Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14892 in Digital Music Album
• Published on: 2000-07-18
• Released on: 2000-07-18
• Running time: 0 seconds

Customer Reviews

Superb
A first rate Bowie album. Bowie had transitioned away from the harder rocking androgynous mode such as the Man Who Sold the World, Stardust, and Diamond Dogs albums (pre '75). He also left behind the over the top keyboard, experimental ambient projects with Eno heard in the albums Heros and Low (1977). Therefore you'll hear a more straight ahead rock album complimented by unique fretwork by guitarist Carlos Alomar and muted down keyboard experimentalism.

Not unlike Stardust and in contrast to most of his previous ablums, the recording quality and integrity of the music is very tight. Though eclectic in composition, the various sounds seem to blend well. While guitar solos have grit, they don't seem to run away with amplification, distortion, or fretwork. The same can be said of keyboard sampling and rythyms. The tracks are each very distinct, so that the songs have great contrast, but not to the detriment of the overall album. Instead you'll feel curiosity and that you're on to something mature and progressive, both.

experimental masterpiece
This is the last of 3 albums Bowie did with Eno (his "Berlin" period, although this one was not recorded in Berlin. This is my favorite one of the three, and possibly my favorite Bowie album period. This one has no instrumental pieces, like on "Low" and "Heroes". The first half of the album has a vague "travel" theme to it. In several songs Bowie mixes in bits of African drumming or arabesque sounding string synthesizer sounds. These are all rock or pop songs, but they are all "deconstructed" pop songs, because everything from the instrument sounds to the songs' construction is turned on its head, at least that's how it seemed in 1979. This album features Adrian Belew on guitar making sounds that were basically unheard of at the time. "DJ" and "Boys.." are highlights - absolutely brilliant, and Belew truly uses his guitar like a weapon on his solos. The only really weak song is "Red Money", which is the music from Iggy Pop's "Sister Midnight" set to different (inferior) lyrics. Fortunately it's at the end, so it's easy to skip that tune, but the rest is highly recommended.

Bowie's Most Underrated Album
It's hard to pinpoint which of Bowie's albums deserves the title "greatest"...there was a period from 1970 to 1980 where pretty much everything he released was an instant classic. From the timespan between "The Man Who Sold the World" and "Scary Monsters", the man could do no wrong.

"Lodger", the last piece in Bowie's Berlin Triology(following "Low" and "Heroes")is probably Bowie's most overlooked album, which is a shame as it's one of his best. Beautiful compositions such as "African Nightflight" and "Move On" easily stand alongside the more sonically groundbreaking tracks of "Low" and "Heroes", while more straightfoward numbers such as hits "D.J." and "Boys Keep Swinging" lend a pop aspect to "Lodger" that the previous Berlin trilogy albums lacked at times. Just as it is more accessible than the previous Berlin albums, it is also much darker in its subject matter(Just take a glance at the cover art, where Bowie appears to be lying dead/incapacitated on the sterile floor of a morgue).

Another plus: "Lodger" lacks the meandering instrumentals that, in my opinion, weighed down "Low" and "Heroes" at times. It's not that those instrumentals were bad...just that they sound REALLY dated nowadays, and distracted from the otherwise solid cohesiveness of those two albums. "Lodger" wisely skips out on the instrumentals in order to make room for another batch of great songs.

Bottom Line: Just as arty as "Low" and "Heroes", but with more pop appeal relevant to more casual fans. Probably a good starting point for those wanting to get into Bowie's music.