REALITY

After literally playing my copy of Heathen to death, I was surprised to hear that another David Bowie album was scheduled for a release only a year and a half after his excellent comeback album. Reality was released in September 2003 to some very positive reviews from both the critics and fans. Of course I didn't need the reviews to convince me of purchasing this album, but after doing so and experiencing it all first hand... I was a bit disappointed.

At first I thought that these songs just need some time to grow on me but after numerous attempts of getting through this record I finally came to the conclusion that it just wasn't on par with Heathen. In fact, it wasn't even as interesting as 'hours...'! There are two main issues the I have with Reality. First off, the approach that Bowie was going for here is very safe and I lack the creative sparks of genius that were so vivid on his two previous records. The second problem is that the songs themselves are just not as memorable.

Things start off nicely with New Killer Star and Pablo Picasso, even if the direction these songs are going for is clearly very commercial. Never Get Old and The Loneliest Guy return me to that familiar state of mind that I experienced on Heathen but everything goes downhill from here on! Most of the tracks that follow are completely forgettable and might just as well not have been released at all. As for the overall atmosphere, there's really none to even talk about.

Clearly, I didn't like Reality as much as Heathen, but I reject the notion of my high expectations getting the best of me. This album is clearly a weaker effort from the Bowie/Visconti factory, still it's not a completely terrible record, just not one of their best.

***** star songs: Pablo Picasso (4:05)

**** star songs: New Killer Star (4:41) Never Get Old (4:25) The Loneliest Guy (4:12) Days (3:19) Try Some, Buy Some (4:25) Reality (4:21)

*** star songs: Looking For Water (3:28) She'll Drive The Big Car (4:35) Fall Dog Bombs The Moon (4:02) Bring Me The Disco King (7:45)