David Bowie - "Heroes" (Vinyl)

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"Heroes" is the 12th studio album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on 14 October 1977 by RCA Records. It was the second installment of his "Berlin Trilogy" recorded with collaborator Brian Eno and producer Tony Visconti following Low (released earlier that year) and preceding Lodger (1979). Of the three albums, it was the only one wholly recorded in Berlin. "Heroes" continued the ambient experiments of its predecessor, albeit with more pop elements and passionate performances, and featured contributions from King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp. "Heroes", the title track remains one of Bowie's best known and acclaimed songs. The album has been reissued multiple times and was remastered in 2017 as part of the A New Career In A New Town (1977-1982) box set. Like Iggy Pop's The Idiot (co-produced and co-written by Bowie), the "Heroes" album cover is an allusion to the painting "Roquairol" by Erich Heckel. An altered and obscured version of the album's cover artwork later appeared as the artwork for Bowie's 2013 album The Next Day.


LP pressing on gatefold 180-gram vinyl.

 


This stunning album is the second in Bowie's so-called Berlin Trilogy, arriving not long after the slightly overrated (yet groundbreaking) Low (1977) and before the underrated Lodger (1979). Of these three, it was in fact the only album that Bowie recorded entirely in West Berlin. "Heroes" continued Low's format of mostly short, fragmented rock songs on side one and spacey ambient music on side two. What is immediately noticeable is that the songs on side one of "Heroes" are considerably fuller-sounding than those that appeared on Low. They are practically bursting at the seams with details, virtuosic guitar solos from Robert Fripp, and hooks that often seem very strangely placed -- such as the awkward "yeahs" in Joe the Lion -- but somehow it all manages to work.

The lyrics are much stranger than those heard in Low. To try to figure out what they all mean can seem like a waste of time, but occasionally the lyrics create vivid, eerie images -- for example, Bowie tells us that the Sons of the Silent Age "never die, they just go to sleep one day." Bowie's awkwardness throughout side one of "Heroes" may be difficult or confusing for first-time listeners, but repeated listens reveal that it effectively contributes to the album's sense of urgency, excitement, and paranoia.

By: Refried_Ectoplasm


A1 Beauty and the Beast
A2 Joe The Lion
A3 "Heroes"
A4 Sons Of The Silent Age
A5 Blackout
B1 V-2 Schneider
B2 Sense of Doubt
B3 Moss Garden
B4 Neukoln
B5 The Secret Life of Arabia



Catalogue Number: 0190295842840
Record Label: Parlophone / Warner