Listening to Lodger recently, I've been struck how some of it (such as this track) presages the big music of the 80s, like U2, Big Country, Simple Minds, even Talking Heads. Not the songs themselves but the production and the intensity of the performance
I'd agree. Bowie is always good at picking musicians with large transferable skills. Fripp, Eno, Belew, Slick, Visconti, Ronson all traded on great skill to underpin very emotive outcomes. Even the 'kraut rock' trilogy of which Lodger is the end point are records with visceral and involving tracks. Bowie knows how to filter and extract probably better than anyone.
David often took, or takes, established norms and harnesses them for his own means. Though slightly magpie-ish behaviour, he's spotted an angle of presentation or interpretation that perhaps the originator has overlooked or misrepresented or misinterpreted. And he certainly collected musical collaborators in the same manner. And harnessed their talents similarly.
It was a long time ago, so possibly colored by nostalgia, but I recall a stonking version of this song on the Serious Moonlight tour, far heavier than the album version and dominated by the guitars (Carlos Alomar and Earl Slick apparently).
Hateful video but fuck me, what a stormer of a track, one of the finest mid period Bowie imo. What outstanding work by Dennis Davis, George Murray and Carlos Alomar, oh man, I could listen to this all day. And yes @simonp, absolutely agree.
@tpdorseyI 've got a couple of Bootlegs from around the Serious Moonlight tour but it's not on those. I do love the track. The video is of it's time but I like it's stagy kitsch literalism - and its colouring oddly.
I remember this track being played on the Serious Moonlight tour (not when I saw him, but a concert from somewhere was broadcast on London's Capital Radio) and it was hard and tight as a proverbial. Unfortunately I lost the recording when I had my car stolen, but hey-ho. Oh and I like the video too.
12 Comments (since 2 Dec 2014)
simonp
Listening to Lodger recently, I've been struck how some of it (such as this track) presages the big music of the 80s, like U2, Big Country, Simple Minds, even Talking Heads. Not the songs themselves but the production and the intensity of the performance
adrian4acn
I'd agree. Bowie is always good at picking musicians with large transferable skills. Fripp, Eno, Belew, Slick, Visconti, Ronson all traded on great skill to underpin very emotive outcomes. Even the 'kraut rock' trilogy of which Lodger is the end point are records with visceral and involving tracks. Bowie knows how to filter and extract probably better than anyone.
leejohnson
David often took, or takes, established norms and harnesses them for his own means. Though slightly magpie-ish behaviour, he's spotted an angle of presentation or interpretation that perhaps the originator has overlooked or misrepresented or misinterpreted. And he certainly collected musical collaborators in the same manner. And harnessed their talents similarly.
tpdorsey
It was a long time ago, so possibly colored by nostalgia, but I recall a stonking version of this song on the Serious Moonlight tour, far heavier than the album version and dominated by the guitars (Carlos Alomar and Earl Slick apparently).
Bukowski
An excellent nod to the British social realism drama of the 1950s.
BertrandRustles
Hateful video but fuck me, what a stormer of a track, one of the finest mid period Bowie imo. What outstanding work by Dennis Davis, George Murray and Carlos Alomar, oh man, I could listen to this all day. And yes @simonp, absolutely agree.
simonp
I actually quite like the video...
adrian4acn
@tpdorseyI 've got a couple of Bootlegs from around the Serious Moonlight tour but it's not on those. I do love the track. The video is of it's time but I like it's stagy kitsch literalism - and its colouring oddly.
twistymellorman
I remember this track being played on the Serious Moonlight tour (not when I saw him, but a concert from somewhere was broadcast on London's Capital Radio) and it was hard and tight as a proverbial. Unfortunately I lost the recording when I had my car stolen, but hey-ho. Oh and I like the video too.
ian38018
Far and away the strongest song on that rather patchy Lodger album.
joeldurhamjr
I adore this track. Thank you - now I'm going to go listen to Lodger!
tpdorsey
@adrian4acn IIRC it was on a tour video from the early '80s. That was a long time ago, though. I could be misremembering.