David Bowie
Station to Station
1976
Rating: ****
David Bowie had undergone a few transformations in his career by 1976. He started out as a pop singer, evolved into a glam rock superstar, and then a blue-eyed soul singer. His 1976 release, Station to Station, is considered by many to be one of Bowie's finest. This was the album that followed up the soulful Young Americans and was the album before 1977's Low, the first in the so-called "Berlin Trilogy", in which Bowie experimented with Kautrock and Ambient music.
The album opens up with the self-titled track, which sets the futuristic tone of the entire album. The song starts off with this keyboard and snyth based intro. Bowie mentions in the lyrics the "turn of the Thin White Duke", which introduces listeners to another one of Bowie's alter-egos. However, the Duke had already been introduced during the promotions for Young Americans. A little after five minutes into the song, the song picks up pace and turns into another song. "Golden Years" is the hit single off the album. The track sees Bowie dabbing into funk and soul again. Legend has it that Bowie wanted Elvis Presley to record the song. It never happened. Of the six songs on the album, this one is my favorite. It's really catchy. "Word on a Wing" is a nice slow song while "TVC 15" is back to funk soul. Bowie showcases some nice vocals on "Stay", making it easily a highlight on the album. The mighty "Wild is the Wind" closes the album wonderfully.
Currently, Station to Station isn't in my top albums list of the 200 album on my list. I'm working on getting it into my list. In all honesty, I'm not crazy over Station to Station like some people are. Still, the songs are great and the musicianship is amazing.
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