Review Summary: A mediocre pop record that bears little resemblance to the David Bowie we all know today.
Chapter I: Trends of the Times
David Bowie. The man, the myth, the legend. A trendsetter. An accomplished multi-instrumentalist. An innovator. A legend of musical and visual reinvention. It seems the world has become a darker place since Bowie’s death on January 10, and emotional recollections and tributes regarding his work surfaced all over the world in the wake of his passing. And why not? Of his 25-album career, at least a quarter of that work can safely be considered ground-breaking and legendary in the world of popular music.
The Rise of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was a seminal piece of glam rock that gave birth to the iconic titular alter ego,
Low and
”Heroes” saw Bowie bringing krautrock and ambient music to the masses, and now we’ve got his final effort
Blackstar combining art rock with jazz in unique and fascinating ways. Why do I bring all of this up? Because it’s interesting to think that such a trendsetter had such humble and derivative beginnings.
David Bowie’s self-titled debut (not to be confused with his 1969 self-titled effort) is pretty much baroque pop with elements of folk rock and music hall. Right from the first track “Uncle Arthur,” you can tell that Bowie was heavily influenced by artists such as The Beatles and
Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys both musically and vocally around this time. The music hall influences are a lot more prominent here, however, and quite a few songs (most notably “Rubber Band,” “Little Bombardier,” and “Maid of Bond Street”) and have brass-based orchestration of some sort. There’s an oddly bubbly and whimsical tone to the whole record, even during some of the darkest and most morbid subject matter; most songs sound quite innocent, like the sweetly upbeat and somewhat tongue-in-cheek “Love You till Tuesday” or the tale of a land children inhabit apart from their elders in “There Is a Happy Land,” but then there’s a song like “We Are Hungry Men” which talks about infanticide and abortion! Either way, the quirky tone of the album doesn’t always mesh well in situations like these. Another problem is that the record sounds so inoffensive and boring during other parts that the songs run together after a while. There’s not much variety; when you pick a song from this album, you usually get either of these: a quirky music hall song, a more subdued folk rock number, or a Beatles-influenced baroque pop tune. There’s not much beyond that.
However, a few things stand out. First of all, the acoustic guitar playing tends to be
fantastic on this album. “Come and Buy My Toys” is a big highlight in this regard, frequently switching between whimsy and subdued melancholy with the very same instrument (the acoustic guitar is also the only instrument on this song other than the bass). There’s also a fair amount of experimentation in a few songs, which would ultimately hint at Bowie’s more innovative work. “Join the Gang” combines a vintage piano sound with a sitar while its tempo creates a generally frantic and energetic atmosphere, and the closer “Please Mr. Gravedigger” is an oddly somber and minimalistic a cappella number sung over the backdrop of a thunderstorm. If we had more of these songs to break up the general monotony of the cheerier pop/rock numbers, I think this would have been a more interesting and notable release in David Bowie’s discography. However, aside from a larger emphasis on music hall elements, this is basically an average baroque pop record that does little beyond what many of Bowie’s 60s peers were doing at the time. It’s not really a bad record, just not the most interesting album compared to what Bowie could do in the future. Luckily, his next piece of work showcases a huge leap forward in both creativity and distinctiveness as an artist.
