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Title: David Bowie: We Could Be Heroes: The Stories Behind Every David Bowie Song by Chris Welch ISBN: 1-56025-209-X Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press Pub. Date: December, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 2.38 (8 reviews)
Rating: 1
Summary: WORST BOOK EVER WRITTEN
Comment: Nothing more to say. Braindead author dribbles lame incoherent excrement across pages of library photos. Shoot him please so his sad rock laments are stopped now. Contradicts himself within same paragraph, tells lies, clutches at straws. Made me really really angry. Burn in hell fool.
Rating: 5
Summary: Could be heroes--Bowie IS a hero
Comment: Well, not every David Bowie song, despite what the title says. No, this covers Bowie's RCA period, from Space Oddity up to Scary Monsters. Each section is done per album, and before the song-by-song analysis and description, there is a detailed history of Bowie's life at that point. Bowie's better-known collaborators are given decent print, especially Mick Jagger, Marc Bolan, John Lennon, and Tony Visconti, as are influences such as Kraftwerk for his three Berlin albums, Stanley Kubrick's 2001 for Space Oddity, and George Orwell's 1984 for the Diamond Dogs album. Bowie's inter-album projects, such as his movies and plays are also included in the history. And there's a good deal given about his early life before Space Oddity.
There are certain insights into Bowie concerning his art. He even said, "I don't like a lot of my albums... I like bits and pieces. A bit of it works exceedingly well and a lot of it only works." This mirrors somewhat my feeling on his lesser albums, such as Diamond Dogs and Young Americans, but not on his spectacular ones such as Hunky Dory, The Man Who Sold The World, or Low.
Many of the stories behind the song are revelatory for those not in the know. I wasn't totally aware of the 1984-theme that pervaded Diamond Dogs apart from the "1984" song, but "We Are The Dead" (in 1984, Winston Smith's words to Julia before they are caught by the Thought Police) and "Big Brother/Chant Of The Ever Circling Skeletal Family" are two other songs that contribute to that.
To take an example from my favourite 1970's Bowie album, Hunky Dory, I learn that Bob Dylan wasn't exactly happy with the playful tribute "Song For Bob Dylan" because Bowie referred to him by his real name and described his voice akin to "sand and glue." Ouch! However, as I learned, the song was actually calling for Dylan to go back "to writing songs for the 'revolution' and to scour his scrapbook for inspiration if the muse is not upon him."
And it's peppered with colour and black-and-white photos. At the end of the book, a chronology from 1947 to 1980, and a singles and album discography are included, with song listing and album issues and reissues included, as was done under Ryko for the albums being explored in this book.
In the end, Bowie is revealed as a great songwriter, wordsmith, and artist whose creativity knows no bounds, even if he did alienate many of his fans with his shifting musical directions.
Rating: 2
Summary: sucks
Comment: So the concept of this book is pretty cool. I know I'm always wondering what the meaning is behind a song's lyrics. *Especially* Bowie's songs because the guy is such an intellectual that a lot of his stuff is filled with crazy references to random philosophers and artists, and a fan like me rarely knows what he's talking about. Jean Genet anyone? Kahlil Gibran?
Unfortunately, this book does a really crappy job of telling the stories behind the song. The author really doesn't know much at all; basically I learned nothing new in this book that I didn't know already. You can find out the same kind of information by browsing around FAQs on the net, or going to alt.fan.david-bowie and asking a question of the people there.
The only thing saving this book from a 1 is that it has pictures, and it takes you along the whole discography path (well, up until 20 years ago at least), and what can I say, Bowie's had an interesting life. If you buy this, though, be prepared to return it... it doesn't do much of a job of serving up the stories.
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Title: Backstage Passes: Life on the Wild Side With David Bowie by Angela Bowie, Patrick Carr ISBN: 0815410018 Publisher: Cooper Square Press Pub. Date: October, 2000 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: David Bowie: Living on the Brink by George Tremlett ISBN: 0786704659 Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub. Date: September, 1997 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title:The Man Who Fell to Earth (Special Edition) ASIN: B00007JMCX Publisher: Anchor Bay Entertain Pub. Date: 11 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $26.98 |
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Title: Strange Fascination: David Bowie: The Definitive by David Buckley ISBN: 075350457X Publisher: Virgin Publishing Pub. Date: October, 2001 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: The Complete David Bowie by Nicholas Pegg ISBN: 1903111404 Publisher: Reynolds & Hearn Pub. Date: September, 2002 List Price(USD): $29.99 |
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