Dear Editor,
Appreciated your honest and touching tribute to Mr Bowie on Monday. What a surprise. My brain hurts a lot.
By way of nerdy reciprocation, please find below my list of favourite tracks, singles, rarities, instrumentals and albums.
I’ve only listened to the Blackstar in its entirety once, but it’s streets ahead of The Next Day (although that opens very strongly before petering off somewhat). Blackstar is the complete album package with the added value of innovation and superior over all production and now, it transpires, a sense of utter poignancy. So in time it may rise up my rankings.
In the past week I’ve heard of a friend’s brother who cried upon hearing Laughing Gnome; an old college friend in Brighton weeping uncontrollably for much of Monday; and another who burst into tears after hearing about Bowie’s final email to Eno a week before his death, thanking Eno for the all the good times and saying that their work will ‘never rot’.
Album tracks / singles
The London Boys 1966-68: Maids of Bond Street / Space Oddity (original)
Space Oddity: Memory of a Free Festival / Space Oddity
The Man Who Sold The World: All The Madmen
Hunky Dory: Queen Bitch / Life On Mars
Ziggy Stardust: Moonage Daydream / Starman / Rock’n’Roll Suicide
Aladdin Sane: Time / Drive In Saturday
Pin-Ups: Shape of Things / Sorrow
Diamond Dogs: 1984
Young Americans: Win / Fame
Station to Station: Stay / Golden Years
Low: Always Crashing In The Same Car / Sound and Vision
Heroes: Blackout / "Heroes"
Lodger: Look Back In Anger / DJ
Scary Monsters: It’s No Game #1 / Ashes to Ashes* / Fashion* (*album versions)
Lets Dance: Let’s Dance
Tonight: Blue Jean
Never Let Me Down: Never Let Me Down
Tin Machine: Heaven In Here
Tin Machine 2: –
Black Tie/White Noise: Miracle Goodnight / Jump They Say
Buddha of Suburbia: Buddha of Suburbia / "Untitled No. 1"
Outside: Strangers When We Meet / Heart’s Filthy Lesson
Earthling: Dead Man Walking / I’m Afraid of Americans V2
Hours: What’s Really Happening? / Thursday’s Child
(Toy: Uncle Floyd / Toy)
Heathen: Slip Away / 5:15 The Angels Have Gone
Reality: Fall Dog Bombs The Moon / New Clear Star
The Next Day: Where Are We Now / Love Is Lost (10min remix) / The Stars (Are Out Tonight)
Blackstar: I Can’t Give Everything Away / Lazarus
Non-album tracks: All The Young Dudes; Bombers; Amsterdam; Velvet Goldmine; Space Oddity 1980; Under Pressure (w/ Queen); Absolute Beginners; Hallo Spaceboy (w/ PSB)
Instrumentals – Art Decade; Subterraneans; V2 Schneider; Moss Garden; Crystal Japan; Abdulmajid; All Saints; South Horizon; Ian Fish UK Heir; The Wedding; Looking For Lester; Brilliant Adventure
Albums
‘Experimental’ – 1 "Heroes"; 2 Low; 3 Heathen; 4 Outside; 5 Blackstar; 6 Earthling
‘Glam’ – 1 Hunky Dory; 2 Ziggy Stardust; 3 Diamond Dogs; 4 Aladdin Sane; 5 TMWSTW
‘Soul’ – 1= Young Americans & Station to Station
There are other album tracks that do not appear here, of course.
The night before the news came through, I dreamt that I was at a Diamond Dogs concert. Bowie was in his David Live pale blue suit. I left the coliseum-like auditorium to find a load of people looking up at a balcony from which Bob Dylan was preaching!
