Just listening to the "Best of Bowie". Great, great, great! With two exceptions: "China Girl" and his version of "Dancing in the Streets" with Jagger. HOLY SH..! What was he on? Can Coke really do that to a person??? I mean, not that I haven't known the songs before, but in the context of his other work, they are just embarrassing! That opening of "Dancing..." is like Tony M in "Jughead" btw.

And who was the clown to put that Pet Shop Boys version of "Hallo Spaceboy" on there?

Anyway, I think I might go to the HMV today (they've got a sale) and buy a Bowie album to eliminate "China Girl" out of my ears. What should I buy, you Bowie experts out there?
[Edited 3/26/06 4:55am]

EmancipationLover said:

I`m no expert, but "Station to station" is my favorite Bowie album.

Icicle said:

Thanks for the recommendation. What about what some people call his "Berlin trilogy" - Low, Heroes, Lodger? All of it seems pretty interesting to me.

What's wrong with Bowie's version of China Girl? It's a good 80s pop song based on a good 70s Iggy Pop song. Not his best song ever, but heads and shoulders above what he'd go on to do in the 80s.

And I really like that Pet Shop Boys version of Hallo Spaceboy, but I like the industrial/aggro sound of the album version quite a bit as well. I don't think there's a version of that song I don't like.

Dancing in the Street? Wellll...ya got me there.

EmancipationLover said:

Low & Station to Station are his most important albums and you should definitely buy those two first if you're interested in his electronic "Berlin era".

Young Americans is pretty cool too.
by the way, i like the Pet Shop Boys remix of Hallo Spaceboy, i think better than the original.

That video for Dancing in the Streets is hilarious. Bowie with his little finger dances and Mick looking spastic. Ah, the 80s.

EmancipationLover said:

Go and buy Never Let Me Down!!
After listening to that album you'll think that China Girl & Dancing in the Streets are absolute masterpieces.

And, while you're there also get the Serious Moonlight DVD, It's ace!!!

Get "Scary Monsters". A must have. Bowie said in the 80's he fell into the corporate MTV machine vacuum. He's said that's why he had certain songs on MTV that make him cringe now.

EmancipationLover said:

Station to Station may be my favorite Bowie album also. It was recorded in Hollywood, not Berlin, during the height of Bowie's cocaine addiction (I read somewhere that he doesn't remember recording it). It is a tranisition album between the disco R&B sound of Young Americans and the classic "Berlin" sound of Low et all. It really has a foot in both camps but I think it can fairly be grouped with the Berlin albums.

The return of the Thin White Duke, Throwing darts in lovers' eyes

Anx said:

I like China Girl too. Stevie Ray Vaughn tears that guitar solo up.

China Girl is fantastic. Listen to the intensity in DB's voice during the bridge. "I stumble into town, just like a sacred cow...", etc.

China Girl by any standards ISN'T embarrassing. The Bowie studio version doesn't fully bring forward the song's potential, but it's still a fantastic song with amazing lyrics and a very sophisticed melody. Surely you should be able to pick that up`?

O.k., o.k., maybe I was a little harsh concerning "China Girl". You're right, it IS a good song, good 80's pop (and I like 80's pop), it's just... it is so Duran Duran-ish (and I like Duran Duran). It just feels out of place in the context of Bowie's other work. Like you sit in a resturant and order a steak and they accidentally serve you a plate of sushi...

That might be the problem with "best of" albums (and the reason why I normally don't buy them). They compress people's work, and I can tell you, if you hear a song like "China Girl" after the material from "Low", "Heroes", "Lodger" and "Scary Monsters" (with "Let's Dance" as the only intermission), it can be a WTF moment. But a "best of" seemed like a good way for me to get into Bowie's work as he has done so much... And it was just 6 £ for a double CD with remastered tracks, LOL!

Anyway, I stick to what I said about "Dancing in the Streets". That's steaming shit, LOL!

Btw, I got myself "Low" today. I had the choice between "Aladdin Sane", "Ziggy Stardust", "Low" and "Tonight" (the rest, including "Station to Station", wasn't in the store anymore), so I picked "Low". Great album! I listened to it the old school way, with a few seconds break between side one and side two.

EmancipationLover said:

You need to pick up Scary Monsters and Hunky Dory as well. Those are the sometimes less-talked about masterpieces. Personally, I like Aladdin Sane better than Ziggy Stardust. And you don't need Tonight. LOL

EmancipationLover said:

You're right, it does. The best versions of that song can be found on Bowie's many live performances & TV specials (try the VH-1 storytellers, if you can download it by using p2p -software) from 1999-2003. There it's a solid rock version, and dare I say it's one of Bowie's best. If not THE best.

"Dancing In The Streets" on the other hand... oh, well... it was a charity single so I guess... no, not even that can possibly save it.

u2prnce said:

Yeah, I already heard that the post-Let's Dance 80's work isn't the most popular among Bowie fans. I like the songs "Loving the Alien", "Blue Jean" and "Never Let Me Down" though. And I would say "Absolute Beginners" is a really, really great song. All very poppy of course, but also very Bowie.

Novabreaker said:

If I remember correctly, China Girl is also on the bonus disc for Bowie at the Beeb. Great concert from the Hours-era.

Novabreaker said:

I just hope it wasn't a charity for people with ear deseases or something like that, LOL!

EmancipationLover said:

It was for a fund founded after Marvin Gaye's tragic death. I can't remember exactly where the money raised went. I think Jagger and Bowie were also quite moved by the incident even though the initiative for the project came probably from outside.

Novabreaker said:

O.k., that could make it almost tolerable... almost.

EmancipationLover said:

I see you bought the "Low" album, the Berlin albums are my least favorites from the 70s, but they got some good songs that i really like, "Sound and vision" (one of my favorite Bowie singles), "Breaking glass", "Beauty and the beast" "D.J", and of course "HEROES"

Most of his albums is worth getting, just stay away from "Tonight", the tin machine abums and the horribe "Never let me down"

"China Girl"isn't a bad song. Maybe not among his best, but definitely not his worst. It's typical 80s pop music ala Duran Duran

Now "Dancing In The Street" is pure shit. Admittedly, Ill admit to appreciating it as a novelty song, and the video is (unintentionally probably) funny as hell. But yea, Bowie should be ashamed for recording that piece of shit

As for the PSB mix of "Hallo Spaceboy", I like it alot better than the original. The original never caught my attention, and the PSB mix adds a new dimension to the song

Also, I'd recommend some of his work from the 1990s and onward. Both Earthling and Heathen are good albums(Earthling being totally drum and bass, and Heathen being a throwback to the old school years, sorta at least)

Novabreaker said:

No No, I'm amazed that you people don't remember wat Dancing in the Streets was for!!
It was for Live Aid.

noepie said:

Really? Maybe people needed a "live aid" after listening to it too often!

That makes it less tolerable for me again. I've never been a big fan of this "Live Aid"/"Live 8" stuff, but that's a topic for a different thread, I guess.

noepie said:

Oh okay, it went for the Live Aid project in the end, but Bowie chose the song so at least a part of the money would go as well to Marvin Gaye's estate.

Novabreaker said:

Btw, could we say that "Dancing in the Streets" was Bowie's "1999 - The New Master"?

Good early era:

Hunky Dory
Ziggy Stardust

Good middle era:

Station to Station
Low

Good 80s:

Scary Monsters
Let's Dance

Good 90s:

Outside
Earthling

Go for it, baby, like my balls were on FIRRRRRE.

AAAAAHHHHH! TESTICLES OF FIREEEEE!

Novabreaker said:

Agreed. Too bad he didn't do it at the two concerts I've seen of the Reality Tour. I know a lot of Bowie fans are tired of it, but I would have liked it to be included on the tour DVD.

calldapplwondery83 said:

He did Ashes to Ashes(Which he said he never gets tired of) and Rebel Rebel at the Reality show I saw and that was all I needed. I think Ashes to Ashes is one of the most brilliant songs anyone has every written. Can't remember if he did China Girl. The show I went to was at the Patriot Center in VA.