Title: Low
Artiste: David Bowie
Year: 1977
Chronological position: Eleventh album
Previous experience of this artiste?:
Ziggy Stardust, Diamond Dogs, Never let me down, Heathen, The next day plus of course the greatest hits packages
Why is this considered a classic? Believed to have influenced the art-rock/new-wave movements and also the first of the "Berlin trilogy", which seems to have characterised Bowie's struggle to kick cocaine. Also heavily influenced by and featuring Brian Eno.
My thoughts
One minute (or thereabouts in) ---- Good, great, bad, meh, still waiting or other? Good
One track in --- Good
Halfway through --- Great
Finished --- Great (and that's only because I've restricted myself and kept "Great" as the highest praise I can give here. But it's miles better than just Great...)
Comments: Just shows what a dickhead you can be in your youth. "Bloody hell!" thought 16-year-old Trollheart. "This is nothing like Ziggy or Diamond Dogs! Man, it's boring!" If only I could invent a time machine and travel back to 1979 and kick my own arse! What a classic and I completely underestimated and misunderstood it. The instrumental songs are almost better than the vocal ones, and there's nothing here I don't like, bar the first three which somehow I think I'll end up getting to like. What an album! No wonder it's considered a classic.
Favourite track(s): Almost everything after
What in the world (Of course, I, like the rest of the Known World, knew
Sound and vision
Least favourite track(s): At the moment, not crazy about the opening three tracks, but that will probably change. Also, the version I have has three extra tracks. They're great, but the remix of
Sound and vision which closes the album I find totally unnecessary, and not that different to the original, certainly not enough to justify its inclusion here.
Final impression --- Total classic and I'm glad I finally got to appreciate it, even if it did take over thirty years! The collaborations with Eno really work here; did he stay working with him later on? The man has a real way of painting an atmosphere for an album.
Do I feel, at the end, A) I wish I had listened to this sooner
B) I'm sorry I bothered
C) I might end up liking this
D) Have to wait and see
Very much A, with a qualification of "properly before" (In other words, wish I had listened to it properly before).