I wrote this 800-word (!) article for a friendâs website a few years ago about Low. It still represents my feelings pretty well. So uhâŚhere it is again. Why not.
"When so much influence and praise precedes an album, it takes me a few listens to distance myself from what I expect it to be and just listen to it. Thatâs how I feel about Low . I wasnât a huge Bowie fan when I bought it about ten years ago (I am now). Iâd heard and read a lot about it. Iâd heard that it was his best album, but also his weirdest; that it was also the work of Brian Eno and Tony Visconti not just of Bowie; that it was an inspiration for countless electronic artists; and that the record company hated it when they first heard it, saying: âwhere are the songs? Take this backâ.
When I listened to it those first few times, I wanted it to be great, but I was underwhelmed. What the hell was this? There were only five real verse-chorus-verse songs (and those are over in 15 minutes). Most of the tracks fade out, as if Bowie couldnât be bothered to hide their lack of completion. They sound processed and artificial. As for the last four tracksâŚthey were interesting, sure, but what elseâŚ? I felt short-changed. Iâd bought this supposedly great album and there was almost nothing on it. No wonder people hated it when it was first released. People expected Bowie to change his sound with each album, but they also expected tunes.
Itâs easy to snark at this attitude in the days of free album streaming, when people can read about the merits of an album and reevaluate it later (or not) for free. But what if youâve just spent your pocket money on something that feels so slight? I felt shocked. But when I buy a record I enter a contract with the artist, and say that Iâm going to give it a real chance. And I did that with Low. Once those first, shocking listens are over, when the album isnât what I wanted it to be, all that crap fell away and I could hear it properly. And with each subsequent listen, I realised how fantastic Low is.
Firstly, Low is messed-up. Bowie was obviously in a weird place when he wrote and recorded it, and not just Berlin. The first half has all these chopped-up drums, processed guitars, and machines doodling everywhere. But more importantly, every song from âSpeed of Lifeâ through to âBe My Wifeâ is brilliant. When Bowie made this, he knew in his blood, like McCartney, how to compose a great tune. Amazing, chunky bass and drums that yes, you can dance to, and Bowieâs voice and the guitar just about holding onto the melodies, and his sanity, as technology and weirdness try to steal it from him.
The first songs groove and crash and sing, but they have other brilliant things going on. Theyâre funny. For instance, what the hell is he doing breaking glass and drawing things in someoneâs house? Theyâre also desperate. I can hear it in the pleading for marriage in âBe My Wifeâ and the way he repeats âIâm in the mood for your love,â in âWhat in the Worldâ, each time growing more demanding. Thirdly, theyâre pretty and profound, like the perfect loneliness of âSound and Visionâ and âAlways Crashing the Same Car.â
Then thereâs the second half. When I listened the first few times, I wasnât able to be transported by sound and ambience. But now, Side Two is headphone heaven. Whoever was mainly responsible for composing it is moot when it sounds so gorgeous. The synths and drones wash all over you. After the desolate opening to âWarszawaâ, the song opens up, and Iâm guided along by the glorious chanting and calm. âWeeping Wallâ sounds, to me, like Iâm exploring an ice cavern. Finally, âSubterraneansâ ends the album with Bowieâs mournful saxophone taking you into the light above ground. But those are just my landscapes. The quality of the sounds and songs means that theyâre guaranteed to evoke something different for each listener, as long as you give yourself into them.
So there you have it. I love Low . Yes, its influence and praise precedes it, and yes, there are only five real songs. But it wasnât made this way to be praised or influential. It was made because Bowie had to make what felt right, no matter how messed-up things were at the time, and push the envelope. He did that, wonderfully. Thatâs why whenever I press play on Low , I hear glacial, messed-up, processed, human, funny, tuneful, experimental, ambient music which connects , makes me dance, takes me places and still sounds fresh and unique. It just took a while to catch up to where his brilliance was taking me. God bless you, Dave."
So I guess thatâs a 10.
