bought it today, a bit of a letdown, 5 strong tracks, the other 6 are so weak...if you got the bonus cd edition, the only thing worth listening is the new rendition of Rebel rebel

alexxa15 said:

I highly doubt it. In concert I heard 6 of the songs and they were all tight.

Entertainment Weekly gave "Reality" a so-so review, but then again, I remember a lot of lukewarm reception to "Heathen" (including my own at first), and it's now one of my favorite Bowie albums...I don't think you can judge his stuff on first listen - he has some material that jumps right out at you, but a lot of it is more subtle and takes a while to warm up to.

Anxiety said:

Precisely. His music isn't the most obvious. And some takes a long time to sink in. It took me several years to become fully familiar with his 70's work and now I can think of only a handful of songs that I don't fully love. Same with the 90's. There's only a couple duds among mostly first rate work.

alexxa15 said:

That's about right. The two covers suck a big one, especially that George Harrison one.

alexxa15 said:

Why could everone buy it yesterday?

JohnnyTheFox said:

how come every other fan who's reviewed the album has said that "Pablo Picasso" is incredible and a stand-out track?



i guess that's what you get with Bowie. all of his fans love something different. people that prefer Outside and Earthling over Heathen, and other such foolish things.

All I can say is that I really enjoyed the Riverside concert, so I'm really looking forward to the album. How many hours till Monday?

in Italy it was release on friday, also on limited edition with bonus disc: 2 unreleased tracks (rubbish) abd a fab new Rebel Rebel.
About the album, I love New killer Star, Pablo Picasso, Bring me the disco king and the Loneliest guy, other tracks are not so exciting, but I'm sure that live they'll sound better

Did anyone watch him on BBC tonight? Two songs live. The new version of Modern Love was great. Very basic and under produced.

SquirrelMeat said:

of the oldies played at Poughkeepsie, I think this one was my favorite (though calling it an "oldie" is stretching it) probably because it's one of those songs I love that I never thought I'd ever hear him play live.


it's a great version, isn't it! more rocking and less kitschy than the original.

AaronMaximus said:

I prefer "Earthling" over "Heathen" by a great deal.

Moonbeam said:

yes, but we already know you're crackers Kylie over Paula?
[This message was edited Sat Sep 13 20:03:58 PDT 2003 by AaronMaximus]

Moonbeam said:

Yes, but you still love "Heathen". Most Bowie fans seem to love either one grouping of albums or another.

It's always Outside/Earthling vs. Hours/Heathen. Why choose? It's all great!

TRON said:

Is there anyone out there who is planning to see one of his gigs. I am visiting antwerp

rafael said:

I'll be in Rotterdam on the 15th.

Personally I think Bowie's last truly great album was Scary Monsters. I like a lot of his later work but rarely play it. He certainly picked up again in the 90's but his albums are no way near as consistant as they used to be.

I think the new album is really good. The only songs I could do without at the moment would be She'll Drive the Big Car and Try Some, Buy Some.

AaronMaximus said:

Kylie trumps Paula on all counts musically! For me, that is...

well, by opinion i like "outside" is premo! an artist at his best, has a good edge, it makes me think of the future possibilities, with people, electronics, architectonics, it seems to encourage "difference"...with a subtle perception of sophistication- I LOVE HIM!!! dangit iman...

As long as it's not four boringass 14-minute retarded ventures into so-called "undiscovered" elevator lite-jazz I'm sitting at the dentist's musical experience directions, then I'm fine.

I loved Outside from the first listen, and still worship it.

I thought that Earthling was total, absolute shit for the first year or so that I owned it...until one day it just made sense on really loud headphones. Now I love it.

hours... is boring. Boring boring boring. A few good songs, but lots of filler. I've given it a million chances, and it continues to suck. Not, say, Never Let Me Down[i] or [i]Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey Baby suck, but suck nonetheless.

Heathen was pretty damn good. It hasn't held up the same level of excitement for me over the past year, and I might be tired of it one day, but it'll do.

As far as Reality goes, I can already feel my genitals shrivelling up into my body cavity because of the excitement. I can't site through classes tonight...jeezus...I'll be at Cheapo promptly at midnight. If anyone ahead of me dares to be holding the LAST copy of the limited 2-CD set, I swear to fucking god I will:

• Poop on your face
  
• Kill your family
  
• Eat your pets
  
• Destroy your ancestors
  
• Poop on your face again
  
• Slit your throat with a KFC spork
  
• Take your CDs
  

That's it...

Love your colourful language, King!

Just listened to it for the first time.

Reserving comments until further listens.

I really like most of the album, the title track rocks for example, but I think the arrangements are bit too loaded sometimes. A little less keyboards at times would make it just about perfect for me.

Looks like AMG gave the album a 4 star rating. Still waiting on the review.

Rolling Stone was more lukewarm with 3 stars.

Moonbeam said:

except that Paula writes Kylie's hits!

Wow...I really DISLIKE Reality, as does my wife. We only listed to it once, so I will hold off my actual opinion until later. And it takes me a long time to dig Bowie albums sometimes. But this one really sinks. It just sounds insipid to me...no weight or substance...New Killer Star was alright, as was Pablo Picasso. Never Get Old (or whatever) sounded like a reject from Never Let Me Down, just transported to 2003...The Loneliest Guy was okay, but never really took off...Reality, Fall Dog Bombs the Moon, She Drives the Big Car, and Looking for Water all suck...they honestly sound like outtakes from Tin Machine II. I never expected this reaction...hell, I think I might even like hours more than this album!!! Days is weak...Try Some Buy Some has all the personality of a ricecake...Thank god Bring Me the Disco King is alright...but it could have been more. That's my basic first impression. It just could have been more. It's okay, but that's all. Just okay. Hmm...maybe the SACD version will blow me away...doubtful, but I'll leave that open.

Worst is the fact that none of the stores around me even had the 2-cd version, so I was stuck buying the single disc. Now, I'm in a Bowie quagmire...

I don't mean to get into a huge debate with any fellow Bowie nuts or anything, nor am I proclaiming that my opinion is right or that this is the worst CD ever...it just strikes me as very weak and passive for Bowie...where's the oddity? The alien textures? The bizarre soundscapes? Even the brooding of hours...?


Oh well...at least I have all those Dylan SACDs coming to me in the mail...

KingSausage said:

I'm surprised too. Even more at your reaction than mine.

I'm trying to stay open-minded and I don't want to color anyone's opinion before I have one well thought out myself. But so far, I've found the album difficult. I was expecting to be blown away. I'll leave it at that.

Okay, I'm listening again and loving it.

I don't know what was wrong with me earlier.

I was up 24 hours straight when I first played it and had a rough morning. I just don't think I was in the right frame of mind to be hearing new music by anyone. The songs are sinking in and taking shape now.

Can't wait.
For the album AND Noepie's opinion.

I still have to tackle Bjork's live box...