Los Angeles / give me Norfolk, Virginia / dial one oh four ten oh nine / tell the folks back home th...
Los Angeles / give me Norfolk, Virginia / dial one oh four ten oh nine / tell the folks back home this is the promised land calling / and the poor boy is on / the line
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By 1975 Bowie, now residing in Los Angeles, was living what you could politely call the "high" life, his stormy relationship with Angie in full flood, held together with assorted hangers-on and that favourite substance of 70's rock stars, cocaine. He was by now an out and out superstar and most of this album reflected that lifestyle...aahh, sex, drugs and rock and roll!!!
The Man's new persona was now The Thin White Duke, all slicked back barnet, white shirt, black strides. Effortlessly stylish.
Many of the arrangements of Young Americans were carried forward to this album, although with a wider, looser sounding production that lets the songs air themselves out.
The band: Carlos Alomar and Earl Slick (guitars) George Murray (bass) , Dennis Davis (drums). All bar Slick would also work on the "Scary Monsters" album.
Station To Station: Clocking in at a mammoth 10.08 running time, this starts as a slow burning introduction to the Return Of The Thin White Duke, who's making sure white stains - and I don't think he means Ariel Soap Powder. Gradually building to the stop/time gap, then the guitars kick in with a vengeance, and "it's not the side effects of the cocaine, I'm thinking that it must be love", wow what a record this is, mere words alone cannot do this justice. It still sends shivers up my spine. Please tell me if you know a better album opener, because I cannot think of one.
Golden Years: Dave gets his groove on in this faberoonie funk number about superstardom and all its (side) effects, coming up with another DB classic lyric "run for the shadows, in these golden years", and even before the Duke does his whistling thang, the bosses at Soul Train are on the phone faster than you can say "would you like to be the first honky performing on our show, brother jive?"
Word On A Wing: DB pleads to the Lord for redemption here, an impressive heartfelt vocal, laced with some nice piano. A choir serves as the coda here, giving a somewhat confusing but chilling ending to this ballad.
TVC15: DB is very definately "on one matey" here, his girl has jumped into the TV set, and one of these nights he might just jump down there with her too. Way to go! Whilst musically this is the weakest track here, a sax driven sludgefest, it's worth it's selection for the sheer hilarity of the lyrics. He performed this at Live Aid, kids.
Stay: Classy rock-disco hybrid. DB seems confused as to whether he should ask his partner to accompany him overnight because "you can never really tell, when somebody wants something you want too", before Earl Slick lets loose with a fingerbreaker of a solo. Good percussion here too. Released as a single in the USA but not UK.
Wild Is The Wind: The only cover on here, culled from a 50's film whose name escapes me. An angst ridden vocal over minimal backing. Wonderful. For some reason RCA wait six years before releasing it as a single and it still goes top 20.
A monster of an album that I think is still his best. Along with Young Americans, two powerful albums that kept the fan base whilst keeping up with the musical ch-ch-ch-changes of the mid 70s. An album that should appeal to all fans of well played, well presented rock music.
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A helpful review in many ways! I find Bowie more of a greatest hits man myself, each album only has a few good'uns on it in my experience...but I guess that experience has its limits and I have my own tastes!
Delicate_Orchid 07.01.2005 21:30
Not a huge Bowie fan - but a good review. Desiree x
An eerie dispatch from the furthest reaches of Bowie's cocaine paranoia, Station To ... more
Station has not become easier to listen to with the passing years. At this stage, Bowie was wrapped up in his peculiar--even by his standards--Thin White Duke period, w...
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