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Bowie General > Images Vol. 29

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homebrewPosted at 2025-06-28 14:35:28(2 days ago) (Bowie General / Images Vol. 29)


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These articles appear just as they were posted in the Usenet group alt.fan.david-bowie by group member Jamie Soule aka AladINSAnE. I have made no attempt to alter the formatting, spelling, grammar or edit in any way.

Images: Part 29


Would you like to hear something profound? Something amazing? Something
that is unheard of today? Well? Okay, I will let you in on it. While
making Lodger Bowie sent a driver into town to go to the local music
shop in order to borrow three mandolins. These three mandolins appear on
Fantastic Voyage,  played by Adrian Belew, Tony Visconti and Simon
House. Get it? MANDOLINS! Bowie got mandolins!

After reading the above statement I am quite confident that there is a
substantial contingent of those who are reading this with the thoughts
in your minds that the quality of my drugs must have taken a drastic
nosedive. No, the quality is fine, if it isn't I take them back. If you
happen to be slightly curious about what the Hell I am talking about I
will explain. We live in a modern age, we have electricity. Many things
were born out of the electrical age, one of them being electronics.
There is not one single area of our lives that has not been impacted by
the advances made in the field of electronics, including the music we
listen to. My view is that the integration of electronics into the
making of music has been in some ways an enormous benefit and in many
ways a plague. Unfortunately, from what I understand, plagues have a
tendency to spread. Electronics allowed many of the processes in the
making, recording, engineering and playback of music to become digital,
thus allowing the joining of music, and the computer. This is my opinion
that I am about to voice I admit, however, I am aware of many others who
share it as well, so I am not alone.

I believe that from the recording, engineering and playback side of
things that electronics have in a lot of ways greatly enhanced music.
Certainly from the recording end we seem to get a much better product. I
am unable to go into specifics, or any great detail about all the
recording equipment that has been effected, or re development due to
electronics, as I am unqualified in that area. Those answers are best
left to "wizards" such as Jimmy Smith on our news group. What I do know
however from talking to those in the know is that things that were never
thought possible in the recording studio, are now quite easily possible.
I do have ears though, and I know the sound has improved on what you buy
now a days, for the  most part anyway.

<hiss hiss> Once there <pop> were mountains <hiss> on mountains <sss>
And once there were sun birds to <pop> soar with <scrrratch> could never
be down <pop> <sss> Got to keep searching and searching Oh, what will I
be believing and <hiss> who will connect me with love? Wonder who,
wonder who, wonder<pop, pop, (JUMP),  you sought fortune, evasive and
shy? Drink to the men who protect you and I Drink, drink,  <pop, pop,
pop>drain your glass, raise your glass high.

Shit, time to buy a new copy of Station To Station. I left the fucking
thing out of the jacket last night. Damn good party though.  Sound
familiar? I imagine it does to some of you. Ahh, the vinyl days. Scary
Monsters cost me around $8.00 in 81 for a North American pressing. The
pops, hisses, background noise and the crackling overtones on the album
were free. In comparison my Japanese pressing of Scary Monsters cost me
around $22.00 in 81. The pops, hisses, background noise and the
crackling overtones were not available therefore not included. The
domestic, Canadian pressing to be exact, of Low I originally bought was
BEYOND disgusting in audio quality and so was the pressing from the
States. My Japanese vinyl was much better, but still nowhere near as
good as it should have been. It was a real nightmare to hear the
"potential" in the sound of Low, but being unable to ever access it.
FRUSTRATING! I do recall however the tingle in my spine, the hair on my
entire head sticking straight up and the uncontrollable seizure I had
that slammed me to the floor when I heard the first few notes of Speed
Of Life from this new thing called a compact disk. Finally I thought, I
can FINALLY HEAR LOW as it was intended to be heard. As for the playback
quality of music,  the digital recordings have been a true blessing. I
know that quality as far as what is best, whether it be  vinyl, cd,
remasters as well as the different recordings from the various labels,
are all up to each individual person. It is a matter of personal
preference, but I think that most will agree that many recordings have
been vastly improved due to digital remastering. One thing I do know
though is this. I have purchased more copies of Station To Station in
the past 26 years than there are dollars in Bowie's bank account. This
makes me then a self appointed expert on the various issues and
re-issues of this boring, crappy, unimaginative and lifeless album.
Therefore I can state with the highest authority that the Ryko AU20
digital remaster of Station To Station is by far the best in sound
quality that there is and most who have heard it agree. I will not
listen to that album on anything less. There are a few exceptions though
regarding some of the digital remakes of older albums. I have heard
cases where the vinyl originals are preferable in quality. Sometimes the
re equalization has left the sound "flat" or some of the instrument
sounds have been lost. I have heard this from a few others and I have to
agree, I find Ziggy Stardust better on vinyl than on cd.

Most people have some sort of an opinion to offer when it comes to
napalm, Cruise Missiles, ICBMS, artillery shells, land mines, and other
weapons. I hold the same opinion regarding nuclear weapons, and other
devices designed for mass destruction, as I do regarding the use of
electronic devices to make music. It depends on whose hands they are in.
I delight actually in seeing the results which come from keyboards,
guitar synthesizers and various other sound producing electronic wonders
when they fall into the hands of those who possess superior skills as
musicians. I mean the ones who actually have talent and can play. Is
there a finer sight than to see the graceful yet lightning quick hands
of a man such as Keith Emerson perform a ten fingered ballet on a set of
ivories protruding from a Hammond. Equally as impressive, although in a
much more moderated ambiance, is the joy of being swept away to the
vibrations emanating from an Eno album, especially when accompanied by
the masterful licks, notes and temperaments coming from the guitar of
Robert Fripp. one is left to marvel at the sounds of elephants, rhinos,
Young Lions and Big Electric Cats which pour from the strings and
whammy  bar under the guidance of Adrian Belew. This electronic wizardry
allows Tony Levin to take you to meet Satori In Tangier. These "gadgets"
in the hands of musicians who are proficient become a tool that makes it
possible to EXTEND their reach into areas that before they could only
envision, and not produce. As a result of them these artists can give us
so much more in "adventurous" music, and other art forms. WE are the
WINNERS because of this. Remember it was the chips, dials, pedals and
keyboards that gave us Low, Heroes, Lodger, Outside and much much more.

Electronics, like weapons, in the hands of the evil often produce
devastation and death. It did it to music in many cases, it literally
KILLED not only it, but the MUSICIAN as well. Now, you listen to me and
understand this, HIP HOP, TECHNO, INDUSTRIAL THRASH, RAP as well as
ANYTHING that resembles their sound IS NOT FUCKING MUSIC. HEAR ME? I
will repeat it once more, this stuff IS NOT MUSIC! PERIOD! END OF STORY!
If you think scratching a vinyl lP on a turntable, or the repetitive
drone of a sequencer coupled with a programmed drum machine qualifies as
a definition for music then I truly do pity you. If it is possible for
you to take some friendly advice then I will tell you that it is time
for you to raise your standards and start thinking on a higher level.
This stuff does nothing to enrich your mind and expand your horizons as
true art does, and unless you strive to experience the beauty of it, you
will miss one of the great joys of life. Truthfully though, I personally
have nothing negative at all to say about Hip Hop, Techno, Industrial or
any other type of "computer generated." thumps, and I will gladly listen
to it, under the RIGHT circumstances. You see, although it is NOT MUSIC,
it is GREAT TO DANCE TO, and I go out sometimes to to clubs for that
purpose, oh, and to get shit faced as well. The objection I have is when
it is referred to as music, when in fact it is really only a 'primal"
beat to move to. Music it may be to a hill tribe, but music as art? NO.

Please help me. I would like to know how long one studies to learn how
to be proficient on a musical instrument before they can go on and learn
how to plug in a sequencer, drum machine or other electronic device and
program it to play? It's okay, I already got the answer from someone. If
you do not know let me tell you that musical training, surprisingly I
may add, IS NOT REQUIRED AT ALL in order to operate these  things. Now,
in addition to this I learned some thing that is remarkable. As it turns
out your AVERAGE person, with a bit of persistence, could quite easily
learn to operate these machines and make noise. There is very little
skill required at all to produce "music" with the aid of these advances
in human technology. The operation of these devices to make "music" by
those unskilled in the art of playing an instrument is quite common as a
matter of fact. Really. How do I know? Well, it was really easy
actually, all I did was turn on my radio. I believe that it is a sad
comment on our so called "progressive" society when we allow talented
artists to be replaced by machines. Many of these so called "artists"
can hide in a studio behind a machine and "appear skilled" on a
recording yet really posses no talent. I have seen it personally too. I
was not a devoted listener by any means, but I did buy several albums by
New Order, who are a "classic" techno band from the eighties. I had an
opportunity to see them live in a very small venue and it rates as the
absolute WORST concert I have ever had to suffer through. I only
suffered for half of the gig because I walked out, I couldn't take it
anymore. They were ABSOLUTELY PATHETIC due to the fact that they simply
had no ability to play any instruments, what was on their albums was the
work of a computer.

Do you see my point? About the mandolins I mean. You see, those
mandolins you hear on Fantastic Voyage are special. Why? BECAUSE THEY
ARE REAL, that is why. Someone PLAYED them. The sound of those mandolins
could have been created artificially with the use of electronics but
they were not. As a true artist Bowie would not settle for anything but
the original sound, a sound created by the work of a SKILLED musician.
He did not have to do this, most could not have heard the difference,
but he did. This is one thing I have always praised Bowie for, he does
not, and he will not, ever compromise when it comes to what he produces.
This is very true, even the crap he produces at times is always good
quality crap. I have always believed that one reason that Bowie's music
is so incredible is due to the fact that he puts so much effort into it,
and he will not settle for anything less than what he wants. There have
been many who have worked with Bowie for one simple reason, the reason
is that Bowie wanted a "certain sound" and he went and got those who he
could get it from. This is true in every minute detail of his work.
Others probably would have used a machine to get the sound, not Bowie
however, the hand claps on Station To Station happen to be real.

Speaking of Fantastic Voyage. That track came out of a jam session, and
out of the same jam session another song was born as well. You know it
as Boys Keep Swinging,

Uh, oh. Damn, I did it again. I got sidetracked. I getting known for
this aren't I. Sorry.  Let's get back to the experimentation that was
done on Lodger because I have lots more to tell you. Okay?

AladINsaNE

To Be etc etc.......................


""I don't begrudge any artist for finding an audience"
- David Bowie abt. 1987
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