David Bowie- Future Legend & Diamond Dogs (First Listen)
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- Опубліковано 22 лип 2024
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Any album that starts with "This ain't rock'n'roll, this is genocide!" is already going to be legendary
And to follow that with "As they pull you out of the oxygen tent, you ask for the latest party". Best opening line of any song!
Future Legend/Diamond Dogs is actually Joan Jett's favorite Bowie piece and she can quote everything from memory.
Youre not wrong!
Omg..l can sing along word for word every single line on this album. This album got me through my teenage angst. The whole album is most amazing. Sweet thing- Candidate and- reprise is my favorite Bowie work.
Such a great atmosphere, and his vocals are off the charts.
Same here!👽
I really liked "We Are The Dead" as well.
@@gog583 Big Brother too.
@@peteh7966 Yep. :)
Fabulous lp. One of his most ambitious and underrated 🤔 The Sweet Thing suite is amazing, particularly his singing.
Yes. His voice (and saxophone solo) is fantastic on The Sweet Thing suite. One of his best vocal performances.
@@Missjunebugfreak +1 One of my all time favourites.
Underrated? By whom?
@@antoniomaraspin The 5 people who disliked this video :-) It did however reach number 1 in the UK and 5 in the U.S. so not a bad effort.
@@antoniomaraspin lots of people. The music world in general, and certainly ‘the critics’. 🙄
This album came from a musical version of 1984 he wanted to do, but was blocked by Orwells estate.
A dystopian landscape (Bowie tried to get the rights to make the album directly about 1984, but George Orwell’s widow would not agree). So, we have Halloween Jack trying to survive in this “Future State”. Bowie on sax and guitar. Love the “trashy” guitar sound that fits this overall soundscape.
This album was basically a bridge between his Ziggy Stardust and Thin White Duke personas.
I think you’ll enjoy some of the other tracks on this like the epic Sweet Thing a little more. The album has a fair amount of variety
Tod Browning directed the weird 1932 movie "Freaks", a pre-Code horror film where the villain is made into a freak at the end. I hope you continue on with the album, it's my 2nd favorite by Bowie. The next 3 songs are a suite and should be heard together, 'Sweet Thing', 'Candidate' and 'Sweet Thing (reprise)'. It has some incredible vocals by Bowie. It leads into the classic rock song 'Rebel Rebel'.
Personally I like glam rock, it's fun and outrageous (in the '70s), makes for great listening with plenty of guitar hooks. I think it got eaten by disco which is tragic but that morphed into new wave which was a good thing.
Totally agree, the mood in the Sweet Thing "suite" flows through these three pieces, I never did like the way Rebel Rebel totally changes that.
His vocals on Big Brother are terrific too.
Tod Browning showed these strange outcasts society castigated as “freaks” as being loyal and having a non-detachable camaraderie amongst each other. It was the “normal” ones (minus Wallace Ford and Leila Hyams) who were the monsters. Pretty cutting-edge pre-Code.
You're only seeing half of the cover. Unfold it.
🐶🧍♂️
The original had a dog dick.
The album is a kind of mash-up of Clockwork Orange and 1984 thematically and aesthetically; it's frenetic and manic and grows more desperate and plaintive as the album goes on, as the weight of this decaying society grows heavier on its citizens. "Sweet Thing" is both one of Bowie's best compositions and best vocal performances, in my opinion.
Diamond Dogs was originally supposed to be a concept album based on George Orwell's 1984, but he couldn't secure the rights so he went in a slightly different direction; a couple of tracks from that iteration survived into the final album though.
Obligatory Bowie song reccomendations: The Man Who Sold the World, Watch That Man, Live Medley from Ziggy Stardust the Movie (Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud, All the Young Dudes, Oh You Pretty Things), basically anything of Low but especially Sound and Vision, Warszawa and Always Crashng in the Same Car, Heroes (album version), Look Back in Anger, I'm Afraid of Americans (NIN mix), Blackstar.
Also, Tod Browning's Freaks was an old black and white movie about a group of carnival sideshow freaks that was very influential. Anytime you hear people chanting "one of us, one of us" in something, that's what they're referencing. :)
P.S. It's also the inspiration for the Ramones' song Pinhead and the "Gabba gabba hey" chant associated with them.
This is one of my favorite Bowie albums. Listening to this with headphones in a darkened bedroom as a teen in 1974, Bowie painted pictures in my head and transported me to his dystopian world. My personal fave on this album are We Are The Dead, and Sweet Thing / Candidate/ reprise as I see everyone else has mentioned. The artwork on the album was done by Guy Pellart, who was negotiating doing a protect with Mick Jagger, and Bowie slipped in and stole him getting his project done first. Bowie also employed using a cut-up method on the lyrics on several songs the he learned from William Burroughs. No linear storytelling, but for me it still worked to get the images & emotions across. I will stop talking now, sorry! I am hoping you will consider doing the whole album, it is full of surprises.
Bowie is like Yes and a few others. You don't try to understand certain things. You just listen and enjoy or listen and say what the hell was that the first time you hear it.
Same line of thinking needed when he eventually reviews The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.
@@Fygee A true masterpiece!
The title track "Diamond Dogs" is a pretty deceptive track because very Stonian in its form (just like "Rebel Rebel" by the way) but Justin, please don't give up on this album because the next track "Sweet Thing "/" Candidate "/" Sweet Thing (Reprise) "has a very different vibe and I'm sure you'll like it !
When you'll do the mini-epic "Sweet Thing" / "Candidate" / "Sweet Thing (Reprise)", I also advise you to chain directly with "Rebel Rebel" because it follows without interruption !
One of my most favourite albums of David Bowie
Diamond Dogs always gave me a glimpse of the Rolling Stones. "Rebel Rebel" was the BIG hit on this album. Great song!!!
I haven't listened to much Bowie, partly because his body of work is intimidating, but this one was great and I want to hear the whole album now. :)
You should! The album is great.
It's not too long, only about 40 minutes. Well worth the listen!
Since you're not confined like Justin is to breaking up your listening, I definitely recommend giving Hunky Dory through Station to Station a shot. They're all brief and easy enough to check out. If you love them, there are a few bonus tracks from the Rykodisc versions to check out, then the 80s stuff will surprise you.
'' because his body of work is intimidating''? I'd call it supper daring instead
@@rodrigosantos2071 Intimidating because there's a lot of it.
Great album, Herbie Flowers, one of the most famous bass lines in history, Walk on the Wild Side. Another good choice JP.
I urge you to react to Sweet Thing/Candidate/ Reprise. It's one of the most beautiful moments on the album. And has arguably some of Bowie's strongest vocals.
Fortunately for us all, he's doing album by album after Station to Station and this will be a full Diamond Dogs track by track reaction.
@@chrismeadows4216 Ah great! Then I look forward to when he gets to those tracks in particular.
@@Missjunebugfreak If things work out the way they did with Station to Station, the suite should come next week. He's done these two together like they should be, so that will probably be one video.
Bowie was very eclectic and changed his style over the different albums. This album was a bridge from the glam rock heights of Ziggy Stardust & Aladdin Sane to the plastic soul of Young Americans. By the way, the Album you previously listened to was called Station To Station, not Calling All Stations. :-)
I dont know how I made that mistake 🤣
Genesis on the brain.
If you can call that album real Genesis. ;)
Bowie used this raunchy rocker style earlier in "Suffragette City" from Ziggy Stardust. I recall during the Diamond Dogs release, Bowie did a choreographed performance on TV's The Midnight Special, entitled the 1980 Floor Show. The entire album has a freaky Manhattan night club vibe to it - "1984" is probably my favorite song on it.
It's a pretty wild show, too. ua-cam.com/video/aQKCL9gaBt0/v-deo.html
That show could have been the seed to a 1984 theatre production if the Orwell estate had approved. David had 1984, Dodo, We Are the Dead, and Big Brother written and ready, and that original album would have been the perfect follow-up to Aladdin Sane. Unfortunately, we just got one of his best albums and not the clear best album.
@@chrismeadows4216 Thanks - I found out that live show from London's Marquee dates to the 1973 release of Aladdin Sane, while Diamond Dogs was released a year later in 1974.
@@bobholtzmann I believe it's also a demonstration of some Pin-Ups covers.
They filmed it multiple times for extra angles, so there are some alternate versions of the songs.
My brother brought this in 1974, absolute classic on every level, Bowie was up at the very top of the tree. My brother saw him live twice. Your love this album Justin.
I love early 70s glam, what with straight boys rocking out while camping it up and not being afraid of being perceived as gay (at least as far as the British glam rockers go). Glam in the US mainly morphed into decidedly straight bands making a point of not being gay while adopting some of glam's style (make up, outfits...), Kiss being a good example. This later on evolved into hair metal, which I personally found unlistenable for the most part, but I digress. As a gay kid growing up in Oklahoma in the 70s, the mere idea of Bowie was in many ways life saving, letting me see that I was not as alone as I felt. The album Diamond Dogs always brings a smile to my face, it's so over the top and campy, yet succeeds musically.
I really appreciate what you said about not liking certain genres, yet not denying the artistry within them. It's taken me years to reach the ability to think that way. What can I say, I was a rock snob in my youth (see what I said about hair metal above!). Life's too short to be always critical.
You don't like Glam!?! You're not gonna like Ziggy and Aladdin...If you don't like "Rebel Rebel", I'm gonna come down there and slap you, lol, just joking. But Glam Rock is a big part of the Bowie story, just loosen up and go with it....
Great way to start an album. My favourite Bowie album, but one that gets overlooked a little. The next track is the pay off. Candidate/Sweet Thing is the best thing he's ever done, in my opinion. This was Bowie's most solo album. Maybe a little bit of cross-fertilisation with Mott the Hoople here. Todd Browning made the film, Freaks. Watching that will explain the analogy.
I so agree Sweet thing-candidate-reprise...l have never heard Bowie better than that..much comes close..but its my all time favorite
Ah, man, that film was creepy as hell! But oddly satisfying in the end. I'd never looked up the reference, thanks!
'Diamond Dogs' is basically Ziggy's last gasp.
Great song. Great album. Great reaction.
Rebel Rebel or 1984 from Diamond Dogs, then listen to some (or all) of Aladdin Sane.
He's doing Diamond Dogs track by track, so definitely expect Rebel Rebel a week or two from now, either with the Sweet Thing Suite or after.
There are some Bowie albums that I consider better, there are some that I like more but this one's got the most vivid imagery.
Yesssssss, my favorite album!!!!
DUDE DON"T STOP THERE !!!!! this is one of those 'do the whole album' deals. great great stuff. the story was, bowie was going to do a musical adaptation of George Orwell's 1984. Mrs Orwell refused him the rights...so...although not 1984 exactly, it is about a distopian society (emerald city) gone to the dogs, so to speak. it's really a strong album....the next song Sweet THing/Candidate/Sweet thing is like a movie within itself....and for my money one of bowie's finest vocal performances ever. as for the instrumentation...this is the first album since Mick Ronson left. Many people feel that it would have been a stronger album had ronson been involved. On one hand, Ronson is my favorite guitarist ever and of course would have added his flair and his arrangements etc so of course that's always good, BUT, bowie handled all the guitars on this LP (except for 1984) and although nothing earth shattering, i think he did an admirable job. i wouldn't change anything. stand out tracks for me Sweet Thing... We are the Dead....
What I think was fortunate about Ronson not being on the album is just what David accomplished. The Rebel Rebel riff is the single most influential on any Bowie album, and the solo on Sweet Thing is transcendent in a way, with Bowie's saxophone solo tying in perfectly. Big Brother has some massively catchy instrumental vibes. It all feels like a landscape for other people to build off of, and I'm not sure Mick would have elevated that more than he had already did on the 4 albums before.
@@chrismeadows4216 Yes, David did a really good job on guitar, keyboards & sax here, and his vocals are great too! I agree, I don't think Mick Ronson would have brought more to the album with his flashier guitar playing. and on the contrary, David's guitar playing is dirtier and less predictable and suits the dark vibe of the album better!
I have always loved Future Legend. I quite like Diamond Dogs but never really knew what it was about, nor cared. However, there are some great Bowie tracks on this album. 😎
I believe that this album is unique in the Bowie catalog in that he plays all the guitars.
There's one exception. On 1984, Alan Parker also plays.
I wonder what it was like back in 1974 to be a Bowie fan and all of a sudden hear him singing like a deeper voiced American.
The thing about Bowie as an artist is that there is tremendous variety across his albums and yet he carried the vast majority of his fans through all these different personas and styles. Where the fans don’t agree, is which album they like best. There you will find as many opinions as there are albums.
Great reaction, brilliant album! Diamond Dogs are like the gang of droogies from A Clockwork Orange. Halloween Jack is their leader. It’s a very loose concept album, As usual, Bowie leaves things open to the listers interpretation!
A lot of this album seemed very Pink Floyd to me, though this song is very Rolling Stones.
OMG .... this album ...... Sweet thing / Candidate / Sweet thing ( reprise ) is without a doubt my favorite David Bowie composition ..... Sooooo much feeling and emotion
sweet thing will grab you
Give it a few more listens, Justin. In a very short time you will love it. I, too, prefer Station to Station, but there is some great music on this album. It started as a concept stage show that was ultimately aborted due to legal issues. Some of the songs survived here, so the final result is kind of half-baked. Individually, some really great songs, including this one. Play it in your car at full blast. Or at a party. You will not be disappointed.
Bowie is a true artistic genius.
Oh my Justin, David Bowie created so many different styles for himself. Even if you cannot appreciate a particular one - he'll create to a new one. But there is no denying his genius in each. Thanks for this.
Hi Justin. I encourage you to listen to the whole album. It really is one of Bowie's great albums (He had many though) LOL. It's his take on George Orwell's "1984". I remember reading years ago he thought of doing a stage play of the book but Orwell's estate refused to allow it. So Bowie made it into an album instead. This came out in 1974 right at the end of his "Glam" phase. There's a lot of diverse music on here and some really great tracks. He moved into his "Plastic Soul" phase after this with "Young Americans" in 1975 and then to "The Thin White Duke" and "Station to Station" in 1976.
As a Bowie fan since 1972 I highly recommend going back to his "Space Oddity" album in 1969 and listening to every album after that until 1983's "Let's Dance". He put out a huge number of albums in those years. They are often very different from album to album, but really great classics. My favorite era is his "Ziggy Stardust" glam phase from 1972/73. "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" (1972) and "Aladdin Sane" (1973) are incredible albums. Better than "Diamond Dogs" in my opinion as they featured The Spiders from Mars with Mick Ronson's incredible guitar work. Hope you will check them out.
Love the 'Warriors' reference ... hilarious! Keep up the good work.
Haha ty😄
Use to slip off school grounds with my buds and head over to another friends house right behind the school burn a doobie and listen to this album and the Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust album as well my friend was a huge Bowie fan, those were the days about 45 years ago.🎸🎵🔥👍
I checked the cover some time ago of my Diamond Dogs album, unfortunately don't have the uncensored picture version with the dog's you know what, which I believe is worth a lot of money. Will admit some of the lighter tracks I do tend to skip as do prefer the darker tracks like Sweet Thing-Candidate-Sweet Thing (Reprise) together. Then We are the Dead. 1984 a lighter track but like that sort of Shaft come The Temptations - Papa Was A Rolling Stone type of sound in it. Then personal favorite Bowie tracks Big Brother with Chant of the ever circling skeletal family played straight after together.
I agree ! the darker pieces on Diamond Dogs are the most interesting ! "Sweet Thing"/"Candidate"/"Sweet Thing (Reprise)", "We Are the Dead", "1984" and "Big Brother"/"Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family" are my favorites.
I think Rock N' Roll with Me is generally the least liked track on the album, but it's also strangely the most transitional song. Part of it sounds fully soul and part of it sounds fully glam rock, while the STCSTR trio kinda blends them even in parts where one style is more dominant. RNRWM sounds like more of a musical theatre, rock opera song than everything besides the demo of Candidate. It pulls everything together musically, and it's very expressive, yet the rest of Diamond Dogs has an atmosphere capable of grabbing the listener and pulling them into Hunger City while RNRWM leaves them unsure. It's profound.
Good stuff, thank you.
Hi JP, Great LP. I've had this since 74, Every song is really good.. Be Safe..
Nice! Ty Jim
My Favourite DB tracks, Thanks!
Happy to!
Oh man, I always loved this song. It's one of those ones that you want to move and sing along to.
Thank you!!! I was hoping you did this one! Now as you were saying "Disco" before?😂🤣 Naw! He was his own artist with a full pallet of colors just being Bowie! Or Halloween Jack in this!!!! ⚡🕊🏄♀️
You absolutely got it.. someone told me listen 3?times it is where it’s at!!
The cover is by Guy Peellaert. He was also a great painter who published Rock Dreams where he put on scene the famous bands and musicians from the 60' and 70' in weird situations. He is also a major comic artist in the 60' with Pravda and Jodelle, 2 main graphic novels that helped the genre evolve towards the adult readers. I had the chance to interview him in the 90'. he passed in 2008. To fully appreciate the cover you have to look at the whole image, front + back. Diamond dogs is my favorite Bowie album (with Ziggy Stardust). I'm impatient to hear your analyse (as usual).
Miss his creativity and uniqueness. R.I.P. Bowie....
I'm pleasantly surprised that you chose Diamond Dogs considering the support for Ziggy Stardust and Low. I'm glad you chose to take this direction, and I feel you'll definitely appreciate the album more as you go along. Diamond Dogs is a taste of everything 70s Bowie, and you won't have to be in the bluesy rock n' roll territory past this. You're going to have a great sample of the whole decade and even hear shades of Ziggy Stardust and The Thin White Duke. Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (Reprise) and Rebel Rebel are the next tracks in line, and they're the monumental pieces that will really drive up the stakes for this record.
The lyrics are really dense. I'll start with the obvious things. Hunger City is like dystopian New York City. There are a lot of mutant animals and even humans merged with dogs and lizards. Halloween Jack is a rich philanthropist who lives in a penthouse, throws wild parties for anyone who impresses him, and secretly leads a gang. The Diamond Dogs are his punks and rioters who loot people. They wear expensive clothing and brooches and furs they've stolen from unsuspecting citizens. They overthrew the last set of dictators and themselves became the dictators. Allegedly, Sir Isaac Newton had a dog named Diamond who knocked over a candle and burned all of his research papers. The Diamond Dogs are kind of a metaphor for the "naive" destroying everything they wanted to stop others from destroying. Diamonds are a girl's best friend and dogs are man's best friend, so a diamond dog is someone who swings both ways. Bowie used a cut-ups technique to write most of this album, where he wrote sentences down, snipped them up, then mixed and rearranged them to create something more artful lyrically. There are definitely more layers to it, but Bowie could spill out complexity faster than most. Everything was probably written in just a few days, and most things were probably recorded in one or two takes. It's how he worked.
This album isn't very long, but I've only mentioned the first half. The second half of the album is where things get really fresh and spicy. We Are the Dead, 1984, and Big Brother/Chant will thrill you based on your impressions of Station to Station.
Good reaction! Extremely engaging!
@Chris Meadows Hello my friend, I should have known I'd find you here! I didn't read all the comments till just now, again we seem to share many of the same thoughts. I was wondering, we're you lucky enough to see him perform? My guess is you probably had. I did twice, but really kick myself for not making it a priority to see him more. Any stories to share?
@@chrisf.7980 I'm unfortunately on the younger side and started my teenage years shortly after his heart attack, so I never got the chance. I would love to have seen him, but I'm grateful that I was here for any part of his life. I'd heard a few big songs since I was a kid, but not many. The catalyst for my appreciation was hearing Heroes on the way to a college scholarship exam in 2015. Everything snowballed from there. 😄
@Chris Meadows I am thrilled to hear that you are a younger person who discovered Bowie more recently. I assume you have gathered I have been a fan since the 70's. Even though I have loved & listened to many different groups / artists, NOBODY intrigued me on a personal level the way Bowie did. When he passed, it ignited my interest once again & I immersed myself into learning more about him. Soooo much easier now with the internet. I dove in deep for about 2 years (my friends got a little worried, haha!). Been able to really till in the gaps on many things I wondered about back in those early days. It has been a fun journey & I was never disappointed along the way. Still not over for me either, it seems to soothe the grief of his passing. Great to find a friend along the way!
@@chrisf.7980 It really makes a difference seeing the interviews most people didn't back then and hearing all of the songs that were buried for a long time. I'm glad both of us are able to use the internet to experience the extra material. There's so much of it, and David is definitely worth the passion and interest. It will always feel like he's around as long as we love his music.
@Chris Meadows My sentiments exactly! It makes me ecstatic to see he won't be forgotten any time soon. Look forward to seeing you lurking around in the next Bowie reaction(s)!
I bought the album when it came out, but there was something about it that didn't quite gel with me. It was also the last album I bought by Bowie, as I really didn't get into the direction he was heading. Don't get me wrong, Ziggy and Aladdin Sane LP's are classics for me, but the Stooges, MC5, Alice Cooper and New York Dolls were knocking on my door! What d'ya do?!?
"Sweet Thing" mentioned in another post is a bit proggy sounding (to me anyway).
Love this album! And today marks the 5th anniversary of David's final public appearance.
My favorite Bowie album cover a top 10 favorite Bowie song good good stuff love you
Todd Browning's FREAKS is a horror film from 1932 utilizing cast members that were real carnival sideshow performers. Halloween Jack is his persona with the eye patch (seen on the Rebel Rebel video). Musically, at the time he was competing with Stones, Rod Stewart/Faces, and was also working in his Springsteen influence.
My first Bowie album!!
Shout out to," Love me Avenue." Dated a Bowie fan at the time and twice I received something special on a street called Central Avenue. I named the street Love me Avenue in hopes that it would inspire.
The background melody of 'Future Legend' is based on the song 'Bewitched, bothered and bewildered' by Richard Rodgers.
Tod Browning directed the 1932 movie Freaks
This is glam rock, which eventually morphed into punk rock, and on an earlier Bowie album, Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust, is a song called Hang On To Yourself which was hugely influential on the songwriting of the Ramones, who are the first punk rock band, as the bass line from Hang On To Yourself is strongly evident on certain Ramones songs from their first album, such as I Don't Want To Go Down To The Basement, and Loudmouth... another important glam rock band that strongly influenced punk is the New York Dolls.... Tod Browning was a movie director from the 1930's who directed a movie called Freaks, about circus freaks, and directed the first talkie Dracula movie, with Bela Lugosi
you're doing DD ? fantasticly brilliant !
😃
Very dirty Rolling stones style rock, One of his best but darkest albums, epic in all it's elements, good choice!!
I really appreciate your honest reactions.
Ty!
My favorite BOWIE album. It's so strange and so intense. Bowie takes a deep dive into a future dystopia similar to Orwell's 1984... only Bowie adds mutants and other Todd Browning freaks. BRILLIANT.
Sweet thing !years later Glass Spider‼️
Tod Browning was an early film director, best known for the first Bela Lugosi Dracula but mentioned here in association with his 1932 Freaks, a tale of attempted murder and horrible revenge among carnival side show performers that marked the beginning of the end of his long career.
Some really good songs on this album. The end of Diamond Dogs blends perfectly with Rebel Rebel!
Bowie is his own genre(s). You really have to listen to this album after familiarity with Hunk Dory, Man Who Sold the World, Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Aladdin Sane. and Pinups. The most striking thing that hit listeners when this first came out was the more raw sound, partially due to the lack of Mick Ronson on the album. Bowie did much of the guitar playing. Perfect album to precede his soul period.
I love this album. David always surrounded himself with excellent musicians. The follow up to this was the more commercial Young American ans Station to Station The following period, when he moved to a very progressive Berlin is is also a great period spawning albums such as Low and Heroes.
Sooo into Bowie in the early 70s. Ziggy!
Calling all stations? That’s a Genesis album, I think you meant station to station! :) Great album, I love 1984 and big brother. The cover art is weird, when you fold out the album you find that Bowie is half man and half dog! Thanks for the video JP.
You mean Station to Station. 😊 Narratively these songs open up to more musical diversity. The line "This ain't rock n roll, this is genocide" is part of the seduction for the few people left in the dystopia to become more maniacal or victims. His lyrics are deliberately schizoid to evoke the atmosphere of a world gone completely bonkers. Thenext 3 pieces Sweet Thing-Candidate-Sweet Thing (Reprise), listen to them as one song, gets more soulful again deliberately to offset the frenzy of the opening songs. It's definitely song conceptual going through different aspects of a social delirium although it's not strict about that theme, it does thickly bookend with these Orwellian notions. It has its side streets where there aren't rats the size of cats. Stick with it.
MORE COWBELL!! But seriously, the first side of this album is as flawless as anyone has put out. The next tracks are moodier for about nine minutes before culminating in the glam anthem Rebel Rebel. My personal favorite Bowie album is 1970's THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD, which contains the heaviest songs he ever did. Very close to metal, and even proggy at times.
You have to look at the inside gatefold of the lp for Future Legend
My first album of high art - at 13 when it came out
DO Candidate!
Justin, this album was a fold-out... the complete image continues on the back... you see it all when the album is open. Look up the cover, you will understand more of the image... Of course, it wont change how disturbing it is. lol
The song is about a dystopian future with the remnants of failed attempts at genetic manipulation left to roam the streets... Again, look for the full album cover. lol
The Chant of the ever circling skeletal Family. LOL
BRUH
Not heard this in a while. Was this a concept album? With it's dystopian intro, sounds like it could've been, an interesting start. Then into DD's. Out and out rock n roll, a la the Stones. Has a raw sound, almost dirty, and I love the sax, it's pretty decent. Not my fave Bowie track, or album, but even when only average he was still better than a lot of his contemporaries.
Diamond Dogs is a concept album. The most ambitious David had created in the 70s, but unfortunately stunted when he wasn't able to use the full 1984 concept. Most of the album connects really well, and everything is potentially more cohesive than Ziggy Stardust while having more of a lyrical narrative which really drives the atmosphere forward. It's extremely intellectual. The great irony of the album is that Rebel Rebel doesn't represent any of the album's narrative as the lead single. Like with the albums David Bowie (Man of Words/Man of Music/Space Oddity) and Young Americans, the biggest hit confused people on what they were expected to take from the record.
@@chrismeadows4216 interesting. just gave myself a quick reminder of the rest of the album, and you're right. Though not a bad song/single, Rebel Rebel doesn't seem to quite fit in with the other tracks. Stand alone-ish, if you get my drift.
@@jfergs.3302 It's absolutely iconic and his most covered song for a reason. Like Space Oddity and Fame, that kinda leaves people scratching their heads at everything else. They'd hope the albums are full of songs that can be played on the radio, but then you get the big sprawling tracks that leave most people skipping everything. Those hits worked out for David as something that could propel him into the mainstream, but then Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (Reprise) is known by only 20% of the fans, like Cygnet Committee or Somebody Up There Likes Me. People weren't really checking out progressive folk rock or soul, or a glam rock concept album, but rather they got an album for a single and some songs that aren't as catchy. Elevating singles kind of torpedoed the albums, while Let's Dance was half singles and sold a ton more copies than every other album. It doesn't seem like what David was going for, but I suppose he became an icon because of it, so it's a good thing overall, but leaves people iffy on most albums in retrospect.
@@chrismeadows4216 aye, it's never wise to buy an album you've not heard fully on the strength of one song. I've fell foul of that a few times myself. I wonder if the record company had a part in it. it's all sales to them, poss they twisted him arm to put something on the album they saw as single material.
like The Man Who Sold the World. That's my favourite album of his, and The width of a Circle, my all time fave Bowie song. but i read for that album he had another concept per the title, and the record Co. just changed it without even telling him. they also interfered with the covers, both here and the US apparently.
As as aside, I thought TMWSTW, may likely have been his most covered song, From Lulu to Nirvana. could be a good pub quiz question that, Bowie's most covered song.
@@jfergs.3302 Both Mercury and RCA definitely treated David poorly. The start of it was how poorly his 2nd album was marketed by Mercury. They knew what to do with Space Oddity and how to make it a hit since the Moon Landing was a great opportunity to boost it, but then they completely failed him on the rest of the album. With The Man Who Sold the World, it was supposed to be The Metrobolist with the US cartoon cover. They told him the cover sucked, so he did the dress cover, but they used the cartoon cover anyway and, yes, changed the title without telling him. They didn't even release The Man Who Sold the World as a single because they weren't into it. They used All the Madmen as a promotional single, then pulled it before anyone really got to put it into rotation. Then RCA gave him a shot and didn't know how to market Hunky Dory. The second that he pitched an idea to be Ziggy Stardust, they jumped on it like hounds. Suddenly all of the stuff that the labels crapped on before was cash for them, so we got all the Mick Rock Ziggy Stardust music videos for songs that didn't involve Ziggy Stardust. Things went okay with Aladdin Sane. Diamond Dogs didn't have the chance because they only saw promise in Rebel Rebel and 1984 as marketable. David had to push for this track to be noticed in the UK, and it bombed. With Young Americans, I think most people see only Fame and the title track, and Fame was only on there because Bowie threw songs out to work with Lennon. They could sell a song with John Lennon on it and a song that the African American community would buy. Station to Station had no real issues and almost every song became a single. There was a movie it was connected with and The Thin White Duke was another character they could sell. The Berlin Trilogy was basically ignored by RCA. They didn't see any songs on it that they could do anything with and the albums were only really appreciated in Europe because RCA cared so little to actually support it. Scary Monsters had no chance when David cancelled the tour after John Lennon was shot. RCA released some terrible greatest hits albums without David's permission to fill the void, so David terminated his involvement with them and signed with EMI. RCA tried to capitalize off of Let's Dance by using Serious Moonlight Tour photos on the covers of more unauthorized compilations, so David sued them when he got rights to his old songs, and those compilations were pulled out of circulation.
It was all shady business and they didn't care what David was trying to do, so David had a great time with EMI until they wouldn't support his Tin Machine albums and the low sales. Moving to labels where he could really express himself was much easier after becoming a top superstar.
The original artwork has Bowie as a half man / half dog....and, he had genitalia.....RCA quickly caught that and airbrushed that out.
One of my all-time favourite albums, but still I think the title-track is not among my favourites on the album ... but the rest! Diamond dogs, Aladdin Sane and Low are always in my Top 3 of his albums.
Candidate off the same album is amazing.
I like this album and think it worth exploring, but the Diamond Dogs track is not my favourite. It's a bit too long and simplistic sounding, although I think it does work in the context of the album. Also I think this is one of those albums that works as a whole, it doesn't repay just plucking a single track off of. I love the Sweet Thing - Candidate - Sweet thing sequence that follows, which is not so simple rock n roll. Also We Are the Dead & Big Brother, but the album is I think probably Bowie's most imaginative, a dark vision of rock n roll, very dystopian, it feels very claustrophobic and oppressive. I don't think it's as sharp as Ziggy Stardust, it's got quite a muddy sound, but I do think it gets to the heart of what makes Bowie great.
1984 you will like/love. Much closer to Sound and vision / Station to station kind of vibe.
Funny story...in 1974 my Junior High principal thought it would be cool to let kids come in just before school started and play their music....in those days it was a turntable, small speakers and a microphone to amplify into the intercom.....Well, I played Future Legend / Diamond Dogs for roughly 800 kids piped into the classrooms. Lets say that the principal didn't understand the artistic Bowie lyrics! Too late! I got a lot of comments from my classmates...
Lol!!
I believe you do the hole album - the next one is a Sweet one..i mean Sweet thing..
Yeaaaah! When you're 14/15, this can be a life-changer, if you're fortunate enough and deep down in the gutter, staring at the stars. Any day now...
This is part 2 of thre story from Ziggy Stardust. In Ziggy, there are 5 years until the end of the world. This is after the apocalypse.
The title track is Bowie kind of imitating the The Rolling Stones musically. The Sweet Thing/Candidiate.Sweet Thing (reprise) that comes next should grab you by the unmentionables. This then automatically goes into another well known rocker "Rebel Rebel. The rest of the album is remakes of songs originally intended for a stage musical of George Orwell's dystopian novel "1984", but he was denied the rights by the Orwell estate. Amazing album!!
The "Diamond Dogs" has a sound that is reminiscent of the Rolling Stones of a certain vintage. I used to feel that Bowie was a chameleon trying on different looks and styles to suit where he felt music was going. Now, I don't know. I often never got to listen to some albums until long after their release so some acts would feel derivative, even though they had been trend setters, because I listened to them out of the context of their times.
If you like experimental music you should check out Bowie's outside album from 1995
The Ziggy period including this LP is the best Bowie....
He wanted to do a musical version of G. Orwell's 1984 but did not end up with the rights.
Future Legend With BEWITCHED BOTHERED AND BEWILDERED BY RODGERS & HART --- any day now the year of the diamond dogs (1984). Orwell.
Just consider his NEXT studio album was Young Americans‼️😂
Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing reprise and We Are the Dead are worth the whole album,the album is fantastic.Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family, Rebel Rebel! Give it all a go(hint)
Some album reaction reqs:
Trespass by Genesis
Raven That Refused To Sing by Steven Wilson
Station To Station by David Bowie (ik ur already doing a bowie album but like... its an amazing album lol)
He's already done Tresspas and Station to Station.
@@Fygee oh ok
Minor schoolboy error: I think you meant to say "Station to Station" (Bowie's album) rather than "Calling All Stations" (Genesis' Album).
I want you to listen to "Our Song" by Yes off the 90125 album.....I think you will really like this.
I thought you said you wanted some experimental Bowie? Which would have been the album 'Low' after 'Station to Station' (not Calling All Stations :-D)
Anyway, Bowie is probably my favourite artist of all time so anything is good with me. It's not all like this on the album anyway.
Experimental, he can’t handle experimental!