ALBUM OF THE MONTH

Album # 38 is Another Face by David Bowie from 1981.

Superstar David Bowie got sort of less interesting in the early 80's. (Yes, we are aware of that other people might be of a different opinion though.) But he had a series of very strong releases behind him. Almost every album from the early 70's Hunky Dory up to Scary Monsters ten years later are classics. But didja ever check out Bowie's early works? It can often be interesting to listen to artists pre stardom recordings. In Bowie's case you could check out an album called Another Face, a decent collection of Bowie's early works. This LP was released on the Decca label in 1981 and includes 14 songs, the oldest ones recorded in 1964.

One can find parts of Bowie's talent on these pre breakthrough tracks: the great vocalist, the bizarre stories (The Laughing Gnome, Please Mr. Gravedigger), commentary on style and lifestyle (The London Boys, Join The Gang). Some of the songs are really good musically. Check out Love You Till Tuesday. Could have been a real rocker!

During the 60's Bowie was very influenced by easy listening crooner Anthony Newley. The style here can be described as light pop and may not be appreciated by all. The reason for that may be that Bowie dares to sound really silly on many of the songs. Fans may dislike that since they expect a cool attitude - trademark of David Bowie of the 70's. The album cover features several pics of Bowie from different phases of his carreer...Ziggy, The Thin White Duke etc. Nice, but doesn't have too much to do with the music on the album, huh?

S.H.

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