Customer Reviews

Station to Station

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you grew up in the 70's, you know what head music is. This is it! This was my introduction to David Bowie and it remains my favorite Bowie album, almost 30 years later. Many tracks are overlooked in favor of the song that was overplayed on FM Radio, Golden Years. Even for myself, it was many years before I truly appreciated "Word on a Wing" and "Wild Is the Wind." My 3 initial favorites were Station to Stataion, TVC 15 and Stay. They remain the backbone of the album. If you haven't heard it yet, buy it. And then put on your headphones and zone out for a while. You wont regret it. Enjoy!

This is not a review of the album. If you know it, you don't need to be told: in six songs, Bowie creates an atmosphere of emotional exposure that will never leave you.

But the hollow audio on this CD is a far cry from the wall of sound I remember from my 80s vinyl. Pending purchase of a disc with the 1999 remix, I refer you to positive reviews thereof (Station to Station) or even better with the original B & W cover (Station to Station), though I can't vouch for the Virgin US release having the same sound as the Japanese import.

PS: I don't care if I'm in a minority, but for me "TVC 15" isn't the most memorable song on the disc, and "Stay" is a call from the heart, not a disco throwaway. Also, the bonus songs on some CDs (Live versions of "Word on a Wing" and "Stay") are rather superfluous, as other reviewers point out: only for collectors of alternate versions.

Wow. Bowie never ceases to amaze. This album is dark and moody. And if you don't find yourself listening to this CD twice then you must be nuts!

David Bowie / STATIONTOSTATION (RYKO 1991 bonus tracks edition): This is a wonderful and complex album from Bowie and RYKO's 1991 CD is the best version of that album. This is more Progressive Rock than Pop, so some who love Bowie's Hits may not like this album but it is nevertheless one of his best. Five Stars.

... du gingst in mein Leben aus meinen Träumen spazieren. Although Station to Station contains only six songs, they are the most memorable that Bowie ever recorded. The fast-paced title track Station to Station falls in a genre of journey songs - emphatically not the familiar rock road song - like Kraftwerk's 1977 track Europa Endloss on Trans Europa Express that creates the impression of a train ride with constantly changing scenery.

In the disco era, the French singer Patrick Juvet recorded a 14-minute long suite I Love America on his Got A Feeling album that was a musical tour through the United States. Closer to Bowie's style was the hypnotic I Travel with its propulsive rhythm by Simple Minds.

The tempo slows down somewhat for the melodic Golden Years with its catchy hooks, poetic lyrics, appealing rhythm and soulful tonality. What a gem of a song! Next comes another masterpiece, this time a devotional one. Word on a Wing is a sublime ballad with an enchanting tune and lyrics expressing spiritual yearning that match any poem in the English literature on this theme. The vocal arrangement is spectacular on many levels, including subtle segments and soaring sections.

There is some similarity in literary technique here with the Ben Jonson poem To Celia that was set to music as Drink to me Only with Thine Eyes and recorded by artists as diverse as Kathleen Ferrier and Swans. The similarity lies in the ambiguity; parts of both compositions contain phrasing that seems to deal with romantic love but the overall tone is clearly spiritual.

TVC15 is a powerful uptempo number in a sort of proto-disco style whilst Stay's nervous guitar-driven rhythmic texture and tempo shifts place it firmly in the rock tradition. Then follows the theme song of the 1957 movie Wild Is the Wind, written by Dimitri Tiomkin & Ned Washington, originally recorded by Johnny Mathis and later covered by Nina Simone on her album Wild Is the Wind. As a melodious ballad with a wistful air, it perfectly complements Word on a Wing.

The enhanced album has live versions of Word on a Wing where Bowie sings with a blocked nose (a cold or what, hmmm?) and Stay, both recorded on the 1976 Station To Station tour. They are both beautiful and appealing in their slightly different arrangements and vocal delivery. In my opinion Station is Bowie's best album, surpassing even the influential Ziggy Stardust in song quality and emotional depth.

One of the better albums Bowie made,and will be discovered over and over by new generations in the years to come.A must have if you ever liked any Bowie song over the years.