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Showing posts from May, 2022

Heathen (2002)

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 ...

Toy (2000)

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:...