David Bowie's Low (33 1/3)

I've read 7 or 8 of the 33 1/3 book series, which I consider to be a great idea for people to experience their favorite albums with deeper understanding. The 2 best, in my mind, are the Kinks Village Green Preservation Society, and David Bowie's Low.This book sets the standard & should be the model for how the others in the series are written. It begins with background on where Bowie was in his career, leading up to Low. Then a detailed description of the early creative process, chronicling how they first recorded Iggy Pop's "The Idiot" as a way of fleshing out sonic ideas that would govern Low. Followed by the early sessions in France, as Eno entered the creative mix, soon followed by longtime Bowie producer, Tony Visconti . And then traveling to Berlin to finish mixing at Connie Plank's Hansa by the Wall studio.Hugo Wilcken doesn't dwell too deeply on a technical description of the songs, and he definitely doesn't resort to one of those dry "at 2:37 into the song there is a bridge that pre-supposes the chorus structure while belying a sub harmonic tonality of the root level rhythm...." type texts that can creep into some other books of the series.Instead, the author focuses on the life being lived by the artist as the songs were being created, and how it influenced and shaped the process. He describes conceptual ideas that manifest themselves into creative decisions, such as the merging of dense Germanic electronic sound with an American soul-based rhythm section. Plenty of description of the surrounding atmosphere in the whole process. You feel like you are there as it happens.A thoroughly enjoyable experience for anyone who loves that album.

This is a smart little book about David Bowie's album Low, which is one of his finest and strangest records (recently winning an online poll among Bowie fans ranking Bowie's best albums).In a hundred-odd pocket-sized pages, Hugo Wilcken covers the recording of the album in appropriate detail and takes the time to talk about each individual song. He also explores the lead-up to Low, starting with Bowie's previous album, Station to Station, as well as the Iggy Pop album The Idiot, which Bowie produced and co-wrote (and first experimented with some of the sounds used on Low). For such a small book, there's a wealth of information in these pages, and Wilcken writes it all in a clear, easy-to-follow style. Highly recommended.And if you like this one, other books in the 33 1/3 series I've read and recommend are:Geeta Dayal's book on Brian Eno's Another Green World Brian Eno's Another Green World (33 1/3 series)Jonathan Lethem's book on Talking Heads' Fear of Music Talking Heads' Fear of Music (33 1/3)Mark Polizzotti's book on Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited (33 1/3)

There are a few things I'd expect from a book like this: a description of the way the album was made, detailed but not concerned with trivia; analysis of the music itself, detailed but not overblown; biography of the artist, at least enough to understand where the album came from. This book has all of that. It's difficult for an entire book about a single album to be intriguing from start to finish, but this mostly manages.Highlights included: a solid description of just where Bowie was, mentally, when he made the album (a description which does a lot to explain the album's unique mood). Explanation of the album's influences, with focus on acts like Kraftwerk and Neu!, as well as the ways the album connects to its predecessor, Station to Station. And track-by-track analysis which actually feels justified: not drawn-out or unnecessary (although not of much interest to anyone but the committed fan), but not clipped or peremptory.It's a book-length analysis of a brilliant album. If you're a hardcore David Bowie fan, a lot of it is already familiar to you; if you love the album but don't know anything about its history, it's a must-read. There's nothing "ambitious" about the book--it's no more or less than the story of Low--but it does its job well.

I was more a fan of Eno's than Bowie's when this album came out - this album made me more of a Bowie fan than I had been prior to its release. The author does a good job of describing and highlighting both the creative processes and the cultural melieu surrounding the album. Loved the background info re the Chateau (French recording studio & compound where much of the album was tracked). The album's reception was lukewarm in the U.S. but more widely embraced in Europe; it's now considered one of his landmark albums. The book is a good companion piece & provides meaningful context to its many pop music innovations.

This is perhaps the finest, most detailed analysis of Bowie's work I've ever read, and I earnestly entreat the author to consider taking on the remainder of the Berlin trilogy albums. In spite of the minor error or three (that's Walter Tevis who wrote The Man Who Fell To Earth, not Travis), this book answers so many questions I've always wanted to ask about "Low"-- which is saying a lot, as this has remained one of the most important albums of all time to my own musical work. Great stuff!

I had been waiting for this book for ages; since I heard it was coming out. I was not disappointed. Writing about Bowie is always a task; writing about Bowie during this period in his career and about the "Diamond Dogs" LP is a titanic endeavor. The author really "went into the weeds" for this book, siting literature, obscure music, interviews, etc. that made up this phenomenal, schizophrenic masterpiece.The book was delivered on time and in good order.

Found this take on 'Low' to be nothing short of excellent. Very important revelations regarding Bowie's thought process, studio prowess and personal demons. Thumbs up.

Muito interessante e muito bem escrito. Primordial para os fãs dessa grande obra. Recomendo fortemente.Curto, mas com grande profundidade.

Not sure what the one star snobs expect in a pocket book! A cracking little read and one of the best in this series.

Für mich gehört "Low" zweifellos zu seinen besten Alben überhaupt.Dieses Buch über das Album, das in Europa und teilweise während seiner "Berlinzeit" entstand und maßgeblich von Brian Eno beeinflusst wurde, dokumentiert anhand vieler Quellen das Zeitgeschehen und die Hintergründe zur Entstehungsgeschichte des Albums. Wichtig ist hier natürlich auch der Nicolas Roeg Film "Der Mann der vom Himmel fiel" von dem auch das Foto für das Albumcover stammt.Das Vorgängeralbum "Station to Station" wird auch intensiv beschrieben und besprochen, um so auch "Low" in den passenden Kontext zu stellen. Parallelen werden vorallem immer wieder zu Kraftwerk "Radioaktivität" und "Trans Europa Express" gezogen.Ein Kapitel beschäfigt sich auch ausführlich mit dem Schwesteralbum " The Idiot" von Iggy Pop an dem Bowie mit Herrn Osterbergetwa zeitgleich gearbeitet hat. Das Album zeigt einige Parallelen und natürlich auch klare Unterschiede- es war ein Art Testlauf für "Low".Der Text auf 136 kleinformatigen Seiten (etwa DINA 6) ist in verständlichem Englisch geschrieben und auch recht unterhaltsam, wenn man sich für diese Art Themen interessiert.

Profondo ed esaustivo, di non facile lettura, ma assolutamente meritevole di ogni singolo minuto passato a leggerlo e rileggerlo. Un testo indispensabile per capire non solo questo disco ma una buona fetta di tutta l'opera di Bowie.