David Bowie - Heroes

It's become a cliche to use the word "chameleon" when talking about Bowie, but it is true that he "borrowed" influences from all around him to create his ever-changing personas. From Marc Bolan, to Lou Reed to Iggy to soul/disco to this era, his Eno/Kraftword-styled period. The is the second installment of his "Berlin Trilogy" (starting with Low and followed by Lodger), this was by far the most popular, with the success of the hit title track. Robert Fripp joined him here, along with Eno (production and keys) and their contributions make the album what it is.

While all of the songs have a Eno/Kraftwork-ian feel, they range from catchy, pop-oriented tunes to pure ambiance. Opening with a bit of sonic wavy-ness, the band settles into a groove for one of the keyboard dominated pop tunes, "Beauty and the Beast", "Joe the Lion" isn't quite as memorable, but the title track comes in with one of Bowie's more unforgettable melodies (both vocal and guitar, although the latter of which might be Fripp's doing) and performances. While lacking the power'n'edge of his guitar-monsters from his Ziggy period, this hypnotic number deservedly stands as one of his best. "Sons of the Silent Age" sounds somewhat like his early acoustic work set to synthesizers with lots of backing vocals and Side One of the vinyl concluded with the more upbeat and catchy/dance-y "Blackout".

Flip over the record and "V-2 Schneider" definitely benefits from his work with Iggy on The Idiot and Lust For Life (who influenced who, at that time, I wonder?), as does the dark "Sense of Doubt", atmospheric sound shapes similar to "Mass Production" without the beat. This continues in "Moss Garden" (with hints of Oriental melodies hidden in the waves) and "Neukoln" (name checking the band Neu, of course, as well as the town Cologne and adding Bowie's saxophone), before the finale, "The Secret Life of Arabia", which brings us back to a danceable, vocal pop number.

Not his best work, but a few classic songs and some interesting sound experiments. The finest from this period, I'd say.