This is easily one of David Bowie's most impressive achievements. Not only does this medley of songs show off his full range and theatrical power as a singer, but musically, there's a world of influences, rhythms, noises and unbelievable lyrics to enjoy. And if that isn't enough, there's also Mike Garson sprinkling his piano magic over everything. A fantastic piece of music. And Bowie just seemed to casually throw it out there! It's so easy for geniuses. 😁
@@-davidolivares For sure! He's right up there with Mick Ronson as far as essential Bowie collaborators go. I remember being thrilled when David brought him back for the Outside album and tour.
Love your description of Mike's playing. I know his playing on the Aladdin Sane album (don't know this one very well), and saw him live in Bowie's band more recently (I think it was the Reality tour). Great mixture of melody, rhythm and dissonance. I'll check out his channel (thanks, YoungJim)
Very difficult to say this, given Bowie’s amazing career, but this is probably my favorite “track” of his. It’s certainly in my top 5. Chilling, beautiful, scary, inspired genius.
Mine too Paul. It was when this album came out that I knew Bowie was just in a different league to everything else I'd heard, and in some cases loved. Every track is a masterpiece and this is the grand master, with like yourself a special mention for We Are The Dead. Even my wedding dance was When You Rock'n Roll With Me.
THIS!!!!! if i had to give someone 5 bowie songs they HAD to hear, this would be on there. no question. The song is like a movie in itself, and for my money one of Bowie's best vocal performances. He also plays all the guitars...mellotron and sax. Yes...this is bowie's first foray into that DEEP vocal range. Mike garson's piano is incredible. always. of course, this all works better when you listen to the whole album in one shot. that said...wanna hear another one that I feel is incredible (i'm in the minority) form this album. We Are the Dead. it manages to be gorgeous and freakin creepy all in one shot. MORE BOWIE PLEASE ;O)
Yes, absolutely agree. We Are The Dead encapsulates the whole 1984 imagery and, with Big Brother are the so true to the vision of this album. The so-called experts panned this album and gave no love to David Live which, I feel, are some of the best of Bowie. Bowie's guitar and sax are PERFECT for this.......so trashy, decadent sounding.
@@wpollock1 yeah, screw these experts (probably some old rockist assholes from Rolling Stone who felt it lacked 'authenticity' or something) - David Live is a stunning live album, the band is amazing, the renditions of older tracks - fascinating, and David was at the top of his game vocally (and on lots of coke, if I'm not mistaken) during this very interesting, transitional period
Favorite album. And my favorite Bowie moment is after the piano flourish when the crunching guitar comes in at the end. It sounds like decay, perfect for the subject matter.
Mine is just before that, when Bowie sings about freezing your brain in a snowstorm. It's clearly about cocaine, but the music is gorgeous and David finishes the song on what I believe is the highest note he's ever sung. And THEN the crunching guitars come in, because why not? 😁
One of the epic Bowie tracks. I think I hear something new every time I listen. Surprising to note that with Mick Ronson out of the picture, David plays most of the guitar parts on the album and quite effectively.
As Justin will learn in the next song, Bowie could write riffs like an absolute champion. Ronson helped Bowie to create what he wanted to create, then Bowie took the initiative and expanded his talents in every possible direction so he could do it for himself. The Spiders allowed him to know where he stood as an artist, and from there, he could analyze what drove his ambitions. Glam rock, soul music, then ambient, then new wave, then industrial, then ultimately jazz rock. It was having a band that allowed Bowie to understand the way bands worked. When he doubted what he was doing, starting the Hype and Arnold Corns brought him people who could understand what he wanted to create. When he doubted what he was doing, it was starting Tin Machine in the late '80s that brought him people who could understand what he wanted to create. Those people gave him perspective and inspired him. Collaboration was the toolset that allowed him to keep things fresh. David Bowie was born to be a frontman, but he was much too talented not to be the greatest solo artist the world has ever seen. There will never be another one like him.
One of my favorite Bowie songs ever, I see his dystopian world when I hear it. When Bowie was denied the rights to George Orwell's book 1984 by Orwell's widow, he modified his vision for this concept by blending proto-punk & Dickensian themes together & came up with his "Halloween Jack" persona to finish the album. The songs 1984, Big Brother, & We Are The Dead follow his original Orwellian ideas, the other songs more are in line with the latter concept. He also employed his cut up technique for his lyrics on this album that he learned from William Burroughs. He wrote them on paper, then cut them into phrases & rearranged them into different sequence, creating a very nonlinear storyline. He utilized similar techniques throughout his career, using a computer program in later years. I remember hearing this wearing headphones on as a teen, sitting in my darkened bedroom & being transported to his dystopian world. Bowie's voice was mesmerizing & Garson's piano was hauntingly beautiful. It still takes me there today. Mission accomplished Bowie!
Oh my lord, the solo between Sweet Thing and Candidate has to be one of my favorite solos of all time. It's just so perfect and powerful. Really underrated Bowie suite.
Love that low manipulated vocal at the beginning... and it just gets better weirder. Before AIDS, the sexual revolution was an exciting time. Since I was in basically a small university town it was not nearly as “seedy” as larger cities. Listening to this album back then let us imagine that world. People were grabbing other people in bars, trying out their new freedom and whisking off into the night... we were young. Androgynous David was a creepy scary sex symbol of the times. The cover folds out to a continued dog body. Very bold. Great that you came back, great album, great memories. Thank you. Take care everyone, ( manipulated low voice) maassskksss ppplllsss, Peace and dark seedy Music
bowie was projecting forward where this was all going.... he was creating a berlin of the '20's into the future as the 20th century was winding down... believable dark dystopic world. blade runner but not quite as techy future. sex was played out. now just a world of deepening release from a descending floor.
Thank you for continuing with this. It may have been mentioned previously that this was originally supposed to be a musical based on Orwell's 1984 but Bowie was denied this by the author's estate. Bowie was also hanging out with Beat writer William S. Burroughs at the time. There was definitely a gay subtext here, and Bowie was borrowing Burroughs' cut and paste technique with the lyrics. By the way, the collision of the Sweet Thing reprise into Rebel Rebel is one of the greatest moments in rock and roll.
There is a live performance on TH-cam that is phenomenal and chilling. In this particular video Bowie is rail thin and probably at the height of his addictions but his voice is dramatic and hypnotizing as ever. This performance also includes band members Mike Garson, David Sanborn on tenor sax, Luther Vandrose on background vocals, and the incredible Earl Slick on guitar.
Diamond Dogs is an incredible album, was only 12 when this came out. This song drips talent and creativity on each second on it. Bowie was very much number one in a field of one. To quote the title of a song Nobody does it better!
Oh My! What a damn great thing to wake up to. My all time favorite Bowie song and that says a ton since about my top 100 are Bowie. Thank you so so much for this welcome wakeup!
I love the juxtaposition between Bowie’s instrumental work on this - It’s Bowie as lead guitarist, and a sax section, - limited in technique but not imagination - playing against Mike Garson’s virtuosic piano, it’s messy and so grand...
As I'm sure everyone below has probably told you, this was originally meant to be less of an album, and more of a cast album to a musical he was developing based on the book 1984. But when Bowie asked for the rights, Mrs. Orwell said, "Nah". So he cobbled _Diamond Dogs_ together by rewriting some songs and writing new ones. It's a disjointed album for sure, but it has some of my favorite Bowie songs on it. This suite and "We Are The Dead" are the standout tracks for me. And "Rebel, Rebel" is always fun. Also worth hearing is the original version of "Candidate", known today as "Alternative Candidate". It's a standalone song, and Mike Garson's piano heavily features in it.
For me this is Bowies greatest work of art. I love probably 90% of his output, but this still gives me chills. You should have just let it play to the next track.
Diamond Dogs is a masterful album and one of Bowie's very best. His last glamrock album, at the same time it points forward to the plastic soul of Young Americans.
An excellent choice, Bowie really gets to show his singing range on this one, starting really low and slow, working his way up to the high note at the end. Nice changes in this one too, how he starts slow then winds himself up in the middle section. This is my 2nd favorite Bowie album after "Station to Station" so I really like the order you're going in. It's a shame he couldn't get the rights to use "Nineteen Eighty-Four" but I think that just made him more creative in the end.
Ha! One of my friends had the album cover as as big poster on his bedroom wall. It's like a train wreck, you can't look away. This album is one of Bowie's more challenging ones, but, as in the case of these 3 songs, well worth the effort.
Wow! Out of all the channels I watch, thought you'd been the perfect person to react to those songs! And I was right! Always meant to request you to do these songs! Kept forgetting! Thanks! You do a great work of dissecting songs!👍
Thank you for sharing, you said before that Bowie is not your genre. Bowie is his own genre! Hope you continue to explore this unique artist who really changed our heads since the sixties.
From the very first time I head this in 1974 to hearing it now in 2024 it still has the very same effect on me! This hasn’t even dated….nothing this brilliant could!
Bowie plays the guitar lead on the album here. You caught MIKE GARSON in your 1,2,3 air piano. The DAVID LIVE( look for the remastered version) on Sweet Thing features one of the coolest guitar/ Sax interplays you will ever hear in music. Ever! Earl Slick I believe( this is one of Bowie's songs that seems written for Slick but that's just me) and a young saxophone player who seemed to have promise at the time named David Sanborn.
Think of 1974 for a moment.....who was creating music like this at that point? No one. There is a beautiful decadence to it.....he carried this into his tour with a re-creation of a street scene.
@@chrismeadows4216 Think of the genius of Bowie....he could have had Sanborn and Slick or Ronson on guitar/sax, but no....he does them himself and it comes out with the decadent "feel" that mirrors the intended atmosphere of the songs.
@@wpollock1 it makes one wonder if he would've needed them at all. On tour, obviously he did, and they certainly made great embellishments in the studio, but maybe he could've done the job on other projects if he wanted to. It's very nice of him to have allowed other people to be a part of the records and give them a job. Some of them caught a huge break because of him.
agree.... the mid 70s was the bottom nihilistic hell hole that the summer of love 8 years earlier had launched. all the deceit & usary w/ nothing to believe in. bowie put the spotlight on the truth of the era better then any of his artistic peers in that era.
Arguably his greatest work, pure poetry. Bleak and Orwellian. So ahead of its time, the ending is so sleazy. It's hard to find anything to compare to this during that era. My favorite lyric is "we'll buy some drugs and watch a band, jump in a river holding hands" followed by a dirty, screaching sax that echoes their desperation. Rebel, rebel is a welcome relief from the gloom.
bulls -eye.... catches the mirrored wall narcissitic nihilism that was the pit of the mid 70s. no artist reflected the darkness of the period then bowie.
This is my favourite Bowie track, and I think it's his best vocal. I would describe it as some kind of warped progressive punk cabaret. I like the way the crude simplicity of Bowie's playing challenges the relative sophistication of some of the music. It adds a real edge to it.
My faveourite Bowie song/sequence from my faveourite album (along with Hunky Dory!). Also hear how he pretty much creates the vocal template for many if not all late 70's-80's post-punk, dark-wave male lead singers. Though sure he surely must have taken some influence from Scott Walker among others way back when.
I really love that album. My Bowie favorite. As usually I'm impatient to hear your reaction. Well you should have continued with Rebel rebel… I think I said that before but the cover artist is Guy Pellaert who was an innovative comics creator (Pravda and Jodelle). He also created the book "Rock babies”. A very influential artist. I had the chance to interview him in the 90'.
David recruited Guy to make Mick Jagger mad. It's a funny story. David was working on It's Only Rock N' Roll (But I Like It) with The Rolling Stones and heard Mick talking about Guy, so he hired him to do Diamond Dogs. Mick later said "You can't wear nice shoes around David Bowie" or something to that effect because David constantly absorbed everything around him that people would flaunt. David was truly a Jagger Swagger Jacker! 🤣
@Chris Meadows haha, he certainly did! If I remember correctly, he said something like "Bowie will tell you he likes your shoes, and when you turn around he is wearing them & doing it better than you!" One of the funniest & most accurate comments ever, especially between these two. I always wondered how Jagger felt when Bowie hooked up with his ex-wife Bianca.
Yes, the "Sweet Thing"/"Candidate"/"Sweet Thing (Reprise)" suite is one of the greatest Bowie tracks ! In comparison, the glam-rock of "Rebel Rebel" and the soul ballad "Rock 'n' Roll with Me" are much more classic and less exciting (although good) but "We Are the Dead", "1984", and "Big Brother"/"Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family" revive the research and atmosphere of "Sweet Thing" !
I'd phrase Rebel Rebel as a token hit about identity and Rock N' Roll with Me as an identity crisis. What they lack in uniformity, they make up for in terms of their specific signature. Rebel Rebel is that last stop before punk rock and one of the definitive classics, and Rock N' Roll with Me is Bowie shifting between personas to say he'd rather be himself than any of them because his music brings everyone together so effectively. Hippie Bowie, Soul Bowie, and Ziggy Stardust form this one incredible artist who's trying to reclaim his sense of self. A rock opera track gets all facets of his ch-ch-ch-ch-changes across to let whoever's listening to him know how much David Jones values the connection between himself and those who appreciate his music. Very vulnerable stuff on his most aloof '70s record. Not the most fitting tracks for the overall concept, but very admirable in their own right.
@@chrismeadows4216 As you brought up the identity crisis subject, Bowie was looking for himself at the time as much on the human level as on the musical side. being a cocaine addict in the mid-70s must not have helped him psychologically and physically (he was particularly skeletal in 74/75). The album David Live recorded & released in 1974 perfectly transcribes his state of mind at that time! (and the cover speaks for itself!).
@@a.k.1740 That's really the largest issue he seemed to have at the time. On one hand, he was this chaotic glam superstar. On the other, he wanted to make some laid back soul music. What you see on the cover of David Live is an orange-haired person in a suit with a fractured personality. He looks uncomfortably like cocaine; pale, a thin line, very unpredictable. He was Halloween Jack and he wanted to be David Bowie. He tried to be both. He was out of breath, but not quite doubting. There was a struggle and a confidence at the same time, and that went as far as his performance. I love the era, but hate what he went through to create it. Who Can I Be Now? is another song like Rock N' Roll with Me that more people should really hear to know just how much David was afraid of losing himself within these characters. Not fully essential to the era, but a look at who David was behind the characters he wanted us to see.
Rebel Rebel is the closing song of the first half of the musical. The bumpkin has a place in the urban scene. Rock 'n' Roll with Me is the opening number of the second act, when the disillusionment sets in.
The lyrics seem absurd or surreal at times because he used Brion Gyson and William Burroughs cut-up method to write some of the lyrics on this album. It created some really interesting results that we don’t get on any other album.
Have you ever listened to the German Krautrock band Can? If not I highly recommend them. They are at the same time one of the most highly influential rock bands of all time (they've influenced Brian Eno, Sonic Youth, the entire Post-Punk scene, early electronic music, hip hop producers, etc.) and totally unknown to most people. What made them special was the fact that the band members came from very different fields: the bass player and the organist were classically trained and had avantgarde sensibilities (they studied with Stockhausen), the guitarist came from a rock background, the singer was a street musician and the drummer (Jaki Liebezeit, one of the greatest drummers of all time) was originally a Jazz drummer. Together they created incredible music, far ahead of their time, always carried forward by Jaki's insanely precise drumming (as band members once said: the difference between Jaki and a drum computer is that the drum computer has a humanizing function). If you want to check them out, here are a couple of recommendations: their song Vitamin C, which sounds like a drum and bass track at times, decades before drum and bass existed. Then there's Halleluwah, an 18 minute tour de force based on an incredible drum beat, in my eyes the greatest rock song of all time. Mother Sky is another song where you will marvel at Jaki Liebezeit's drumming. Then there's Future Days from the album of the same name. On that album they basically invented ambient music back in the 70s. I could go on and on, they have so many great tracks and they're all utterly unique. If you want to go for whole albums: Tago Mago, Ege Bamyasi and Future Days. But pretty much everything they did in the 70s is amazing (later they dropped off a bit). You definitely won't regret it. Edit: I'm blind, I just saw you did Vitamin C a couple of weeks ago.
Love this song! These & "We are the Dead" are my favorites off Diamond Dogs. "Sweet Thing" (the three) are Bowie's most Proggy IMO. Plus.........This is also the song(s) that turned me onto Genesis (Gabriel). Sounds strange I know. I had never heard them, but saw pictures of Gabriel fronting Genesis. And somehow, I got the idea that maybe Genesis would sound like this. lol On a side note, since you mentioned movies, Bowie wasn't a bad actor as well. Really liked "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence", in which he plays an English officer in a Japanese POW camp during WWII. Bowie then wages war against the Japanese commander of the camp the only way he can. That being psychological as the Japanese were veryspiritual people during that time (as opposed to being very westernized in current times).
This section of songs is masterful. David had a way of making strange places seem right next door in the way he creates atmospheres and sings and even speaks those atmospheres without being removed from something heartfelt and his character trying to get a message out that is deeply oppressed by some weird smiling malevolence.
I've always counted Future Legend/Diamond Dogs as ONE song...and Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing as the SECOND song. Rebel Rebel being the 3rd and final song of side one. The opening note Bowie sings on Sweet Thing is his lowest ever note recorded apparently.
He has quite a few lower notes on songs like I Feel Free, Miracle Goodnight, and China Girl, but his lowest is on the track 'I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spaceship' by Legendary Stardust Cowboy, a G1 fry note. The cover was a tribute to the OG for not suing over the name Ziggy Stardust. The two were on Mercury Records together in the late '60s, and David was so inspired by the weirdness of his music that he knicked the name. It's fitting that the cover should hold such an honor.
That has always been one of my favorite Bowie stories. I was in for a surprise when I checked out "The Legendary Stardust Cowboys" work! WOW is the only way to describe it. 😂😂😂
Bowie's 1980 Floor Show was actually filmed as a Midnight Special episode in late 1973, right after the "retiring" statement he made at the Hammersmith Odeon concert. It was his last time performing as Ziggy Stardust & only Ronson & Bolder were still with him at the Marquee Club. Only members of his fan club were invited to attend, I believe. Anyway, the costumes were out-of-this-world & there were some very odd performances by others as well, but that is par for the Bowie course. The whole show is found on TH-cam, great fun!
Interestingly, on my copy of this album on cd is an outtake of another song called "Candidate" that is so beautiful. It's entirely different from this "Candidate". It's worth looking up. This album is Bowie at his glammiest (is that even a word?). I just love the how melodic the music is, and how well it rocks out. I also love how Bowie's gay persona out rocked many ardently straight rock bands. This was subversive music back in the day. It made parents uncomfortable if their sons listened to this. ;-) Bowie's influence in society goes beyond his music. The world is a better place because of him. Another tidbit: the album art was painted by the same artist who did the cover art of the Rolling Stones' "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll" album. Bowie raced to get his album released before theirs because of this, partly so no one would think he was copying the Stones (despite the fact that "Rebel Rebel" is the best Stones imitation ever!).
David Bowie claimed that he was a "closet straight"! Meaning outwardly he was gay/bi, but he really was straight and was hiding that in the closet. Eventually he did come out from the closet. That was the weirdest thing I ever heard!
@@swilkins2524 True indeed. I think it's wonderful that he and Iman were able to pull off one of the more stable marriages in rock. I remember when he "came out" straight some in the gay community felt betrayed. I was disappointed briefly, but got over it soon enough. You are what you are, after all is said and done.
when this album was released i was a bit dissappointed,being just a teen,wanting more of the ziggy glamrock stuff,but since then us has just grown and grown in signifigence.I mean its an obvious masterpiece among so many Bowie masterpieces.And the sweet thing has such a thrilling blend of hopelessness and beauty.Beauty and despair comes at you fused into one creature so overwhelming we are not sure its an angel or a demon approaching us in the dark.A song who has all the hallmarks of a epic movie,with Bowies voice narrating like a snake from a forbidden and f heaven.What Bowie albums to check out from the 70s? ALL of them,i mean every single track!
i managed to see Bowie only once when they kicked off the Isle of Wight festival ,what ever year that was....., anyhooo, fantastic set that covered alot of the oldies and up to his current album which at the time was ''Reality'' ( great album) but what comes across as he chats and spends time to interact with the audience is what a genuine down to earth warm bloke he is despite the fame.
I sure do ,love that I stumbled back 2 years ago. This is probably my favorite Bowie and that's a hard thing to narrow down. His vocals...OMG.... Love your channel!!! One last thing.. This song on the David Live album at The Tower Philadelphia is awesome.
So glad your listening to David again...1984 Changes and Rock and Rock Suicide are good ones when you get around to it. Check out Life on Mars..Rick Wakeman is on piano.
Love Bowie! Seen several of his live shows. Please check out "Dead Man Walking" a song written by David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels and released as single from the 1997 album Earthling. THEN watch him and Reeves perform a total different version live on Late Night with Conan O'Brian in 1997. Not many artists can cover their own songs with such originality guitar riff used in the intro dates back to the mid-1960s when Jimmy Page taught it to Bowie
Here Bowie does what he always did best... being a genius. Nobody in modern arts has been so consistently creative for almost 50 years. (P.S.: no hope at all in Matheson's novel "I am legend" ending: the movie was an excruciating betrayal)
I think we can all appreciate how the different adaptations portrayed Matheson's story even if they're not faithful. The Last Man on Earth, The Omega Man, and I Am Legend are very different films in terms of delivery, but great artistic triumphs cinematically. I Am Legend as a film provides hope where The Omega Man is very bleak. The novel could use a particularly dark adaptation in the future, though most viewers need a glimpse of light to connect with. It's a huge tradeoff of making a film. I Am Legend has a darker alternate ending to make up for it.
@@chrismeadows4216 Hollywood targets the box office, and the movie market has its rules. As a marketing person myself, I understand the need to bring action and to upgrade the protagonist by portraying him as a scientist. What I cannot condone (but of course my opinion is worth nothing) is overturning what is one of the finest and most poetic final line in dystopian literature.
@@mariosandri4010 One of the great tragedies, for sure. I Am Legend is ironically the weakest of the three adaptations and fixates on the scientific aspects the most, and I can't say it was worth it.
Sadly, his passing caused us to loose a pioneer in progressive music. Furthermore, actually his passing supposedly caused Keith Emerson’s depression to deepen and caused us to loose a second amazing talent. RIP to both. Great music
Not to change the subject, but you really ought to do Van Morrison's unrelated but also amazing song "Sweet Thing" :) - as for Bowie, I've listened to a fair amount of his work, but I never knew he did anything this far towards prog rock. Strong stuff, very glad to have heard it!
Since you're not JP and you can freestyle a little more with listening to songs whenever you want, I've got Bowie recommendations that will definitely pique your interest: Cygnet Committee Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud All the Madmen Quicksand The Bewlay Brothers Five Years Soul Love Rock N' Roll Suicide Aladdin Sane Time Lady Grinning Soul John, I'm Only Dancing (Again) What in the World Always Crashing in the Same Car Sons of the Silent Age Blackout The Secret Life of Arabia Fantastic Voyage African Night Flight It's No Game (No. 1) Teenage Wildlife The Drowned Girl Cat People (Putting Out Fire) Loving the Alien Neighborhood Threat Within You As the World Falls Down Time Will Crawl Zeroes Glass Spider Shining Star (Makin' My Love) Girls I Have Not Been to Oxford Town The Voyeur of Utter Destruction (As Beauty) Strangers When We Meet Battle for Britain (The Letter) Seven Years in Tibet Dead Man Walking Bring Me the Disco King You Feel So Lonely You Could Die Heat Blackstar Dollar Days Bowie's one of the most progressive artists of all time, though his singles don't generally put that on full display. You'll definitely find quality music with all of these songs. They adapt other styles, but all find their place in the progressive rock genre. You'll never find a greater master, even if some of the songs seem odd to you at first.
With a tip of the hat to Anthony Newley on his vocal delivery. Bowie played the guitar and the solos on these three giants... and then that lead into Rebel Rebel’s guitar hook making it a four song masterpiece. Wow. Just sublime. Bowie at his best.
Imo I think this his best album. Yes Ziggy Stardust is good too, but I still think this album is better. Not a bad song on the album.. Keep up the great comments Justin.😋
Sweet thing/candidate/Sweet thing(reprise), Quicksand, It's Gonna be Me, Cygnet Committee, width of a circle, Teenage wildlife, Wild is the wind, Lady Grinning Soul, and countless others.
Thanks for the video. I was hoping you would get around to listening to this because it seemed like it would be right up your alley. I bought this album the summer I graduated from high school. I listened to it all that summer, living away from home for a summer job, so as you might imagine, it has a very personal space in my head. I think this particular song holds up better musically than most of Bowie's work and it's one of his very best. I hope you'll listen to the song 'Aladdin Sane' sometime soon, as I think you would also appreciate the musicality of that one too.
Outta the blue TH-cam decided I needed to see your reaction while I was scrolling my life away. Before the end of your first sentence I subscribed. Thank you for the flashback to my teen years. Have you reacted to anything from Aladdin Sane yet? 🍻🖖
If you like saxophone use at its best, try Loggins and Messina. Mother Lode album “ Move on” or off Full Sail “ Pathway to Glory” ! They ebb and flow from vocals to elegant instrumentals. “ Keep me in Mind”, and “ Angry Eyes” are great too.
Such a great suite of songs. His voice really comes into its own here, ditching his more nasal and higher pitched delivery. The tape hiss on this version is super aggressive and very flat sounding due to the older master. Make sure to check out the newer remaster on Spotify either on its own or under the "Who Can I Be Now?" compilation.
Love the reaction. You mention the feeling of desolation and drew an analogy to "I Am Legend". I wouldn't disagree, but I would l refer to the actual movie "1984" with Richard Burton and John Hurt (which was, in fact, made in 1984!). It's one of those films which should be seen, but perhaps only once due to the level of despair.
This is easily one of David Bowie's most impressive achievements. Not only does this medley of songs show off his full range and theatrical power as a singer,
but musically, there's a world of influences, rhythms, noises and unbelievable lyrics to enjoy. And if that isn't enough, there's also Mike Garson sprinkling his piano magic over everything.
A fantastic piece of music. And Bowie just seemed to casually throw it out there! It's so easy for geniuses. 😁
Give it up for Mike... beautifully played.
@@-davidolivares For sure! He's right up there with Mick Ronson as far as essential Bowie collaborators go.
I remember being thrilled when David brought him back for the Outside album and tour.
@@SpaceCattttt - Mike’s own YT channel is great and has far too few subscribers in my opinion.
Love your description of Mike's playing. I know his playing on the Aladdin Sane album (don't know this one very well), and saw him live in Bowie's band more recently (I think it was the Reality tour). Great mixture of melody, rhythm and dissonance. I'll check out his channel (thanks, YoungJim)
@@gaiaeternal5131 Definitely check out the 1.Outside version of Strangers When We Meet. The piano composition is absolutely gorgeous there!
Very difficult to say this, given Bowie’s amazing career, but this is probably my favorite “track” of his. It’s certainly in my top 5. Chilling, beautiful, scary, inspired genius.
This is my favorite album of his, a hard choice !
❤️❤️
Top 5 here as well! Alongside Aladdin Sane, Subterraneans, Word on a Wing and Always Crashing (although it's a constantly shifting top ;))
Backstreet, New York alley sound.
My favorite Bowie album.
Apocalyptic, dystopian, dark, brooding, bizarre... everything I love.
Mine too Paul.
It was when this album came out that I knew Bowie was just in a different league to everything else I'd heard, and in some cases loved.
Every track is a masterpiece and this is the grand master, with like yourself a special mention for We Are The Dead.
Even my wedding dance was When You Rock'n Roll With Me.
mee too
It's a real hard choice .... But I do believe that Diamond Dogs is my very favourite Bowie album
This and Ziggy are his best.
It's a candidate for one of his finest.
massively underrated - it's definitely a grower, too :) Took me a while to appreciate how wonderfully weird and eclectic it is. Probably in my top 5
THIS!!!!! if i had to give someone 5 bowie songs they HAD to hear, this would be on there. no question. The song is like a movie in itself, and for my money one of Bowie's best vocal performances. He also plays all the guitars...mellotron and sax. Yes...this is bowie's first foray into that DEEP vocal range. Mike garson's piano is incredible. always. of course, this all works better when you listen to the whole album in one shot. that said...wanna hear another one that I feel is incredible (i'm in the minority) form this album. We Are the Dead. it manages to be gorgeous and freakin creepy all in one shot. MORE BOWIE PLEASE ;O)
Yes, absolutely agree. We Are The Dead encapsulates the whole 1984 imagery and, with Big Brother are the so true to the vision of this album. The so-called experts panned this album and gave no love to David Live which, I feel, are some of the best of Bowie. Bowie's guitar and sax are PERFECT for this.......so trashy, decadent sounding.
@@wpollock1 yeah, screw these experts (probably some old rockist assholes from Rolling Stone who felt it lacked 'authenticity' or something) - David Live is a stunning live album, the band is amazing, the renditions of older tracks - fascinating, and David was at the top of his game vocally (and on lots of coke, if I'm not mistaken) during this very interesting, transitional period
Favorite album. And my favorite Bowie moment is after the piano flourish when the crunching guitar comes in at the end. It sounds like decay, perfect for the subject matter.
Mine is just before that, when Bowie sings about freezing your brain in a snowstorm.
It's clearly about cocaine, but the music is gorgeous and David finishes the song on what I believe is the highest note he's ever sung.
And THEN the crunching guitars come in, because why not? 😁
Best Bowie track ever. That’s it.
David live lp version absolutely mind blowing, whole lp great live version of moon age daydream blistering!
One of the epic Bowie tracks. I think I hear something new every time I listen. Surprising to note that with Mick Ronson out of the picture, David plays most of the guitar parts on the album and quite effectively.
As Justin will learn in the next song, Bowie could write riffs like an absolute champion. Ronson helped Bowie to create what he wanted to create, then Bowie took the initiative and expanded his talents in every possible direction so he could do it for himself. The Spiders allowed him to know where he stood as an artist, and from there, he could analyze what drove his ambitions. Glam rock, soul music, then ambient, then new wave, then industrial, then ultimately jazz rock. It was having a band that allowed Bowie to understand the way bands worked. When he doubted what he was doing, starting the Hype and Arnold Corns brought him people who could understand what he wanted to create. When he doubted what he was doing, it was starting Tin Machine in the late '80s that brought him people who could understand what he wanted to create. Those people gave him perspective and inspired him. Collaboration was the toolset that allowed him to keep things fresh.
David Bowie was born to be a frontman, but he was much too talented not to be the greatest solo artist the world has ever seen. There will never be another one like him.
@Chris Meadows Yes, yes, yes! My kindred spirit when it comes to writing a paragraph about our hero. Been a few weeks, good to see you! 😁
@@chrisf.7980 and you! 😄
Also love the David Live version of this..
That was my first Bowie album. I'd just turned 14. Station to Station tour was my first concert.
The one on Cracked Actor is my personal favourite
One of my favorite Bowie songs ever, I see his dystopian world when I hear it. When Bowie was denied the rights to George Orwell's book 1984 by Orwell's widow, he modified his vision for this concept by blending proto-punk & Dickensian themes together & came up with his "Halloween Jack" persona to finish the album. The songs 1984, Big Brother, & We Are The Dead follow his original Orwellian ideas, the other songs more are in line with the latter concept.
He also employed his cut up technique for his lyrics on this album that he learned from William Burroughs. He wrote them on paper, then cut them into phrases & rearranged them into different sequence, creating a very nonlinear storyline. He utilized similar techniques throughout his career, using a computer program in later years.
I remember hearing this wearing headphones on as a teen, sitting in my darkened bedroom & being transported to his dystopian world. Bowie's voice was mesmerizing & Garson's piano was hauntingly beautiful. It still takes me there today. Mission accomplished Bowie!
Oh my lord, the solo between Sweet Thing and Candidate has to be one of my favorite solos of all time. It's just so perfect and powerful. Really underrated Bowie suite.
Possibly one of my favourite Bowie songs. It is pure theatre.
this is musical modern art masterpiece. David freaking Bowie ladies and gents...
Love that low manipulated vocal at the beginning... and it just gets better weirder. Before AIDS, the sexual revolution was an exciting time. Since I was in basically a small university town it was not nearly as “seedy” as larger cities.
Listening to this album back then let us imagine that world. People were grabbing other people in bars, trying out their new freedom and whisking off into the night... we were young. Androgynous David was a creepy scary sex symbol of the times.
The cover folds out to a continued dog body. Very bold.
Great that you came back, great album, great memories. Thank you.
Take care everyone, ( manipulated low voice) maassskksss ppplllsss,
Peace and dark seedy Music
bowie was projecting forward where this was all going.... he was creating a berlin of the '20's into the future as the 20th century was winding down... believable dark dystopic world. blade runner but not quite as techy future. sex was played out. now just a world of deepening release from a descending floor.
Thank you for continuing with this. It may have been mentioned previously that this was originally supposed to be a musical based on Orwell's 1984 but Bowie was denied this by the author's estate. Bowie was also hanging out with Beat writer William S. Burroughs at the time. There was definitely a gay subtext here, and Bowie was borrowing Burroughs' cut and paste technique with the lyrics. By the way, the collision of the Sweet Thing reprise into Rebel Rebel is one of the greatest moments in rock and roll.
There is a live performance on TH-cam that is phenomenal and chilling. In this particular video Bowie is rail thin and probably at the height of his addictions but his voice is dramatic and hypnotizing as ever. This performance also includes band members Mike Garson, David Sanborn on tenor sax, Luther Vandrose on background vocals, and the incredible Earl Slick on guitar.
Couldn't agree more. David Live is special....
Diamond Dogs is an incredible album, was only 12 when this came out. This song drips talent and creativity on each second on it. Bowie was very much number one in a field of one. To quote the title of a song Nobody does it better!
'Les Tricoteurs' were the women who knitted by the guillotine during the French revolution.
Wow, nice and gruesome! They must have knitted up a storm, cause those guillotines weren't idle.
Tricoteuses
Love hearing a reactor who's got something to talk about. Stellar reaction.
Really appreciate that Brad, ty
This track, Cygnet Committee and Station to Station total masterpieces
Oh My! What a damn great thing to wake up to. My all time favorite Bowie song and that says a ton since about my top 100 are Bowie. Thank you so so much for this welcome wakeup!
Anytime!
Excellent reaction, Bowie was a full-on genius...what vocals, what an imagination.
Such an overlooked song! It's my favorite from the album. Great video!
been a big fan of his for a very long time... love this track... the version on david live is nice too...
“Live at the Tower Philadelphia” is one of my deserted island albums. So great. 💜
Also, fan since “Young Americans”. 💜
I love the juxtaposition between Bowie’s instrumental work on this -
It’s Bowie as lead guitarist, and a sax section, - limited in technique but not imagination - playing against Mike Garson’s virtuosic
piano, it’s messy and so grand...
As I'm sure everyone below has probably told you, this was originally meant to be less of an album, and more of a cast album to a musical he was developing based on the book 1984. But when Bowie asked for the rights, Mrs. Orwell said, "Nah". So he cobbled _Diamond Dogs_ together by rewriting some songs and writing new ones.
It's a disjointed album for sure, but it has some of my favorite Bowie songs on it. This suite and "We Are The Dead" are the standout tracks for me. And "Rebel, Rebel" is always fun. Also worth hearing is the original version of "Candidate", known today as "Alternative Candidate". It's a standalone song, and Mike Garson's piano heavily features in it.
It has a musical story line running through it. Intermission is when you flip the record.
This my favorite Bowie album.
For me this is Bowies greatest work of art. I love probably 90% of his output, but this still gives me chills. You should have just let it play to the next track.
Diamond Dogs is a masterful album and one of Bowie's very best. His last glamrock album, at the same time it points forward to the plastic soul of Young Americans.
An excellent choice, Bowie really gets to show his singing range on this one, starting really low and slow, working his way up to the high note at the end. Nice changes in this one too, how he starts slow then winds himself up in the middle section.
This is my 2nd favorite Bowie album after "Station to Station" so I really like the order you're going in. It's a shame he couldn't get the rights to use "Nineteen Eighty-Four" but I think that just made him more creative in the end.
Ha! One of my friends had the album cover as as big poster on his bedroom wall. It's like a train wreck, you can't look away. This album is one of Bowie's more challenging ones, but, as in the case of these 3 songs, well worth the effort.
I was around 12 when this came out - my hip older cousin had the most awesomest album collection
Wow!
Out of all the channels I watch, thought you'd been the perfect person to react to those songs! And I was right!
Always meant to request you to do these songs! Kept forgetting!
Thanks! You do a great work of dissecting songs!👍
Haha ty H Wilkins! Appreciate that!
Thank you for sharing, you said before that Bowie is not your genre. Bowie is his own genre! Hope you continue to explore this unique artist who really changed our heads since the sixties.
Ty David, I definitely plan to listen to more
From the very first time I head this in 1974 to hearing it now in 2024 it still has the very same effect on me! This hasn’t even dated….nothing this brilliant could!
Its just that good :)
What an incredible artist. The last two releases before his death was some of
his best work in my opinion. I really miss him.
Bowie plays the guitar lead on the album here. You caught MIKE GARSON in your 1,2,3 air piano.
The DAVID LIVE( look for the remastered version) on Sweet Thing features one of the coolest guitar/ Sax interplays you will ever hear in music. Ever!
Earl Slick I believe( this is one of Bowie's songs that seems written for Slick but that's just me) and a young saxophone player who seemed to have promise at the time named David Sanborn.
Think of 1974 for a moment.....who was creating music like this at that point? No one. There is a beautiful decadence to it.....he carried this into his tour with a re-creation of a street scene.
This song was Bohemian Rhapsody before Bohemian Rhapsody.
Bowhemian Rhapsody! 😎
Bowie would have loved the pun, just sayin'
@@chrismeadows4216 Think of the genius of Bowie....he could have had Sanborn and Slick or Ronson on guitar/sax, but no....he does them himself and it comes out with the decadent "feel" that mirrors the intended atmosphere of the songs.
@@wpollock1 it makes one wonder if he would've needed them at all. On tour, obviously he did, and they certainly made great embellishments in the studio, but maybe he could've done the job on other projects if he wanted to. It's very nice of him to have allowed other people to be a part of the records and give them a job. Some of them caught a huge break because of him.
agree.... the mid 70s was the bottom nihilistic hell hole that the summer of love 8 years earlier had launched. all the deceit & usary w/ nothing to believe in. bowie put the spotlight on the truth of the era better then any of his artistic peers in that era.
Arguably his greatest work, pure poetry. Bleak and Orwellian. So ahead of its time, the ending is so sleazy. It's hard to find anything to compare to this during that era. My favorite lyric is "we'll buy some drugs and watch a band, jump in a river holding hands" followed by a dirty, screaching sax that echoes their desperation. Rebel, rebel is a welcome relief from the gloom.
bulls -eye.... catches the mirrored wall narcissitic nihilism that was the pit of the mid 70s. no artist reflected the darkness of the period then bowie.
Best musical & vocal performance of his career... hands down! Only Bowie would do this...
This is my favourite Bowie track, and I think it's his best vocal. I would describe it as some kind of warped progressive punk cabaret. I like the way the crude simplicity of Bowie's playing challenges the relative sophistication of some of the music. It adds a real edge to it.
Love this little song cycle - top five Bowie for me.
Really pleased you reacted to this, one of the best parts from one of my all time favourite albums.
My faveourite Bowie song/sequence from my faveourite album (along with Hunky Dory!). Also hear how he pretty much creates the vocal template for many if not all late 70's-80's post-punk, dark-wave male lead singers. Though sure he surely must have taken some influence from Scott Walker among others way back when.
There is a live version of this on the "David Live" album (1974) that is totally mind-blowing
My favourite David Bowie album cd diamond dogs
ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAV TRACKS
How have I never heard this track before? Brilliant!
I really love that album. My Bowie favorite. As usually I'm impatient to hear your reaction. Well you should have continued with Rebel rebel…
I think I said that before but the cover artist is Guy Pellaert who was an innovative comics creator (Pravda and Jodelle). He also created the book "Rock babies”. A very influential artist. I had the chance to interview him in the 90'.
David recruited Guy to make Mick Jagger mad. It's a funny story. David was working on It's Only Rock N' Roll (But I Like It) with The Rolling Stones and heard Mick talking about Guy, so he hired him to do Diamond Dogs. Mick later said "You can't wear nice shoes around David Bowie" or something to that effect because David constantly absorbed everything around him that people would flaunt. David was truly a Jagger Swagger Jacker! 🤣
@Chris Meadows haha, he certainly did! If I remember correctly, he said something like "Bowie will tell you he likes your shoes, and when you turn around he is wearing them & doing it better than you!" One of the funniest & most accurate comments ever, especially between these two. I always wondered how Jagger felt when Bowie hooked up with his ex-wife Bianca.
Had the Diamond Dogs poster in my room. My grandfather stayed over woke up to the poster which terrified him🤣😂
Lol!!
You have an admirable knowledge of the post-apocalyptic film genre.
Well ty. I used to watch a LOT of movies
Understanding and acceptance without judgement is the key to art. Well done!!!!
Masterpiece. Lovely dissonance.
Yes, the "Sweet Thing"/"Candidate"/"Sweet Thing (Reprise)" suite is one of the greatest Bowie tracks !
In comparison, the glam-rock of "Rebel Rebel" and the soul ballad "Rock 'n' Roll with Me" are much more classic and less exciting (although good) but "We Are the Dead", "1984", and "Big Brother"/"Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family" revive the research and atmosphere of "Sweet Thing" !
I'd phrase Rebel Rebel as a token hit about identity and Rock N' Roll with Me as an identity crisis. What they lack in uniformity, they make up for in terms of their specific signature. Rebel Rebel is that last stop before punk rock and one of the definitive classics, and Rock N' Roll with Me is Bowie shifting between personas to say he'd rather be himself than any of them because his music brings everyone together so effectively. Hippie Bowie, Soul Bowie, and Ziggy Stardust form this one incredible artist who's trying to reclaim his sense of self. A rock opera track gets all facets of his ch-ch-ch-ch-changes across to let whoever's listening to him know how much David Jones values the connection between himself and those who appreciate his music. Very vulnerable stuff on his most aloof '70s record. Not the most fitting tracks for the overall concept, but very admirable in their own right.
@@chrismeadows4216 As you brought up the identity crisis subject, Bowie was looking for himself at the time as much on the human level as on the musical side. being a cocaine addict in the mid-70s must not have helped him psychologically and physically (he was particularly skeletal in 74/75). The album David Live recorded & released in 1974 perfectly transcribes his state of mind at that time! (and the cover speaks for itself!).
@@a.k.1740 That's really the largest issue he seemed to have at the time. On one hand, he was this chaotic glam superstar. On the other, he wanted to make some laid back soul music. What you see on the cover of David Live is an orange-haired person in a suit with a fractured personality. He looks uncomfortably like cocaine; pale, a thin line, very unpredictable. He was Halloween Jack and he wanted to be David Bowie. He tried to be both. He was out of breath, but not quite doubting. There was a struggle and a confidence at the same time, and that went as far as his performance. I love the era, but hate what he went through to create it. Who Can I Be Now? is another song like Rock N' Roll with Me that more people should really hear to know just how much David was afraid of losing himself within these characters. Not fully essential to the era, but a look at who David was behind the characters he wanted us to see.
Rebel Rebel is the closing song of the first half of the musical. The bumpkin has a place in the urban scene. Rock 'n' Roll with Me is the opening number of the second act, when the disillusionment sets in.
one of my fav songs of bowie
I love Bowie's voice and I respect his legacy, but some of his music I will never understand.
This album blew my mind as a youngster…
The lyrics seem absurd or surreal at times because he used Brion Gyson and William Burroughs cut-up method to write some of the lyrics on this album. It created some really interesting results that we don’t get on any other album.
Glad to see that you finally got back to this album. Great video. Looking forward to the rest of the album.
Ty Mark!
Have you ever listened to the German Krautrock band Can? If not I highly recommend them. They are at the same time one of the most highly influential rock bands of all time (they've influenced Brian Eno, Sonic Youth, the entire Post-Punk scene, early electronic music, hip hop producers, etc.) and totally unknown to most people. What made them special was the fact that the band members came from very different fields: the bass player and the organist were classically trained and had avantgarde sensibilities (they studied with Stockhausen), the guitarist came from a rock background, the singer was a street musician and the drummer (Jaki Liebezeit, one of the greatest drummers of all time) was originally a Jazz drummer. Together they created incredible music, far ahead of their time, always carried forward by Jaki's insanely precise drumming (as band members once said: the difference between Jaki and a drum computer is that the drum computer has a humanizing function).
If you want to check them out, here are a couple of recommendations: their song Vitamin C, which sounds like a drum and bass track at times, decades before drum and bass existed. Then there's Halleluwah, an 18 minute tour de force based on an incredible drum beat, in my eyes the greatest rock song of all time. Mother Sky is another song where you will marvel at Jaki Liebezeit's drumming. Then there's Future Days from the album of the same name. On that album they basically invented ambient music back in the 70s. I could go on and on, they have so many great tracks and they're all utterly unique. If you want to go for whole albums: Tago Mago, Ege Bamyasi and Future Days. But pretty much everything they did in the 70s is amazing (later they dropped off a bit). You definitely won't regret it.
Edit: I'm blind, I just saw you did Vitamin C a couple of weeks ago.
Love this song! These & "We are the Dead" are my favorites off Diamond Dogs. "Sweet Thing" (the three) are Bowie's most Proggy IMO.
Plus.........This is also the song(s) that turned me onto Genesis (Gabriel). Sounds strange I know. I had never heard them, but saw pictures of Gabriel fronting Genesis. And somehow, I got the idea that maybe Genesis would sound like this. lol
On a side note, since you mentioned movies, Bowie wasn't a bad actor as well. Really liked "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence", in which he plays an English officer in a Japanese POW camp during WWII. Bowie then wages war against the Japanese commander of the camp the only way he can. That being psychological as the Japanese were veryspiritual people during that time (as opposed to being very westernized in current times).
Sounds like a pretty good movie!
This section of songs is masterful. David had a way of making strange places seem right next door in the way he creates atmospheres and sings and even speaks those atmospheres without being removed from something heartfelt and his character trying to get a message out that is deeply oppressed by some weird smiling malevolence.
"I'll make you a deal." And you knew something had forever changed.
I've always counted Future Legend/Diamond Dogs as ONE song...and Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing as the SECOND song. Rebel Rebel being the 3rd and final song of side one.
The opening note Bowie sings on Sweet Thing is his lowest ever note recorded apparently.
He has quite a few lower notes on songs like I Feel Free, Miracle Goodnight, and China Girl, but his lowest is on the track 'I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spaceship' by Legendary Stardust Cowboy, a G1 fry note. The cover was a tribute to the OG for not suing over the name Ziggy Stardust. The two were on Mercury Records together in the late '60s, and David was so inspired by the weirdness of his music that he knicked the name. It's fitting that the cover should hold such an honor.
That has always been one of my favorite Bowie stories. I was in for a surprise when I checked out "The Legendary Stardust Cowboys" work! WOW is the only way to describe it. 😂😂😂
I think Leonard Cohen might give him a run for the lowest note 'candidate'... see what I did there lol
It was written for a project which never reached fruition, called 'The 1980 floorshow', and of course was to be based on George Orwell's novel 1984.
Bowie's 1980 Floor Show was actually filmed as a Midnight Special episode in late 1973, right after the "retiring" statement he made at the Hammersmith Odeon concert. It was his last time performing as Ziggy Stardust & only Ronson & Bolder were still with him at the Marquee Club. Only members of his fan club were invited to attend, I believe. Anyway, the costumes were out-of-this-world & there were some very odd performances by others as well, but that is par for the Bowie course. The whole show is found on TH-cam, great fun!
I think you will also like We are the Dead from the same album :)
I think so !
"We are the Dead" is one of my favorite Bowie songs but unfortunately never played on stage.
BTW Les tricoteuses - the knitting ladies - is pure cut-up Burroughs/Gysin post-Beat writing applied to rockunroll.
This is great stuff, I love those 3 songs and Herbie Flowers plays bass! Good review too.
Interestingly, on my copy of this album on cd is an outtake of another song called "Candidate" that is so beautiful. It's entirely different from this "Candidate". It's worth looking up. This album is Bowie at his glammiest (is that even a word?). I just love the how melodic the music is, and how well it rocks out. I also love how Bowie's gay persona out rocked many ardently straight rock bands. This was subversive music back in the day. It made parents uncomfortable if their sons listened to this. ;-) Bowie's influence in society goes beyond his music. The world is a better place because of him.
Another tidbit: the album art was painted by the same artist who did the cover art of the Rolling Stones' "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll" album. Bowie raced to get his album released before theirs because of this, partly so no one would think he was copying the Stones (despite the fact that "Rebel Rebel" is the best Stones imitation ever!).
David Bowie claimed that he was a "closet straight"! Meaning outwardly he was gay/bi, but he really was straight and was hiding that in the closet. Eventually he did come out from the closet.
That was the weirdest thing I ever heard!
@@swilkins2524 True indeed. I think it's wonderful that he and Iman were able to pull off one of the more stable marriages in rock. I remember when he "came out" straight some in the gay community felt betrayed. I was disappointed briefly, but got over it soon enough. You are what you are, after all is said and done.
@@br.martindallyosb1147 oh he was bi but more than Jagger it was Lindsay Kemp
when this album was released i was a bit dissappointed,being just a teen,wanting more of the ziggy glamrock stuff,but since then us has just grown and grown in signifigence.I mean its an obvious masterpiece among so many Bowie masterpieces.And the sweet thing has such a thrilling blend of hopelessness and beauty.Beauty and despair comes at you fused into one creature so overwhelming we are not sure its an angel or a demon approaching us in the dark.A song who has all the hallmarks of a epic movie,with Bowies voice narrating like a snake from a forbidden and f heaven.What Bowie albums to check out from the 70s? ALL of them,i mean every single track!
i managed to see Bowie only once when they kicked off the Isle of Wight festival ,what ever year that was....., anyhooo, fantastic set that covered alot of the oldies and up to his current album which at the time was ''Reality'' ( great album) but what comes across as he chats and spends time to interact with the audience is what a genuine down to earth warm bloke he is despite the fame.
I sure do ,love that I stumbled back 2 years ago. This is probably my favorite Bowie and that's a hard thing to narrow down. His vocals...OMG.... Love your channel!!! One last thing.. This song on the David Live album at The Tower Philadelphia is awesome.
Thanks Mary Elizabeth!
@@JustJP Thank you Justin. Yours is such a lovely channel. Always on such a fun and positive note. You can call me Mary. Have a great night!
@@maryelizabethreynoldsprice2135 i appreciate the kindness, thanks Mary🙃
@@JustJP My pleasure.
This song is epic
I always played these three tracks as one ..a great part of Diamond Dogs
So glad your listening to David again...1984 Changes and Rock and Rock Suicide are good ones when you get around to it. Check out Life on Mars..Rick Wakeman is on piano.
Bowie’s Diamond Dogs again ... cool! Congrats on 14k Mr JPman!
Thank you!
Love Bowie! Seen several of his live shows. Please check out "Dead Man Walking" a song written by David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels and released as single from the 1997 album Earthling. THEN watch him and Reeves perform a total different version live on Late Night with Conan O'Brian in 1997. Not many artists can cover their own songs with such originality guitar riff used in the intro dates back to the mid-1960s when Jimmy Page taught it to Bowie
Here Bowie does what he always did best... being a genius. Nobody in modern arts has been so consistently creative for almost 50 years. (P.S.: no hope at all in Matheson's novel "I am legend" ending: the movie was an excruciating betrayal)
I know what you mean about being consistently creative. I’d add Bob Dylan to that short shortlist, though.
I think we can all appreciate how the different adaptations portrayed Matheson's story even if they're not faithful. The Last Man on Earth, The Omega Man, and I Am Legend are very different films in terms of delivery, but great artistic triumphs cinematically. I Am Legend as a film provides hope where The Omega Man is very bleak. The novel could use a particularly dark adaptation in the future, though most viewers need a glimpse of light to connect with. It's a huge tradeoff of making a film. I Am Legend has a darker alternate ending to make up for it.
@@chrismeadows4216 Hollywood targets the box office, and the movie market has its rules. As a marketing person myself, I understand the need to bring action and to upgrade the protagonist by portraying him as a scientist. What I cannot condone (but of course my opinion is worth nothing) is overturning what is one of the finest and most poetic final line in dystopian literature.
@@timpindar You're right. How could I forget Bob?
@@mariosandri4010 One of the great tragedies, for sure. I Am Legend is ironically the weakest of the three adaptations and fixates on the scientific aspects the most, and I can't say it was worth it.
Sadly, his passing caused us to loose a pioneer in progressive music. Furthermore, actually his passing supposedly caused Keith Emerson’s depression to deepen and caused us to loose a second amazing talent. RIP to both. Great music
Wow...I had not heard that relation between the two.
Two greats are gone that all I know. 😥
My favorite track, good review
Good job again. I do, however, love the title track. This album really drew me into his work.
I've definitely warmed up to it a lot more now, just wasn't what I initially expected ar the time lol
Not to change the subject, but you really ought to do Van Morrison's unrelated but also amazing song "Sweet Thing" :) - as for Bowie, I've listened to a fair amount of his work, but I never knew he did anything this far towards prog rock. Strong stuff, very glad to have heard it!
Since you're not JP and you can freestyle a little more with listening to songs whenever you want, I've got Bowie recommendations that will definitely pique your interest:
Cygnet Committee
Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud
All the Madmen
Quicksand
The Bewlay Brothers
Five Years
Soul Love
Rock N' Roll Suicide
Aladdin Sane
Time
Lady Grinning Soul
John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)
What in the World
Always Crashing in the Same Car
Sons of the Silent Age
Blackout
The Secret Life of Arabia
Fantastic Voyage
African Night Flight
It's No Game (No. 1)
Teenage Wildlife
The Drowned Girl
Cat People (Putting Out Fire)
Loving the Alien
Neighborhood Threat
Within You
As the World Falls Down
Time Will Crawl
Zeroes
Glass Spider
Shining Star (Makin' My Love)
Girls
I Have Not Been to Oxford Town
The Voyeur of Utter Destruction (As Beauty)
Strangers When We Meet
Battle for Britain (The Letter)
Seven Years in Tibet
Dead Man Walking
Bring Me the Disco King
You Feel So Lonely You Could Die
Heat
Blackstar
Dollar Days
Bowie's one of the most progressive artists of all time, though his singles don't generally put that on full display. You'll definitely find quality music with all of these songs. They adapt other styles, but all find their place in the progressive rock genre. You'll never find a greater master, even if some of the songs seem odd to you at first.
There are about 400 David Bowie songs in total, so please forgive me for the list being so long! 😅
Wow! Perfect Song! Great reaction Jason!
Ty Keith!
Diamond dogs is one of those records I didn’t get at first and then on the 5th listen or so it suddenly clicked.
With a tip of the hat to Anthony Newley on his vocal delivery. Bowie played the guitar and the solos on these three giants... and then that lead into Rebel Rebel’s guitar hook making it a four song masterpiece. Wow. Just sublime. Bowie at his best.
Imo I think this his best album. Yes Ziggy Stardust is good too, but I still think this album is better. Not a bad song on the album.. Keep up the great comments Justin.😋
Great guess on the analogy you drew between David's voice here and Peter Hammill's. Another singer inspired by Peter Hammill : Fish (Marillion)
Sweet thing/candidate/Sweet thing(reprise), Quicksand, It's Gonna be Me, Cygnet Committee, width of a circle, Teenage wildlife, Wild is the wind, Lady Grinning Soul, and countless others.
You should check out some of the live stage videos from the Diamond Dogs tour!
Thanks for the video. I was hoping you would get around to listening to this because it seemed like it would be right up your alley. I bought this album the summer I graduated from high school. I listened to it all that summer, living away from home for a summer job, so as you might imagine, it has a very personal space in my head. I think this particular song holds up better musically than most of Bowie's work and it's one of his very best. I hope you'll listen to the song 'Aladdin Sane' sometime soon, as I think you would also appreciate the musicality of that one too.
RCA brought out the original artwork on this album and the dog was "anatomically correct" .....they brushed that out! 😊
This album was originally slated to be his theatrical version of George Orwells 1984.
i never noticed that organ in the chorus good ears JP
Ty🙃🦻
@@JustJP you are welcome sir!
Diamond Dogs, is actually based on a true story that Bowie was very, very interested in at that time.
hint: The inspiration for this album, conceptually, is George Orwell's novel, 1984.
Outta the blue TH-cam decided I needed to see your reaction while I was scrolling my life away. Before the end of your first sentence I subscribed. Thank you for the flashback to my teen years. Have you reacted to anything from Aladdin Sane yet? 🍻🖖
Haha ty Jeff! Haven't done Aladdin Sane yet, finishing Diamond Dogs and I did Station to Station first :)
If you like saxophone use at its best, try Loggins and Messina. Mother Lode album “ Move on” or off Full Sail “ Pathway to Glory” ! They ebb and flow from vocals to elegant instrumentals. “ Keep me in Mind”, and “ Angry Eyes” are great too.
Such a great suite of songs. His voice really comes into its own here, ditching his more nasal and higher pitched delivery.
The tape hiss on this version is super aggressive and very flat sounding due to the older master. Make sure to check out the newer remaster on Spotify either on its own or under the "Who Can I Be Now?" compilation.
Love the reaction. You mention the feeling of desolation and drew an analogy to "I Am Legend". I wouldn't disagree, but I would l refer to the actual movie "1984" with Richard Burton and John Hurt (which was, in fact, made in 1984!). It's one of those films which should be seen, but perhaps only once due to the level of despair.