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1977 í¢â‚¬“ Talking Through the Gloom

1977 was a year of transition and transmission, where pop music was being ushered, voluntarily or otherwise, into the post-modern age.í‚   The Kingí¢â‚¬â„¢s death, tragic and poetic as it was, came at a rather auspicious time.í‚  í‚   The once small underground punk movement out of New York had swept away the drug-addled status quo of rock.í‚   Of the few survivors only one managed to endure these tumultuous times and transcend them, creating a new sound that has been imitated but never duplicated.í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚   By 1976 David Bowie had undergone so many changes that no one could scarcely keep track. Always in metamorphosis, Bowie moved from character piece to musical turned concept album to í¢â‚¬Ëœplastic soulí¢â‚¬â„¢ and by 1976, his decadent, depraved figure on the fringe and alter ego, the Thin White Duke; by then Bowie had sank into a kind of cocaine-induced psychosis.í‚   David managed to salvage enough of his life to begin working on material that he hoped to put in the sci-fi film The Man Who Fell to Earth, which he starred in, but time constraints would not allow it.í‚   In the summer of í¢â‚¬â„¢76, David Bowie re-examined his new material and unknowingly began a musical voyage that would lead him to the pinnacle of his artistic expression.í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚   David Bowie and Brian Eno met in August 1972; four years later and Eno created what we now know as ambient music.í‚   Bowie and Eno were intrigued by each otherí¢â‚¬â„¢s musicianship, and decided to collaborate on an album.í‚   David turned to his long-time producer, Tony Visconti and after a conference call with Bowie and Eno he was convinced.í‚  í‚   í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚   í‚   Bowie and Visconti selected a rhythm section for the Low sessions that was comprised entirely of black musicians: George Murray, Dennis Davis and Carlos Alomar.í‚   Former Beggars Opera member, Ricky Gardiner, was brought on as lead guitarist.í‚   Low began recording at the Chateau dí¢â‚¬â„¢Herouville in France; rumor has it the venue was inhabited by the ghost of Frederic Chopin, who allegedly shook Brian Eno awake every morning.í‚   After recording was completed, the album was mixed at Hansa Studios by the Wall, in Berlin.í‚   Released in January of 1977, some critics hailed Low as a masterpiece while others scoffed at the experimental second side.í‚   As for the pop songs of side 1, only Sound and Vision made any kind of impact on the charts, and that just barely.í‚   Bowieí¢â‚¬â„¢s subdued almost humble crooning was a departure from the bravado that came from his previous albums.í‚   Joy Division front man Ian Curtis was heavily influenced by the instrumentals of side 2 and Joy Divisioní¢â‚¬â„¢s original band name, Warsaw, was derived from the Low track Warszawa.í‚   Lowí¢â‚¬â„¢s early digital-age manipulation and synthesizer work, as well as the pop prominence of the man performing it, made it the genome for bands like Depeche Mode, The Cure and The Pet Shop Boys.í‚   í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚  í‚   The mixed response to Low had no affect on Bowieí¢â‚¬â„¢s willingness to continue with this new sound.í‚   Bowie gathered the band from Low, except Gardiner who was replaced by King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp.í‚   David and the band began recording í¢â‚¬Å“Heroesí¢â‚¬  in late spring 1977 at Hansa.í‚   Frippí¢â‚¬â„¢s contribution to side 1 is exuberant and relentless, and the rhythm section runs and drives providing a funky counterpoint to Frippí¢â‚¬â„¢s screaming guitar.í‚   Bowieí¢â‚¬â„¢s vocals are powerful and filled with emotion, perhaps the finest vocal performance of his career.í‚   On side 2, Eno drones the synthesizers and for his efforts the instrumentals of í¢â‚¬Å“Heroesí¢â‚¬  are darker and more menacing than those of Low.í‚   í¢â‚¬Å“Heroesí¢â‚¬  was released at the end of 1977 and received a warmer critical and fan response than Low.í‚   The album reached #3 in the U.K, however the lead single and title track, which has since become one of Bowieí¢â‚¬â„¢s most memorable songs, barely cracked the charts.í‚   It's clear that sales and popularity had little affect on the albumí¢â‚¬â„¢s influence on the new generation of musicians who grew up listening to David Bowie.í‚   Duran Duran have taken more from Bowieí¢â‚¬â„¢s more pop driven, danceable second album in what has now been called his Berlin trilogy.There is still some debate about which of the two Bowie albums is better.í‚   í¢â‚¬Å“Heroesí¢â‚¬  is more confident and ambitious, and overall less, wellí¢â‚¬ ¦ low.í‚   The pop songs of í¢â‚¬Å“Heroesí¢â‚¬  are more catchy than those of Low but the instrumentals on Low are much more interesting.í‚   What Low has over í¢â‚¬Å“Heroesí¢â‚¬  is that it seemed to come out of nowhere, whereas í¢â‚¬Å“Heroesí¢â‚¬  was born out of Low.í‚   How such a diverse crowd of musicians, from genres of music that seem so utterly opposed, could possibly make two such cogent and powerful pieces of music is nearly unfathomable. í‚  Bowie brought in sounds from progressive rock and the newly founded ambient sound, and then backed them with a funk-soul African-American rhythm section; together they produced a sound that even today, 30 years later, still sounds like it was recorded somewhere in the future.í‚  James Bakker í‚  í‚