Oh yeah, you can hear all the way through to Scary Monsters here. Young Americans, Station to Station, Low, Heroes, Lodger; they're all there. That muscular baritone sound. That's peak '70s David Bowie. This song is a great example of why the push for JP doing Diamond Dogs is so worth it. He's getting a little bit of the Ziggy era with the nasality and the high notes, but experiencing the most profound transition David ever made as an artist. So worth it.
This song is really one of the most personal David had written. He poured his soul into it, yet it's so low-key that most people don't even notice. Definitely the most obscure track on the record. The most artistically incredible thing he did here is subtle. The first couple lines you hear are in that deep, smoky croon you've heard on Station to Station. That's an indication of where he was going to go next with Young Americans in 1975. After that, "a room to rent while lizards lay crying in the heat" is delivered in that very early, English, vulnerable Bowie tone you'd heard on Space Oddity, which is even more present on his records The Man Who Sold the World and Hunky Dory, representing David's career before he'd chosen to be someone other than himself. THEN came the part that all of his fans were really excited about at the time. "I would take a foxy kind of stand" was delivered with a very particular affectation. That's the tone David used for most of the Ziggy Stardust era. He was taking us through his path and all of the characters he'd created to become David Bowie again. It culminates with the second verse onward where he sang like he never did before or after. He put his all into every line, and the one take was all he needed even though you can hear his throat catching. It's powerful. What this song really represents is the music. The characters didn't matter and David didn't matter. To him, what mattered was that he could do something artistically important and create these songs that resonate with people and empower them. Performing was the thing that drew happiness from David and really seemed to mean the world to him. He'd rather have performed rock n' roll at that part of his life than done anything else in the world as anyone else. You don't see many artists in general with that level of absolute commitment. He was one of a kind. He used the cut-ups technique for a few lines. The lizard part is the most obvious. It's very unique, and serves as a reminder of all the crazy animals living in Hunger City throughout the album. Not just Halloween Jack with his doggy balls or the rats the size of cats, but reptilian people. Rock N' Roll with Me can fit the album without being too out of sorts lyrically. It's a very special track that doesn't typically get the credit it deserves. I'm grateful that this video will give it more exposure, because reactors have the ability to revive lost tracks for a lot of people and a song like this deserves to be remembered. I'm looking forward to the next track the most of any on the album, Justin! We Are the Dead is one of my top 5 Bowie songs, and my favorite on the record! You're in for a treat! 😎
I am starting to realize how much David, just wanted to sing Rock and Rhythm and Blues, but his voice is just so Goth! Makes for his own special sound. Beautiful Creature. ❤️
This is a rather underrated song, I'd say. The melody is good if not great, but Bowie sings it fantastically well. The Diamond Dogs album was the first time (if we discount "Pin-Ups" he began to explore the croon part of his voice register, and it would seem to have truly inspired him to push his vocals that much further. Here, perhaps more than on any of his other albums, he's not just singing the songs but ACTING them. Wait until you hear "We Are the Dead". It's worthy of Laurence Olivier!
Jamel_aka_jamal always says thanks for helping keep music alive. He covers a wide range but I like the depth you go into even more, doing whole albums with a deeper analysis. Few reactors have your ability to really listen to the music, you hear things that even I don't catch.
Not a critic's fave, but one of my favourite Bowie albums, from beginning to end. But total transparency, as much as I like this song, it doesn't quite fit with the rest of the dystopian feel of the the rest of Diamond Dogs. The rest of the album is disturbing and quite frightening. But this track was played as a 'slow dance' when I was in high school. Not the same vibe at all. Love the sax in the background tho and his vocals. Bowie himself was so high (coke and heroin) he barely remembers recording it at all. There's an in concert version on David Live, that is quite impressive too. But I must THANK YOU for the Bowie choice! Not a lot of people react to his genius. So much to chose from. So many depths and heights. I find this track just a little middling. But thank you!
@Tim Lynch Bowie's addiction problem wasn't with heroin, just cocaine & alcohol primarily. It was his good friend Iggy with the heroin problem. Bowie could never have released 10 albums just in the 70's ALONE if heroin was his issue. I heard him say in an interview that he had tried it, but it wasn't his thing. It really would not fit into David's work ethic, which even Iggy was in awe of. And lets face it, coke WAS the drug of the 70's, I don't think many in the entertainment industry weren't using it.
@Sara Jane I think his memory was a bit weak for several years due to his serious cocaine problem, from late 73 till 77 when he went to Berlin. So that covers a few albums, but you are correct about him saying in an interview that he didn't remember Station to Station at all.
I always put this track as a bit of an afterthought on the general feel of the album, but after so many years of not hearing this I now realize just how much of a great rock ballad it was and is! Btw thank you for your brilliant and in-depth reviews of his music! You have given me a renewed enthusiasm to dig out his old albums and listen with the acceptance of his passing!
Yes, side 2 continues with the upbeat from "Rebel Rebel" that ended side 1. I like "temple in the middle of a destroyed city" analogy! The ending bars does presage what is yet to come. Makes sense as a breather when the album is taken as a whole as a _1984_ musical. Wish Orwell's family had allowed the project to continue to fruition.
You have introduced me to stuff from my own past that I have never heard before. Back in the 60s, 70s and 80s my tastes were much more specific than they are now; I find my musical appreciation has become more flexible over time and you frequently point me to something I missed along the way. So, yeah, you are keeping the music alive!!!
Compared to the majority of Diamond Dogs tracks, "Rock 'n' Roll with Me" is a lighter song but its message is nonetheless deep. Musically and especially vocally, we are starting to get closer to the next album Young Americans (which is immersed in soul music and fully adopts the Philadelphia Sound). It's a good ballad but personally I prefer the following songs and especially "We Are the Dead" which brings us back to the dystopian feel of Orwell. Justin, get ready for one of Bowie's very best songs!!!
You need to explore the Berlin Trilogy - Low, Heroes & Lodgers. 3 albums Bowie worked with Brian Eno in mid to late 70s. They were another batch of big influential albums that contained ambient, minimal electronic music elements that you will find quite incredible! Like I say - keep digging! You are in historical treasures for pop music here.
In the midst of a dystopia this song feels almost superficial, but it's a very good straightforward rock and roll song, and I've always found it an uplifting interlude I enjoy very much.
Another great analysis Justin, you are really doing Bowie justice here & I am anxiously awaiting the last few songs on the album which are some of my faves & have some more interesting sonic surprises for you. (I don't want to spoil anything by saying too much!) I don't believe you have done his "Man Who Sold The World" album from 1970 yet. I think you would enjoy diving into some of the thought provoking songs / lyrics there. Just a suggestion, I will be here either way! 😁
I wonder what part of my memory box this was stored in because I'd forgotten it totally,but when it started to play I thought oh yes I know this one,getting old is a curious thing.I just noticed your nearly at 15k Justin ,I can already hear Tonys opening piano part , won't be long now!
You are my favourite reaction guy for so many reasons..you are open minded,intelligent,full of good humour and have a deep undertstading of music in general.TOP SCORE! But you should maybe mention something about the quality of Bowies unique vocal style.His voive..MY GOD.its so mindblowingly beautiful.
Afternoon, Justin. Dave from London. Thank You For The Music. I often use a song title from my CD & vinyl collection as part of my greeting, but this one by ABBA is more heartfelt than usual. In these troubled times, your channel has been a real tonic. I don't send you recommendations as I prefer that you introduce me to songs. You say subscribers have then bought albums; well I bought Before These Crowded Streets by the Dave Matthews Band, and I love it. I know a lot of Bowie albums but not Diamond Dogs so thanks for that too. I love your reactions too. You see so much more than I usually do after a first listen. And your sense of humour is priceless!
Hi Justin ive enjoyed all your bowie reviews not just because your complimentary. the key word you used here is "interesting" I think thats because bowie hinself was so interested in loads of things and in way that explains why his work is so diverse. He was a real "artist" thanks again
Kudos for you for working through a whole album like this. Diamond Dogs would not be the one I would start with had you asked, but I do like it. Looking back in his career, check out Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust. Moving forward, Scary Monsters (I think you listened to Ashes to Ashes already), Heroes, and Low are all great. Well done!
Didn't really give this album the love it deserves. This last song just confirms It! I'm gonna give the whole thing a spin this weekend while I make eggplant parm for Easter...Once again JP, thanks for reviving great music for us old rockers...
A track I'd frankly forgotten, even though I'd worn this album out in a previous life. To me it demonstrates Bowie's skill at putting together a song, in fact any type of song. The organ felt like it was from Dylan music of around the time and for some reason it seemed a song Dylan could have sung. Definitely a departure from the main theme of the album.
Justin, nice to hear you pick up on how We Are The Dead is like a song from a musical. Bowie said his original intent was a musical based on Orwell's novel 1984. One can listen to DD is as a musical, and Rock 'n' Roll with Me is a pivotal track in that view. As issued, it was the first song on Side 2 of the LP, and if you will is the opening song "after intermission" flipping the record. Think of the structure of musicals, there's a classic form of the first half, intermission, then the closing half. The first scene of the first half introduces the setting, people and the first half up to intermission situation defines the situation/conflict. The closing half after intermission is the resolution. On the Diamond Dogs LP Rebel Rebel was the last song of Side One/ the first half of the musical. The opening track, Future Legend/Diamond Dogs, introduces the location and characters, and presents a new character entering the scene. Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing is the song where the new character gets involved with the people of the scene. In Rebel Rebel the character has now joined the scene. As we return from intermission, Side Two starts with Rock 'n' Roll with Me and establishes the character as a fully integrated part of the scene. We then get We Are The Dead, 1984, and Big Brother/Chant the core based on the novel 1984. (A classic you really need to read. It is even more relevant now than when Bowie wrote Diamond Dogs). My take is "the character" is a young gay boy who moves to the City, gets recruited in Candidate to hang in a bar where older gay men cruise for young men. The operators of that scene have a pattern of "cleaning house" every so often and shed the current crop of young things, either by returning them to the street, or worse.
The thing that hits me most about this album as I watch you react to it is how much it feels like a Broadway musical. This song especially feels like it's part of a theater piece. Which makes sense as the music on this album was written for a musical project of "1984" (but was stopped by the estate of George Orwell). Generally I'm not a fan of Broadway musicals, the exception being "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", and I think of "Diamond Dogs" as being somewhat related musically to that. Glam involves camp sensibilities after all. Still one of my favorite Bowie albums.
The profound thing is, David's impact on Rocky Horror and Rocky Horror's impact on David were completely symbiotic. The play had a bit of Ziggy Stardust influence as well as '50s rock n' roll, David got some incredible ideas from the show and sent Tim Curry 2 dozen red roses, then this album came out a year before the film. Bowie's Ziggy-era makeup artist Pierre La Roche was hired to work on Rocky Horror Picture Show. Music and theatre were both changed in a single stroke. The only thing that could've made Diamond Dogs better would have been a full 1984 musical as planned. History is truly fascinating.
@@chrismeadows4216 I did not know about those connections! Thanks for info! Just the other day I watched a reaction to Meatloaf's "Paradise By The Dashboard Lights" and I was stuck by how much the guitar work reminded me of "Time Warp" (which would make sense for obvious reasons!). Such connections are, as you say, truly fascinating.
@@br.martindallyosb1147 I'm not surprised you'd come from a reaction to that song. I've seen it requested a ton in the same circles. They're the gambit of dramatic rock n' roll. A lot of people underestimate how strong of an impact artists like David Bowie and Meat Loaf and Alice Cooper really made. They have an idea, but there weren't a lot of '80s artists that didn't pay attention to how they brought theatre into rock music in the '70s. It was monumental.
Love your work with the thumb piano at the beginning. Interestingly, King Crimson's Larks' Tongues In Aspic begins with the same instrument. Bowie's vocals here are great as usual. Did you know he was a huge fan of Scott Walker? I think the most obvious vocal influence on Bowie was Walker and Anthony Newley. His crooning induced a lot of swooning.
Have to admit, I’d forgotten how this song goes till the chorus and then I was back with the Bowie baby. There are a bunch of strange songs on DDs and this one, like you pointed out, sits quietly as a refuge of warmth and kinship, like this channel. We’re all rocking and rolling David, with you. Speaking of near slips, David San... almost said Sancious, Sylvian,and Bowie and the lowly me... Went back and watched the Transformation (Speed of Love) last night, really enjoyed it, wondering sir if I could have a bit more? More!!! Heh heh... Take care everyone, masks for the poor, kindness on purpose, Peace and small blessings of fuzzy guitar Music
we are celebrating my youngest turning 25 or as I said this morning, happy quarter of a century because who doesn't need that first thing in the morning. Been listening to a lot of Bruce Cockburn, Patrick Watson and Blackie and the Rodeo Kings the last few days. Just being a bit nostalgic I guess.
Hi Justin. A few years ago I decided to put the Grundig cassette tape player I'd rescued from my parents' attic to use by playing a Catch Up WithAll The Music I Neglected In My Teens Tape Game. This entailed purchasing old cassettes from 2nd hand stores and listening to them on the Grundig but without me pretending to be DJ Tony Blackburn. The only condition was that the purchases had to consist of artists (and some dodgy albums) I'd dismissed as a teenager as not worthy. David Bowie had died around the same time - so I have in my possession a hit singles compilation( my only experience of him really) and a 90s ? / 2000 LP "Outside " with Gail Ann Dorsey playin bass- whom I always remembered from her tv appearances at the time. Anyway, many other previously much maligned artists were included in the game which has just resurfaced again during a Spring Clean of the garage, so I'm keepin the lost Music Alive there while I write some extensive Sleeve Notes of My Life on my late father's writing bureau....! Yes, your channel is the equivalent Tape Game Free Digi App and what fun it is. Diolch! This song ? Well, it sounded as if All The Young Dudes has a distant cousin. My neighbour, Kevin, a few doors up was a Bowie fanatic growing up and last time I saw him he was devastated at his hero's death. I couldn't pluck up the courage to tell him that we've all had the car bonnets slammed on our heads, so to speak, so sometimes the best thing to do is just listen. (I'll listen to it again now without me prattlin'on.)
I definitely hope you give the '70s albums a whirl. Not one of them isn't truly brilliant. Also, and this opinion isn't super common because '70s Bowie fans aren't usually receptive to the '80s, Scary Monsters, Let's Dance, the Labyrinth soundtrack, and Never Let Me Down are INCREDIBLE albums. Even if you like music more on the eccentric side, there's some perfect stuff on them which fulfills that need while giving some very positive, fun listening. I'd recommend 20 David Bowie albums in total without hesitation. They really enhance a general appreciation of music.
Gotta say, and it's true with every Bowie album, you won't know it's Bowie just by listening to the beginning of the song. It's only when he starts to sing. Some bands/singers (a lot) are identifiable at the onset of the first chord.
Hi JP ! Great reaction and analysis, as always :) I thought you'd find this song a bit "weaker" after the heavy ones before (especially Sweet thing and Rebel Rebel). At least, that's how I experienced it personnaly when I first listen to it a long long time ago... Glad to see you appreciated it right away. And you're right : it does have a "chuchy" gospel feel to it and, as always with Bowie, can be interpreted on so many levels. The parallel with "Word on a wing" is also particularly relevant, both on form and on substance. GG, man (and yes : Keep the music alive !).
Gospel indeed. Yeah, when this song comes on in the line of the story I always pictured the character alone with just a blanket at the top of an abandoned building in a collapsed state and his lover entering the room with a bottle of water. I know, right? But if there's a story that's how the story works. I mean the album is kind of grey and bleak and a little twisted and a simple sanctuary of appreciation suddenly appears.in the middle of it so...
During the Texas freeze with no power, the water shut off, it started to get scary... what am I gonna do? Well, kinda like that bottle of water, a small drip gradually turning into a small stream kept my hopes alive. With it I could drink after boiling, flush , nuff said, keep clean. Small blessings are sometimes huge.
In a strange sense, that's really what he became. Some of the stuff on Heathen, Reality, The Next Day, and Blackstar is very jazz/big band oriented. It was a fitting resolution to write the kind of music that first inspired him.
Justin would you react to Mott the Hooples version of Bowie's 'All the Young Dudes'? It was their biggest hit next to 'Cleveland Rocks'. David recorded his own version as well in case you want to give a listen in your spare time. Happy Easter weekend🐰🐇
Great video. This is not an easy song or album to analyze, as it contains a few half-baked concepts and leftover ideas thrown together to make a glorious whole. Don't look too hard for a storyline. Just enjoy the songs.
Yeah, after almost fifty years of listening to 'Diamond Dogs' I'm still trying to figure out if there IS a story, or if it's just creepy, cool rock 'n' roll with a loose 1984-ish bent. I'm good with either way. LOL!
I became familiar with the album David Live (which was released after Diamond Dogs, and the tour contained many songs from that album) and so I prefer those versions - including Rock and Roll With Me. Studio versions - great, but I find the live versions greater.
@@JustJP Thanks Justin! I know I keep talking about Paddy McAloon & Prefab Sprout, but they are special. Bonny, Faron Young, Appetite, When Love Breaks Down, Goodbye Lucille #1, the Jordan album, the remarkable I Trawl The Megahertz (read the background to that one first) - and many, many more!
Definitely watch you for both aspects: I like to see younger people discovering the music that made my youth so great; and I have found things through you that I haven't listened to much before. This is a case in point. I lived for a few years next to Bowies school and a great friend of mine now is still obsessed by Bowie and she is always looking for Bowie info so I'll send her a link to this video. I'd like to suggestv2 things. Onecwontvsurprisebyou asvI ask about Roy Harper's HQ album regularly (The Game, Referendum, Hallucinating Light). I lost my father to Covid and for many weeks listened to one of my top 3 artists, Jackson Browne, with his song Of Missing Persons. Onecreason I like prog so much is lyrics. JB does lyrics in a West Coast Rock context and his lyrics can be extremely deep.
I have loved your reviews and especially your reviews of the songs from my all time favorite album, Court & Spark by Joni Mitchell. I know you have reviewed a few songs from Sinead O'Connor's The Lion & The Cobra album but I really think you should review Sinead O'Connor's album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got. You should do it song by song the way you have done Court & Spark (or the whole album at once) because it is truly one of the most extraordinary and devastating albums of all time. Trust me on this one.
You might want to listen to the last 4 tracks all together. I can't remember offhand if they all segue into each other (I know for sure the last 2 do), but they're all blatantly Orwell-themed, as one can tell from their titles. And, again, requests for "The Words of Aaron" by The Move and "She Said" by Barclay James Harvest. 🙏
That's why side two has always been what I love most about the album. It embodies the whole Orwellian theme so nicely. Any BJH is appreciated. My personal favorite is 'Time Honoured Ghosts'. Anything from that, even "Beyond The Grave", is phenomenal.
We Are the Dead has a smooth gap before 1984, but not necessarily a segue. Thematically, all 4 tracks fulfill the intended storyline of the record, though I'd say only Big Brother/Chant should be coupled. JP's gonna need a minute or two to relax after We Are the Dead. 1984 would be a pretty jarring leap to analyze.
I really feel like this song should be the last one on the album. I don't really like the transition from such light and kinda uplifting song into a very dark and challenging one (We are the Dead). If it had been placed last, it could also be seen as a reference and counterpart to Rock n Roll Suicide from Ziggy.
actually its Bowie himself playing all guitars on this album(except on the title track)-He also plays the sax,moog synths and mellotron. just saying. Your musical insight and analyses are the best on youtube,but sometimes i wish you commented a bit more on the extraordinary qualities of Bowies vocals . Still..you are an awesome critic of music.
"You're doing it to me. Stop it." Shades of One for the Vine, n'est ce pas? Interesting that you mention a temple. Yeeeeeaaars ago, for my final project in a Theater History class, I wrote an adaptation of the Orestes mythology based on the plays The Libation Bearers, Electra, and Orestes, by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides respectively. I set it in a nuclear winter future in front of a mostly obliterated Grauman's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard, a stand-in temple for my characters. I don't know if it was because of my own religious upbringing or because I was listening to Diamond Dogs and Low a lot in those days, but an element of the play was that the characters worshipped stars, not the stars in the heavens (which were invisible -- the heavens *and* the stars -- because of permanent overcast), but the decaying stars at their feet in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I titled the play, "2080 A.D., or, This Ain't Rock and Roll, This is Genocide!" And I dedicated the play to the afore mentioned Greek playwrights and David Bowie. All of this popped into my head when you said, "temple." Thanks for the memories... Also, if the title, The Day the Earth Caught Fire, doesn't appeal to you, maybe something from City Boy's second album (my favorite), Dinner at the Ritz. Something like Narcissus, or Walk On the Water. It's good stuff I tell you. Come on! Give it a go! Oh, and, as for keeping good music alive (Jamel!), for old fogies like me, it's actually very touching (yes, I weep a little sometimes) when we see you youngsters having the same experiences with the same songs we had oh so many years ago (check out Andy and Alex with Frankenstein -- I've watched this more than half-a-dozen times and I get a little misty every time), so thank you for helping us still feel relevant. Carry on!
Habi, my re-listen spine tingler goose bumper is on JP's original GENESIS Firth of Fifth First Reaction on his previous site JPMP. Their very first Genesis listen and great fun to watch them get stunned in their discovery.
@@Habichiwoowoo And I re watched Frankenstein and that's definitely a good one. They also had a crack at Firth of Fifth and it's different but a fun one too. Not sure if old Genesis is in their type of wheelhouse but hopefully they try a couple more before they close the door.
Hmmm...my least fave from the lp. Always seemed out of place. Btw, i guess people are telling you to go back and listen to Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust...BUT don’t forget...I repeat DO NOT forget the Man Who Sold the World album. It’s stunningly powerful. After you’ve finished the DDogs lp you must hear The Width of a Circle! 👍
Are you familiar with American Gods? Without attention they will blink out of existence,so keep praying at the alter of rock! Today is a good day, first game of the baseball season,my Mets lock up the best shortstop in baseball for a decade! And my new laptop, amplifier and guitar are all due to be delivered today! Oh and by the way I saw a baby snake slither across your desk!!!!------ April fools! Peace.
I found this very "middle of the road", even for Bowie. The music was a blues based progression, nothing exciting and the vocals were OK. I prefer "Modern Love" with greater production and a more up beat tempo. Your review was good as always, but I would not search this song out to play it to someone else.
My least favourite song on the album. Keeping in mind that I deem Bowie an absolute genius, it sounded ordinary when I first listened to it as it does today.
I think this song has THE classic Bowie voice. You can feel "Young Americans" coming....
Oh yeah, you can hear all the way through to Scary Monsters here. Young Americans, Station to Station, Low, Heroes, Lodger; they're all there. That muscular baritone sound. That's peak '70s David Bowie. This song is a great example of why the push for JP doing Diamond Dogs is so worth it. He's getting a little bit of the Ziggy era with the nasality and the high notes, but experiencing the most profound transition David ever made as an artist. So worth it.
This song is really one of the most personal David had written. He poured his soul into it, yet it's so low-key that most people don't even notice. Definitely the most obscure track on the record.
The most artistically incredible thing he did here is subtle. The first couple lines you hear are in that deep, smoky croon you've heard on Station to Station. That's an indication of where he was going to go next with Young Americans in 1975. After that, "a room to rent while lizards lay crying in the heat" is delivered in that very early, English, vulnerable Bowie tone you'd heard on Space Oddity, which is even more present on his records The Man Who Sold the World and Hunky Dory, representing David's career before he'd chosen to be someone other than himself. THEN came the part that all of his fans were really excited about at the time. "I would take a foxy kind of stand" was delivered with a very particular affectation. That's the tone David used for most of the Ziggy Stardust era. He was taking us through his path and all of the characters he'd created to become David Bowie again. It culminates with the second verse onward where he sang like he never did before or after. He put his all into every line, and the one take was all he needed even though you can hear his throat catching. It's powerful.
What this song really represents is the music. The characters didn't matter and David didn't matter. To him, what mattered was that he could do something artistically important and create these songs that resonate with people and empower them. Performing was the thing that drew happiness from David and really seemed to mean the world to him. He'd rather have performed rock n' roll at that part of his life than done anything else in the world as anyone else. You don't see many artists in general with that level of absolute commitment. He was one of a kind.
He used the cut-ups technique for a few lines. The lizard part is the most obvious. It's very unique, and serves as a reminder of all the crazy animals living in Hunger City throughout the album. Not just Halloween Jack with his doggy balls or the rats the size of cats, but reptilian people. Rock N' Roll with Me can fit the album without being too out of sorts lyrically. It's a very special track that doesn't typically get the credit it deserves. I'm grateful that this video will give it more exposure, because reactors have the ability to revive lost tracks for a lot of people and a song like this deserves to be remembered.
I'm looking forward to the next track the most of any on the album, Justin! We Are the Dead is one of my top 5 Bowie songs, and my favorite on the record! You're in for a treat! 😎
RIP Thin White Duke, I'm in tears again
Underrated Bowie gem... great chord pattern as well as a lower croon by Bowie, forecasting his new lower vocal range used from this point on...
I am starting to realize how much David, just wanted to sing Rock and Rhythm and Blues, but his voice is just so Goth! Makes for his own special sound. Beautiful Creature. ❤️
David Bowie was Dracula, Elvis Presley, and Little Richard all in one! 😎
This is the first time I'm hearing this song and holy shit, this is romantic af. I feel like this would be a perfect wedding song.
💒🤘
This is a rather underrated song, I'd say. The melody is good if not great, but Bowie sings it fantastically well.
The Diamond Dogs album was the first time (if we discount "Pin-Ups" he began to explore the croon part of his voice register,
and it would seem to have truly inspired him to push his vocals that much further.
Here, perhaps more than on any of his other albums, he's not just singing the songs but ACTING them. Wait until you hear "We Are the Dead". It's worthy of Laurence Olivier!
Jamel_aka_jamal always says thanks for helping keep music alive. He covers a wide range but I like the depth you go into even more, doing whole albums with a deeper analysis. Few reactors have your ability to really listen to the music, you hear things that even I don't catch.
I appreciate that
Thanks for this reaction and appreciation for one of Bowie's best but most underrated songs
Has a similar vibe to his earlier Drive In Saturday from the album Aladdin Sane. Bowie’s vocals never disappoint
Not a critic's fave, but one of my favourite Bowie albums, from beginning to end. But total transparency, as much as I like this song, it doesn't quite fit with the rest of the dystopian feel of the the rest of Diamond Dogs. The rest of the album is disturbing and quite frightening. But this track was played as a 'slow dance' when I was in high school. Not the same vibe at all. Love the sax in the background tho and his vocals. Bowie himself was so high (coke and heroin) he barely remembers recording it at all. There's an in concert version on David Live, that is quite impressive too. But I must THANK YOU for the Bowie choice! Not a lot of people react to his genius. So much to chose from. So many depths and heights. I find this track just a little middling. But thank you!
@Tim Lynch Bowie's addiction problem wasn't with heroin, just cocaine & alcohol primarily. It was his good friend Iggy with the heroin problem. Bowie could never have released 10 albums just in the 70's ALONE if heroin was his issue. I heard him say in an interview that he had tried it, but it wasn't his thing. It really would not fit into David's work ethic, which even Iggy was in awe of. And lets face it, coke WAS the drug of the 70's, I don't think many in the entertainment industry weren't using it.
I always thought it was Station to Station that he couldn’t remember recording. LOL
@Sara Jane I think his memory was a bit weak for several years due to his serious cocaine problem, from late 73 till 77 when he went to Berlin. So that covers a few albums, but you are correct about him saying in an interview that he didn't remember Station to Station at all.
I can't believe I missed this 2 years ago. I adore this song/album. Yesterday was my 63rd B'day. Happy B'day to me with this!
I always put this track as a bit of an afterthought on the general feel of the album, but after so many years of not hearing this I now realize just how much of a great rock ballad it was and is! Btw thank you for your brilliant and in-depth reviews of his music! You have given me a renewed enthusiasm to dig out his old albums and listen with the acceptance of his passing!
Yes, side 2 continues with the upbeat from "Rebel Rebel" that ended side 1. I like "temple in the middle of a destroyed city" analogy! The ending bars does presage what is yet to come. Makes sense as a breather when the album is taken as a whole as a _1984_ musical. Wish Orwell's family had allowed the project to continue to fruition.
Thanks for reviewing this song. LOVE it, one of his few real love songs.
Absolutely Valerie! Thank you
You have introduced me to stuff from my own past that I have never heard before. Back in the 60s, 70s and 80s my tastes were much more specific than they are now; I find my musical appreciation has become more flexible over time and you frequently point me to something I missed along the way. So, yeah, you are keeping the music alive!!!
Well I'm glad to be a small part of that Jamie, thank you🙃
Compared to the majority of Diamond Dogs tracks, "Rock 'n' Roll with Me" is a lighter song but its message is nonetheless deep.
Musically and especially vocally, we are starting to get closer to the next album Young Americans (which is immersed in soul music and fully adopts the Philadelphia Sound).
It's a good ballad but personally I prefer the following songs and especially "We Are the Dead" which brings us back to the dystopian feel of Orwell. Justin, get ready for one of Bowie's very best songs!!!
This song really moves, because it introduces little changes here and there.
Possibly my fav' all time Bowie song... possibly.
You need to explore the Berlin Trilogy - Low, Heroes & Lodgers. 3 albums Bowie worked with Brian Eno in mid to late 70s. They were another batch of big influential albums that contained ambient, minimal electronic music elements that you will find quite incredible! Like I say - keep digging! You are in historical treasures for pop music here.
In the midst of a dystopia this song feels almost superficial, but it's a very good straightforward rock and roll song, and I've always found it an uplifting interlude I enjoy very much.
A beautiful respite as we swing back to Halloween Jack and his tortured love affair in We Are The Dead. Bowies voice is so awesome in this.
Another great analysis Justin, you are really doing Bowie justice here & I am anxiously awaiting the last few songs on the album which are some of my faves & have some more interesting sonic surprises for you. (I don't want to spoil anything by saying too much!) I don't believe you have done his "Man Who Sold The World" album from 1970 yet. I think you would enjoy diving into some of the thought provoking songs / lyrics there. Just a suggestion, I will be here either way! 😁
Thanks Chris!
Few bring the vocal nuances & are able to emote as well as Bowie.
Very, very creative- knows how to work any lyric exceptionally well ❣
🚬😎
I wonder what part of my memory box this was stored in because I'd forgotten it totally,but when it started to play I thought oh yes I know this one,getting old is a curious thing.I just noticed your nearly at 15k Justin ,I can already hear Tonys opening piano part , won't be long now!
You are my favourite reaction guy for so many reasons..you are open minded,intelligent,full of good humour and have a deep undertstading of music in general.TOP SCORE! But you should maybe mention something about the quality of Bowies unique vocal style.His voive..MY GOD.its so mindblowingly beautiful.
Hands up everyone who looked at his t-shirt when it got to the line "...a foxy kind of stand".
🤭🦊
His “lead” guitar playing on this cracks me up (I mean that affectionately) - great listen.
JP I always thought the closest album he did to this was years before with The Man Who Sold the World , an EXCELLENT listen
Nice start to the afternoon.
Hope it was a great one (afternoon)
Afternoon, Justin. Dave from London. Thank You For The Music. I often use a song title from my CD & vinyl collection as part of my greeting, but this one by ABBA is more heartfelt than usual. In these troubled times, your channel has been a real tonic. I don't send you recommendations as I prefer that you introduce me to songs. You say subscribers have then bought albums; well I bought Before These Crowded Streets by the Dave Matthews Band, and I love it. I know a lot of Bowie albums but not Diamond Dogs so thanks for that too. I love your reactions too. You see so much more than I usually do after a first listen. And your sense of humour is priceless!
Thanks Dave! I'm glad you enjoyed that one, let me know what you think of the album
Hi Justin ive enjoyed all your bowie reviews not just because your complimentary. the key word you used here is "interesting" I think thats because bowie hinself was so interested in loads of things and in way that explains why his work is so diverse. He was a real "artist" thanks again
Kudos for you for working through a whole album like this. Diamond Dogs would not be the one I would start with had you asked, but I do like it. Looking back in his career, check out Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust. Moving forward, Scary Monsters (I think you listened to Ashes to Ashes already), Heroes, and Low are all great. Well done!
Ty Ben! Definitely planning on more!
Didn't really give this album the love it deserves. This last song just confirms It! I'm gonna give the whole thing a spin this weekend while I make eggplant parm for Easter...Once again JP, thanks for reviving great music for us old rockers...
I love the song and the album. You have turned reactions into an art Justin.
Well ty!
Probably my favourite Bowie song
The version on "David Live" is so so good.
The single it deserved to be. 😌
A track I'd frankly forgotten, even though I'd worn this album out in a previous life. To me it demonstrates Bowie's skill at putting together a song, in fact any type of song. The organ felt like it was from Dylan music of around the time and for some reason it seemed a song Dylan could have sung. Definitely a departure from the main theme of the album.
True. Bowie could whip out a great song with such ease. This should have been a hit single?
Justin, nice to hear you pick up on how We Are The Dead is like a song from a musical. Bowie said his original intent was a musical based on Orwell's novel 1984. One can listen to DD is as a musical, and Rock 'n' Roll with Me is a pivotal track in that view. As issued, it was the first song on Side 2 of the LP, and if you will is the opening song "after intermission" flipping the record.
Think of the structure of musicals, there's a classic form of the first half, intermission, then the closing half. The first scene of the first half introduces the setting, people and the first half up to intermission situation defines the situation/conflict. The closing half after intermission is the resolution.
On the Diamond Dogs LP Rebel Rebel was the last song of Side One/ the first half of the musical. The opening track, Future Legend/Diamond Dogs, introduces the location and characters, and presents a new character entering the scene. Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing is the song where the new character gets involved with the people of the scene. In Rebel Rebel the character has now joined the scene.
As we return from intermission, Side Two starts with Rock 'n' Roll with Me and establishes the character as a fully integrated part of the scene. We then get We Are The Dead, 1984, and Big Brother/Chant the core based on the novel 1984. (A classic you really need to read. It is even more relevant now than when Bowie wrote Diamond Dogs).
My take is "the character" is a young gay boy who moves to the City, gets recruited in Candidate to hang in a bar where older gay men cruise for young men. The operators of that scene have a pattern of "cleaning house" every so often and shed the current crop of young things, either by returning them to the street, or worse.
It would be cool for some Nick Drake reactions if you get a moment to catch your breath with all these requests :D
Working on some Drake actually 🙃
The thing that hits me most about this album as I watch you react to it is how much it feels like a Broadway musical. This song especially feels like it's part of a theater piece. Which makes sense as the music on this album was written for a musical project of "1984" (but was stopped by the estate of George Orwell). Generally I'm not a fan of Broadway musicals, the exception being "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", and I think of "Diamond Dogs" as being somewhat related musically to that. Glam involves camp sensibilities after all. Still one of my favorite Bowie albums.
Id agree! Definitely has a theatrical sensibility
The profound thing is, David's impact on Rocky Horror and Rocky Horror's impact on David were completely symbiotic. The play had a bit of Ziggy Stardust influence as well as '50s rock n' roll, David got some incredible ideas from the show and sent Tim Curry 2 dozen red roses, then this album came out a year before the film. Bowie's Ziggy-era makeup artist Pierre La Roche was hired to work on Rocky Horror Picture Show. Music and theatre were both changed in a single stroke. The only thing that could've made Diamond Dogs better would have been a full 1984 musical as planned. History is truly fascinating.
@@chrismeadows4216 I did not know about those connections! Thanks for info! Just the other day I watched a reaction to Meatloaf's "Paradise By The Dashboard Lights" and I was stuck by how much the guitar work reminded me of "Time Warp" (which would make sense for obvious reasons!). Such connections are, as you say, truly fascinating.
@@br.martindallyosb1147 I'm not surprised you'd come from a reaction to that song. I've seen it requested a ton in the same circles. They're the gambit of dramatic rock n' roll. A lot of people underestimate how strong of an impact artists like David Bowie and Meat Loaf and Alice Cooper really made. They have an idea, but there weren't a lot of '80s artists that didn't pay attention to how they brought theatre into rock music in the '70s. It was monumental.
Love your work with the thumb piano at the beginning. Interestingly, King Crimson's Larks' Tongues In Aspic begins with the same instrument. Bowie's vocals here are great as usual. Did you know he was a huge fan of Scott Walker? I think the most obvious vocal influence on Bowie was Walker and Anthony Newley. His crooning induced a lot of swooning.
Have to admit, I’d forgotten how this song goes till the chorus and then I was back with the Bowie baby. There are a bunch of strange songs on DDs and this one, like you pointed out, sits quietly as a refuge of warmth and kinship, like this channel. We’re all rocking and rolling David, with you.
Speaking of near slips, David San... almost said Sancious, Sylvian,and Bowie and the lowly me... Went back and watched the Transformation (Speed of Love) last night, really enjoyed it, wondering sir if I could have a bit more? More!!! Heh heh...
Take care everyone, masks for the poor, kindness on purpose,
Peace and small blessings of fuzzy guitar Music
Well thank you 😊 I dont currently have more Sancious lined up, but I haven't forgotten him either😉
we are celebrating my youngest turning 25 or as I said this morning, happy quarter of a century because who doesn't need that first thing in the morning.
Been listening to a lot of Bruce Cockburn, Patrick Watson and Blackie and the Rodeo Kings the last few days. Just being a bit nostalgic I guess.
Congratulations! To the both of you
Hi Justin. A few years ago I decided to put the Grundig cassette tape player I'd rescued from my parents' attic to use by playing a Catch Up WithAll The Music I Neglected In My Teens Tape Game.
This entailed purchasing old cassettes from 2nd hand stores and listening to them on the Grundig but without me pretending to be DJ Tony Blackburn. The only condition was that the purchases had to consist of
artists (and some dodgy albums) I'd dismissed as a teenager as not worthy.
David Bowie had died around the same time - so I have in my possession a hit singles compilation( my only experience of him really) and a 90s ? / 2000 LP "Outside " with Gail Ann Dorsey playin bass- whom I always remembered from her tv appearances at the time.
Anyway, many other previously much maligned artists were included in the game which has just resurfaced again during a Spring Clean of the garage, so I'm keepin the lost Music Alive there while I write some extensive Sleeve Notes of My Life on my late father's writing bureau....!
Yes, your channel is the equivalent Tape Game Free Digi App and what fun it is. Diolch!
This song ? Well, it sounded as if All The Young Dudes has a distant cousin. My neighbour, Kevin, a few doors up was a Bowie fanatic growing up and last time I saw him he was devastated at his hero's death. I couldn't pluck up the courage to tell him that we've all had the car bonnets slammed on our heads, so to speak, so sometimes the best thing to do is just listen. (I'll listen to it again now without me prattlin'on.)
I definitely hope you give the '70s albums a whirl. Not one of them isn't truly brilliant. Also, and this opinion isn't super common because '70s Bowie fans aren't usually receptive to the '80s, Scary Monsters, Let's Dance, the Labyrinth soundtrack, and Never Let Me Down are INCREDIBLE albums. Even if you like music more on the eccentric side, there's some perfect stuff on them which fulfills that need while giving some very positive, fun listening. I'd recommend 20 David Bowie albums in total without hesitation. They really enhance a general appreciation of music.
Gotta say, and it's true with every Bowie album, you won't know it's Bowie just by listening to the beginning of the song. It's only when he starts to sing. Some bands/singers (a lot) are identifiable at the onset of the first chord.
Hi JP ! Great reaction and analysis, as always :) I thought you'd find this song a bit "weaker" after the heavy ones before (especially Sweet thing and Rebel Rebel). At least, that's how I experienced it personnaly when I first listen to it a long long time ago... Glad to see you appreciated it right away. And you're right : it does have a "chuchy" gospel feel to it and, as always with Bowie, can be interpreted on so many levels. The parallel with "Word on a wing" is also particularly relevant, both on form and on substance. GG, man (and yes : Keep the music alive !).
Ty man!
Funny you mentioned Sylvian because Bowie was a big influence especially early Japan.
Gospel indeed. Yeah, when this song comes on in the line of the story I always pictured the character alone with just a blanket at the top of an abandoned building in a collapsed state and his lover entering the room with a bottle of water. I know, right? But if there's a story that's how the story works. I mean the album is kind of grey and bleak and a little twisted and a simple sanctuary of appreciation suddenly appears.in the middle of it so...
During the Texas freeze with no power, the water shut off, it started to get scary... what am I gonna do?
Well, kinda like that bottle of water, a small drip gradually turning into a small stream kept my hopes alive. With it I could drink after boiling, flush , nuff said, keep clean. Small blessings are sometimes huge.
I think Bowie would have been comfortable as a 50s 'crooner'. Check out he and Bing Crosby doing 'The Little Drummer Boy'.
In a strange sense, that's really what he became. Some of the stuff on Heathen, Reality, The Next Day, and Blackstar is very jazz/big band oriented. It was a fitting resolution to write the kind of music that first inspired him.
Great Album, Top Rock Star, Top reactor - Cheers !!!
Thank you Plainsight!
Justin would you react to Mott the Hooples version of Bowie's 'All the Young Dudes'? It was their biggest hit next to 'Cleveland Rocks'. David recorded his own version as well in case you want to give a listen in your spare time. Happy Easter weekend🐰🐇
Never noticed that keyboard in the background before!! cheers JP...there's always more layers than you first hear, isn't there?
Seemingly so!🧅
Great video. This is not an easy song or album to analyze, as it contains a few half-baked concepts and leftover ideas thrown together to make a glorious whole. Don't look too hard for a storyline. Just enjoy the songs.
Yeah, after almost fifty years of listening to 'Diamond Dogs' I'm still trying to figure out if there IS a story, or if it's just creepy, cool rock 'n' roll with a loose 1984-ish bent. I'm good with either way. LOL!
I became familiar with the album David Live (which was released after Diamond Dogs, and the tour contained many songs from that album) and so I prefer those versions - including Rock and Roll With Me. Studio versions - great, but I find the live versions greater.
Prefab Sprout - "Bonny" please; we need some more jazz in here. Good reaction to a favourite album/song of mine. Thank you.
How about Jordan: The Comeback. It's a concept album. Love them Sprouts!
Workin on some Prefab🙃
If you want to start off strong, start with "Appetite" from the debut. Pop perfection!
@@JustJP Thank you.
@@JustJP Thanks Justin! I know I keep talking about Paddy McAloon & Prefab Sprout, but they are special. Bonny, Faron Young, Appetite, When Love Breaks Down, Goodbye Lucille #1, the Jordan album, the remarkable I Trawl The Megahertz (read the background to that one first) - and many, many more!
Definitely watch you for both aspects: I like to see younger people discovering the music that made my youth so great; and I have found things through you that I haven't listened to much before.
This is a case in point. I lived for a few years next to Bowies school and a great friend of mine now is still obsessed by Bowie and she is always looking for Bowie info so I'll send her a link to this video.
I'd like to suggestv2 things. Onecwontvsurprisebyou asvI ask about Roy Harper's HQ album regularly (The Game, Referendum, Hallucinating Light).
I lost my father to Covid and for many weeks listened to one of my top 3 artists, Jackson Browne, with his song Of Missing Persons.
Onecreason I like prog so much is lyrics. JB does lyrics in a West Coast Rock context and his lyrics can be extremely deep.
Thank you Nick, and im very sorry to hear that about your dad
The melody in this has a strong parallel to Dylan's "No Woman No Cry."
When did Dylan ever sing Bob Marley’s song? He does do covers so it’s possible. But why credit it to him and not to Marley?
keep going into 'we are the dead' !!!! please ?
Definitely!
I have loved your reviews and especially your reviews of the songs from my all time favorite album, Court & Spark by Joni Mitchell. I know you have reviewed a few songs from Sinead O'Connor's The Lion & The Cobra album but I really think you should review Sinead O'Connor's album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got. You should do it song by song the way you have done Court & Spark (or the whole album at once) because it is truly one of the most extraordinary and devastating albums of all time. Trust me on this one.
Ty James, ill try to keep it in mind
You PLEASE MUST PLAY FASHION by BOWIE! It’s awesome! Also the title track from this LP Diamond Dogs. ❤️
You might want to listen to the last 4 tracks all together. I can't remember offhand if they all segue into each other (I know for sure the last 2 do), but they're all blatantly Orwell-themed, as one can tell from their titles.
And, again, requests for "The Words of Aaron" by The Move and "She Said" by Barclay James Harvest. 🙏
That's why side two has always been what I love most about the album. It embodies the whole Orwellian theme so nicely.
Any BJH is appreciated. My personal favorite is 'Time Honoured Ghosts'. Anything from that, even "Beyond The Grave", is phenomenal.
We Are the Dead has a smooth gap before 1984, but not necessarily a segue. Thematically, all 4 tracks fulfill the intended storyline of the record, though I'd say only Big Brother/Chant should be coupled. JP's gonna need a minute or two to relax after We Are the Dead. 1984 would be a pretty jarring leap to analyze.
Recommend checking out this album ( Church Of Anthrax ) by John Cale & Terry Riley
It’s amazing there’s so much going on in the music
FYI, "We Are The Dead" is a great song, but since I know you like to work clean, Bowie does drop the "F-Bomb" so you may want to edit that out.
heres my daily gentle coax, Frank Zappa's "The Ocean Is The Ultimate Solution"...
When you read through the lyrics you sound like Ted Rogers reading the cryptic clues on 3-2-1.
Justin, If you delay to finish Duke, it will step on the heels of The Lamb, just 3 weeks left to hit 15k my boy 😉
I'm hoping to finish it just before😅
I really feel like this song should be the last one on the album. I don't really like the transition from such light and kinda uplifting song into a very dark and challenging one (We are the Dead). If it had been placed last, it could also be seen as a reference and counterpart to Rock n Roll Suicide from Ziggy.
I have a theory that RCA messed with David's track order. They did it with Ziggy Stardust, so I wouldn't put it past them.
actually its Bowie himself playing all guitars on this album(except on the title track)-He also plays the sax,moog synths and mellotron. just saying. Your musical insight and analyses are the best on youtube,but sometimes i wish you commented a bit more on the extraordinary qualities of Bowies vocals . Still..you are an awesome critic of music.
The album is based on 1984 can't remember who the author was
George Orwell
"You're doing it to me. Stop it." Shades of One for the Vine, n'est ce pas?
Interesting that you mention a temple. Yeeeeeaaars ago, for my final project in a Theater History class, I wrote an adaptation of the Orestes mythology based on the plays The Libation Bearers, Electra, and Orestes, by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides respectively. I set it in a nuclear winter future in front of a mostly obliterated Grauman's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard, a stand-in temple for my characters. I don't know if it was because of my own religious upbringing or because I was listening to Diamond Dogs and Low a lot in those days, but an element of the play was that the characters worshipped stars, not the stars in the heavens (which were invisible -- the heavens *and* the stars -- because of permanent overcast), but the decaying stars at their feet in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I titled the play, "2080 A.D., or, This Ain't Rock and Roll, This is Genocide!" And I dedicated the play to the afore mentioned Greek playwrights and David Bowie.
All of this popped into my head when you said, "temple." Thanks for the memories...
Also, if the title, The Day the Earth Caught Fire, doesn't appeal to you, maybe something from City Boy's second album (my favorite), Dinner at the Ritz. Something like Narcissus, or Walk On the Water. It's good stuff I tell you. Come on! Give it a go!
Oh, and, as for keeping good music alive (Jamel!), for old fogies like me, it's actually very touching (yes, I weep a little sometimes) when we see you youngsters having the same experiences with the same songs we had oh so many years ago (check out Andy and Alex with Frankenstein -- I've watched this more than half-a-dozen times and I get a little misty every time), so thank you for helping us still feel relevant. Carry on!
Thats a really interesting concept, i like that "star" idea!
Habi, my re-listen spine tingler goose bumper is on JP's original GENESIS Firth of Fifth First Reaction on his previous site JPMP. Their very first Genesis listen and great fun to watch them get stunned in their discovery.
@@Vince-lq3ve Watched that last night per your behest, and sure enough, my eyes started leaking...
@@Habichiwoowoo And I re watched Frankenstein and that's definitely a good one. They also had a crack at Firth of Fifth and it's different but a fun one too. Not sure if old Genesis is in their type of wheelhouse but hopefully they try a couple more before they close the door.
Mmm! Never heard this one before. A bit of a "Let It Be" vibe.
Hmmm...my least fave from the lp. Always seemed out of place.
Btw, i guess people are telling you to go back and listen to Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust...BUT don’t forget...I repeat DO NOT forget the Man Who Sold the World album. It’s stunningly powerful. After you’ve finished the DDogs lp you must hear The Width of a Circle! 👍
Are you familiar with American Gods? Without attention they will blink out of existence,so keep praying at the alter of rock! Today is a good day, first game of the baseball season,my Mets lock up the best shortstop in baseball for a decade! And my new laptop, amplifier and guitar are all due to be delivered today! Oh and by the way I saw a baby snake slither across your desk!!!!------ April fools! Peace.
Lol! I read the book many years ago. I thought conceptually it was great, execution i was mixed lol 😆
Ok I’ll ask again and again, please check out LAKE
On the Run
Key to the Rhyme
Between the Lines
The David Live album version is better
This whole lp is not like anything else he has done
I found this very "middle of the road", even for Bowie. The music was a blues based progression, nothing exciting and the vocals were OK. I prefer "Modern Love" with greater production and a more up beat tempo. Your review was good as always, but I would not search this song out to play it to someone else.
My least favourite song on the album. Keeping in mind that I deem Bowie an absolute genius, it sounded ordinary when I first listened to it as it does today.
Some music is better off dead tho'.