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Thread started 07/03/08 12:40pm

silverchild

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What are the best David Bowie albums?

I only have these:


The Best of Bowie (single disc version)



Low

What are the others? Is the two-disc version of Best of Bowie any good?
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Reply #1 posted 07/03/08 12:45pm

FuNkeNsteiN

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Try this one,


Of course, I'm by no means a Bowie authority lol
You should ask Anx wink
It is not known why FuNkeNsteiN capitalizes his name as he does, though some speculate sunlight deficiency caused by the most pimpified white guy afro in Nordic history.

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Reply #2 posted 07/03/08 12:56pm

savoirfaire

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FuNkeNsteiN said:

Try this one,


Of course, I'm by no means a Bowie authority lol
You should ask Anx wink


That's my favourite too!!

But, also in my top honors list....

The Man Who sold the World
Hunky Dory
Ziggy Stardust
Diamond Dogs

Basically his glam rock period is my favourite

I also like Heroes, Low, Scary Monsters and Reality
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Reply #3 posted 07/03/08 12:59pm

InsatiableCrea
m

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FuNkeNsteiN said:

Try this one,


Of course, I'm by no means a Bowie authority lol
You should ask Anx wink


that's my fav of Bowie and one of my favorite albums of all time nod

i also suggest Scary Monsters, Space Oddity and Let's Dance
cream.
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Reply #4 posted 07/03/08 4:29pm

Anxiety

low and aladdin sane are good ones. nod

really, you can't go wrong with anything starting with "hunky dory" up through "scary monsters".


i guess what i'd recommend would depend on which bowie era you like - glam? new wave-ish? pop/top-40-ish?

i think his only real crap album is "never let me down", which even bowie himself makes fun of. some people put down "tonight", but i think it's bowie's "newpower soul" - there's a lot of crap on it, but also a lot of gems.

otherwise, you have a lot of great music from which to choose. nod
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Reply #5 posted 07/03/08 7:14pm

Moonbeam

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I'd warmly recommend any of the following:

Hunky Dory
Ziggy Stardust
Aladdin Sane
Diamond Dogs
Young Americans
Station to Station
"Heroes"
Lodger
Scary Monsters
Earthling
Heathen


Maybe you should pick up the 2-disc Best of Bowie set (it's a serviceable best-of and definitely superior to the single disc version. Better yet, see if you can find the 3-disc Platinum Collection. Bowie has a wide and varied catalogue, so you may like some albums and dislike others. If you notice which songs you really enjoy, that can guide you through your own individual Bowie quest!
Feel free to join in the Prince Album Poll 2018! Let'a celebrate his legacy by counting down the most beloved Prince albums, as decided by you!
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Reply #6 posted 07/03/08 7:28pm

baroque

wee!

my favorites

The Man Who Sold The World
Hunky Dory
Ziggy Stardust...
Diamond dogs
Aladdin Sane
Young Americans
Station To Stations
Low
Outside
Heroes


don't ever get "never let me down"
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Reply #7 posted 07/03/08 7:59pm

Anxiety

Moonbeam said:

Better yet, see if you can find the 3-disc Platinum Collection.



I agree! This is a really nice greatest hits collection. It includes all the bit hits, a good sampling of the fan/critic favorites, plus it has a really generous selection of rare/lesser-known songs.
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Reply #8 posted 07/03/08 9:15pm

silverchild

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Anxiety said:

Moonbeam said:

Better yet, see if you can find the 3-disc Platinum Collection.



I agree! This is a really nice greatest hits collection. It includes all the bit hits, a good sampling of the fan/critic favorites, plus it has a really generous selection of rare/lesser-known songs.


Do you all mean this?

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Reply #9 posted 07/03/08 10:00pm

mynameisnotsus
an

silverchild said:

Anxiety said:




I agree! This is a really nice greatest hits collection. It includes all the bit hits, a good sampling of the fan/critic favorites, plus it has a really generous selection of rare/lesser-known songs.


Do you all mean this?




nod

They were released as separate volumes, but I've seen that for a very good price. I don't think you can go far wrong on a 70s Bowie album though.
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Reply #10 posted 07/05/08 1:23pm

Anxiety

silverchild said:

Anxiety said:




I agree! This is a really nice greatest hits collection. It includes all the bit hits, a good sampling of the fan/critic favorites, plus it has a really generous selection of rare/lesser-known songs.


Do you all mean this?



yes, that is what i mean. nod

the last volume of that collection, if you buy it on its own, also has a dvd of 80s era videos. i've been tempted to pick it up, but it just seems too expensive for a lot of stuff i already have. the "best of bowie" 2 DVD set is a much better collection for video.

so if i had to pick out a nice "bowie 101" set for someone, i'd go with

* The Platinum Collection 3CD set
* The Best of Bowie 2DVD set

nod
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Reply #11 posted 07/05/08 1:52pm

m22

station to station is my favourate

for a collection- christiana f..as its his most hidden album based on that film about drugs,bowie has a singing role..it captures his drug mid 70s era..from which station to station was created.you may see it on u tube.
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Reply #12 posted 07/05/08 2:06pm

silverchild

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Anxiety said:

silverchild said:



Do you all mean this?



yes, that is what i mean. nod

the last volume of that collection, if you buy it on its own, also has a dvd of 80s era videos. i've been tempted to pick it up, but it just seems too expensive for a lot of stuff i already have. the "best of bowie" 2 DVD set is a much better collection for video.

so if i had to pick out a nice "bowie 101" set for someone, i'd go with

* The Platinum Collection 3CD set
* The Best of Bowie 2DVD set

nod



Thanks Anx! I guess I will have to scoop the 3CD set up right now from Amazon.com. I heard that Station To Station was another great one also. Any info on that album?
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Reply #13 posted 07/05/08 2:26pm

alphastreet

I don't know a lot of his music, but I remember loving China Girl when I was really young. I think Let's Dance is cool but kind of repetitive, I found out about that song when my mom told me Diddy's Been Around the World sampled it when the video came out and we were watching it.

I also loved The Man Who Sold the World when I heard the Nirvana cover years ago, and then a friend told me it's a David Bowie cover. I think one of my aunt's used to be a fan of his in the early 80's, not sure about now.
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Reply #14 posted 07/05/08 2:26pm

alphastreet

What would be a good album to start with for a beginning based on the songs I talked about?
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Reply #15 posted 07/05/08 3:09pm

Anxiety

silverchild said:

Anxiety said:



yes, that is what i mean. nod

the last volume of that collection, if you buy it on its own, also has a dvd of 80s era videos. i've been tempted to pick it up, but it just seems too expensive for a lot of stuff i already have. the "best of bowie" 2 DVD set is a much better collection for video.

so if i had to pick out a nice "bowie 101" set for someone, i'd go with

* The Platinum Collection 3CD set
* The Best of Bowie 2DVD set

nod



Thanks Anx! I guess I will have to scoop the 3CD set up right now from Amazon.com. I heard that Station To Station was another great one also. Any info on that album?


station to station is great! be prepared: it's a short one. but every song on there is fantastic. to me, you can hear the transition between the philly sound he was going for in the years leading up to that album, and the experimental music he'd be known for in the years following it. his vocals are gorgeous all the way through, and the song "stay" might be the funkiest bowie song ever.
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Reply #16 posted 07/05/08 3:41pm

HamsterHuey

All good advice. You can't go wrong with all these knowledgable peeps.

Low is my personal fave.
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Reply #17 posted 07/05/08 6:10pm

blackguitarist
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Anything from the 70-80 with Bowie is great, I think. And then to 83.
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Reply #18 posted 07/05/08 7:24pm

ThreadBare

I have his best-of CD, which I dig muchly.

Today, I finally learned the name of his former bass player!

Gail Ann Dorsey. Tha BOMB! omfg

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Reply #19 posted 07/06/08 7:47am

EmancipationLo
ver

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As great as 70s Bowie was, I'd also like to add these more recent gems to the recommendation list:





I don't know about our Bowie experts (I'm not one of them), but I personally love these records!
prince
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Reply #20 posted 07/06/08 7:58am

Anxiety

i love most of bowie's more recent output! i'm a big fan of everything he's done from "buddha of suburbia" through "heathen". i don't mind the "reality" album but it doesn't really do much for me.
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Reply #21 posted 07/06/08 8:02am

MattyJam

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I'm a bit of a casual fan, but if you want a recent album, get Heathen - it's by far his best post-70s album.

(Avoid Outside as suggested by someone else on this thread - it re-defines the term "self-indulgent").

His best 70s album for me, is Station To Station.
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Reply #22 posted 07/06/08 9:33am

Anxiety

MattyJam said:

I'm a bit of a casual fan, but if you want a recent album, get Heathen - it's by far his best post-70s album.

(Avoid Outside as suggested by someone else on this thread - it re-defines the term "self-indulgent").

His best 70s album for me, is Station To Station.



i LOVE 'outside'. take out the ridiculous segues (i hate segues on ANYONE'S albums) and you've got a fine collection of songs. "hallo spaceboy", "the heart's filthy lesson", "i'm deranged", "i have not been to oxford town", "the motel", "we prick you"....lots of good stuff. nod
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Reply #23 posted 07/06/08 11:07am

xtraloveable

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so-called "Berlin Trilogy": Low / Heroes / Lodger
i would add "Station to Station" and, as a good mix of the above with a very dark mood, the "Christiane F."-Soundtrack.
Also the collected instrumentals "All Saints" and the "Stage"-Live album.
That's my favorite Bowie-era, the late Seventies!
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Reply #24 posted 07/06/08 11:12am

Axchi696

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Outside took a while to grow on me, but after it did, it was definitely worth it. Out of all of Bowie's 90's work, I think it's the album that holds up best today. As Anx said, the segues are painful, and the whole murder mystery theme is worthless, but he made up for all of that with great songs.

Unlike "I'm Afraid of Americans", which I think Trent totally improved, I think that the original "Hallo Spaceboy" is much better than the PSB remix (and I love the PSB). The album is some strange jazz/industrial hybrid and it almost completely works. "I Have Not Been To Oxford Town", "Hallo Spaceboy", "Heart's Filthy Lesson", "I'm Deranged", and "The Voyer..." are all up there with his best work, IMO.

As far as my favorite Bowie album, it would have to be Station to Station. It's short (6 tracks), but every song on it is a winner. The album has remants of the plastic soul phase he'd gone through before, and also led the way for the more electronic sound he'd fully delve into with Low. The title track might just be my favorite Bowie song of all time. Def. worth checking out.
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Reply #25 posted 07/06/08 11:14am

Axchi696

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Out of his "classic" period, I think Lodger is the album that I have had the hardest time appreciating. It sounds more like a Talking Heads album than a Bowie one (even though I love the Heads), and I think it's just too scattered as an album. Love "DJ" though.
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Reply #26 posted 07/06/08 2:42pm

Brendan

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Expert advice, for sure.

But hopefully it's not too late to get out before you lose your good credit and your good name.

I mean you'll add "Hunky Dory" and "Station to Station" to your burgeoning Bowie collection, then you'll inevitably need X, Y and Z, followed hopelessly by Q, R and of course F and especially W.

Then in a matter of months you'll be laying in some ditch, strung out on methadone wondering where all your money went. wink
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Reply #27 posted 07/07/08 3:03pm

Anxiety

Axchi696 said:

Out of his "classic" period, I think Lodger is the album that I have had the hardest time appreciating. It sounds more like a Talking Heads album than a Bowie one (even though I love the Heads), and I think it's just too scattered as an album. Love "DJ" though.


Lodger is a hard album to love because it's such a hodgepodge...but taken on their own, the songs are so great. I think of all his albums, the best videos came from Lodger. There was such shock value, dark humor and camp to all three clips, without being completely gratuitous. "Look Back in Anger", "DJ" and "Fantastic Voyage" are among my all-time fave Bowie songs.
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