As the Tin Machine era doesn’t play well with others, it seems best to keep its rankings separate. So list your top ten or whatever you can muster from 1988-1991: choose the cream of the Machine. Mine are below (“Stamford Hill” is a stretch, as it was mainly recorded ca. 1995).
I Can’t Read.
Pretty Pink Rose.
Goodbye Mr. Ed.
Bus Stop.
Shopping for Girls.
Prisoner of Love
Exodus.
Baby Universal.
You Belong in Rock ‘n Roll.
Amlapura.
The King of Stamford Hill.
Top: Stefan Sahlander, “New York, 24 July 1991.”
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After
I Can’t Read
Amazing
Goodbye Mr Ed
Baby Can Dance
there’s nothing from Tin Machine I’d go looking for to listen to. Well done for managing ten!
the back five were a stretch.and it’s a relative ranking: pretty much everything that DB recorded 1975-1980 is better than “Amlapura” for instance.
Amazing
Baby Universal
Goodbye Mr.Ed
Bus stop
Tin Machine
Sacrifice yourself
I can’t read
You can’t talk
Baby can dance
Amlapura
Would you count the ’88 revamp of “Look Back in Anger”?
ah–good point. I suppose you could
Judging by previous comments, it would probably be easier and more engaging for this blog’s readers to choose the the ten songs they most detest from the period.
Shopping for Girls
Goodbye Mr. Ed
I Can’t Read
Baby Universal
Bus Stop
A Big Hurt
Amlapura
Tin Machine
Betty Wrong
Baby Can Dance
listing the songs that ended up on my iPod after reading chapter seven 🙂 … here we go (random order):
I Can’t Read
Baby Universal
Bus Stop
Baby Can Dance
Shopping for Girls
Goodbye Mr. Ed
Pretty Pink Rose
Tin Machine
Prisoner Of Love
I Can’t Read
Baby Can Dance
Baby Universal
You Belong In Rock ‘n’ Roll
Betty Wrong
You Can’t Talk
Goodbye Mr. Ed
Gunman
i honestly pretty pink rose is one of the few gems of the era
Heaven’s In Here
Baby Universal
You Belong in Rock’n’Roll
Tin Machine (song)
I Can’t Read
If There is Something
Amazing
Look Back In Anger (’88 revamp)
Pretty Pink Rose
Prisoner of Love
I amended my earlier list to include “Prisoner of Love,” a song I liked which I completely forgot about.
Ok, here goes:
I Can’t Read
Prisoner Of Love
Baby Universal
Goodbye Mr. Ed
Pretty Pink Rose
Baby Can Dance
Tin Machine
Shopping For Girls
Gunman
Amlapura
Best cover (by far): If There Is Something
Yikes! Let’s not forget Bus Stop!
I can’t read (the stud version & the 1989 tour version; maybe the one from the Paris set (weird intro as Bowie screams “no more…” (the end of Maggie’s farm; better than the other dates versions because slowly; kind of funeral trip with dissonant & wailing brancaesque guitar sounds; a real masterpiece!)
Heaven’s in Here (stud & 1989 tour versions, even the shortest – seemed to be played faster – “International Rock Awards” one)
Baby Can Dance
Bus Stop
Tin Machine
Amazing (as the intro song of the 1989 Paris gig; a jewel with Reeves approaching Belew & his Seagull-like guitar sounds)
Betty Wrong (the long tune with Eric Schermerhorn intro & Bowie as Roland Kirk)
Goodbye Mr Ed & Hammerhead
Sorry, because i am The Hunt supporter of the blog & because i really like his “Sam Moore”-like great voice!
Wanted to listen to “Video Crime” live but…..
prefered live versions & the 1989 tour sound !
forgot “Shopping for Girls”… another great tune & the urgent song “Pretty Thing” sung by Bowie in 89 & by Tony Sales in the early dates of the “It’s my Life Tour”. I just wanna add one point: i’d rather prefer the textures of the 1st TM LP than the more pop-like & less agressive sound of their second album.
“Sacrifice Yourself” is also a good starter, some fuel for Life.
Just you all wait until I get the cover of Tin Machine tattooed on my lower back—
Baby Can Dance
You Belong In Rock and Roll
Prisoner of Love
It’s Tough
Shopping for Girls
Tin Machine
Amazing
Baby Universal
Goodbye Mr. Ed
I Can’t Read
Really excited for Black Tie. Are those… bells I hear?
In fact, my definitive set list: The whole Tin Machine songs !
Tin Machine was a band with real good musicians, strong personalities… and not an avatar of David Bowie, so why is it so important to compare with what Bowie has done under his name?
Is it pertinent to compare for example Robert Fripp in Crimson back in 74 with his work in “Robert Fripp and the League of Crafty guitarists” or his “League of Gentlemen”? my opinion is that it’s simply different.
But to ignore Bowie’s solo work when critiquing Tin Machine, is the same as ignoring the Rolling Stones when rating Jagger’s solo work.
Also, maybe I’m wrong, but I still think that in the studio Bowie – even if it was unofficial – still had the final say in what was done and released.
Tin Machine was under Bowie’s management. The albums designs (particularly #2) were done by Bowie’s connections, as were the videos and the extra musicians who appeared on the albums and tours.
So in my opinion, Tin Machine and Bowie aren’t that different after all and therefore the albums should be judged in the same manner as the rest of Bowie’s cannon.
I think both of us are right; Tin Machine was an entity that bored a lot of people…, once again, i couldn’t follow the crowd & i thought they were fantastic performers. It’s such a commonplace for Bowie’s listeners to reject the Sales Bros. & spit upon Hunt in particular. The Bowie i saw live in a Paris 91 gig seemed far more concerned, more convincing & quite happier than the Bowie i saw earlier in the 80’s. By the way, i’m also the kind of guy who can appreciate the “accursed” 80’s material; the fact is that there were many good songs in NLMD for example… but unfortunately, played in the “dated” 80’s trip (too much electronic, no real drum kit, too much synthesizers… )
Under the God
Amazing
Baby Can Dance
Prisoner of Love
You Belong in Rock n’ Roll
If There is Something
Amlapura
Pretty Pink Rose
First things first: a huge thanks for getting through all of this, it can’t have been easy or pleasant.
I think Momus summed my feelings up perfectly in his last contribution; what made Bowie so special was that he was separate from this kind of thing. I’d never heard any of this stuff before and I can’t see myself ever listening to any of it again. Perhaps the most depressing of all the songs – but maybe the best – was ‘You Belong in Rock ‘n’ Roll’; as a young person the attraction of Bowie was that he didn’t belong in rock ‘n’ roll and neither did I.
Yes, Bowie “keeping it real” with macho meat-and-potatoes rock and roll is just so wrong and ridiculous on any number of levels. Nevertheless, I think Tin Machine was still necessary. It was the enema he needed to clean his system of all that 80s junk food he’d been snacking on. And once Tin Machine had done its cleansing magic, Bowie was (to some degree) able to go back to making interesting music.
Ok, so they say we gotta jump
…intro a real cool world.
I started following this blog during Never Let me Down and can’t wait for some more interesting music. This is a great blog you have! It made me chase some of these rare or unreleased songs that I have never heard before.
Prisoner of Love
Amazing
Betty Wrong
Baby Universal
Shopping For Girls
Under The God
You Belong In Rock n Roll
Sorry
One Shot
Run
*ducks tomatoes*
Looks like I’m not the only Hunt Sales apologist here.
Ack… don’t know how I forgot Goodbye Mr. Ed… place that 4th. And maybe pretend I didn’t put One Shot in there.
Okay, here are my Top 10 Favorite Tin Machine Songs!
01. Baby Universal
02. One Shot
03. Baby Can Dance
04. Prisoner Of Love
05. Shopping For Girls
06. Tin Machine
06. I Can’t Read
07. Under The God
08. Amazing
09. Run
10. Goodbye Mr. Ed
And the 5 runners up…
01. Amlapura
02. Betty Wrong
03. Video Crime
04. Sacrifice Yourself
05. Bus Stop
Worst Tin Machine song:
Pretty Thing
Special honorable mention goes to…
It’s Tough