#251 - David Bowie - Low (1977)

MUSIC HISTORY COMPILED BY ADAM BERNARD:

BACKGROUND – DAVID BOWIE

David Bowie was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, particularly for his innovative work during the 1970s. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, and his music and stagecraft had a significant impact on popular music. 

David Robert Jones, aka David Bowie was born in London in 1947. One of the most important artists of our time became interested in music as a child (including being in the school choir), and took his first steps as a professional musician in 1963. His passion for music got a real kick after his father brought home a bunch of American 45s by artists like Fats Domino, Elvis Presley (they share a birthday) and Little Richard. After going through a few bands early, he secured a solo record deal in the mid 1960s, and took the stage name of David Bowie to avoid confusion with Davy Jones of the Monkees. He picked the name Bowie after American pioneer James Bowie (of the famed Bowie Knife).

His self-titled debut came out in 1967, but it was studying dramatic arts under Lindsay Kemp that stoked Bowie's interest in presenting different personas. His first big success came with the release of the single "Space Oddity", just days before the Apollo 11 landing on the moon. His 2nd album followed with that track and was eventually reissued with that title. His 3rd album, The Man Who Sold The World. came out in 1970. After 1971's Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust made his introduction to the world with "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars." That album remained on the chart for 2 years, and peaked at #5 in the UK (75 in the US). It was touring for that album that got the creative juices flowing for Bowie to write Aladdin Sane, which was a commercial success and peaked at #1 in the UK (#17 in the US). Pin Ups and Diamond Dogs followed and alsol peaked at #1 in the UK and were both Top 10 in the US. In 1974, Bowie developed a cocaine addiction. It worsened over the next two years. Bowie attributed his growing addiction to Los Angeles, where he moved from New York City in early 1975. His drug intake escalated to the point where, decades later, he recalled almost nothing of the recording of Station to Station, saying, "I know it was in L.A. because I've read it was."  In December 1975, Bowie began work on a soundtrack for The Man Who Fell to Earth with Paul Buckmaster, who worked with Bowie on the 1969 album Space Oddity. Bowie expected to be wholly responsible for the music, but withdrew his work when he was invited to submit it along with the work of other composers: "I just said, 'Shit, you're not getting any of it.' I was so furious, I'd put so much work into it." Station to Station co-producer Harry Maslin argued Bowie was "burned out" and could not complete the work. Bowie eventually collapsed, saying later, "There were pieces of me laying all over the floor." Only one instrumental composed for the soundtrack was released, evolving into the Low track "Subterraneans" The soundtrack abandoned, Bowie decided he was ready to free himself from the Los Angeles drug culture and move back to Europe. He then toured for Station to Station, and then started work with Iggy Pop on his debut studio album "The Idiot" (Bowie composed most of the music, Iggy the lyrics). Because The Idiot was recorded before Low, it has been referred to as the unofficial beginning of Bowie's Berlin period, as its music features a sound reminiscent of that which Bowie would explore in the Berlin Trilogy.  That brings us to today's album

In mid-1977, Bowie played on Pop's follow-up album Lust for Life before recording his album "Heroes", which expanded on Low's musical approach and features a similar mix of songs and instrumentals.  The final release of the Berlin Trilogy,  Lodger (1979), abandoned the electronic and ambient styles and the song/instrumental split that defined the two earlier works in favor of more conventional song structures . After uneven commercial success to close the 1970s, Bowie had three number-one hits to open the 1980s: the single "Ashes to Ashes", its album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), and "Under Pressure" (the 1981 collaboration with Queen). He achieved massive commercial success in the decade, starting with Let's Dance (1983). Between 1988 and 1992, he fronted the hard rock band Tin Machine before resuming his solo career in 1993. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Bowie continued to experiment with musical styles, including industrial (collaborating with Trent Reznor of NIN) and jungle. He stopped touring after 2004 and his last live performance was at a charity event in 2006. In 2013, Bowie returned from a decade-long recording hiatus with The Next Day. He remained musically active until his death from liver cancer at his home in New York City. He died two days after both his 69th birthday and the release of his final album, Blackstar. The album debuted at #1 in the UK, US, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, and New Zealand

While always primarily a musician, Bowie took acting roles throughout his career, appearing in over 30 films, television shows and theatrical productions. Bowie's acting career was "productively selective", largely eschewing starring roles for cameos and supporting parts. Many critics have observed that, had Bowie not chosen to pursue music, he could have found great success as an actor. Memorable rolls include Major Jack Celliers in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), Jareth the Goblin King in Labyrinth (1986), Pontius Pilate in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and Nikola Tesla in The Prestige (2006), among other film and television appearances and cameos. 

During his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at over 100 million records worldwide, made him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. In the UK, he was awarded ten platinum, eleven gold and eight silver album certifications, and released 11 number-one albums. In the US, he received five platinum and nine gold certifications. He was inducted into the RnR HOF in 1996. As of 2022, Bowie was the best-selling vinyl artist of the 21st century. Bowie's 1969 commercial breakthrough, the song "Space Oddity", won him an Ivor Novello Special Award For Originality. For his performance in the 1976 science fiction film The Man Who Fell to Earth, he won the Saturn Award for Best Actor. In the ensuing decades he was honored with numerous awards for his music and its accompanying videos, receiving, among others, six Grammy Awards and four Brit Awards—winning Best British Male Artist twice; the award for Outstanding Contribution to Music in 1996; and the Brits Icon award for his "lasting impact on British culture", given posthumously in 2016. In 1999, Bowie was made a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government., and received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music the same year He declined the royal honour of Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2000, and turned down a knighthood in 2003. Bowie later stated "I would never have any intention of accepting anything like that. I seriously don't know what it's for. It's not what I spent my life working for."

Low influenced numerous post-punk bands such as Joy Division, and its drum sound has been widely imitated. Many musicians have discussed the album's influence. On learning the title of the album was Low (without an "e"), English singer-songwriter Nick Lowe "retaliated" by naming his 1977 EP Bowi(without an "e"). Robert Smith of the Cure, listened to the record frequently while making their 1980 album Seventeen Seconds. In 1994, Trent Reznor cited Low as a key inspiration for The Downward Spiral, crediting its "song-writing", "mood" and "structure[s]" as influences. Dave Sitek of the American rock band TV on the Radio stated: "That particular album, that song 'Warszawa', that's when I knew music was the ultimate force, at least in my own life." Bowie worked with the band in 2003.  In 1992, the American composer and pianist Philip Glass produced a classical suite based on the album, titled "Low" Symphony, his first symphony. It consisted of three movements based on tracks: "Subterraneans"; "Some Are" (an outtake); and "Warszawa". On his decision to create a symphony based on the record, Glass said: "In the question of Bowie and Eno's original Low LP, to me there was no doubt that both talent and quality were evident there.... My generation was sick to death of academics telling us what was good and what wasn't."

ALBUM BACKGROUND – LOW

Low is the 11th studio album by  David Bowie, released in January 1977 (less than a week after his 30th birthday). The first of three collaborations with producer Tony Visconti and musician Brian Eno that became known as the Berlin Trilogy, the project originated following Bowie's move to France in 1976 with his friend Iggy Pop to rid themselves of their drug addictions. After completing Pop's album "The Idiot" sessions for Low began in September 1976 in France and ended in October in West Berlin, where Bowie and Pop had relocated. RCA refused to issue Low for three months, fearing it would be a commercial failure. Upon release, it divided critical opinion and received little promotion from RCA or Bowie, who opted to tour as Pop's keyboardist. Nevertheless, it reached number 2 in the UK and number 11 in the US. 

The recording process for Low was unlike any Bowie album released prior. Recording the backing tracks first, arrangements were then left to guitarist Carlos Alomar, bassist George Murray and percussionist Dennis Davis. According to a Bowie biography, Eno arrived just in time for the sessions of the second half of Low, after finishing work with the band Harmonia, which would serve as a big influence for the rest of the album. Because Bowie’s record label RCA did not give him a deadline of when his next album had to be released, the sessions were open-ended, giving the musicians time to experiment. By the end of the sessions in France, the musicians were mentally drained, and fled to West Berlin. 

Throughout the record's first half, the guitars are jagged and the synthesizers drone with a menacing robotic pulse, while Bowie's vocals are layered and overdubbed. During the instrumental half, the electronics turn cool. In 1977, Bowie said side one was about himself and his "prevailing moods" at the time and side two is about his musical observations of living in Berlin. Regarding the song/instrumental split, producer Tony Visconti said: "We felt that getting six or seven songs with Bowie singing, with choruses and verses, still make for a good album ... then making the second side instrumental gave a perfect yin-yang balance." 

Bowie was in a fragile state of mind throughout the sessions, as his days of cocaine addiction were not far behind him. "Low was largely drug-free," he remarked. "That was the first instance in a very long time that I'd gone into an album without anything like that to help me along. I was scared, because I thought that maybe my creativity had to be bound up with drugs – that it enhanced my ability to make music. But that album turned out okay." 

Half the credit for Low's success goes to Brian Eno, who explored similar ambient territory on his own releases. Eno functioned as a conduit for Bowie's ideas, and in turn Bowie made the experimentalism of not only Eno but of the German synth group Kraftwerk and the post-punk group Wire respectable, if not quite mainstream. Low is noted for its unusual drum sound, described by biographer David Buckley as "brutal" and "mechanistic". 

Bowie's previous albums, Young Americans and Station to Station, were massive commercial successes. RCA Records was eager to have another best-seller from the artist but, on hearing Low, label staff were shocked. In a letter to Bowie, RCA rejected the album and urged him to make a record more like Young Americans. Bowie kept the rejection letter on his wall at home. After Bowie refused to make any changes, RCA delayed Low from its original planned release date in November 1976. According to Seabrook, the label's executives considered the album to be "distinctly unpalatable" for the Christmas market.