While away an hour with the latest albumtoalbum episode – Stuart Maconie and I ramble at length about Diamond Dogs, taking in 1970s Wigan, glam rock, the welfare state, The Beatles, the Stones, playing the ‘exactly!’ game with Alan McGee, McCartney and the avant-garde, Bowie’s guitar playing and how the nominal successor to Aladdin Sane, Hallowe’en Jack arrives and leaves in just one line. By one hour in, we’ve barely got past ‘Sweet Thing’, so this is the first in God knows how many episodes. But, this can be an ideal accompaniment for your daily allocated time in the exercise yard.
Oops, I forgot the link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/davidbowie-albumtoalbum/id1355073030?i=1000469356422
Excellent, that’s tomorrow morning’s one form of exercise listening sorted then!
Brilliant!
Did you manage to complete part three of Outside?
Yes I did! đ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/davidbowie-albumtoalbum/id1355073030?i=1000468996889
Thank you.
Just listened to the final episode. Excellent!
With regards to the minotaur, Bowie would be fully aware of Picasso’s depictions of himself as a minotaur, which showed him deranged by his basest instincts, often aggressively violating his mistress. The most astonishing picture by Picasso I’ve seen is a pencil drawing with some fine black ink highlighting details on his head and the woman’s body. His pencil strokes were so passionate and frenzied, he tore holes through the paper and had to repair it. It’s an astonishing work.
I always pictured Algeria Touchshriek as similar to the eel market characters in Blade Runner, especially the one who says “I do eyes”.
Do you think the murderer escaped to the city for Architects Eyes? I thought so at the time. I have actually played the CD on random. It’s even more unsettling.
An album I love but not my favourite of the nineties. That honour goes to The Buddha Of Suburbia. That one restored my faith in Bowie after a tough eighties.
Great! One of my favourites (I have to confess much more so than 1.Outside)
Thanks – yes me too. The recent episode I did on Outside was a struggle for me as I am not as steeped in that album as I am some of the others. I never quite clicked with Outside, it has some decent songs on it but I was glad the garrulous Nick Pegg was keen to discuss it, and in such expansive detail too!
Similarly Diamond Dogs was probably the last of the 70s albums I discovered, and its never been a favourite, but it has grown on me – especially the Sweet Thing suite (if you will). Having done Outside and then this, back to back, there are quite a few parallels with these albums though, don’t you think? They’re both banded around bleak themes and dark crunchy textures and indulging DB’s love of darkness, nightmarish surrealism and so on.
Oh yes, exactly. Somewhat appropriate for the times we are living through right now I would say also. Saving it for the weekend.
This was exactly my experience too. I came to those two late but in my case I adore them both (excluding the skits on Outside) and they are both near the top of the listen-to list.
great stuff…many thanks
Thank you!
Just listened to your Young Americans episode on the weekend and much enjoyed it. I’ve been on a Bowie bender lately and have discovered the recent 70s live albums that have been issued (Cracked Actor, Blackout and Nassau).
Thanks! I enjoyed that YA episode too, and its definitely one of the albums I would like to revisit with guests again in the future. Someone wrote to me offering to connect me with one of the former Sigma kids, the fans that hung around the studio in Philly when recording was taking place, so that might be a nice chance to get some memories on tape.
Which of those live albums do you prefer? I personally love Blackout, and am very curious to hear the new live one which is scheduled for RSD this year
All in all Blackout, but I think the Nassau versions of Station to Station and Fame are near definitive. While I like Stage, it has always seemed a bit sterile and joyless so it’s nice that they let a bit of sunshine in for their last gig of the tour.
As a lad in the 80s and 90s my music purchases were dictated by an old copy of the red Rolling Stone Record Guide that I stole from the school library (still have it!). What now seems very affected and arbitrary was taken back then as gospel. It gave an absolute shoeing to David Live, and in fact most of the post-Ziggy output, so I had avoided it like the plague. Back then, having a one star album in your collection was like having kiddie porn on your laptop.
I picked up Cracked Actor a few months ago, and enjoying it ordered David Live a couple of weeks later. I really like them both, and the contrast between them. Bowie’s voice, which is usually identified as the issue with this tour, is fantastic in that wheezy Young Americans way.
Funnily enough, even though Ziggy is my go-to Bowie, I don’t particularly like either of the Ziggy tour live albums.
You are right about Nassau. That band, especially the rhythm section, nailed the Stationtostation material but struggled with Ziggy. By Blackout, they’d got better at the older stuff. Compare Blackout with Stage and the mind boggles. Why they messed about with the order of songs for Stage, I’ll never know.
I don’t quite want to shell out for a new copy of Stage with the corrected song order and crowd noise restored, but I’m sure it’s a better listen.
You were clearly a lad insane. *acknowledges cheers* I think David Live has a lot going for it, Earl Slicks’s contributions are outstanding. His solo on Moonage Daydream really takes off.
Will get on that asap – have really enjoyed them so far. Nice one.
How do you get these people on your podcasts? Do you have to talk to their agent, or do you just ask ’em on social media?
Thanks! Glad you are enjoying them and hope that continues
It’s a mix of people I know, friends of friends or in some cases, as with say, Alan Johnson, a hopeful punt to his manager/PA/whatever (actually his wife) via his website. I’ve had one or two disappointments, exciting Famouspersons who committed and then dropped out at the 11th hour, but on the whole it’s been a gas.
Wasn’t that Bolan rather than Bowie?!
Also (c) J.J. Flash
Diamond Dogs – I like the album, but never found it to be one of his best.
Today though … working from home, with this on in the background, it hit me like a train.
What a fool I’ve been …
In his top 5 for me.
Top quality infotainment Mr Badger. Kinda funny thoâ, that in the episode which introduces us to the self-second-guessing Alan McGee âExactlyâ game, you both pounce on Ziggy as this record thatâs always on best albums lists but whose delights are simply too obvious for your more discerning tastes (although Maconie redeems himself with his celebration of Low, which is clearly the McCartney of Sir Davidâs Berlin records..)
Fantastic! You and Maconie should do something like this every week.
A terrific listen, thanks! It has always been one of my favourites anyway, and now I know why…! SM is always good value, and the discussion of the cultural and social context was really interesting. Musically, I totally agree about Ziggy – I always found it a difficult album to like for some reason and much prefer DD, Hunky Dory and even Pinups from that era. Thanks @slotbadger , I shall be listening to more of these!
Many thanks @NigelT, @Sewer and @Billybob Dylan, kind words very much appreciated! I will be talking to SM soon to do the rest of the album, so it’s good to know we’re getting people to revisit the oddity that is Diamond Dogs.
Hello pop pickers, just a quick heads up – part 2 of my chat with Stuart M on Diamond Dogs is up now – just a pocket sized edition at 30 mins, but they’re 30 pretty good mins if I say so myself. Hope you enjoy >>> https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/davidbowie-albumtoalbum/id1355073030#episodeGuid=tag%3Aaudioboom.com%2C2020-03-31%3A%2Fposts%2F7544715
Parts 2 and 3?! Deep joy!
That was all great @slotbadger , such a joy that DJs on national radio are so passionate about music, unlike some others in the past.
After listening, I think DD may make my top 3 of Bowie albums, at least on some days . Couple of points about “1984”: The lyrics could actually be “Beware the savage door”, the door in question being the one that opens/closes Room 101? It was also recognised as a standout track, appearing on the “ChangesTwoBowie” compilation in the 1981.
I mentioned this before, but isn’t it possible to play up to 30 seconds of tracks without causing copyright issues? I may be wrong on this, but certainly plenty of other podcasts do that.
Thanks @dai that’s lovely to hear! Yes Maconie was a superb guest, there was tons of enthusiasm and we had to cut it short as he had to call and check in with his dad before it got too late but I suspect we could have just kept nattering for ages. I had to cut a fair bit out, digressions on everything from the Beatles to aggressive dogs via prog rock and lengthy ruminations on dodgy 70s DJ’s (J***y S****e etc).
The next guest is equally loquacious and I am very excited indeed as you will understand when I get to releasing it – his autobiography is certainly one of the most entertaining I’ve read
About the free music – there seems to be little clarity on what exactly is permissible for ‘fair use’. Some podcasters, such as Chris Shaw, the producer of the excellent (eggxellent?) I Am The Eggpod Beatles cast will use snippets from songs which works really well but I am too timid to venture much further than I do at the moment. As a lawyer once told me, the ‘fair use’ concept is a legal argument, not an established benchmark.
I like to think of ‘1984’ as the track that set him on the path to Young Americans. You can hear it in the Philly strings, it always reminds me of the theme from ‘Shaft.’
I really enjoyed these two podcasts.
I donât know if youâve attacked side two yet, but the Pushing Ahead of the Dame site alerted me to this outtake – along with the message to listen before all the links get pulled.
Oh, and apropos of nothing, Alternative Candidate is a top ten Bowie song. Imagine having that and not releasing it until you need something for the re-release version.
Iâm halfway through part 1. Great conversation.
I completely feel the same way about âAbsolute Beginnersâ. I can hear him ârememberingâ.
Is that a stylophone do you think being played on âBig brotherâ? Previously I thought it was a an oboe but listening again it sounds more electronic to me.
đ I think the joke with the Beatles run out groove is to precisely make the stoners actually change the record over because listening to that for 20 minutes WOULD, make you mad.đ
The Beatles really are very funny arenât they.
I thoroughly enjoyed that conversation. Thank you Slotbadger.
Sweet thing into Rebel Rebel makes perfect sense to me within the concept.