#384
Album: “Heroes”
Artist: David Bowie
Year: 1977
Length: 40:19
Genre: Art Rock / Experimental Rock / Electronic / Ambient
“We’re nothing, and nothing will help us
Maybe we’re lying, then you better not stay
But we could be safer, just for one day”Heroes
I’m finding that David Bowie is slowly becoming one of my favourite artists. He’s slowly nudging his way closer and closer to my top ten and revisiting albums like “Heroes” is really helping him climb that ladder. After rediscovering the beauty that was Low, “Heroes” followed up shortly after on the list and just kept reminding me how much Bowie was truly a master of his craft. His constant risks as an artist, his ability to shape shift into different genres and his willingness to try something new and constantly reinvent himself made sure he stayed with the times musically but also showed he was a deep well of creativity. There’s few artists who can claim to have the longevity that Bowie did while maintaining a level of integrity and artistry throughout their long storied careers, and Bowie is definitely one of those artists who maintained that quality. The Berlin trilogy is a perfect offering of this.
To complete the trilogy, I also listened to Lodger, which I had zero memory of and found myself, once again, just falling in love even more with Bowie’s work. Of course, I understand they couldn’t put all three of the albums on the list, especially since Bowie already is one of the artists that has one of the most, if not the most, albums on this list, and it makes sense that of the three albums in this trilogy, Lodger was the one that was left out. It completes the trilogy very well but compared to Low and “Heroes” it doesn’t quite hit those highs. At time he sounds like he’s trying to do his best David Byrne impression and trying to write a David Bowie version of a Talking Heads album. Despite that, what I find funny is how similar “Heroes” is to Low. It’s structured the exact same way, with the first half being these wonderful Art Rock – Brian Eno style songs, and the second half being these experimental, synthesizer, ambient pieces that paint vivid pictures to the listener. Once again, it’s Eno’s Before and After Science being fed through David Bowie and let’s be honest, this trilogy definitely feels more like Eno. His fingerprints are all over this album (but int he best way possible).
I won’t complain because again, Bowie was coming off a massive drug addiction and was using the creation of this trilogy as his way of staying sober. Eno was a good friend supporting him through that just like he is supporting him musically on this album. But it definitely feels more like an Eno album than a Bowie album to me. Not a problem though as I love both and it still works wonders for me… I just wonder why they felt they needed three albums on the list that are basically almost exactly the same. I guess that just shows how strong this album is, the production on this feels the cleanest and sharpest, I felt like I could really feel each synthesizer note and it made it all feel epic in a way. It may practically be the same album as Low, but it’s just THAT good that it doesn’t matter at all.
I’m starting to face the same issue I did with Joni Mitchell when it comes to David Bowie now. I’ve hit so many albums of his and there’s just so much I can say that I don’t know what more I can really say about him anymore. He still has a few more albums on this list and I feel I’ll just be repeating myself when it comes to my feelings towards him. I think I’ve definitely hit my limit with what I can say and have dried up that well (wow two well analogies in one post?). Maybe by the next album I will have discovered new feelings to express in regards to Bowie, but at the moment I’m feeling like I’ve said all I could. Maybe it’s because I just witnessed two Bowie albums in close proximity and they were incredibly similar in style, that’s probably a big factor in this feeling. With his next album might come his next musical reinvention and I might find myself with new things to say. I’ll just have to wait and see when the time comes.
Favourite Song: Beauty and the Beast
-Bosco
P.s. I like the fact that Heroes is in quotations as the title, almost makes it feel like the concept of heroes is sarcastic.
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