Well, we have now arrived at part 2 of my Decade Review of Bowie and I’m sure there are songs that I have heard that once I hear them I will think “oh yeah, I have heard that song before.” So let’s take a look……..
Scary Monsters(And Super Creeps)- so this is his first album of the 80’s and you can tell it’s him trying to make a commercial record after the Berlin trilogy didn’t really do well. This one is a good mix of new wave, post punk, and even art rock and it does feel like there are left over ideas from the last three albums. To me this definitely feels like one of those transition albums, but I enjoyed it regardless and I’m gonna go ahead and give it 8/10.
Standouts: Ashes To Ashes, Teenage Wildlife, Because You’re Young
Let’s Dance- the last album may have had a little bit of 70s but now we are full on in the 80s and this one just goes for a full on new wave/dance album. I didn’t realize that the songs “Let’s Dance” and “Modern Love” was a David Bowie song and I actually quite like those songs. To me this definitely feels like an 80s album yeah it does not sound dated. Fun fact about this album a relatively unknown guitarist named Stevie Ray Vaughan played guitar on the album. I think based upon this album and the last album I probably will enjoy this decade just a little bit more and I’m giving the album 10/10.
Standouts: Ricochet, Criminal World, Shake It
Tonight- so I wouldn’t say this one is as upbeat as the previous record, but it’s just different. With this record, I get more like straightforward pop and there’s actually some R&B and reggae on here as well. Personally, I don’t think I would revisit this one as much as I would the last album but I still think it’s another fantastic follow up. I will go ahead and give it 9.5/10.
Standouts: God Only Knows, Blue Jean, I Keep Forgettin’
Never Let Me Down- I feel like out of all of the albums that I’ve reviewed so far this one probably goes into hard rock territory. Like this one doesn’t do any experimentation or anything special. It’s just a straightforward rock and hard rock album and that’s what I really like about this record. I like the simplicity of it and it’s actually a very enjoyable record. I’m gonna go ahead and give this album 9.5/10.
Standouts: Time Will Crawl, Glass Spider, ‘87 And Cry
Well, that was my look into the 80s part of David Bowie’s albums and I can honestly say that I really enjoyed these albums. I’m would probably venture to say that between the three decades that I’ve reviewed so far, I would probably find myself going back and listening to these albums. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the previous decade but his 80s albums are just a lot more upbeat and a lot more fun. I am curious as to this decade matches up to the 90s.
Final Grade: A+
Album Rankings:
- Let’s Dance
- Never Let Me Down
- Tonight
- Scary Monsters(And Super Creeps)
Sinister Reviews 