4.0 out of 5 stars
Forever and ever, August 3, 2009
This review is from: David Bowie - Heroes (Vinyl)
Heroes was the second album in Bowie's trilogy of
Brian Eno produced electronic albums. It follows the pattern of
Low in its mix of short pop/rock songs and moody instrumentals and semi-instrumentals. Somehow it lacks the trenchant edge of Low, although the title track is truly spectacular in its evocative imagery and great emotional impact.
On the title track, Bowie's voice is as emotive as on Word On A Wing (from
Station to Station) over the wailing drone of the synths as it paints a scenario of lovers meeting beneath the Berlin wall. Truly breathtaking, this song was also released as a single in German and French versions in the seventies.
The melancholy Sons Of The Silent Age has a spacey feel, beautiful lyrics and a ghostly chorus, while Blackout is harsh and discordant. I love the sax and the driving beat of V2 Schneider as Bowie's voice intones the title. Moss Garden is a delicate instrumental, a sound I recognized later in some pieces by e.g.
Autechre and Cabaret Voltaire, but Secret Life Of Arabia drags a bit.
Lodger, the third album in the trilogy, is nowhere near as good as the first two. Heroes remains my favorite of the three, primarily on account of the unsurpassable title track.
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