An explanatory note for (relatively) new readers: these very infrequent “chapter end” posts began back in 2009, when about eight people read this thing. They are a means to give me breathing space so I can write an overlong introductory piece for the upcoming phase of Bowie’s career, and to allow readers to praise and fight over their favorite songs from a particular period.
Problem is, I think it’s been too long since the last one (which ended with Lodger), so mercy, there are a lot of songs to go through. For this period, however, a lot of them aren’t great, so your list will likely narrow quickly. The inclusion of Scary Monsters utterly skews the ranking in my case. So have at it: list your best songs of the 1980-1987 period (Monsters to Never Let Me Down). Here’s my very Monsters-heavy list, extended to 15 because SM was such a dominant force:
Ashes to Ashes.
Up the Hill Backwards.
Modern Love.
It’s No Game (No. 1).
Under Pressure.
Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps).
Cat People (original).
Crystal Japan.
Blue Jean.
Fashion.
Let’s Dance.
Isolation.
Absolute Beginners.
The Drowned Girl.
Without You.
Top: Paul W. Locke, “Paul’s coworkers at Ferranti-Dege in Harvard Square, 1986.” (RIP Ferranti-Dege.)
My 10 list in order
1.Ashes to ashes
2.Absolute beginners
3.Under pressure
4.Let’s dance
5.It’s no game p.1
6.Scary monsters
7.Up the hill backwards
8.Fashion
9.Because you’re young
10.It’s no game p.2
Incapable to add more songs
1. Teenage Wildlife
2. Teenage Wildlife
3. Teenage Wildlife
4. Teenage Wildlife
5. Teenage Wildlife
6. Teenage Wildlife
7. Teenage Wildlife
8. Teenage Wildlife
9. Teenage Wildlife
10. Without You
Okay, but in seriousness:
1. Teenage Wildlife
2. Ashes to Ashes
3. Never Let Me Down
4. Shades
5. Up the Hill Backwards
6. Without You
7. Time Will Crawl
8. Blue Jean
9. Modern Love
10. Cat People (Soundtrack)
Yes, I’m defending “Without You.” I think that song has less fans than “God Only Knows.” It may be slight and harmless, but it’s on a through-and-through ‘pop’ album, and it certainly has more weight than “Shake It.”
Bonus Points: here’s a young and innocent Me from 2008 covering Teenage Wildlife😛
I, since I’m number one contrarian in the house, am totally excited for the next Chapter. BRING IT ON, REEVES!
“without you” has really grown on me too—it booted “Time will Crawl” in my list.
Here’s my Top 20 David Bowie tracks from 1980-1987 (I hope that’s not pushing it! :D):
-1. Teenage Wildlife
-2. Absolute Beginners
-3. Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)
-4. Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (both versions)
-5. Time Will Crawl
-6. Up The Hill Backwards
-7. Under Pressure [w / Queen]
-8. Zeroes
-9. Fashion
10. Let’s Dance
11. Ashes To Ashes
12. Never Let Me Down
13. As The World Falls Down
14. Glass Spider
15. It’s No Game (1 & 2)
16. Dancing With The Big Boys
17. Ricochet
18. Blue Jean
19. When The Wind Blows
20. Loving The Alien
Best cover tune of 1980-1987:
Kingdom Come (Tom Verlaine)
Worst cover tune of 1980-1987:
Dancing In The Street [w / Mick Jagger] (Martha And The Vandellas)
1. Ashes to ashes
2. Under Pressure
3. It’s no game pt. 1
4. Fashion
5. Scary Monsters
6. Absolute beginners
7. Teenage Wildlife
8. Up the hill backwards
9. Modern Love
10. Blue Jean
Really glad the drabness of Never Let Down is over. I have to admit I stopped reading this blog for a short while. I’m not sure if it’s his nadir but NLMD is certainly my least favourite Bowie record. I’m up to speed now though and looking forward to Tin Machine….
Really looking forward to what you have to say about the Tin Machine years. Here’s mine
1.Ashes to Ashes
2.Teenage Wildlife
3. The Drowned Girl
3. Its no Game pt 1
4. Because your young
5. When the wind blows
6. Loving the Alien
7. Shades
8. Under Pressure
9. Richochet
10. Time will crawl
Ashes to Ashes
Criminal World
The Drowned Girl
Loving the Alien
Ricochet
Shining Star (Makin’ My Love)
Teenage Wildlife
This Is Not America
Time Will Crawl
Tumble And Twirl
It’s No Game (1)
Scary Monsters
Fashion
Ashes to Ashes
Teenage Wildlife
Under Pressure
China Girl
Cat People (OST/Moroder)
This is Not America (7″)
Absolute Beginners (7″ Vers)
Loving The Alien (LP Vers)
Time Will Crawl (Original ’87 Mix)
It’s No Game (2)
Is There Life After Marriage?
1. Ashes to Ashes
2. Teenage Wildlife
3. Absolute Beginners
4. Let’s Dance
5. Fashion
6. Under Pressure
7. Loving the Alien
8. Ricochet
9. Up The Hill Backwards
10. Crystal Japan
11. Without You
12. Isolation
13. This Is Not America
14. Cat People (Moroder)
15. Never Let Me Down
Although I must admit I’d readily have had the entire Scary Monsters in the first 10 positions. And I vacilate between Without You and Criminal World (I think you were far too harsh about it).
And of course, the China Girl video, with the overcoat and the erupting bowl of rice surely merits inclusion).
But tonight, that list suits me nicely.
1. Ashes To Ashes
2. Teenage Wildlife
3. Modern Love
4. Under Pressure
5. Absolute Beginners
6 Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
7. Cat People (Putting Out the Fire)
8. Blue Jean
9. Fashion
10. Because Your Young
11 Time Will Crawl
12. Loving The Alien
13. It’s No Game Pt. 1
14. Isolation
15. China Girl
16. Let’s Dance
17. Scream Like A Baby
18. Without You
19. Shades
20. Underground
I also toyed with just going with Scary Monsters to start with. Again, thanks for the great site! I’ll be excited to get to the 90’s after a very interesting (I’m sure it will be) look at Tin Machine.
Ok, here’s mine. Definitely skewed towards Scary Monsters, though pickings in this period are slim enough that myself I had no trouble keeping to 12. In no particular order (apart from the 1st on the list):
Ashes To Ashes
Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)
Fashion
Teenage Wildlife
Up The Hill Backwards
Scream Like A Baby
Modern Love
Shades
Time Will Crawl
Absolute Beginners
the original Cat People (Putting Out Fire)
Crystal Japan
Best Iggy reworking: China Girl (by far)
Best cover: The Drowned Girl (hell, why not most of Baal?)
As a bit of a Tin Machine advocate myself, looking forward to the next phase, though I believe there’s one more Glass Spider-era track to come.
yes, one more. and the intro to TM song might surprise some, but it makes sense chronologically (sorta).
Oh, crap, please insert It’s No Game (Pt. 1) into my list. (Guess it’s a Lucky 13.)
Putting Scary Monsters up against the bulk of his 80s output is unfair. It’s like putting Adrian Gonzalez on the minor league all-star team because he spent a few days in rehab in Pawtucket. (You Brits can substitute the appropriate cricket/football/rugby analogy here)
Naah, SM is from the 70s, whether you count that tenth year or not. So my list is entirely from 81 onward. Oh and I’m leaving out Iggy’s stuff too, mostly for the same reasoning.
1. Absolute Beginners
2. Let’s Dance
3. Under Pressure
4. Loving the Alien
5. Dancing with the Big Boys
6. Modern Love
7. Without You
8. Time Will Crawl
9. Blue Jean
10. Cat People
That’s not a bad greatest hits album, actually, for most artists.
Yes, I decided to leave off Scary Monsters as well, otherwise it would take up the entire list. Instead, I’ve honed in (chronologically) on Bowie’s “fallow” years from 83-87.
1. Let’s Dance
2. Modern Love
3. Criminal World
4. Loving the Alien
5. Tumble and Twirl
6. Dancing With the Big Boys
7. Absolute Beginners
8. Underground
9. As the World Falls Down
10. Time Will Crawl
11. Never Let Me Down
12. Shining Star (Makin’ My Love)
1. Ashes to Ashes
2. Teenage Wildlife
3. Modern Love
4. Under Pressure
5. It’s No Game (No. 1)
6. Because You’re Young
7. China Girl
8. Up the Hill Backwards
9. Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
10. Blue Jean
I don’t know if I can pick one song, but my favorites are in no particular order:
Ashes To Ashes
Cat People (Original Soundtrack Version)
Crystal Japan
Modern Love
Let’s Dance
Under Pressure (though the live Reality Tour version is better IMO)
Ashes to Ashes
It’s No Game Pt 1
Fashion
Teenage Wildlife
Scary Monsters
Under Pressure
Cat People (soundtrack)
Let’s Dance
China Girl
Loving the Alien
Absolute Beginners
Isolation
Shades
This is not America
Never Let Me Down
I’ll give it a stab!
Ashes to ashes
Absolute Beginners
Teenage Wildlife
Time Will Crawl
This is not America
Under Pressure
Up the hill Backwards
Let’s Dance
Without you
Cat People (original)
China girl
Crystal Japan
That’ll do
I’m going to say something embarrassing, but maybe it’s something many of us feel. Although he’s done lots of terribly disappointing things (most of them in Chapter Six), this is still the individual I love the most in the world, even more than members of my own family. He regularly appears in dreams as a friend and mentor. In the most recent of them I introduced him to my elderly relatives. “Oh,” they said, “you’ve brought David Bowie. That’s nice.” And they went back to reading their Sunday papers.
Yeah, I’ve had heaps of dreams featuring Bowie. It’s like he’s become some kind of avatar.
I have dreams with Bowie but they have continuity – my friends are tired of my insistence that I am astral projecting into a parallel universe where DB and I are social.
It’s weird mixing Scary Monsters with the later stuff…but anyway…in no particular (maybe a bit chronological) order:
Ashes to Ashes
It’s No Game Part 1
Fashion
Teenage Wildlife
Because You’re Young
Under Pressure
Baal’s Hymn
Modern Love
China Girl
Loving the Alien
This Is Not America
Absolute Beginners
As the World Falls Down
Isolation
When The Wind Blows
Time Will Crawl
Never Let Me Down
scarymonster mentioned the music video for “China Girl“ prompting this post since I feel that, at least according to my own sense of aesthetics, that the long-form “Jazzin for Blue Jean“ video is the this post since I feel that, at least according to my own sense of aesthetics, that the long-form “Jazzin for Blue Jean“ video is the best music video ever produced.
At the risk of straying too far off topic and only to just to provide a sense of what other music videos I estimate as absolute standout efforts, here are a few that are almost of the same caliber:
The Replacements – Bastards of Young, R.E.M. – Left of Reckoning and/or Feeling Gravitys Pull/Life and How to Live It, The Cure – Close to Me (Closer Mix), Sonic Youth – Disappearer/Titanium Exposé, Beastie Boys – Sabotage, Björk – Human Behaviour, Duran Duran – Rio, Michael Jackson – Billie Jean, Bruce Springsteen – Brilliant Disguise, Prince – Raspberry Beret, A-Ha – Take on Me, The Smiths – Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before & Nirvana – In Bloom
An underrated period in Bowie’s career in my opinion:
Crystal Japan
Play it Safe
Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
Scream Like a Baby
Teenage Wildlife
It’s No Game
Baal’s Hymn
Cat People (Putting Out Fire)
Ricochet
Don’t Look Down
Loving the Alien
Dancing With the Big Boys
Hide Away
Isolation
Zeroes
A bit late on this but if we’re including Scary Monsters, I would have
It’s No Game (pts 1 & 2) -not sure which I prefer
Ashes to Ashes
Up the Hill Backwards
Scary Monsters
The Drowned Girl
Remembering Marie A
Absolute Beginners
This is not America
… and at a stretch
Loving the Alien
… and if it’s allowed
Crystal Japan
1. It’s No Game (Part 1)
2. Ashes to Ashes
3. Cat People
4. Under Pressure
5. Fashion
6. Scream Like a Baby
7. China Girl
8. Loving the Alien
9. Time Will Crawl
10. Criminal World
I have enjoyed reading this account of Bowie in the 1980s, but I have to say this is not how I remember it at all. This is what really happened.
Following the blockbuster Serious Moonlight world tour Bowie was rushed into the studio in early 1984. EMI were eager to cash in on their newly minted superstar marquee act, and Bowie was eager to follow up Let’s Dance with another hit album. Unfortunately the exhausted Bowie had little left to give and the sessions did not go well. A series of producers were brought in to knock the material (dominated by covers) into shape, but none could do so to the satisfaction of Bowie himself. Nevertheless, EMI prepared their marketing campaign, even announcing the release of a new Bowie single, Blue Jean, for September that year.
Their campaign in place, all EMI needed was the album, but Bowie and his string of producers demurred. A record of sorts was cobbled together, but at the very last minute Bowie (on the advice, allegedly, of long-time assistant Coco Schwab) pulled out of the project altogether citing stress and nervous exhaustion. EMI were livid and threatened to sue, but Bowie was adamant that the material for the album was not strong enough and refused to relent. Instead a compromise was reached and the label made do with the release of a double live album Serious Moonlight which did moderately well. His paymasters satisfied to a point, Bowie then withdrew from public life altogether, moving to his residence in Switzerland at the end of 1984 and staying there.
Throughout the following year rumours about Bowie’s health (mental and physical) spread throughout the press, and public sightings of the fallen star (as the media portrayed him) were treated as major events. There was talk of involvement in numerous soundtrack projects, but nothing saw the light of day. A “where’s Bowie?” campaign was taken up by a number of music magazines, and scratchy bootleg cassettes of demos for the unfinished album (which legend holds was to be called Tonight) circulated amongst fans.
In 1986 Bowie astonished everyone by announcing he would appear in Jim Henson’s children’s film Labyrinth, and would record a number of songs for the soundtrack. Unfortunately the project came to nothing and no film was ever released (decades later out-takes from the filming would become a YouTube sensation). This renewed stirring from the reclusive Bowie was soon followed by news that he was returning to the studio for the first time since 1982, and in the autumn of 1986 he commenced recording for Never Let Me Down.
The album would consist of a number of tracks from the ill-fated Tonight sessions (including the now-legendary “lost Bowie single” Blue Jean), several tracks from his equally ill-fated soundtrack projects, along with a few newly written songs.
The album was finally released in April 1987 to immediate acclaim. Never Let Me Down was an album that charted “…a doomed love affair at the end of the world”, and neatly captured the zeitgeist of the mid-1980s cold war paranoia and a nostalgia for simpler times with a mix of upbeat and darker tunes. Widely considered an exemplar of “high 80s” production, the album’s legacy was assured by the abundance of solid songcraft and soulful vocals. Never Let Me Down spawned no fewer than four hit singles for Bowie (including 3 British and 1 US number ones), with EMI milking its star for all he was worth. The album (number one in its own right around the world) further cemented Bowie’s reputation both artistically and commercially. Bowie later credited his three year hiatus as serving to both recharge his creative energies and to reaffirm his ‘mystique’ (“I was on the brink of over-exposure and only just withdrew in time” he told one interviewer in 1996). A hugely successful world tour followed. In 1989 Bowie once again confounded critics and fans alike by declining, once again, to follow a hit album with more of the same by forming the hard rock band Tin Machine: another leftfield move from an artist now firmly occupying the commercial centre stage.
Never Let Me Down (*denotes single)
A:
1. Blue Jean*
2. Time Will Crawl*
3. As the World Falls Down*
4. This is Not America
5. Underground
B:
1. Absolute Beginners*
2. Julie
3. Never Let Me Down
4. Loving the Alien
5. Within You
6. When the Wind Blows
v
This is brilliant.
Very nice. I’ll take your reality over the one described in this blog any day
I am embarrassed that this seems like a singles compilation but here are my 10 in no particular order.
Let’s Dance
Fashion
Under Pressure
Loving the Alien
This Is Not America
Cat People (Putting Out Fire)
Modern Love
It’s No Game Pt. 2
China Girl
Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)
You were doing so well until Without You appeared in your Top 15 – ah well nobody’s infallible!
1. Fashion
2. It’s No Game Pt. 1
3. Modern Love
4. Cat People
5. Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)
6. Let’s Dance
7. Under Pressure
8. Ashes To Ashes
9. Criminal World
10.Loving the Alien
A comment about the photo: I worked at Ferrante-Dege in 1988, selling Apple computers in their Longwood Avenue store (long since swallowed by Beth Israel-Deaconess). Many musicians worked there over the years, partly because one of the owner’s sons is a member of Bim Skala Bim, and partly because the old photo store culture was a lot like the old record store culture.
RIP Ferrante-Dege.