I was just at Borders and one of the purchases I kind of planed to make was that of Bowie's "Aladain Sane" but I decided to wait to get that until maybe next week (I had to buy another CD with it it get the sale and couldn't decide what else to get...Either Sheryl Crow's hits or a collection of Italain music). So I looked to see if there was another Bowie CD I could get with this one for the deal...There wasn't but I found "The Platinum Collection" for $29.99....ten dollars cheaper than Amazon is selling it for!). I also had a 25% off coupon, so it was a real deal even though I have a lot of the songs on "The Best Of Bowie". It's just a really good collection hitting nearly all the huge hits and signature tracks of Bowie (although noticeably abesent was "Watch That Man"). Still loving the collection and getting into Bowie again. Brilliant even when he went very commerical. "Ungerground", despite dripping in dancing synths, is a soulful, well written track that could be interpreted a million ways.

Anyone else have this collection? Rediscover Bowie, everybody. He just has to release a new album this year!

Just listened to Heathen yesterday... no need for me to rediscover him, he's always up there! Loved the Reality Tour performance of Loving the Alien.

VinnyM27 said:

Yes, as long as it's not another "Reality". That was his worst album since "Never Let Me Down".

I though Reality was stronger than Earthling. While that one has some good stuff on it, there also are some real clunkers. But it is very obvious that Reality was more or less recorded to have something to tour with.

Now if only they'd do a proper comp for him from the 90's onward.

calldapplwondery83 said:

I disagree. Earthling was a big disappointment after Outside, but to me everything he's done since that album has lived in the shadow of its brilliance - and suffered accordingly. Earthling had some great songs on it - I'm Afraid of Americans, Telling Lies, Seven Years in Tibet, Dead Man Walking - plus some forgettable chaff, beginning with the really overrated Little Wonder.

Reality was terrible - rushed, lame and very very dull, the title track easily the worst title track Bowie's ever recorded. Only Bring Me The Disco King was any good, and that was an old song he'd already recorded a completely different version of for the Underworld soundtrack.

I'm looking forward to his new stuff - rumoured to be an instrumental album.

GangstaFam said:

Or, better still, a 4 CD set of Outside outtakes, plus Toy.

calldapplwondery83 said:

Yeah, that was sublime. Really stunning.

I loved Reality; I thought it was the strongest of the last 3.

calldapplwondery83 said:

The only songs I liked on Heathen were "Everyone says 'hi'" and "Cactus". I think Hours is the best thing he's done in the last 10 years, but it's kind of a low blood sugar album. That's why I like it, though. Bowie decided to write about people who weren't as fabulous as him.

Shapeshifter said:

I love Toy, but I'm not big on the Outside outtakes at all. They give me a headache.

u2prnce said:

I guess everyone has their opinions on Bowie's work but I'm one of those people who thought "Heathen" was amazing. One of my favorite albums period.

VinnyM27 said:

I agree. I'm amazed about the sheer beauty of Slip Away EVERYTIME I hear it. It's beyond great, IMO. Not one clunker on this album. One of my fave Bowie album actually.

GangstaFam said:

Try them again, with two aspirin before.

NorthernLad said:

Really?

calldapplwondery83 said:

I think it's a). overrated and b). his most conservative, formulaic and safe album since Tonight. On Tonight he largely cannibalised other people's work, on Heathen he cannibalised himself. I don't think it's a bad album at all. In fact, on a certain level it's very enjoyable, but I prefer the experimental, freewheeling risk-taking Bowie of Outside, Low, Station to Station, Diamond Dogs, Young Americans and even Tin Machine.

Shapeshifter said:

Hmm, I don't know.... risk-taking or not, it's just a very well produced album, full of great songs and thoughtful lyrics to me.

Heathen and Hours largely bore the shit out of me. I love Reality, but not nearly as much as I love Earthling, and not even fucking close to how much I love Outside!

KingSausage said:

And how does "Black Tie, White Noise" rank? I own all of Bowie's later albums and while I like them all, it's definately in different degress.


Heathen
Earthling
1.Outside
Black Tie, White Noise
Hours
Reality

I love every single album he's done from Black Tie, White Noise onward.

Shapeshifter said:

Now, that would be great...
If this is too much, just release "2.Contamination", and I'll be satisfied.

GangstaFam said:

Yeah, the Outside outtakes are an interesting novelty the first time around, but it's nothing I really want to hear again.

And as for "Reality", I really disliked it at first, too...but after seeing him play some of the stuff live and watching the live DVD a few times, the album started to click with me a lot more. It's not the greatest album he's ever made, but it's head and shoulders above his worst work.

Not all of the 1. Outside outtakes have been released (leaked). I'd rather get a few discs worth of that stuff then any new material!

The acoustic arrangement for LTA is great, and Bowie said in an interview that his demo of the song is far better than the finished product
(then why not release it??)

By the way...if you get the old The Singles Collection double CD set it has the single version of LTA which only clocks in at around 4mins and is better than the long version.
[Edited 4/26/06 9:23am]

Anx said:

Which makes me wonder about all this talk of 2. Contamination...maybe it's best left in the can.

yeah but was 2. Contamintaion recorded or are we just talking about 1. Outside outtakes? The rest of the "hypercycle" was never really assembled. Also, Toy was a terrible idea and most of it hasn't been released...so how are people saying how great it is? Do even half the album tracks circulate? I know of about 4 released tracks...

Like anything, seeing the live show can make it click...
Earthling is amazing in terms of how the tracks translated live.
[Edited 4/26/06 13:37pm]

GangstaFam said:

eh, we'll buy it.

but i'd really rather his music mature and refine with him. he's not in a place in his life to be making the music he was making ten years ago. someone posted a while back that bowie should produce the stooges reunion album. NO! i think bowie would be best doing stuff like the instrumentals from "heroes", or more pop music in the vein of "hours" or "heathen". i think his deal with the devil has expired and what's left is a very visibly 60-year-old man. i hope he makes music that compliments that...i think it could be really interesting.

Anx said:

Yeah, and I'm sure the finished product would actually be great.

Speaking of making age-appropriate music, do you cringe just ever so slightly when you hear about a new collaboration with some hot, up and coming band? I never did before when he would schmooze with the youngsters (a la his birthday party), but ever since his heart issues, I dunno, it just seems strange to me. My point being, I totally agree with you. I don't want Bowie jumping trends or chasing the zeitgeist anymore. I was thrilled with what he's been doing on the past 3 albums and I think it suits him perfectly. When I read that he and Visconti might be working on another soul record, I couldn't have been more pleased.

GangstaFam said:

YES. He collaborated with some techno-pop band a month or two ago and appeared in their video...I think the song was called "The Answer" or "The Question" or something like that...it was linked in BowieNet's news section a while back.

Anyway, it was a little pathetic. The video was pretty cool - a combination of live action and animation - but Bowie's appearance was kinda sad. They imposed his head on a cartoon body, and his face just looked like...I dunno, like he needed some heartburn medicine or something. And he croaked out his few lines and didn't really serve a purpose in the song at all, other than the band being able to say "OMFG DAVID BOWIE SANG ON OUR SONG!!!"

The Arcade Fire collabs were cool, though...but yeah, if he's going to be as elegant as he's always been, I think it's time for him to cater his career and his music to that of a 60-year-old man...I think he wore his age well on the past few albums, I hope he keeps it up.

Anx said:

that's perfect!