David Bowie: Lodger CD Track Listing

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David Bowie Lodger (1979)
\nRykodisc CD Edition Released August 19, 1991\n\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: On the surface, Lodger is the most accessible of the three Berlin-era records David Bowie made with Brian Eno, simply because there are no instrumentals and there are a handful of concise pop songs. Nevertheless, Lodger is still gnarled and twisted avant pop; what makes it different is how it incorporates such experimental tendencies into genuine songs, something that Low and Heroes purposely avoided. "D.J.," "Look Back in Anger," and "Boys Keep Swinging" have strong melodic hooks that are subverted and strengthened by the layered, dissonant productions, while the remainder of the record is divided between similarly effective avant pop and ambient instrumentals. Lodger has an edgier, more minimalistic bent than its two predecessors, which makes it more accessible for rock fans, as well as giving it a more immediate, emotional impact. It might not stretch the boundaries of rock like Low and Heroes, but it arguably utilizes those ideas in a more effective fashion. -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nDisjointed, but hip, April 23, 1999\nReviewer: A music fan\nBowie's "DJ" is the stunner on this one. Bowie, as you may recall, was one of the first artists to perform on video, pre-MTV days. Bowie is portrayed as a DJ thrashing about, tearing up his studio. "I've got believers, believing me," rings throughout. "Fantastic Voyage" could be heard playing in Hollywood theaters before movie showings back in 1979. "I Pray Ole" is not on the original album. "Boys Keep Swinging" was popular in L.A., and a remake by Susanna Hoffs was recently produced for a tribute album to Bowie. "Look Back in Anger" is passionate and evokes images of angels and "If God was one of us" video imagery. The incredibly fast-paced "African Night Flight" is a bit unidentifiable for most of us earthlings, but Bowie must have travelled for this one. "Repetition" is a sad account of an abused wife. "Red Sails" has a cool surf-time beat interspersed with Bowiespeak: "fa-fa-fa-fa-fa, fa-fa-far away," and a broken up, "one-two" and then "three-four." Bowie's voice is broken up, and yet, it flows with the melody. Sounded very experimental for circa 1979, and today. Red Sails gives images of a boy sailing and blue skies and we're not sure what happens after that.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nThe weakest of the Bowie/Eno collaboration, but still superb., March 10, 2006\nReviewer: Michael Stack (Watertown, MA USA)\n"Lodger" is the third and final collaboration between David Bowie and Brian Eno in the 1970s. Recorded two years after the landmark "Low" and "Heroes" albums, "Lodger" does not quite live up to the legacy the previous two albums allowed for it, as though taking time out of the studio to tour somehow derailed the Bowie/Eno partnership a bit. Having stated that, had this is a great album. \n\nI think perhaps my reason for feeling this way is that while "Low" and "Heroes" were mapping out new territory, "Lodger" tends to mine on those successes and embraces the burgeoning New Wave sounds that Eno and Bowie previously anticipated. Mind you, when it's good, it's fantastic-- the proto-industrial "African Night Flight" is built around essentially the sound of crickets and electronic noises with Bowie frantically speaking out the lyrics as though there's too many words to get out, "Yaassassin", featuring a superb violin performance by Simon House mixes a Middle Eastern organ line with reggae (or perhaps Police-like?) guitars for an unusually natural sounding blend, "Look Back in Anger" finds Bowie at his most passionate and explosive over a new wave backdrop and a decidingly Enoesque arrangement of frantic rhythms and instruments waxing and waning in prominence and the pounding rhythms of "Boys Keep Swinging" nicely offset the total goofiness of the lyrics (and guitarist Adrian Belew is unbelievable in his solo channeling all sorts of noise). Along the way, Bowie provides a couple features for Belew on guitar, who eats up "Red Sails" and "D.J." with his fierce and highly original guitar lines. \n\nStill, the record has its weak moments-- "African Night Flights" is a bizarrely bright and somewhat dull piece, "Move On" has a fine galloping beat but misses altogether and even Belew's pyrotechnics don't save "Red Sails". \n\nI suppose it's all small complaints though, the good in the album far outweighs the less than good, and I realize my initial assessment was pretty harsh. This is a good album, and for many other artists, it would be the best thing in their catalog.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nNot Bowie's best by any stretch, March 8, 2006\nReviewer: W. Thornton (St. Augustine Beach, Florida USA)\nIt is very hard to sum up Lodger. Most people try and categorize it as part of a `Berlin Trilogy' with Low and "Heroes." The truth is that Lodger is far removed from the brilliance and passion of those two. The creativity that defined the previous three studio albums is sorely missing on Lodger. The main disappointment is that there is so little conviction in the performances. The album just feels totally disjointed. Listening to Lodger today, it has simply not aged well at all. \n\nThe songs on the first side (Fantastic Voyage, African Night Flight, Move On, Yassassin and Red Sail) are all yawners with bizarre syncopations that feel depressingly drunk. The second side is only slightly better with D.J. and Look Back in Anger being the only real highlights. On Lodger, Adrian Belew takes over on guitar. He is simply given very little opportunity that Fripp had on "Heroes." The arrangements on most of the songs do little to showcase his talent. A much better representation of his dynamic talent can be found on the live Stage CD. \n\nIn summary, Lodger is Bowie's castration album. His gender confusion has never been more extreme. I find the cover and liner fairly sick to look at. Many of the songs sound like falsetto and are simply too high even for his broad range. Boys Keep Swinging is his anthem to the alternative lifestyle that he must have at least toyed with. An interesting side note is the opening to D.J. which sounds strangely like David Byrne. Coming off of the peaks of Low, "Heroes" and Stage, Lodger is such a disappointment. Fortunately, he corrects most of the defects in Lodger on 1980's release of Scary Monsters. \n\nTake Lodger for what it is: Bowie's farewell to the 70's, Brian Eno, Berlin and pretty much his better days as an artist. \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nArguably Bowie's Best, November 4, 2005\nReviewer: Thomas D. Ryan "American Hit Network" (New York)\nWith a career as varied as Bowie's, it is all but impossible to pick a favorite album, especially since he's assumed so many guises and toyed with his sound as much as his image. If you are talking about social impact, Ziggy Stardust would be the likely winner. If you're talking about scraunching rock and roll performed with an attitude that transcends mere mortals, then Aladdin Sane might cop the prize. For inventiveness, Low could win. It all depends what you are looking for, but if it is possible to judge Bowie's work objectively (a ridiculous thought, actually) then what album contains the best of all his virtues? Probably Lodger. \n\nLodger hits upon so many touchstones that it is practically impossible to categorize, even for Bowie. Everything that it does, it does with elan. World music, atmospherics, driving rock and roll, pensive ballads, phenomenal musicianship and stunning lyrics flow from this album with such grace and ease that it is almost easy to overlook just how creative it all is, especially as a package. The `hits' are among Bowie's best, from the smarmy, sarcastic 1-2 punch of "D.J." to the tongue-in-cheek mannerisms of "Boys Keep Swinging," they are flawless in their execution. Adrian Belew's guitar work on the latter song is so over-the-top loony that it inspires fits of laughter and admiration. \n\nBowie's palette is so broad on Lodger that it overwhelms. It is hard to fathom what sort of imagination could conjure the stream of consciousness reverie of "African Night Flight" as well as the dream-state playfulness of "Red Sails", only to accurately capture the mental state of a frustrated wife-beater with "Repetition" and reflections on mortality suggested by the beautiful "Fantastic Voyage." Throw in a Turkish-inspired melody ("Yassassin") and what might be one of his hardest-rocking songs ever ("Look Back in Anger") and you've got a full-blown masterpiece. This point is only driven home by the fact that it sounds just as futuristic/contemporary today as it did in 1979. If Bowie is a genius, then the evidence lies herein. A+ Tom Ryan \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nThe underdog of the Berlin triology...., June 3, 2005\nReviewer: squarehawk2 "squarehawk2" (usa)\n...makes this release all the more interesting. \n\nDavid Bowie was coming to a crossroad w/ Brian Eno. Bowie felt he had to take some control back of his own work which starts to show as Eno's presence isn't that predominant as on the past 2 releases prior. Gone from the album are ambient workouts like "Moss Garden" and "Art Decade". Instead the work showed a greater interest in twisting strange atmospheres into pop songs which would foreshadow the best parts of New Wave, as well as touching upon the post-punk movement that was running along the side of it at the same time. \n\nThe opener "Fantastic Voyage" is excellent, almost an overture to the rest of the LP, acting like an updated song from "Three Penny Opera". A cousin to "5 Years". "African Night Flight" has often been sited as bizarre but its one of the best tracks on Lodger (if not in his career) that puts an agressive view to world music, just like the Talking Heads would do in Remain In Light a year later. The rest of the songs travel in and out foreign lands, haphazzard fashions, regret and sexual politics (of being a boy and abuse). "Repetition" is one of the most point blank views on marital abuse ever (which was later cover by the feminist punkers The Au Pairs). The voyage ends on a sour prediction about the decade greed that was to come our way in the 1980s ("Red Money"). \n\nOf course, the record company robs us of "I Pray, Ole" in this remastered reissue. But noticing the current rate of the anniversary packaged albums being produced maybe we'll see something (however I wouldn't hold my breath). \n\nI understand why many wouldn't think this is Bowie's best work, especially looking at his whole career. But for some reason every time I listen to it I feel that it is my favorite one. \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nBowie Business as Usual, September 15, 2004\nReviewer: Omer Belsky (Haifa, Israel)\nThe 1970s saw David Bowie in one of the most extraordinary peaks of creativity ever achieved by any Rock'n'Roll artist. Whole albums, such as Ziggy Stardust and Station to Station are perfect from the first moment to the last. Other masterpieces, though flawed, contain such an overload of brilliance that it overshadows whatever weak track exist on the albums ('Hunky Dory' is a perfect example for that). \n\nLodger, in a sense, is different in the sense that it foreshadows most of Bowie's later albums: it's a mixed bag. At times experimental ('Red Money'), Anthemic ('DJ'), silly ('Yassassin'), and sometimes just utterly brilliant ('Boys Keep Swinging' and 'Look Back in Anger') - Lodger is as good a candidate for a 'typical' Bowie album as it gets. \n\nThe weaker tracks, such as 'Yassassin' and 'African Night Flight' are not so much bad as miscalculated - Bowie's rock music talents gone wrong. Some tracks, such as opener 'Fantastic Voyage' and 'Move On' are solid rock tracks, not spectacular but with interesting lyrics ('I'll never say anything nice again' Bowie mysteriously declares on 'Voyage'). \n\nThe two highlights are the majestic, dark and hard rockin' "Look Back in Anger", which has been a frequent show opener for Bowie. With rifts that anticipate the leaner, meaner sound of "Scary Monsters", "Look Back in Anger", as opaque as it may appear (the video suggests an allusion to a deformed artist, and maybe to Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture of Durian Grey'), it's a deserved classic. \n\nRarely played live, "Boys Keep Swinging" an ironic tribute to youth and masculinity. It seems like a stylistic throw back to the 1950s or even 30s, but the music is patently Bowie, with a hard beat beneath the pretty melody. It's yet another classic. \n\nFor most artists, Lodger would have been a career highlight. Only in comparison to Bowie's remarkable career can an album as strong as this one seem so mundane. \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nAround the world and into my brain forever, June 9, 2003\nReviewer: A music fan\nThis album definitely merits more study by people who find it dull. There is no Bowie album which is more art-referential than "Lodger," and a cursory listing of its musical attributes only tells half the story. I've often kept the cover art for the vinyl version on my wall since it was released. It's a unique work of art and never ceases to inspire me.\nUnfortunately, many of the graphic elements that made the cover and inner sleeve such a perfect pop koan have not been reproduced in CD form, an omission which is sadly true for virtually all of his CD reissues. \n\nThe strange enigma of a cover is a reference to the dadaist Francis Picabia's "Portrait of Cezanne," as well as to Bowie's gatefold image in "Aladdin Sane." Like that album, "Lodger" takes us on a whirlwind tour of landscapes that may or may not exist, but in an inner terrain enabled by Jungian symbolism and dadaist vitriol. It adds up to a form of synthetic modernism that is absolutely unique among Bowie records. \n\nTo say that "Lodger" is weak on any level is really to underestimate Bowie's perspective on the future and his own past, to overlook the fact that before Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel, Malcolm McLaren or Paul Simon did their own take on the issue, Bowie was looking to the very foundations of rock to trace the evolution of modern Western consciousness. "Lodger" creates its own language of simulationism which remains unprecedented in pop music. This album is ABSOLUTE genius folks!\n\nSince when is ennui NOT a proper subject for art? I seriously discount the idea that the song "Fantastic Voyage" refers to anything besides Bowie's depression. It's a worthy introduction to a treatise on cultural colonialism (revived in the video for "China Girl" as well as the visual theme for his "Serious Moonlight Tour." "Lodger" also contains Bowie's first major use of angel symbolism, a theme he beat to death in later years.)\n\nIn short, in the Seventies, Bowie was more than a musical figure, he was a cultural prophet, and "Lodger" finds him poised as a lonely scout for the human tribe. His art then was as much visual as it was musical, and in the entirety of this album are artfully conceived, enigmatic mysteries that have kept me fascinated for nearly 25 years.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nBowie's 70s Journey at an End, February 21, 2002\nReviewer: G. YEO "gyeo" (Singapore)\nBowie was never dull in the seventies. Lodger isn't boring in terms of analysing Bowie's wonderful career, but it's sandwiched in between better albums. As a piece of work, it continues Bowie and Eno's musical explorations. For that, those going through Bowie's back catalogue may find it interesting, yet unspectacular in parts.\nBowie's musical aims at this point, unlike later with the success of Let's Dance, weren't about pleasing the fans. It was however, about doing something new. Lodger has a lot of stuff that stands out in an odd way, or slips by you. But it doesn't feel as cutting edge as its predecessors Heroes and Low did - what it is is a more assorted, almost disparate outing.\n\nWhile the album doesn't shine as a whole, there are nuggets in the rough. "Look Back In Anger" which would become a Bowie live favourite - is as excellent as they come. "Boys Keep Swinging" sounds dated now, but is memorable for its music video, which should have come with the CD. "DJ" is Bowie's histrionics. A nod to campiness. The other tracks feature Bowie's stabs at different vocal stylings and world beats. \n\nBy today's standards, old Bowie fans would hunger for him to return to a form like this. A better album to come would be the next one however - Scary Monsters and Super Creeps. But one must give Bowie his dues for his constant experimentation - which has made him the legend he is.\n\nCollect this if you must. But this one doesn't get much play amongst my Bowie collection.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nBowie has never produced an album this good since, July 2, 2001\nReviewer: Tom (London)\nThis is usually considered the worst of the Berlin period Bowie/Eno albums, not least by the participants themselves, but it actually contains some the best SONGS of the three albums. How can any album which contains "Fantastic Voyage", "Yassassin", "Red Sails", "DJ", "Look Back In Anger", "Boys Keep Swinging" and "Red Money" be considered disappointing? Admittedly, "African Night Flight" suffers from a distinct lack of anything resembling a tune while "Move On" and "Repetition" are second string Bowie (tho the latter has very interesting and brave lyrics on domestic violence. Elsewhere, Bowie's magpie tendencies are on display, "Red Sails" is a pretty blatant steal of the Neu/Harmonia motorik style (in particular Harmonia's "Monza") but redeemed by Bowie's inventive melody and singing. Likewise, "Look Back In Anger" suggests Bowie had been listening as closely to the Walker Brothers' "Nite Flights" album as Scott Walker had been listening to "Low" and "Heroes"! Overall, the album has a surprisingly lean and sparse feel with Bowie's best ever rhythm section (Carlos Alomar/ Dennis Davis/ George Murray) as reliable as ever, Adrian Belew fills in as "stunt guitarist" in the absence of Robert Fripp, and almost out-Fripps the master on "Boys Keep Swinging"! Bowie and Eno contribute here and there too, in fact, there's more of Eno in a songwriting sense on this album than on either "Low" or "Heroes", odd as it's usually considered the least Enoesque of the trilogy. The bonus track, (the oddly titled) "I Pray Ole" is good if not essential, sounds to me as if it re-uses chords from another song (a typically Enoesque ploy) but the 1988 version of "Look Back In Anger" merely demonstrates how much less interesting Bowie was in 1988 compared with 1979....\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nFantastic Voyage, June 20, 2000\nReviewer: John B. Maggiore (Buffalo, NY United States)\nMy first impression of "Lodger" was that it was a journeyman effort. With time, however, I have come to appreciate it much more. It remains inconsistent, and contains odd barriers, but its heart is strong.\nThe barriers are the first several elements encountered with the disk, starting with the unattractive cover. The cover, of course, has nothing to do with the music (neither does the name --there is no song called "Lodger"), but it sets the wrong mood. So does the first song, "Fantastic Voyage." Actually, the first several songs are mediocre. If the other albums of the "Berlin Trilogy," "Low" and "'Heroes'" have stronger first halves, "Lodger," has a much stronger second half.\n\nThe album picks up with "D.J." "D.J." is one of Bowie's most megalomaniacal hits, and is far more enduring than other frequently heard songs like "Golden Years" and "Let's Dance." "D.J." manages to meld the avant-garde with a popular dance beat and very edgy lyrics. \n\n"D.J." gives way to one of my favorite Bowie songs, "Look Back in Anger." "Look Back" is musically upbeat but lyrically foreboding. I'm not exactly sure what the song is about, but it seems menacing. Oblique Bowie is usually Bowie at his best. The next song is "Boys Keep Swinging," which is fun and also clever. The song's cleverness is that it may not be as straightforward as it seems at first. The title suggests a return to Bowie's earlier homo-erotic toying, but the words don't necessarily convey any such meaning. Instead, the song seems to be an over-the-top joke about life as a male. The humor value would be greater still if Bowie's serious! I can't hear the song without thinking also of Bowie's groundbreaking video for it, in which he convincingly portrays his own (female) backup singers.\n\n"Repetition" is a setback that comes across as preachy. The music is not strong and, while its theme against wife beating is noble, it is also totally unsubtle. But "Lodger" recovers with its original closing song, "Red Money." "Red Money" can best be appreciated after listening to Iggy Pop's "Sister Midnight," which uses the identical music and some of the same words. This is the first and probably best of many Bowie covers of Iggy songs. I'm not sure either what the song is about or what the point is about the different lyrics, but it works.\n\n"Lodger" is possibly the only album re-issued by Rykodisk with "bonus tracks" that work at the end of the album. The second version of "Look Back" is not necessary, but at nearly twice the length of the original it is noticeably different. "I Pray, Ole" is a worthy addition to the album. Unlike many Bowie albums, the last song on "Lodger" is not clearly a "closer," so the extra songs fit reasonably well. But they aren't that important, so the current EMI reissue will suffice. \n\nSo, by the end of the album, the first half doesn't seem so bad. Mediocre Bowie is better than most other music, and mediocre Bowie at this stage of his career is better yet. "Lodger" doesn't make it into the top echelon, but it comes close.\n\nHalf.com Details (Virgin Remastered CD Edition)\nContributing artists: Adrian Belew, Brian Eno, Carlos Alomar \nProducer: David Bowie, Tony Visconti \n\nAlbum Notes\nThis is an Enhanced audio CD which contains regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.\n\nPersonnel: David Bowie (vocals, guitar, piano, Chamberlain, synthesizer); Tony Visconti (guitar, mandolin, background vocals); Adrian Belew (guitar, mandolin); Brian Eno (guitar, trumpet, horn, piano, synthesizer, sound effects); Carlos Alomar (guitar); Simon House (mandolin, violin); Stan (saxophone); Sean Mays (piano); Roger Powell (synthesizer); George Murray (bass); Dennis Davis (percussion).\n\nRecorded at Mountain Studios, Montreaux, Switzerland.\nDigitally remastered by Peter Mew and Nigel Reeve (1999, Abbey Road Studios, London, England).\n\nLODGER (1979) was third in Bowie's Berlin trilogy, his collaboration with legendary producer/experimentalist Brian Eno, which began with HEROES and LOW (both released in 1977). While those dark records were heavy on alien-sounding instrumentals, LODGER had none, and even contained songs that seemed relatively straightforward. Considered inaccessible at the time, LODGER now sounds like a classic, transitional Bowie album, if only for its rich spirit of experimentation. From the Middle Eastern strains of "Yassassin" to the bizarre wordplay of "African Night Flight," LODGER feels like a journey through strange lands.\n\nSongs like "Boys Keep Swinging" (later covered by ex-Bangle Susanna Hoffs) and "DJ" have the structure of traditional rock songs, but the odd textures, rough edges and dissonant elements make them into something richer and stranger. "Look Back in Anger," with fierce guitar playing by Adrian Belew, became a staple of Bowie's live concerts for years to come. "Red Money" is Bowie's adaptation of Iggy Pop's decadent, futuristic "Sister Midnight" from THE IDIOT. The anthemic "Red Sails" (co-written with Eno) has a majestic sense of forward motion, its glorious crescendo and fadeout providing the record's most spine-tingling moments.\n\nIndustry Reviews\n4 Stars - Excellent - ...a crucial part of rock history...\nQ Magazine (10/01/1991)
This rock cd contains 12 tracks and runs 46min 6sec.
Freedb: 950acc0c
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