#206 David Bowie, 'Low' (1977)

Previously #251

With this album, Bowie attempted to hit the restart button. He had struggled with cocaine addiction and his mental health, so he decided to join best mate, Iggy Pop in France to try and kick his habits. ‘Low’ is the first of the career-defining “Berlin Trilogy” of records (this album was finished off in Berlin). It was the first of his collaborations with Brian Eno, who has a major influence on the sound of this record, and his fifth with Tony Visconti, the producer who would go on to produce 12 records of Bowie’s.

The album was Bowie’s first foray into electronic and ambient music, which was the Eno influence coupled with the German music scene. The first track and majority of the second half of the record are predominantly instrumental, ambient tracks. The two singles from the album, ‘Sound and Vision’ & ‘Be My Wife’ are upbeat, funky songs, almost reminiscent of Lennon’s solo mid-career. The album as a whole is a masterpiece. To be honest, I had hardly noticed the instrumental tracks because they blend in so well with the rest of the record. After a string of cocaine-fuelled records, Bowie sounds refreshed and rejuvenated.

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