David Bowie fans - counsel me! which albums do I need to add to my collection?

Cafe Society
1

I always loved Ziggy Stardust, so when Ryko discs started re-releasing the Bowie catalog in the '90s I added several Bowie albums to my collection. Then I got into other things and stopped after four or five.

But recently I was watching the movie Underworld (don’t judge me! I only got it from Netflix because I think that Kate Beckinsale is a great thespian) and heard David Bowie’s voice on one of the songs (Bring Me the Disco King), which made me realize that he really deserves more room on my shelf. I went on over to Wikipedia and saw that he has a lot more albums than I would have guessed, namely:

David Bowie’s Studio albums (with links to Wikipedia pages)

David Bowie, Space Oddity, The Man Who Sold the World, Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Aladdin Sane, Pin Ups, Diamond Dogs, Young Americans, Station to Station, Low, “Heroes”, Lodger, Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), Let’s Dance, Tonight, Never Let Me Down, Black Tie White Noise, Outside, Earthling, ‘hours…’, Heathen, Reality

I always get the impression that every Wikipedia music page must be edited by a fan, because a lot of albums I see (not just Bowie albums) are labelled as “critically acclaimed” or containing “the noted single such-and-such.” So after reading the descriptions you would think you should get all of them.

Here are the ones I have, ranked in my order of preference

[ol][li]The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars[/li][li]Hunky Dory[/li][li]Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)[/li][li]Aladdin Sane[/li][li]Let’s Dance[/ol][/li]
(I don’t count the Tin Machine album because I’m only moderately fond of that one.)

I am thinking of adding Station to Station, Low, “Heroes” and Lodger, plus Reality just to hear his latest sound (and to get his song Bring Me the Disco King). Is anything else worth the money?

2

Get The Man Who Sold the World. Although it’s slightly more folky and obviously “early,” it has clear ties to your second favorite, Hunky Dory. If you find you dig that one, get Space Oddity. Low and “Heroes” are my own favorites, but they stand apart from the rest of the catalog by virtue of both being about half instrumental. I’ve never liked Lodger (the third in the Eno/Berlin trilogy) as much as those two. You don’t mention Diamond Dogs, but that’s the closest of the ones you don’t have to the Ziggy/Aladdin Sane sound.

3

Well, Diamond Dogs and Station to Station would be my first additions to your collection.

4

IMO, not really. You already own the high points. His post-Let’s Dance output consists of some amazing singles and lot of filler.
You may want to consider the 2-CD compilation “Best of Bowie”, which covers everything from “Space Oddity” through “Heathen”. Of the 38 tracks, you already own 13. But the rest is a good sampler of all his phases. You also get several one-off songs not available on any studio releases such as duet singles(“Under Pressure” with Queen, the cover of “Dancing In The Streets” with Mick Jagger), soundtrack contributions (“This Is Not America”, “Absolute Beginners”, the original and superior Giorgio Moroder version of “Cat People”), and a remake of “All The Young Dudes”, which Bowie wrote for Mott the Hoople. It also contains the one good song from various meh albums (“Blue Jean”, “Time Will Crawl”). The only downside is that in order to squeeze in so many songs, many of the cuts are the shorter single version and not the full album version.

5

Diamond Dogs.

6

Outside is a good pick. Although it’s very weird, dark, and complex… so if you like that kind of thing. You can get drunk, or whatever, and sit alone zoning out in a dark room at night listening to that.

7

i would say, for a really solid collection you need everything from The Man Who Sold the World until Let’s Dance (except for Pin Up’s) Every one of those albums really is great in it’s own way. After that I think Heathen, Earthing, and Outside are very good, but nothing after Let’s Dance is essential.

If you were going to cherry pick I would drop a couple of the albums that you are already planning on getting off of your list. Get one of the Berlin trilogy to see if you like it (I recommend Low over “Heroes” or Lodger, I think it is the most readily accesable. But it’s up to you, “Heroes” is my favorite of the three.) If you like the one album, then get the other two. Many people do not like these albums (even people who tell you that they do like them) so check one out first.

Then I would also get Station to Station, The Man Who Sold the World, and Young Americans. That will round out his various phases.

Then you decide:

Did you love The Man Who Sold the world? Grab Space Oddity.

Would you rather hear another album that sounds like Ziggy/Aladin Sane? Get Diamond Dogs. (Personally I think Diamond Dogs is a better album then Aladin Sane, but they have nearly identical sounds)

Did Young American’s rock your world? You are out of luck, but it’s the only album that he made that sounds like that, so enjoy it!

So that gets you out of there with 4 albums, and 4 totally different musical styles to pick from. If you want to round it out to 5 I would grab Heathen as the best of his new stuff.

8

Will anyone vote for Never Let Me Down? I like it, but I wouldn’t say it’s great or anything.

9

Definitely get Station to Station. The title track is one of his best songs.
I really like Reality, but most people don’t seem to have paid any attention to it.

10

Yep.

11

I think you should start by filling in that gap between Alladinsane and Screy monsters. Stay away from Bowie’s Greatest Hits, though. No “john I’m Only Dancing” at all, and “Young Americans” is abridged in a way that simply ruins the song. ChangesOne and -Two are much better for that purpose.

12

+1 - nice summary.

13

I also love Heroes and Low – both albums got me through deep depression in a dreary Helsinki winter, though Ziggy Stardust is my top favorite.
I ditto **ChockFullofHeadyGoodness **when s/he recommends “Under Pressure” with Queen, the cover of “Dancing In The Streets” with Mick Jagger, “This Is Not America”, “Absolute Beginners”, the original and superior Giorgio Moroder version of “Cat People”, and a remake of “All The Young Dudes”, which Bowie wrote for Mott the Hoople.
Am I the only one who likes the Labyrinth Soundtrack? Yes, it’s a kids’ movie, but it’s a good kids’ movie, and “As the World Falls Down” is lovely.

14

Another vote for Station to Station. “TVC 15” is one of my all-time favorite Bowie songs. I also love “Heroes” and Low, and I highly recommend Bowie at the Beeb.

15

Seconded - excellent collection.

Also, if you really like Ziggy Stardust, I definitely recommend Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture soundtrack. It has the best (IMHO) versions of *Rock n’ Roll Suicide *and Moonage Daydream, as well as an amazing cover of My Death. Great stuff.

16

Your next pick should come from his “Berlin trilogy” produced by Brian Eno (Low, Heroes, Lodger). I don’t have Low, but I prefer Lodger (which has “Look Back In Anger”) to Heroes.

17

Find the A&E “by request” special video. And there’s the thing he did with Trent.

18

Thanks to everybody for their opinions and advice, and to NAF1138 for his excellent summary. Since one of the appeals of Bowie is his chameleon-like character, I think I will go for variety and get Station to Station, The Man Who Sold the World, Young Americans, and Heroes. Afterwards look in iTunes for recommended individual tracks to get from his Best of Bowie and Changes One and Two albums. If Diamond Dogs is in the store I may splurge and get that one too, but I already have two albums in that same vein.

iTunes has some of his music videos. I already have added the Mick Jagger / David Bowie Dancing in the Streets video. Nice fluorescent colours in that video! Ah, the '80s, we all miss them.

19

Thirded - an awesome collection, showcasing some different (early) styles. I would also recommend The Man Who Sold the World. I was going to say that it’s often overlooked IMHO, but that’s not really true. I guess I mean that even the “secondary” tracks have a lot going for them. OK, and “Width of a Circle” is probably my favorite Bowie tune.

20

I like Young Americans a lot, but I wouldn’t recommend it to everybody. It’s pretty much all mellow blue-eyed soul type music, and how much you like the album depends on how much you like that. If you haven’t already, I’d suggest listening to samples from it or finding videos on Youtubes from some of its songs.

Between what you have and what you’re getting, you have most of his best songs. Other than on the album Heroes, my favorite song I can think of that you won’t have is Modern Love.