DAVID BOWIE :: LOW :: 8-TRACK THROWBACK THURSDAY
An 8-Track Paradise Feature
Check it Out – it’s 8-Track Throwback Thursday time again. Brought to us by 8-TRACK PARADISE, the Go-To Source for 8-Track Music. 8-Track Throwback Thursday is where we get to Feature the Best in 8-Track Tapes. “Track 6” of this Ongoing Throwback Feature is David Bowie, with his Quintessential 8-Track Album, Low. The Album includes Must Hear Songs like “Sound & Vision”, “Speed of Life”, and “Be My Wife”, among other Must Hear Throwback Tunes. With the Trio of Bowie, Brian Eno, and Tony Visconti, this is an 8-Track you just have to Hear.
Last 8-Track Thursday we hung out with The Jam in 1977. This time around, let’s stay in 1977, but head over to West Berlin to Musically wander about with David Bowie, and his 11th Studio Album, Low.
While sharing an apartment with Iggy Pop, David Bowie became interested in the German Music Scene, including acts such as Kraftwerk and Neu!. During the months of his recovery from drug addiction, he also became interested in Brian Eno’s Minimalist Album Discreet Music, and eventually met him, in 1976. Soon after he began collaborating with Eno, Producer Tony Viconti, and Iggy Pop.
Low was Released on RCA Records, in January of 1977. It was Recorded following Bowie’s move to West Berlin, after a period of drug addiction struggles, and personal instability. Low became the 1st of 3 collaborations with Musician Brian Eno, and Producer Tony Visconti, later to be termed the “Berlin Trilogy”.
The Album was in fact Recorded largely in France, though still considered part of the “Berlin Trilogy”. Low marked a shift in Bowie’s Musical Style toward an Electronic and Avant-Garde approach that would further be explored on the subsequent Albums, Heroes (1977) and Lodger (1979).
Though met initially with mixed reviews, Low has since become widely acclaimed as one of Bowie’s Best and Most Influential works.
So, what are we waiting for? Let’s Stick it in and give it a Listen – David Bowie’s Low on 8-Track Tape.
DAVID BOWIE’S LOW ON 8-TRACK:
David Bowie was one of those Artists who had a plethora of his Albums Released on 8-Track. Because of this there is a wide range of Sounds, Genres and Styles of the Chameleonic Musician to search for, and Listen to. Some are more rare than others, and some – like Low – are Must Have’s due to their Sound Quality, Collectiblity, and their Quintessential nature.
The chance to hear Bowie and Eno on 8-Track is something that needs to be experienced.
Low is one of those Albums I did not Listen to at the height of my Bowie-Mania. It wasn’t until some time past, and I started digging into Deeper Cut Albums, that I found my way to Low. At first Listen, I was taken aback by how different this Album was in comparison to the ones that had been in my “Play Often” Stack (Ziggy Stardust, Hunky Dory, Let’s Dance), but very soon that shock and surprise was replaced by fascination, and wonder.
It took until recently to Hear Low on 8-Track, and I have to say, the experience was worth the wait.
THE TRACK LISTS ARE AS FOLLOWS:
- Track 1 = “Speed of Life”, “Be My Wife”, and “Art Decade”
- Track 2 = “Breaking Glass”, “What in the World”, and “Subterraneans”
- Track 3 = “Always Crashing in the Same Car”, “A New Career in a New Town”, and “Warszawa”
- Track 4 = “Warszawa” (cont.), “Sound & Vision”, and “Weeping Wall”
Starting off, the 8-Track and other Versions of the Album, is that the 1st Song is the same. But after that, it all changes.
As with the other 8-Tracks we’ve Featured here, the Track List (after that 1st Song) is in a different order than other Formats. I think finding an 8-Track that is in the Original Track Listing Format is going to be an exception to the rule (they must be somewhere out there).
This differing order did bother me at first, I must admit, but now I’m finding that the experices of Listening in a New Song Order is becoming a way to re-discover the Albums, and their Songs, with more attention – especially in regards to Albums I know so well that Listening becomes almost routine. Listening to Low, with Songs in their different , 8-Track order has me at Full Listening Attention.
As ever, this 8-Track Sound with David Bowie’s Low, is Stellar, and at the moment, it is the 8-Track of Low that is my current favorite Format to Listen to it on. Even with the Song split between Tracks (i.e. “Warszawa”), this Album on 8-Track will blow you away. I guarantee.
Favorite Song on the 8-Track? It’s a tie between “Art Decade” and “Sound and Vision”.
“Art Decade”
“Sound And Vision”
