By 1974 pop rock icon David Bowie had considered himself pretty much done with his backing band The Spiders From Mars. However, he was not quite ready to be fully done with the Ziggy Stardust character and glam rock altogether. As his glam swan song, he made one more album in that style that became one of his most beloved albums out of his entire catalog known as Diamond Dogs.
Diamond Dogs is an interesting album in that Bowie himself played all of the guitar parts and had new studio musicians backing him despite the arrangements for the songs having been written by the old band. This had never happened up to that point. In later years he admitted to having been nervous about the whole thing, but honestly that nervous energy turned into something raw, powerful, and unique. It essentially gave the album its sound.
Who doesn't know, love, and jam out to "Rebel Rebel" from time to time? That riff is incredibly earwormish. It cycles over and over again through most of the song, yet it somehow works and doesn't at any point become boring. It sort of has this New York Dolls meets The Rolling Stones kind of vibe to it. That is no surprise though considering how popular both bands were at the time.
The title track "Diamond Dogs" is another memorable tune. This one is less raw, but what it lacks in grit it makes up for in big grand sound. The horn section definitely helped with that. The song is also made to sound like it is being recorded live with an audience and all, which in some ways helps give it more excitement and energy. This song too has a catchy guitar riff, although it does not cycle throughout the majority of the song.
Diamond Dogs was one hell of a way for Bowie to end one of if not the absolute best musical periods in his career. It's chocked full of some real bangers that are guaranteed to get you rocking and rolling. If nothing else, it will have something on it for anyone who loves an electric guitar and a thumping sound. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is new to David Bowie and wants to know which albums to pick up.
Diamond Dogs, by David Bowie receives 3.8 out of 5 stars.
Track List:
1. Future Legend
2. Diamond Dogs
3. Sweet Thing
4. Candidate
5. Sweet Thing (Reprise)
6. Rebel Rebel
7. Rock 'n' Roll With Me
8. We Are the Dead
9. 1984
10. Big Brother
11. Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family
Buy the album on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Dogs-2016-Remastered-Version/dp/B01MUBTP2E/ref=ice_ac_b_dpb?ie=UTF8&qid=1519970247&sr=8-1&keywords=Diamond+Dogs
No comments:
Post a Comment