Stephen Holland - Multimedia Journalist

The Bowie Project #30 – The Next Day (2013) In the early 2000s David Bowie’s career had something of a resurgence, the release of the albums Heathen and Reality and the reconciliation with longtime producer Tony Visconti had restored his critical standing that for quite a few years had been in question. His songwriting was strong, he enjoyed performing live, he had cemented his role as a legend in the music industry and with a run of two strong album’s it looked like this wasn't going to slow down anytime soon. In 2003, he hit the road for what would be the longest tour in his entire career with plans to play to more than one million people across 17 countries, Bowie started to appear regularly on our TV screens making appearances on German and French television stations, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on the BBC, The Today Show, Last Call with Carson Daly, The Late Show with David Letterman and more. He would perform new and old music and it seems like he felt content to entertai...

The Bowie Project #29 – Reality (2003) Reality is the 24th studio album by David Bowie. It was released in Europe on September 15 2003 and a day later in the United States. Like his previous record Heathen it was produced by the once estranged and now reunited longtime Bowie producer Tony Visconti showing that their previous effort was not just a one-off reunion or a sentimentally fueled exercise in nostalgia. Bowie had been re-energised from the Heathen tour the previous year and was excited to produce a set of songs that could be played live with his touring band. As such this record has a more straightforward rock sound than his previous release, it’s got a direct and edgier sound and sees Bowie feeling quite comfortable in his style for once, he’s not really reaching for anything grander than to make an enjoyable album, he’s giving it his all but in a way that feels confident and secure in a way much of his work through the later part of the 1990s didn’t. At this point in his caree...

The Bowie Project #28  - Heathen (2002)  Heathen is David Bowie’s 23rd studio album and after years of critics prematurely announcing a return to commercial and creative success this time it was actually proved to be true. The record was the most well-received album he had released in years and was lauded by critics as his best work since Scary Monsters in 1980. Boosted by a vast marketing campaign and numerous promotional appearances it was his most widely anticipated record in years and it features an art rock and art pop sound that is reminiscent of a lot of the music he made in the 1970s, the sounds of the album all come together to make a record that recalls classic David Bowie albums while remaining sounding contemporary and exciting. The success of this record can be attributed to many different things, but one of the most important is the return of producer Tony Visconti. Visconti acted as Bowie’s producer for much of his career, producing nine albums with him between ...

The Bowie Project #27 – Toy (2000) Hot off the heels of touring his latest album, Hours , in 1999, David Bowie decided he wanted to utilise the energy of his touring band and record a quick surprise album for his fans. The project he envisioned would be made up of re-recordings of his old material from the 1960s and described as “Not so much Pin Ups II as an Up Date I ”. Work on this sixties album began in July 2000 under the working title Toy . No longer working with his previous collaborator and former Tin Machine guitarist Reeves Gabrels due to creative differences the lineup now consisted of his touring band guitarist Earl Slick, bassist Gail Ann Dorsey, pianist Mike Garson, frequent collaborator Mark Plati, and drummer Sterling Campbell. The band rehearsed songs at Sear Sound Studio in New York City and recorded them as live tracks with Plati stating the idea was to keep things fast and loose, record them quick and not focus too much on perfection. Or has Bowie himself said:...