Anyone buying David Bowie - Heathen? (1 Viewer)

[RogerB]

I haven't seen any "consumer" reviews yet. Bowie is on my always-buy list so I'll pick it up regardless. If you've heard it, what do you think?

 

[John Berggren]

I'm very interested in picking it up. I'd love to go see David and Moby on tour, but they won't be coming near me. I think the closest will be DC :frowning:.
I really enjoyed OUTSIDE, but never picked up EARTHLING.

 

[Mike Witko]

I am very interested in this but I want to hear some reviews first.

 

[Al B. C]

I just bought it about an hour ago. I only listened to the first three songs but what I heard sounded like some classic Bowie!

He just might have a winner on his hands if the rest of the CD sounds as good.

 

[Will_B]

I've heard there is a limited edition with a hefty single included (a single that basically includes the Japanese bonus tracks) as well as the regular, so watch for whichever you want.

 

[Jim_C]

I bought it and I'm pretty happy I did. I've been buying all of the new stuff from Outside to Heathen and this one is right at the top.

I'm not ready to say that it's like Bowie from the late 70's though. It's too early to tell. I'll have to let it sink in a bit. I'm going to have to listen to Heroes, Lodger, and Scary Monsters in the next couple of days to compare.

For those that don't know it's a two disk set. The second disk has 4 tracks:

1. Sunday (Moby remix)
2. A Better Future (Air remix)
3. Conversation Piece (written in 1969, recorded in 1970, re-recorded in 2002)
4. Panic in Detroit (outtake from a 1979 recording)

I haven't listened to these tracks yet.

Nice looking packaging BTW.

 

[Tim Hoover]

I'll be buying it, but I've definitely got reservations after that awful Hours.

 

[Iain Lambert]

Aww, Hours wasn't that bad. Admittedly it was a disappointment after I loved 1.Outside and about half of Earthling, but three great Bowie tracks and a bunch of filler is better than your average album these days.

 

[Mikael Soderholm]

I am a Bowie nut, and have been since about 1975, so I waited outside my local record shop when they opened on monday and picked it up first thing (the limited edition of course, with a giveaway t-shirt ). While it is not great (like 1. Outside) it grows on you, and it is definitely better than hours, which I didn't much care for. After having heard this and the single Slow Burn with extra tracks, I can't help wondering what the abandoned Toys (new recordings of his really really old songs, like from the 60s) would have sounded like, some of the outtakes are available as extras on these records.
He is definitely more creative than some other heroes from the 70s and 80s, IMHO.
Whn he played NY the other day, the setlist was: Low, in its entirety - 10 min break - Heathen, in its entirety and then a few old favorites as encore. Pretty cool, huh? I mean, Low, all of it (actually my favorite Bowie album, but not everybody elses, I'm told...)

 

[John Berggren]

Should Outside still be referred to as 1. Outside? I realise that this is the title, and it's still pressed this way, but it was supposed to be a part of an end-of-the-millenium trilogy from DB. I don't know if Earthling was Pt2 but I wasn't aware that either 2 or 3 ever were created.

 

[Gary Harris]

I picked mine up Tuesday. The Limited edition was 21.99CDN& the single disc version was 18.99CDN. Of course I bought the LE. Well worth it, the two remixes are good
(I prefer the remix of A Better Future to the album version) Conversation Piece alone is worth the price of the CD. I find I have to listen to Bowie albums alot before I form an opinion. I haven't listen to this one completely enough yet although there are some pretty strong tracks. I've been a fan since Diamond Dogs & as long as Bowie keeps producing CDs, I'll keep buying. BTW, the A&E By Request series Saturday night features Bowie for two hours. Hopefully there will be a DVD release.

 

[Camp]

It's got a Pixies cover on it, what's not to like?!?
BTW, "Cactus" -track #2

 

[MichaelAW]

Mikael: Which store is giving away the free t-shirt? I haven't picked it up yet because I didn't have 200SEK on me when I was in a Mix Megapol the other day.
And, Low is my favourite Bowie album, too.

 

[Mike Broadman]

And, Low is my favourite Bowie album, too

Mine, too. Of course, it's the only one I have, so that's not saying much.
I did pick up Heroes today and I hope to listen to it soon.
Can someone give a description of the new album? Bowie changes his sound so much that I have no clue what this one is all about.

 

[Mikael Soderholm]

Well, I'd say it sounds like a mix between Hunky Dory and hours..., but with more guitar
It really grows on you, unlike hours..., which I still don't really feel I know.
The free t-shirts came from Mega in Stockholm and they only charged SEK 159 for the limited edition as well
NP (since monday): David Bowie: Heathen limited edition

 

[Vic_T]

I love Bowie (all eras), but I just haven't been able to get "into" Heathen at all. The songs are well done, but there's something about it that seems forced (begging for commercialism). I don't know, maybe it sounds too clean, sterile, and overly compressed. Who knows, maybe it'll grow on me.

 

[Jim_C]

I dunno Vic. If anything I think that it's anti-commercial. It's clear that he didn't write any of the songs with a single in mind. I don't think that you'll see him on Saturday Night Live like he was with Sunday from Hours. From what I've read he made this album for himself, dealing with issues of mortality, religion, and self reflection among others.

BTW, I LOVE Conversation Piece. If any of you are going to get this disc make sure that you get the limited edition.

 

[Will_B]

We can be heathen, just for one day...

Got it, like it very much. I'd enjoyed a couple of tracks from "Hours" - Seven, for instance. I'd also recently enjoyed his live small-club disc that was included as a bonus to that BBC set, with its incredible reworking of Low's Always Crashing in the Same Car. (I didn't want the old BBC stuff, but the so-called bonus disc with the recent club gig was outstanding!). So I didn't have high hopes, given his spotty work, though I think with Hours he was really trying to get back to good work.

Heathen is a easily better than Earthling and - what's that one about art-murder? I forgot the title that one was so bad... Outside. I'll take a leap and say that this is the first record since "Let's Dance" which may really be considered one of his classics. Vocally, not lyrically, it reminds me of "Let's Dance" a lot, and a tiny bit of "Labyrinth" perhaps.

It's also got a vibe that is really called for at a time like this, when the future seems so abandoned... "I demand a better future" is one of the lyrics, and I suspect this was written before all the sh* broke loose. He's back in my good graces and I'll be picking up the singles from this one, certainly.

The production is outstanding - I wish this was a dts disc.

 

[Mikael Soderholm]

I'll take a leap and say that this is the first record since "Let's Dance" which may really be considered one of his classics.

I'm not sure Let's Dance is considered a classic, among us Bowiephiles , although it sure sold well...
That one about art murder, on the other hand, now THAT'S a classic.
Just IMHO, of course...

 

[Will_B]

Let's Dance had some good ones...

And when I get excited
My little China Girl says
"Oh baby just you shut your mouth!"
"But I'm talkin' about Shaft!"
"I can dig it"