David Bowie: Album By Album

 

75 years ago today, one of the great musical geniuses of our age was born. Six years ago on Monday, he left us. So it seemed only right that we should celebrate the anniversary of Bowie's birth and death by doing an album by album guide to his decidedly vast body of work.

The main thing to bear in mind when looking back through David Bowie's back catalogue is that he was pretty much a musical chameleon without compare and would rarely stick with the same style of music for more than a couple of albums. Although this did lead to him making the odd creative mis-step down the years it also means that listening to his stuff is never dull and often fascinating as you chart his evolution.

Here you go then, from the diamonds to the odd dog, a look back at all 26 Bowie albums. Happy 75th Ziggy, we miss ya.

26. Never Let Me Down (1987)

Unfortunately logic dictates that when you have a career the length and musical breadth of Bowie’s that you will make the occasional mis-step and Never Let Me Down is a real flatliner of an album with Bowie lazily ripping off the trends of the time (Prince, Springsteen, Jacko) but pretty much the phoning the whole thing in from start to finish with the old Bowie inventiveness totally absent. With literally no good tracks to recommend it, this one can be safely skipped.

25. Tonight (1984)

Only saved from the wooden spoon by dint of it actually having a decent song on it in the form of the rather wonderfully cosmic Loving The Alien, Tonight is another “Bowie on autopilot” misfire with the nadir being a truly dreadful cover of God Only Knows. It marked the start of a real fallow period for the Duke which would last for the next decade.

24. Tin Machine II (1991)

Normally put at the bottom of most Bowie album lists, I actually think he’s done much worse than Tin Machine II. But that still doesn’t make it a good album with the three or four good songs on there (You Belong In Rock ‘n’ Roll, Goodbye Mr Ed, Shopping For Girls and maybe Baby Universal at a push) being far eclipsed by the dross. Seek out the few good bits on your friendly streaming service of choice and give the rest a wide berth.

23. Earthling (1997)

Probably Bowie’s most ill-fated reinvention attempt, Earthling saw him attempting to tackle jungle/drum and bass music and the results were every bit as messy as you’d fear. Club-footed in the extreme, it’s a brave attempt at doing something different which unfortunately failed horribly and was rapidly swept under the carpet afterwards.

22. Tin Machine (1989)

The first Tin Machine album seems to divide people but although flawed it definitely represented a step forward from the dead end he’d wandered into with Tonight and Never Let Me Down. Probably the heaviest album Bowie’s put his name to, it’s been called proto-grunge in some quarters although I think that might be stretching it a bit, it’s still got some good moments in there like Under The God and Heaven’s In Here even if it’s prone to meandering rather badly in places.

21. Young Americans (1975)

Although some Bowie fans defend it as an underappreciated classic, to these ears Young Americans is Bowie’s one big mis-step of the ‘70s, trading his space age glam persona for a flat collection of plastic soul which fails to convince. It’s not even especially awful just really dull and, apart from the strutting funk of Fame, lacking much in the way of memorable tunes. Which, given how effervescent its predecessors were, is arguably worse.

20. David Bowie (1967)

Even by the time of his debut album, Bowie had already gone through a few musical incarnations from sharp-suited mod to kaftan wearing psychedelic hippy. For his first long player though, he reinvented himself as an Anthony Newley style music hall pop star. David Bowie may bear little or no resemblance to anything he did afterwards but it’s an endearing effort if a bit lovably naff in places with the singalong Uncle Arthur, the yearning When I Live My Dream, the lilting waltz Maid of Bond Street and the sinister a cappella closer Please Mr Gravedigger all being worth a listen. An enjoyable oddity in Bowie’s back catalogue.

19. Black Tie White Noise (1993)

Bowie's first solo album after putting Tin Machine to bed unfortunately turned out to be a disappointment. It's not entirely without its charm - lead off single Jump They Say is a touching tribute to his brother but elsewhere there's a lot of filler with several cover versions and instrumentals making this feel more like a stop-gap than anything. To be fair, it could reasonably argue to be the best thing that Bowie had put his name to since Let's Dance ten years before but looking at the standard of competition in there, that's not really much of a boast.

18. Hours (1999)

Hours was at least an improvement after the rather embarrassing Earthling but it's still a bit hit and miss. On the one hand, Thursday's Child is a quite lovely ballad but elsewhere, this album just sounds a bit confused and underdeveloped with the material ranging from respectable (Something In The Air and Seven are probably the best of the rest) to stuff which just sounds rushed. Bowie would thankfully get a bit of his focus back with his next effort Heathen.

17. Space Oddity (1969)

Space Oddity (originally released as David Bowie but we're going with the later name so as not to confuse it with its predecessor) sees Bowie leaving his pop/music hall persona behind to strike out into more acoustic-led territory with a definite nod to Bob Dylan. It's obviously best known for its title track but it's far from a one-trick pony with the wistful Letter To Hermione, the quite lovely Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud and the epic psychedelia of closer Memory Of A Free Festival all being great stuff as well even if it meanders a bit in a few places. Bowie would quickly abandon this style of writing for his gradual transformation into Ziggy Stardust which started with the next album but Space Oddity is an intriguing glimpse into what could have been.

16. Blackstar (2016)

Some might see putting Blackstar, Bowie's final album, all the way down in the bottom half of this list as tantamount to heresy but the harsh truth is that apart from the epic ten minute title track which is fine stuff indeed, a lot of the rest of it is a bit muddled. Lead-off single Lazarus is decent and the gentle heartbreaking closer I Can't Give Everything Away is a fine sign-off from the man but elsewhere, Sue (In A Season Of Crime) and 'Tis A Pity She Was A Whore descend into noodling jazz and are just dull frankly. A mixed bag.

15. Reality (2003)

Reality would turn out to be Bowie's last album for ten years (and his second with Tony Visconti back on board producing) and although it doesn't always hit the mark, there's more good than bad here with She'll Drive The Big Car, Bring Me The Head Of The Disco King, Fall Dog Bombs The Moon and New Killer Star which harks back to his early '70s heyday all being worth a listen. It's not quite all killer no filler but Reality is a respectable latter day offering from the guy and is at least worth a curiosity listen.

14. Diamond Dogs (1974)

A bit of a mish-mash of an album, Diamond Dogs sees Bowie attempting to put Ziggy Stardust to bed (although as the strutting Rebel Rebel and the louche title track show, he wasn't quite done with the whole glam rock thing just yet) but not quite sure where to move on to next - the likes of 1984 and Big Brother actually hark forward to Station To Station. A good album then, just not one that sits particularly comfily together as a whole.

13. Heathen (2002)

Heathen is most notable for the return of Tony Visconti in the producer's chair for the first time in over two decades and is probably Bowie's most cohesive album from this period. Alleged to have been inspired by the world reaction to the 9/11 terror attacks (though both Bowie and Visconti subsequently denied this), it teams up the storytelling of the Ziggy Stardust era with Bowie's more modern output and the result is a good engrossing album with Slow Burn and Everyone Says Hi being particular stand-outs.

12. The Man Who Sold The World (1970)

Bowie's third album sees him slowly transitioning from the hippy folkie of the Space Oddity era into what would eventually become the Ziggy Stardust character and, with Mick Ronson making his first appearance on guitar, also makes for his heaviest album that didn't come out under the Tin Machine moniker (indeed, it's credentials as a grunge influencing album would be sealed by Nirvana covering the title track on their MTV Unplugged album). Right from the opening tour de force of Width of a Circle through the claustrophobic paranoia of All The Madmen and Saviour Machine to the soaring closer Supermen, this may not hit the target every time but it's a fascinating document of Bowie beginning to formulate the sound that'd become his trademark a couple of years later.

11. Lodger (1979)

The third and final part of Bowie's "Berlin trilogy" recorded with Brian Eno, Lodger doesn't quite hit the high mark of its predecessors Low and Heroes but is still a more than respectable effort. With Boys Keep Swinging and Look Back In Anger, he delivered two strong singles while the likes of Fantastic Voyage and African Night Flights see the singer taking a look at his nomadic existence. Although there's the odd misfire (DJ sounds like a poor man's Talking Heads), this is mostly a pretty respectable effort.

10. Outside (1995)

Outside saw Bowie reunited with Brian Eno for the first time in a decade and a half and, coincidentally, deliver his strongest album since Let's Dance over a decade earlier. Not one of the easier Bowie albums to get into, there's nevertheless something about its epic Twin Peaks influenced scope that will keep you coming back for repeated listens and noticing new things with each listen. A challenging album for sure but definitely one that'll reveal plenty of rewards if you persevere with it.

 

9. The Next Day (2012)

The album which saw Bowie return after a decade's absence, The Next Day was a good comeback from him. With Tony Visconti again producing, it's a much more straightforward effort than the meandering Blackstar which followed it and showed that Bowie was still capable of crafting some good tunes and hooks as evidenced on the likes of Where Are We Now?, The Stars Are Out Tonight and You Feel So Lonely You Could Die. A triumphant comeback that literally nobody was expecting.

8. Heroes (1977)

As with all the Bowie/Eno albums, Heroes is definitely something of a challenging listen and is probably one of the least immediate albums he ever did although it's carried along by the all time classic title track which remains one of Bowie's best. Elsewhere, the album goes into experimental and ambient music in the second half which takes a few listens to get your head around but there's a few other good moments like Blackout and The Secret Life Of Arabia. Maybe more of a fascinating album than an actively brilliant one, Heroes is still worth a listen just for the title track alone.

7. Scary Monsters & Super Creeps (1980)

After the wilfully difficult Berlin trilogy, Scary Monsters was the sound of Bowie heading back into lighter waters with a nod to the fledgling new romantic movement that had sprung up citing him as an influence. It gave the Duke his first number one hit for half a decade with the timeless Ashes To Ashes while the funked-up Fashion went Top 5 and Up The Hill Backwards and the album's title track both made the Top 40 as well and there's plenty of other highlights such as the scathing Teenage Wildlife and Scream Like A Baby. A bit of an underrated gem.

6. Let's Dance (1983)

Written off at the time as the album which signalled the start of Bowie's '80s slump, Let's Dance is anything but - rather it's arguably his last genuine classic for at least a decade afterwards - arguably the thing that's tainted it is that the two albums that came after it (Tonight and Never Let Me Down) saw Bowie attempting the same formula but completely botching it. Teaming up with Nile Rodgers on production and the then-unknown Stevie Ray Vaughan on guitar, the album saw Bowie revisit the soul and funk music he'd unsuccessfully tried to mine on Young Americans eight years earlier but this time nailing it. The title track would give him arguably his most successful single ever remaining at the top of the charts for five weeks while the likes of Modern Love and his version of China Girl (which he'd originally written for his old mucker Iggy Pop half a decade earlier) made the Top 5 as well. There's plenty of other high points here as well from the art rock of Ricochet to the under-rated Cat People (Putting Out Fire). Overall, a great Bowie pop album which doesn't deserve anywhere near as much flack as it gets.

5. Low (1977)

The pick of Bowie's Berlin trilogy albums, this sees the Duke starting to explore the experimental and ambient themes that would inform Heroes and Lodger but keeping more of a sense of melody intact. In a way, it was post-punk a year before its time with the minimalist likes of Breaking Glass, Sound And Vision, Always Crashing In The Same Car and A New Career In A New Town taking his sound off to exciting  new areas but keeping the tunes of old intact. A good gateway into Bowie's more experimental stuff, it's also one of the best albums he did.

4. Station To Station (1976)

The sound of Bowie getting his mojo back after the mis-step of Young Americans via his Thin White Duke persona, this proved a bridge between the funk and soul of that album and the more experimental material which would follow. Created in a blizzard of cocaine in Los Angeles, it still manages to be one of his most fascinating albums with the epic ten minute title track being the centre point and the likes of Wild Is The Wind, TVC15 and Golden Years being standouts as well. Even though it's only six tracks long, you'd be hard pressed to feel short changed by it which is always the sign of a good album.

3. Aladdin Sane (1974)

Written while touring the Ziggy Stardust album over in the States, Aladdin Sane is basically the logical big widescreen follow-up to its predecessor. It's non-stop action right from when Watch That Man kicks in with the spooked out piano-led title track and the almost doo-wop Drive In Saturday following it up in fine style. Frequently, as befits the status of the Spiders From Mars at the time, the whole thing has the feel of a juggernaut spinning wildly out of control on the likes of Time, Cracked Actor and a breakneck tear through the Stones' Let's Spend The Night Together before the self-assured strut of Jean Genie and the breathtaking Lady Grinning Soul bring it to a close. It turned out to be the final hurrah for the Spiders and it was certainly no bad way for them to bow out.

2. The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (1972)

Bowie's glam magnum opus was the album which officially broke him commercially and remains up there with his finest moments. High points? I mean, where do you start - right from the mournful acoustic led opener Five Years, you find yourself thrown into the strutting Moonage Daydream and Starman, the gentle Lady Stardust, the frenzied boogie of Hang On To Yourself and Suffragette City not to mention the all time classic title track and the glorious closer Rock 'n' Roll Suicide. Put it this way, there's a reason that this is such an influential album and that's because it's one of the best records that glam rock threw up and on another day it could quite easily have topped this list. Simply a must listen if you get what great rock 'n' roll is about. 

1. Hunky Dory (1971)

Honestly, my favourite Bowie album tends to depend on my mood on the day - sometimes I want the full on glam extravaganza of Ziggy Stardust and sometimes I want the more nuanced brilliance of Hunky Dory. Today just happens to be one of the latter days. This album sees Bowie pretty much 90% of the way towards his Ziggy persona but with a slight nod to the more straightforward folk and rock personas he was leaving behind and the result is something truly amazing - in Changes and Life On Mars, he came up with arguably his two greatest songs in my opinion (the latter, unbelievably, written during a 30 minute bus ride from Croydon to Brixton). But it's so much more than that from the OTT strut of Oh You Pretty Things and Queen Bitch to Bowie cocking a snook at Dylan and Warhol on their eponymous tracks to the twisted psychedelia of The Bewlay Brothers and the quite lovely acoustic led ode to his infant son Zowie (now Duncan) on Kooks. It's the best of both Bowie worlds, bidding a fond farewell to the past and looking forward to the future which is why, for today at least, it's my favourite Bowie album.