Customer Reviews

Black Tie White Noise (W/Dvd)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

It's good to see the re-emergence of 'Black Tie White Noise' after having been unavailable for years. The album itself seemed to get lost in the shuffle during the 90s, and after the radical 'Outside' and 'Earthling,' it was something of a distant memory.

In truth, BTWN deserves to be re-discovered. While it might not be a Bowie classic, anyone who enjoyed 'Young Americans' and 'Let's Dance' should check out this album. It's all about rhythm here, and along with the two above mentioned albums, you can dance to it! The production is very dense, with an emphasis on the groove and texture. Highlights include "Miracle Goodnight," the Tin Machine reject "You've Been Around," and the terrific "Nite Flights," originally penned by Scott Walker. There's also David's excellent cover of Morrissey's "I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday," which sounds like it could have been straight off of 'Young Americans.'

The deluxe packaging also includes an excellent companion CD full of extra tracks and remixes, and a DVD of the 1993 documentary which was originally available on home video to support BTWN. This contains a revealing interview with David, promo clips, and studio performance shots of several tracks from the album. My only gripe about the DVD is the editing of the interview. David can't even finish a sentence before it cuts to him speaking about something else. This goes on back and forth throughout the entire interview. It would have been a nice touch to add an extra menu option to watch the interview unedited, without the annoying cuts.

Overall, it's good to see this album back on the shelves with the extra goodies. It still sounds great, and is recommended for anyone who might have missed it the first time.

I must take this opportunity to both praise this reissue and try to get the overall rating up due to a one-star review by a previous critic. Hey, if you don't like the packaging, complain about it in your review, but don't bash the music itself by giving the album a single star. This gives the reader the impression that the music is bad, which it isn't.

Yes, it is frustrating when artists reissue their older work with a couple of bonus tracks as the earlier reviewer pointed out. It is even more frustrating when they seem to intentionally do this by releasing the "deluxe" version only a few weeks after the "regular" edition. However, this is not the case here. The bonus material is not merely a few bonus tracks, but rather, a 74-minute CD with 12 previously unheard tracks. And, as if that wasn't enough, there's a pretty good DVD to boot. Finally, this reissue comes a decade after the original release, not just a few weeks later. After all this time, the additional material is certainly justified.

Are the remixes and the DVD individually as good as the original single CD release? Of course not, but the $30 price tag for all 3 discs is really not bad, even for those who already own the original release. There is 3 hours of material here. And, if you liked the original release to begin with, the remixes are certainly nothing to complain about. At the very worst, they are fun to listen to. At the best, they expand and enhance the original experience.

I certainly agree with another reviewer that packaging itself is unnecessarily bulky, but here, in the review, is where that should be mentioned, not in the overall rating. It would have been better if the two music discs were packaged in the two-pack slimline jewel case, giving the DVD its own jewel case, and thereby, more convenient to leave next to the DVD player, but that's a small quibble. I would not lower the rating over issues like these.

All that said, this album is a forgotten classic from Mr. Bowie. While very much unlike many of his releases (certainly unlike the magnificent "Outside" and "Earthling" that followed), it demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt that David Bowie is a consummate artist, capable of exploring the realms of jazz as easily as his more edgy works. Actually, I was not crazy about this album when it originally was released as it seemed a bit slick and over-produced at the time. But hey, people mature, and being confronted with this flashy reissue demonstrated to me how valid this work was to begin with.

Buy it before it's gone folks... you'll kick yourself if you don't, or pay way too much for it on eBay after it's gone.

You may have missed this record first time around. The label collapsed near its release and there was very little promotion, although it received critical praise. If you enjoy Bowie for his expansiveness and you like funky, clean r&b delivered suave & British, then you should like this. I read Nile Rogers (who co-produced) say Bowie's a sax player like Bill Clinton's a sax player, which may not be the highest praise, but his style works very well on these tracks. (And of course there are technically better players, but Bowie's artistry is what shines.) If you did buy this record the first time around, you know he made it shortly after marrying Iman and that it feels smooth but edgy, confident, romantic, and soulful, and you probably like it very much, but may be wondering about buying it again for the extra CD and DVD. The second CD feels very familiar to the first, and for me that's a compliment. The bonus tracks from the original issue move to the second disc here, and included are numerous club style remixes and single versions--great for evening drives. The DVD is a great addition; always compelling visually, Bowie just looks really cool here & suited to his element. Full videos and entertaining, well-produced interviews throughout. This was a groovy period for an always interesting and usually brilliant artist. Recommend getting this edition while you can. I'm thankful that a record that deserved a wider audience is getting such lavish treatment 10 years later--it deserves it.

I have issues with some of the reviews for this album, as I find them unqualified and misleading in reference to the work of David Bowie, when they criticize. I particularly wonder at the fans who didn't understand the DVD edits. Yea! Sound+Vision.

First, I am a fan since Hunky Dory (1971 when I was 17 years old). And still, Hunky Dory is my favorite Bowie Album, because no matter what shape he assumes, this Bowie is always there in vocal styling and spirit. Other manifestations of the chameleon seem fragmentary by comparison. The simple melodies and strong lyrics (with the soul of an English bard) summarize all that I feel is best about Bowie. Hunky Dory may be considered primitive to some, but it is simply masterful to me.

Now about soul: Is this a color? or heart? or feeling? This man's soul is as real as Eminem's, Kenneth Edmund's, Sinatra's, Puccini's, or Mary J. Blige's, etc., etc. None of these artistes are fakes, manufactured by a studio or management team.

However, I believe David feels Black Tie/White Noise is his best work. He says it was inspired by the 90s L.A. riots. And that Caucasians deal with "people of color" by expecting them to "become" more white, or just completely ignoring them. I live in L.A., and I agree with this assessment. This city is very insular. In contrast, Tampa, Florida (my hometown) is predominately Republican, but has stronger, truer racial integration. Go figure. David is trying to give back to black music, which he credits as his greatest inspiration. Some "fans" who don't know that David's soul is not plastic but, rather, flesh and blood, probably have never accepted and can never accept his wife Iman, or their marriage. She is definitely his black tie and proof of his soul. He was wed to Angela for 12 or so months. Wed to Iman "forever."

The DVD is edited in a way meant to seduce the viewer into the action, by means of rhythm, color, graceful elegance, and camera technique-----Performance Art. It may seem like a maelstrom, but give it time, and you'll go with the flow, and like it, or end with a migraine. This is considered the MTV style of video editing, (meant to emulate/stimulate the minds of precocious 13 year olds), and it works for me. Do you remember when you were thirteen (barring oppressed households). How the world seemed like your oyster? And you had imagination? Black Tie/White Noise videos have this quality. He is as good as or even better than Mick Jagger in being forever young. Watching this DVD makes me feel extraordinarily young.

I find the package to be a work of art itself. It is a paper box that folds out and houses 2 jewel boxes. If you keep all your CDs in precisely measured slots, this box set will not fit. It is the same height and length of a regular jewel box, but the depth is about 2.5 times larger. Height, length, and width as follows: (126 mm x 143 mm x 25 mm) or (5" x 5.625" x 1"). I have a CD tower whose slots each house 13 standard jewel boxes standing upright, as if on a bookshelf. With this on the shelf, only 12 disks will fit in a slot. This set is roughly the size of 2.5 boxes combined, not a big deal. The set folds out in the center like a book, into 2-panels, with the original CD and liner notes (printed info on package) on the left, and the Bonus CD/DVD and liner notes on the right. Then, it opens yet again on both sides to reveal a 4-panel spread that looks like a banner advertisement of the words "David Bowie: Black Tie White Noise," in white/orange/black coloring. While closed and held right-side up, both disks can be slid out the right side of the package, as if it were a regular sleeve housing a standard jewel box. Hey, you can always just take the 2 regular-sized jewel boxes out of the paper box. In my opinion, the total package is as idiosyncratic as the action in the DVD, and both are well designed. Truly, a collector's item.

To fans, Bowie is known equally a visual artist as a musician. I was almost expecting not to like this DVD/album set based on some fan's reviews. He is an artiste no matter what. Moreover, the DVD interviews cut from one to another rapidly so as to convey the mood of the album or the man himself, in a minimum of words. Did you ever think that maybe this is how he lives? Jet set, creative, international traveler; he is all this. His and Mick Jagger's lives have the vitality of teenaged boys.

It's like Beyonce asking in "Lose My Breath" from Destiny Fulfilled, "Can you keep up?"

I'm so sure this man is extraordinary, and no regular guy is ever going to figure him out. Maybe, we can study him, if our pride does not prevent this. I did not need for him to explain every detail to me. Thus, the style of taking sentences from several different topics and splicing them together as a whole, will force you into using all your senses to understand. Many will feel that he never quite "tells his story completely or clearly," and they never fully come to understand the man, his repertory, or what he is trying to say/show.

I say this, then, just look, listen, and look again, if need be. Let your feelings do the explaining. And if you still need for Bowie to tell you what he had for breakfast on March 3, 1999 (an arbitrary date), then the chameleon successfully escaped you, according to plan. The nature of a chameleon is to escape danger.

By accepting Bowie's art (practically unconditionally) without wanting to change anything, you might become a real Bowie fan, who can rock, swing, bump, and grind right along with him and never miss a beat.

Fan, I say. Not patron. I'm forever a Bowie FAN-AT-IC. This Limited Edition album is like a "rush of blood" to my head, and it renews my spirit for avant-garde music.

...a VERY nice Album/CD and I will talk more on it than the other discs..

I must admit I was compelled, again, to write something on Bowie's work, especially when the negative had outweighed the positive some months ago, so let me add another positive review.

I try to be open-minded when it comes to an artist's work, so that would apply to Mr. Bowie as well, so when I bought this CD, despite the few reviews I saw, I must admit I was pleasantly surprised by it.

It's not over-the-top and this CD is not meant to be a mind-blower, just a CD made by a man who wanted to make good music...and he did.

I don't know what the older fans expected back in 1993, but in 2004, this album sounds good even today, even though I'm not sure what folks expected back then....more Pop or Rock, maybe? Plus I'm not one to listen to Music Critics with their one-sided opinions...

If there is one thing I've realized about David Bowie..and as some TRUE fans will agree, David Bowie does NOT do the same music twice. He is a artist who likes to explore different music genres or sounds that has appealed to him over the years, 'After All' he is an old-school player when it comes to music. Once people REALIZE that, then they will try to view ALL his music with 'fresh ears', hopefully.

I would catergorize this CD as a 'party CD', in other words throw this CD in with other music at a party and believe me not many folks will complain. There are NO bad songs on it.

...and the fact he adds jazz to the mix sits well with me, I don't know about the younger crowd thinks, but Bowie does pretty good here.

As for the title track, the way 'Black Tie...White Noise' sounds is how the album, ''Young Americans'' should have been back then, but I guess it took him...oh, 20 years to get it right. Even though back in the time when he had just left the Spiders, I don't think his core audience would have got it.

I'm giving it 4 stars for the good effort and also, for the fact I had the pleasure of hearing him sing along with his old partner/guitarist, Mick Ronson on two songs, before he died a couple months afterwards.

I'm not going to comment on the Remix disc, but on the DVD, I must say it is interesting and if you don't already own the videos for 'Miracle Goodnight' and 'Black Tie...White Noise' then this will be a treat for you, along with the DB interviews. But it's the actual CD itself that should hold the most interest.

On a side note, I don't know why but for some reason, I feel David Bowie's take on Morrissey's "I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday," is kinda like a subtle tribute to Mick Ronson. If not, it should be the way David sings it. Plus, I'm sure David was glad to do 'I Feel Free' one last time with Ronson, an old Cream cover tune they used to do back in the Ziggy Stardust days.

Nuff' said...

This forgotten classic Bowie album of 93 is a real treasure. The whole album is solid, and if you like jazz/rock/techno, you'll love this album. The way Bowie reinvintes himself is amazing, and he seems to be successful at every change (this album being no exception).
The album itself is 5 stars, the bonus disc is full of remixes and two pretty good tracks that were unreleased (if you like the album you're sure to like these). What you're paying for is the dvd that comes with it, the Black Tie White Noise video that was released on VHS is now on dvd! It isn't a bad buy, and is pretty cool to see Bowie and his band perform some of his songs of the album, and the documentary is pretty interesting as Bowie mainly discusses the album.
So overall this is a great buy, sure the price sucks....but don't let it stop you from buying this great album. Think of it as paying $15 for the album and $15 for the DVD. If you're a true Bowie fan and can appreciate mose of his work, then you're sure to love this.

Finally, BTWN is available again. It is missing one thing though. Where is the "alternate mix" of "Jump They Say" that was on the original version? At first I was hoping that the "rock mix" was just a renamed alternate mix, but it is not. As a completist, I guess that I'll just have to hang on to my original copy.

This album contains some of Bowie's better compositions and expands on the sound he put forth on Station to Station. While this album lacks the stark purity of Station to Station, which had only six songs, it utilizes much of the same tight, syncopated rhythms, juxtaposed to drawn out melodies. This technique achieves it's crowning success on "Pallas Athene," where the melody soars like a bottle rocket over the jabs and hooks of the rhythms. Also, Bowie knows how to organize this stuff better than a lot of other musicians, so you have the abstractions and the "noise" leading you somewhere.

Other great songs are "Night Flights," "Don't Let Me Down" and "Looking for Lester," among others. Some of the songs are overproduced but Bowie inserts his trademark epiphanies and they work.

The orchestrations are superb, with Lester Bowie's trumpet playing truly out of sight. Bowie's much talked about sax playing is of interest to me, not so much for the quality of the musicianship, but for the quality of the sound. He runs it through synthesizers that make it sound more like Jimi Hendrix than a saxophone. The best use of this technique is on "I Feel Free," another great song that plays the guitar-sounding sax off of real guitars to produce unbelievable levels of catharsis.

As with all good "black" music, the point is that the emotionally injured person refuses to go down, no matter how many shots to the head, and this has more to do with one's experience than it does with one's race. It's good to have David Bowie in your corner. It doesn't hurt to have some of "Jimi's guitar sound" ("Scary Monsters") in the music.

The Klimt reference in the title of my review refers to "Pallas Athene," also the title of one of Gustav Klimt's paintings of a femme fatale. Though the song doesn't connect with this theme as far as I can see, Bowie has referenced femme fatales before on "Outside" and "Ziggy" I think and he likes to remind you, you know.

Finally this album has been re-released! An underappreciated work of Bowie's that is his BEST ALBUM SINCE SCARY MONSTERS!! This ablum is a great jazzy album full of great songs (Jump they Say, BTWN, Midnight Goodnight). The dvd is cool....but I wish it didn't come with the album, which ups the price. I have no problem with it, but it will divert a lot of people from buying it since not everyone can afford to shell out $30. Great album, strongly recommend you give it a try!

Here's the deal. Black Tie, White Noise is a great album, which, up until recently, has been very hard to get your hands on. This was David's first solo album after breaking up with Tin Machine, and it has a great feel remiscant of "Young Americans."
The album was produced by Nile Rogers, who also produced "Let's Dance" so you might notice some similarities there, too.
The reason I don't give this album five stars is well, the only thing really new on the second CD is the track "Real Cool World" ("Lucy Can't Dance" was included as a bonus track on the original release of the album) which wasn't an outtake from the album, it was the title song for the movie "Real Cool World." The rest of the remixes are cool if you like remixes, I guess.
And the DVD is okay, it cuts here and there with the interview, which is very very annoying. But the music videos and studio recordings of the songs are great, if you don't already own them from elsewhere.
So, basically, there's nothing on this album that can't be obatained elsewhere (except some remixes) but it's still not a bad compalation.