Do you have a preferred Bowie era?

Berlin era

 

suffers from there being too many other classics--an excess of riches

 

Like all of Bowie bar the tin machine era

 

There is a Bowie era for every mood. Sometimes it's Glam, sometimes it's the Berlin trilogy. Other times it's everything in between.

 

The Man Who Sold The World is my favourite Bowie album. The title track is a masterpiece and Width Of The Circle as well. I agree it's underrated, but it's damn great.

 

Like many here, I'm a fan of most Bowie eras (although '83 to '13 don't do much for me).

My preferred era is Ziggy Stardust, specifically, just before he broke really big. Not just the music, but the energy of the performances. It's great to see so much footage has resurfaced on YouTube. Just very rock 'n' roll all around.

(I echo that you need to listen to The Man Who Sold the World [2015 remaster is excellent]. I first bought it during the Tonight era, and it blew me away. It was all I could listen to for a good while. I like to play it for people now and hear them inevitably say, "This is David Bowie?")

 

I'm one of maybe 20 people who thinks Black Tie White Noise is wonderful.

 

I'm one.

 

I bet you we'll be hard pressed to find the other 18, even on this forum

 

Truth.

 

The Berlin era for me, centering on Lodger and I'd include Scary Monsters in there as well. It feels much more connected there than to Let's Dance, in my opinion.

I enjoy all of Bowie's catalog to some degree, but after the hits, Lodger was my Bowie discovery album and to this day, it's still my go-to Bowie listen. I couldn't tell you why other than it reaches me. From the very first drum fill, I think that the new 2017 Tony Visconti remix is splendid, by the way.

 

So what's the deal with Diamond Dogs anyways? It's still "Ziggy" era, isn't it? Or had he technically moved on by then.

 

Hours through to Blackstar.

 

Just listened to Hours this morning. That's always been one of my favorites and i've always thought of it as one of his most straight-forward, non-"weird" albums.

Like, if I had a conservative music friend that wanted a taste of Bowie, I'd probably give them that to wean onto first.

 

Hunky through Aladdin

For me "Queen Bitch" exemplifies the kind of Bowie I prefer.

 

Guitar album. No Mick Ronson
But I stop there. Dystopian frocker, still pretty glam.

 

I'm probably far away from the majority with my love for the Young Americans and Let's Dance albums. And I like his singles, and the Blackstar album. But listening to most of his other albums doesn't really create an urge to buy them.

I think it's the funky basis that makes YA, LD and BS stand out to me. The rest is to rock like to my ears. And although friends told me that I would like the Berlin trilogy, based on my love for (alternative) synth music, listening to those just doesn't sound that special in retrospect. I might have thought different if I'd heard them when released, but now I just think that other artists did it more and better.

Still, YA and LD are awesome!

 

I voted for Ziggy era and Eno trilogy, but with caveats.

I love MWSTW and Hunky Dory, but the Ziggy era (Ziggy, Aladdin, Pin Ups) is quite easily my favorite era. A big part of that is the strength of Bowie's material at the time, combined with the great musicality and guitar heroics of Mick Ronson.

Eno Trilogy (if we're including Scary Monsters), as Low may well be my favorite Bowie record. Though I don't care much for Lodger.

I think it could be considered post, as Bowie had dissolved the Spiders and played much of the guitar and such on the album himself. It's more of a bridge to the Philly-soul era.

I've always liked the breadth of material on this album--underrated and unfairly hated on.

 

+1.

Hours was the first Bowie studio album I bought, having seen the VH1 Storytellers show on TV.

 

The early Bowie (Ziggy/pre-Ziggy) is mostly played out for me. I still like it, but rarely listen to it. Except for the exceptional, slightly odd, and brilliant Aladdin Sane. Bowie is best when the envelope is pushed.

No one is talking about it, but The Buddha of Suburbia is one of his best records.

 

I dig Reality. The album, not the thing itself. Most of the songs are better than Heathen's, but there are a few that are worse, which means Heathen's seems more solid.

I never listen to anything pre-Ziggy. And nothing between Dance and Noise. The Cairo Goat gave me the Leon Suites and I am really digging those. Once you hear them a few times the bizarre parts start making sense. So my most played era is White Noise to No Plan.

 

If you want to buy into the mythology, Bowie ended the Ziggy character with the Hammersmith Odeon show in July '73. The Pennebaker documentary of that concert is essential viewing, despite sometimes terrible quality. You can tell the character has been played out by that point (though I'd still have loved to be at the show).

 

None of the spiders were on that album.. I tend to think of this album as a stage performance, like a musical play which is pretty much what he had in mind in the first place. 1984 was the theme for the album which Orwell's estate nixed the idea to let him use the title, Then he recorded Diamond Dogs, and Rebel Rebel , and Rock n Roll With Me and used the Diamond Dogs name for the title. 1984 started the funky plastic soul thing he eventually went into. David Live was the Diamond Dogs tour, which wasn't a very exiting album at least for me. I heard the musicians were pissed he was paying them scale for the tour, and they played accordingly.

 

I hit "Ziggy" period but really my answer is 70s Bowie.

 

The Leon Suites are really, really, really cool. That's one of my realities.