LOW

"Low" is the eleventh studio album of David Bowie and was released in 1977. Widely regarded as one of his most influential releases, "Low" is the first studio album that belongs to his famous "Berlin Trilogy", a serious of three albums with the collaboration of Brian Eno. The other two albums of that trilogy are "Heroes", released in the same year and "Lodger", released in 1979. The album represents a very experimental avant-garde musical style, with the use of electronic music, which would be further explored on his next two studio albums of the trilogy, "Heroes" and "Lodger".

"Low" has eleven tracks. All songs were written by David Bowie, except "Breaking Glass" written by David Bowie, Dennis Davis and George Murray and "Warszawa" written by David Bowie and Brian Eno. The first track "Speed Of Life" is the first instrumental by David Bowie and was also released as the B side of the second single taken from the album, "Be My Wife". This is a great song, very well balanced and where we can hear the heavy use of the synthesisers. The second track "Breaking Glass" is a very short song, the shortest song on the album. I always had the feeling this is an unfinished song. Despite that, this is another excellent song that combines perfectly well the classic rock with the sound of synthesizers. The third track "What In The World" shows, like almost the songs on the album, the use of the new techniques. It's a song that makes heavy use of the synthesizers, which shows the great influence of Brian Eno on the album. It also features the participation of Iggy Pop on backing vocals. The fourth track "Sound And Vision" was the song chosen to be released as the first single of the album. The song is notable for juxtaposing an uplifting guitar and synthesizer as lead musical instruments, with Bowie's withdrawn lyrics. It's an excellent and catchy track that reminds us Bowie's times of the glam rock era. The fifth track "Always Crashing In The Same Car" is a song whose lyrics express the frustration of making the same mistake over. The song features the use of synthesizers and treatments to bring Bowie's largely calm vocals over the sound of the band. The song finishes with a long guitar solo. The sixth track "Be My Wife" was the song chosen to be released as the second single of the album. It's the most conventional song on the album, toned down the electronic feel of the rest of it. The song features a piano opening against a backdrop of guitars and drums. It represents one of the finest musical moments on the album. The seventh track "A New Career In A New Town" was released as the B side of the first single of the album "Sound And Vision". It's an instrumental track that reflects Bowie's change from Europe to U.S.A. It's another song with the heavy use of synthesizers by Eno. The use of Bowie's harmonica on the song shows the contrast between the acoustic and the electric sounds. The eighth track "Warszawa" evokes the desolation of Warsaw at the time of Bowie's visit. The song is mostly instrumental and was developed using many of Eno's experimental techniques. The lyrics of the song are based on the Polish folk. This is a brilliant song, one of the best and most beautiful songs ever made by him. The ninth track "Art Decade" is another instrumental track and is named due a street that Bowie encountered in West Berlin. It's a droll, slow and depressing song that reflects the melancholy and decadence of the City. It's another song heavily influenced by Eno, with some reminiscences from Fripp & Eno album, "(No Pussyfooting)". The tenth track "Weeping Wall" is another instrumental track intended to describe the misery and shame of the Berlin Wall. Bowie plays all instruments, including several percussion instruments and synthesizers. It's another depressing and melancholic song in the same line with the two previous tracks. The eleventh and last track "Subterraneans" is mostly instrumental. It has brief and obscure lyrics sung near the end of the song. It was meant to evoke the misery of those who lived in East Berlin during the Cold War. It's the other masterpiece of the album, which closes perfectly well the album, with the same oppressive, depressive and melancholic mood of the B side of "Low". This is one the best and most perfect ends to an album I've ever heard.

Conclusion: "Low" is, in my humble opinion, a great album and one of the best albums ever made by David Bowie. It hasn't any weak point and it's a very uniform and cohesive album. We can say that it has two distinct parts. The first part, the A side of the album, has a great collection of art rock songs in the same vein of Bowie's previous glam rock albums, first Eno's solo albums and the first two Roxy Music albums. The second part, the B side of the album, is more based in ambient and electronic music with melodic and harmonic changes and is also much more progressive too. "Low" represents another radical change in Bowie's musical direction. It's an album where we can clearly see the great influence of Brian Eno on its final sound. However, in terms of popularity, this musical change didn't affect Bowie's image. I even dare to say that "Low" was so important in Bowie' musical career in end of the 70's, like "The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars" was, in the begin of the 70's. "Low" represents a new masterpiece.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Share this DAVID BOWIE review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to VianaProghead
• Report this review (#2650666)
• Buy DAVID BOWIE music online with PA partners
• Show all DAVID BOWIE MP3/Stream
• Go to DAVID BOWIE page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Low page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for DAVID BOWIE related discussions