3 out of 5

I had only heard "Only happy when it rains" and "Stupid Girl" but couldn't have told you who the artist was, until now! What an incredible album. I can’t believe I haven’t heard of this band. I was pleasantly surprised with all the songs. Only two of them being possible skips “Milk” and “Dog New Tricks.” Even those are still super listenable and in a certain mood I’d probably listen to the full album. Trying to decide what is a 5/5 for me and I think if I would happily get the album on vinyl then it deserves it and I would definitely get this album on vinyl. Their openings are so good. I wanted to hear more from the jump, from the opening notes I was pulled in and wanted to see where it went. Overall “Stroke of Luck” was my favorite, felt it belonged in a secret agent spy movie like Atomic Blonde. I rank the songs as I listen and it was really hard to kick “Queer” down to the number two slot, just a really fun and interesting beat in that one. This one sounded way more contemporary then 1995 to me and it has a sort of timeless feel in my eyes. Some moments it reminds me of Eurythmics and others something from a modern rock alternative album. Very Pleasantly surprised by this album.

I would call myself a Bowie fan but many on this album I hadn’t heard. Changes was the only one I had heard. I don’t think I’m gonna make myself many fans with this review. There are some really good songs on this album but many of them feel very much “not Bowie.” Now let me explain. Some of the simpler songs remind me of Elton John or the Beatles songs like Quicksand which I think might be my least favorite song on the album sounds so much like an Elton John song. Whereas songs like Andy Warhol, which despite the subject of the song being a shitbag is my favorite song on the album. It is so because it starts so strange and continues to be so unabashedly. As someone who knows David Bowie mostly from after this album, to me David Bowie has always sat in an area where his music both instrumentally and lyrically is dense. There is a lot to dissect and enjoy. In my head his voice shines the most with a full sound behind him. He celebrates oddities and weirdos (or at least he always has in my head) and I love him for that. This album by contrast feels like a man that is sitting on a dock before a voyage into the unknown. We gets some glimpses to the future adventures (Andy Warhol, Life on Mars, Changes) but a lot of the songs are quieter or at least simpler reflections on his past and the people that shaped him. (Quicksand, Song for Bob Dylan). At the time I can’t imagine what might have been going through his head but now here in 2025 I want to shout and tell the man that “Keep going! Unmoor yourself from the present and the past.” I would be surprised if this is the last we see of David Bowie on this listen through and I do appreciate the importance of this album for him to become what he became. I just felt myself longing for later Bowie. That’s not this album’s fault but it’s a feeling I can’t shake.

When I first saw the song count, I groaned. I typically don’t like long albums so this had a high bar to reach. After getting into it a lot of the songs are shorter so while still a longer album not as much as the song list might imply. Before going into this, I knew the song Pinball Wizard. I also vaguely knew that they had made a play about the kid in Pinball Wizard. I didn’t know that the entire album basically is the self contained story of Tommy. Which is all really cool. However, this album is the first time so far in these listens that I have wanted to stop listening to the album. I dislike this album immensely. The lyrics do nothing for me and no much of it seems like a teenager wrote it and talented musicians performed it. I really liked the song Pinball Wizard before this and it did give me a brief respite in the middle of the album but ignorance was bliss because I like that song less after a full listen. This album has very few redeeming qualities to me, I do appreciate the concept album style of this but the story feels shallow at best. I fully understand why it is on the list but I never want to listen to these songs again.