preferred the tracks where Bowie's presence was less obvious.

With 42 albums remaining for me to rate on this list, this is Bowie album #6, still 3 more to listen to. This is IMHO better than Low, but still mixed. Heroes is one of my favourites, and V-2 Schneider deserves a +1 (not only) for the reference to Florian Schneider of Kraftwerk.

Here’s all the bowie albums i’ve gotten so far, ranked 1. Heroes (5/5) 2. Low (5/5) 3. Aladdin Sane (4/5)

Beauty and the Beast - 4.5/5 Joe the Lion - 4.5/5 ''Heroes''' - 5/5 Sons of the Silent Age - 4/5 Blackout - 4.5/5 V-2 Schneider - 4/5 Sense of Doubt - 4/5 Moss Garden - 4/5 Neuköln - 4/5 The Secret Life of Arabia - 4.5/5 After nearly 300 albums, I finally get my first taste at David Bowie, and this is exactly the album to start with. How much better can you get with arguably one of the greatest songs of all time in the title track? Well if you also add in Robert Fripp on guitar and Brian Eno on synths and as a producer than you really can't get much better than that. The contrast between Bowie's side and Eno's side really is great, with the ambiences really fitting into the whole theme around the title track. I had only heard "Heroes" from this, but the rest of the first side really bumps this up to that all-time classic territory. Overall: 5/5 Favorites: "Heroes", Beauty and the Beast, Joe the Lion, Blackout, The Secret Life of Arabia

I used to think that this was far inferior to Low, and while it does not quite hit the heights of that album, it has grown on me significantly over the last year. It functions well as an album and the explorations in sound are wonderful. If Low is a 5, this is a 4.5 but rounding to the nearest integer…

I’m apparently at odds with some reviewers here in that I quite enjoy the back half of this album, Fripp and Eno’s noodling is what makes this album different from the norm and a more interesting listen as a result, it just isn’t quite as good as Low in my opinion. ‘Heroes’ remains a great song despite how ubiquitous it has become and this has got to be up there with Bowie’s best.

It's a classic, but side B drops off dramatically. Side A is the way to go.

Turns out I would only call this grand. Heroes the standout, good musicianship but a lot of waffle instrumental tracks that I'd have no time for!

Heroes” is a weird one in the Bowie discography. It starts with an absolute who-cares of a song. It's chaotic at times (“Joe the Lion,” which unequivocally rocks but is, let's be honest, a mishmash). And of course it has that stellar title track. It throbs and thrives in that keening, undulating hum of a guitar, the underlying watery chorus, the chugging rhythm. It swims, like dolphins can swim. That's really the point that the song becomes more than itself… the vocals coming higher, the belting I Remember passage. But even in the highlights, it should come as no surprise that this is Bowie trying to come down off of a prodigious cocaine habit. Possibly nowhere does this feel more obvious than on Blackout, which manages to harness that careening into a not totally coherent parcel. It is not the plastic soul of Young Americans, but a lot of it feels disheveled, Bowie himself barks desperately at times, though he also comes back to deep early Bowie vibes in Sons of the Silent Age (arguably the secret standout). It's messy but enjoyable in a sort of live jamming way. But you also get the idea that David was probably a mess to work with around now. Side B is the thing that surprised me the most when I first heard a full album from this Bowie era. Bowie is such a frontman, such a charismatic character performer, so chameleonic in his way, that the idea of having an entire side of the platter be a largely instrumental experiment felt weird. I don't think we think of Bowie often in this light, which is odd since he did this on a few of these 70s albums. I like the suite of compositions, from the high-life vibe of V2 Schneider, the ominous piano and synth of Sense of Doubt giving way to the eastern tinged peace of Moss Garden. If side A sounds like the last gasps of cocaine, side B makes it pretty clear you're getting Brian Eno. Not that Eno and Cocaine are similar producers, I suppose, but it was enough to make me check and see if Eno was involved. (Less realized: Robert Fripp also being a big part of the album). Bowie completes the suite with “The Secret Life of Arabia,” which is a nice bookend insofar as it is also as silly as (but more welcome and listenable than) Beauty and the Beast. It's almost like an outro theme to the previous suite, as if he said “this is too art-house, we need to lighten the mood at the end.” So yeah. Never not a weird listen, and probably in the 3 range. But some sincerely interesting work cut through here, not enough to make it a regular listen and maybe not enough to put it on the 1001 albums you must hear before you die. But certainly a strong ⭐️⭐️⭐️ nonetheless.

Another excellent album by Bowie (not as good as "Low" though). It contains "Heroes", which is one of my all-time favourite songs. I also enjoy (in side 1): "Blackout", "Joe The Lion" or "Sons of the Silent Age". As for the mostly instrumental side 2, I particularly enjoy: "V2-Schneider", "Moss Garden", or "Neuköln". Overall, this is between 4 and 5 stars for me. Probably a step lower than the best Bowie albums. But the atmospheric sounds in side 2, co-written by Brian Eno, are really interesting.

9.5 / 10

jojo rabbit

unglaubliches album ein meisterwerk von david bowie die songs vom album macht eine gute laune alleine vom performance

I just don't like David Bowie very much. I'm rounding up to a 3 because this album at least has more variety than some of his others.

if you put 40 bowie albums on an album list already missing other essential artists I guess you'd eventually stumble on one that has a few decent tracks as long as you pretend there aren't any words - instrumentals are fantastic, vocals are mediocre, lyrics are fucking awful - I don't think bowie and I are ever gonna be friends - "Visconti recalled that lyrics were made up on the spot, with Bowie sometimes ad-libbing entire songs, singing "at the top of his lungs"." yeah, no shit. it sucks. - I don't understand how it's possible to be this weird androgynous music guy and still somehow make me hate you. weird androgynous music people are my jam

Sixth Bowie on the list so far. He's a legend. He's and icon. We get it. No need to oversaturate this thing. Heroes is neither a favourite album nor even a favourite greatest hit as a song. But the album has a bunch of serious jams all around that song.

Enjoyed this more than Low, but the Bowie fatigue is still palpable. Must be nearly through his catalogue. In some sick way, I’m looking forward to the impending Morrissey overexposure and those sweet little pings of self-satisfaction that one-star reviews bring.

Was never much of a Bowie fan, other than a few songs. I recognize the talent and influence however.

I remember when I was in high school, Bowie had a renaissance amongst my peers. I didn’t really get the hype then and I still don’t really get it. Since then I’ve also learned that he was kind of a POS, like many rock stars of the era. Heroes is good, the rest I would leave.

711/1001 2026.09.28 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗

Ok, so Bowie reinvented himself (again). Its a reasonable album, but nothing exceptional. The title track is obviously a big one but then its not backed up by anything. not worth more than a 2.

Hmmmph. Another disappointment from Mr Bowie. Despite the fact that the title track is such a masterpiece, nothing else on here comes close. The krautrock rubbish in the 2nd half is so bad.

Well, Ive always said Bowie is more of a singles artist than a solid album one. This could be an exception as I managed not to want to skip any tracks for once! Definitely his best offering so far.

Miraculously Bowie's second album of 1977 (four if you include The Idiot and Lust for life with Iggy Pop!) and it continued to push the boundaries of what pop and rock could be. Bowie, Eno and Visconti were joined by Robert Fripp to enhance the sonic landscape. For many the title track dwarfs the rest, but I also love sons of the silent age and, although I prefer Low's songs, Beauty and the Beast, Joe the Lion and Blackout were really 'out there' for slightly groovy rock songs, and still sound it. Where Low really has the advantage is in its superior Eno instrumentals, with V-2 Schneider being an exception. It's a fine record but it follows up a masterwork........