David Bowie: Rate the albums

[Reid]

Maybe too smooth for some, but I like this live show that was released on CD. Actually, the second half rocks pretty hard. Earl Slick on lead guitar.

[strawberrybrick]

Just had a memorial this past Saturday and were spinning Bowie until the wee hours... covered a lot of ground. What's amazing about his output is the quality control. The only duds I can think of are Never Let Me Down and Black Tie White Noise, but the rest, just great work, no matter what "music" he was aiming for. Okay, Laughing Gnome was a big chuckle. Outside, Earthling are underrated perhaps in his overall catalogue, Man Who Sold the World and Low the most "progressive with the times". And he couldn't have ended on a higher note that Next Day and Blackstar. Oh yeah, and Tin Machine was a pretty good record!

[zombywoof]

I have been inspired to acquire his back catalog. I was never a big fan but there are many tunes of his I really like. I'm more fond of his funky stuff than the glam, by a pretty wide margin. But I will give it all a fair listen.

Same.

[thedunno]

Of the ones I have:

1 Hunky Dory
2 Lodger
3 Low
4 Heroes
5 The man who fell to earth
6 Ziggy
7 scary monsters
9 Outlander
10 Diamond dogs
11 the next day
12 Heathen

I think there's a lot to like on all Bowie albums i heared but Hunky Dory is for me his most consistent. The albums Heroes- low-Lodger are hist best run. All other albums are, for me at least, a bit patchy but all have enough strong songs to make them worth owning.

Still haven't bought Black Star but I will soon. Will buy all the others I am missing at one point too.

[spacefreak]

Gnosis rates:

Hunky Dory (15)
The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (15)
The Man Who Sold the World (14)
Aladdin Sane (13)
Station to Station (12)
Man of Words / Space Oddity (11)
Heroes (11)
Low (10)
Lodger (10)
Diamond Dogs (9)
Scary Monsters (9)
Blackstar (9)
Young Americans (8)
David Bowie (8)
Let's Dance (7)

[bob_32_116]

What's Gnosis? Is this some reflection of your own preferences, or the preferences of the general public?

[Trane]

What's Gnosis? Is this some reflection of your own preferences, or the preferences of the general public?

For me, Gnosis2000 is the most trustworthy rating site, but it does have a few slants or skews, that actually fit my tastes: a strong RIO/Avant and JR/F flavour will there fore tint any top list.

It's an invite-only rating site (there are a few PE members that are Gnosisraters >> I had to beg and sell my two sisters to get in ), but anyone can lurk as much as he likes. It is based on a 1 to 15 scale, where there are three shades of every step in a normal scale of 5 rating.
5* can be either 13, 14 or 15
4* can be 12, 11 or 10
3* is 9, 8 or 7
etc...

[Gruno]

I scroll on by when I see people use the Gnosis rating system.

[bob_32_116]

Thanks for the description, Trane. "Invite-only", eh? That sounds a bit like the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

[Rufus]

I scroll on by when I see people use the Gnosis rating system.

DITTO, it's the most unreliable rating system known to mankind!

I mean, having Space Oddity above Diamond Dogs, Low etc. is just insane and would never reflect a populist or critical opinion!

[bob_32_116]

DITTO, it's the most unreliable rating system known to mankind!

I mean, having Space Oddity above Diamond Dogs, Low etc. is just insane and would never reflect a populist or critical opinion!

Ah, but you see these people are wise, they understand music better than the rest of us, their ratings reflect their superior capacity for judging the worth of an artist or an album.

They must be wise, because it's invite-only,

[JJ88]

Just had a memorial this past Saturday and were spinning Bowie until the wee hours... covered a lot of ground. What's amazing about his output is the quality control. The only duds I can think of are Never Let Me Down and Black Tie White Noise, but the rest, just great work, no matter what "music" he was aiming for. Okay, Laughing Gnome was a big chuckle. Outside, Earthling are underrated perhaps in his overall catalogue, Man Who Sold the World and Low the most "progressive with the times". And he couldn't have ended on a higher note that Next Day and Blackstar. Oh yeah, and Tin Machine was a pretty good record!

I played Never Let Me Down a few days ago. I still hate the production/mix, but I have always stuck up for the material itself up to and including 'Glass Spider'. There's some good songs there, although the last few are duds (the song 'Too Dizzy', he removed from later copies of the album!). Unlike Tonight, which is too heavy on covers and remakes, it sounds like he was trying again.

Black Tie White Noise is a little bit sprawling, but I think the best of it is magnificent- the title track and 'Jump They Say' especially.

[Rarebird]

I played Never Let Me Down a few days ago. I still hate the production/mix, but I have always stuck up for the material itself up to and including 'Glass Spider'. There's some good songs there, although the last few are duds (the song 'Too Dizzy', he removed from later copies of the album!). Unlike Tonight, which is too heavy on covers and remakes, it sounds like he was trying again.

Black Tie White Noise is a little bit sprawling, but I think the best of it is magnificent- the title track and 'Jump They Say' especially.

The latter title has a bit of a weird annotation to me.
Some people have jumped of the appartmentbuilding I live in. Several years ago a woman my dad and I knew and last year someone unknown, though I've heard that someone thought my dad jumped, but he still is very much alive.

[JJ88]

^The song is said to be about Bowie's brother Terry, who made a suicide attempt and suffered from mental illness throughout his life.

[Sonia_Mota]

I heard "An Occasional Dream" on the radio yesterday, from the Space Oddity album (which seems to have at least three different names). I was very impressed, and I think I like it more than the song "Space oddity" itself.

Bob and everyone else who is not very familiar with Space Oddity, also known as self titled David Bowie album (this was his second album not to be confused with the first one with same name), have a listen to Cygnet Committee, this song is unbelievable beautiful, also one of the best vocals from Bowie, lyrics wise too.
These are the lyrics:
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/david...committee.html
here's the song:

[Trane]

Ah, but you see these people are wise, they understand music better than the rest of us, their ratings reflect their superior capacity for judging the worth of an artist or an album.

They must be wise, because it's invite-only,

for someone that didn't know something two hours before, you became quite an expert.

This place is filled with envious & frustrated people who would love to get in and skew the site ratings to their own ratings... You'd get plenty of PE dudes giving Spock's Beard, SW & PT or TFK albums some Gnosis15 ratings (even if they don't believe in it), just to see their favored band appear in the top lists

Yeah, the site is not 100% objective, because only open to certain types of "progheads". A collective Gnosis11 average is almost a blind must-buy for me.
Can't say the same thing about a 4* in PA or RYM.

Nothing stops SB, TFK or Transatlantic fans to open up their own site to champion them, though

[Vic2012]

Ok, whenever I start my Bowie collection I'm starting with Ziggy, TMWSTW, and Station to Station.

[bob_32_116]

for someone that didn't know something two hours before, you became quite an expert.

This place is filled with envious & frustrated people who would love to get in and skew the site ratings to their own ratings... You'd get plenty of PE dudes giving Spock's Beard, SW & PT or TFK albums some Gnosis15 ratings (even if they don't believe in it), just to see their favored band appear in the top lists

Yeah, the site is not 100% objective, because only open to certain types of "progheads". A collective Gnosis11 average is almost a blind must-buy for me.
Can't say the same thing about a 4* in PA or RYM.

Nothing stops SB, TFK or Transatlantic fans to open up their own site to champion them, though

I guess my chief problem with Gnosis is the name. If I see a set of ratings on a site such as Progressive Ears, I know in advance that it will be skewed towards music that's progressive in some sense.

[Sonia_Mota]

I guess my chief problem with Gnosis is the name. If I see a set of ratings on a site such as Progressive Ears, I know in advance that it will be skewed towards music that's progressive in some sense.

Gnosis reminds me too much of Gnome aka The Laughing Gnome and this is not a good thing, Bowie's worst track ever made, it's just ridiculous terrible

[SteveSly]

I played Never Let Me Down a few days ago. I still hate the production/mix, but I have always stuck up for the material itself up to and including 'Glass Spider'. There's some good songs there, although the last few are duds (the song 'Too Dizzy', he removed from later copies of the album!). Unlike Tonight, which is too heavy on covers and remakes, it sounds like he was trying again.

.

Never really thought it was a terrible album either. There are some good songs on it, especially the first half as you mention.

[Trane]

Gnosis reminds me too much of Gnome aka The Laughing Gnome and this is not a good thing, Bowie's worst track ever made, it's just ridiculous terrible

I'm gonnnnnaaaaa make you pay for thaaaaattttt!!!

[Rarebird]

^The song is said to be about Bowie's brother Terry, who made a suicide attempt and suffered from mental illness throughout his life.

I knew that.

[Sonia_Mota]

I'l gonnnnnaaaaa make you pay for thaaaaattttt!!!

hahahaha ..

[Trane]

hahahaha ..

ya won't be laughing afterwards

[JJ88]

Always felt 'The Laughing Gnome' has a certain charm. Daft as a brush but it knows it is, and it raises a smile.