How would you rate "Diamond Dogs" (1974) by David Bowie?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Haristar, Jun 23, 2017.

  1. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Can't beat The Beatles definitely with his cover.
     
  2. Diamond Dog

    Diamond Dog Cautionary Example

    He did. He once did an entire album of them.

    D.D.
     
  3. dead of night

    dead of night Senior Member

    Location:
    Northern Va, usa
    Looking at the cover art of Diamond Dogs, it seems that the two females in the background are meant to look as differently from Bowie as possible. He has a sharply defined face and long, sinewy arms; their faces are blunt and they have short, stubby arms and legs.

    I wonder why this is?
     
  4. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    Just a different looking mutant. Another example of "The Strangest Living Curiosities"....and twins as well.
     
    dead of night likes this.
  5. Tsomi

    Tsomi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lille, France
    A question to the Diamond Dogs experts...



    On this TV ad for the album, you can hear what I think is a slightly different mix for the Diamond Dogs title track. The guitar sounds quite different around 0:11-0:12.

    Does this mix exist anywhere, by chance? I think it's just an earlier, rougher studio mix, but I think I prefer this one...
     
  6. Marc 74

    Marc 74 Senior Member

    Location:
    West Germany,NRW
    It's certainly sped up. That's probably the reason why it sounds like a different mix.
     
  7. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member

    I may have asked this elsewhere, but how does the 2016 CD remaster of Diamond Dogs stack up? I only have the 1999 EMI disc. Is it better than that?
     
  8. Rne

    Rne weltschmerz

    Location:
    Malaver
    Absolutely! I love the 2016 remaster, in fact. But then again, it's a matter of taste.
     
  9. sound chaser

    sound chaser Senior Member

    Location:
    North East UK.
    Yes, IMO.
     
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  10. Chrome_Head

    Chrome_Head Planetary Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA.
    Always stuck out on Scary Monsters like a sore thumb to me, I really dislike the song. I figure he either did it as a favor to Verlaine or to prop up his own hip, "with it" bonafides.
     
    Tsomi likes this.
  11. BlueSpeedway

    BlueSpeedway Curated Iconic Half-Speed Picture Disc

    Location:
    England
    Here’s where it is in this week’s Speedway Bowie 1969-80 chart. Only Station to Station ever remains static :)

    01 STATIONTOSTATION
    02 LOW
    03 DIAMOND DOGS
    04 SCARY MONSTERS (AND SUPER CREEPS)
    05 “HEROES”
    06 LODGER
    07 YOUNG AMERICANS
    08 ALADDIN SANE
    09 THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD
    10 HUNKY DORY
    11 THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST & THE SPIDERS FROM MARS
    12 DAVID BOWIE
    13 PINUPS
     
    Michael D likes this.
  12. footprintsinthesand

    footprintsinthesand Reasons to be cheerful part 1

    Location:
    Dutch mountains
    Brother, ooh ooh
    Shake it up, shake it up
    Move it up, move it up

    (ever circling)
     
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  13. Dodoz

    Dodoz Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    Reminds me of something. Why did the music sound so often sped up in movies? Is it due to a transfer between two formats or something? It used to happen ALL THE TIME and it's always bothered me.
     
  14. erikdavid5000

    erikdavid5000 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I love Diamond Dogs because Bowie's vocals are epic on it. It's sort of the last album where he was first and foremost the singer and the "frontman" .....
    After this one, he kind of went for his voice sitting inside the music a bit more and it was about the totality of the music and the vocals as a fully immersed thing. But on DD, his amazing range and emotion are on full display.
     
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  15. juno6000

    juno6000 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pembroke Pines, FL
    This is one of my favorites. It was also the first album of his I heard in its entirety. I think it is better overall than Aladin Sane. I listen to it more than Ziggy, to be honest. I think this one and Hunky Dory are my top two, viewed as wholes. As in holes. Lol.
     
  16. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    I strikes me as sounding more like the old vinyl, but with additional compression. It's one of the few of the latest round of remasters that I think is undeniably better than the Rykos, although I haven't done a careful A/B comparison. Yet.
     
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  17. Tsomi

    Tsomi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lille, France
    Sometimes it's because of the NTSC -> PAL conversion from US to Europe, AFAIK.

    It's probably going to be better than the EMI 1999 (which were extremely processed). I'm doing a blind-listening test for Diamond Dogs, with samples from every available digital master, and it's probably going to appear this week or next week. It might help you choose your own favourite master.
     
    Bobby Morrow likes this.
  18. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member

    I’ll look out for it.
     
  19. sunking101

    sunking101 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Yorkshire, England
    1984 is a stinker for me also. I can't warm to the album at all.
     
  20. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Yeah that stinks as well.
    Remaining songs all diamonds.
     
  21. Denim Chicken

    Denim Chicken Dayman, fighter of the Nightman

    Location:
    Bakersfield, CA
    Something clicked with me when I was listening to this recently. I had revelation with this album and now have a new found appreciation for this genius work. Changed my vote from pretty great to essential.
     
  22. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    A SACD would be welcome.
     
  23. yesstiles

    yesstiles Senior Member

    I recently listened to "Aladdin Sane" for the first time in a few years (RCA Japan disc). I was disappointed in my response. I thought I would enjoy it more after the absence. But I found the whole thing disjointed. It's like Bowie's real life rock-star record. It just wasn't there for me.

    So I put on Side 2 of "Diamond Dogs" hoping to connect to Bowie and feel that buzz. Yep, that worked! :agree:
     
    sound chaser likes this.
  24. Audioresearch

    Audioresearch Forum Resident

    Great album, Sweet thing candidate sweet thing reprise is such a beautiful song cycle.
     
    Chrome_Head and yesstiles like this.
  25. crookedbill

    crookedbill Forum Resident

    Diamond Dogs is absolutely my favorite Bowie album, followed closely by Station to Station.

    Even though they're not thought of as a "trilogy", my favorite string of Bowie albums (and my favorite Bowie era) is Diamond Dogs, Young Americans, and Station to Station. This whole era was just Bowie face-down in cocaine with middle-fingers up in the air. Lots of risks taken, no f*cks given - and his music shined brightest in this era (imho) because of it.
     

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