Station To Station

So, now it's 1976 and David Bowie's had a surprisingly big hit album with Young Americans, a #1 single with Fame, he's starred in the yet-to-be-released movie, The Man Who Fell To Earth and he has, as they used to say, a fat-head.

Bowie can do anything he wants and the world better beware...as he predicted as far back as 1971's Hunky Dory. He's...not Ziggy, not Aladdin, not that clever-chops funky honky on Soul Train...no, the world's "...gotta make way for the Homo Superior..."...and his good old Aryan blood (see Hunky Dory, in particular, the track Quicksand).

Such warnings are fuelled by a monstrous intake of cocaine and Bowie releases Station To Station.

David Bowie: Station To Station

The scene-setting title track opener is an experience in itself:

Part 1:    2 minutes of industrial noise, followed by a slow, relentless build-up

"...the sound of a synthesised steam train comes into earshot this moves closer and closer and goes from speaker to speaker, the howl of guitar, then the rest of the band enter and...lay down 2 alienating chords, the lead guitar starts to waver and scream, a riff develops in a slow, stately manner and with a great sense of menace, the bass growls, the rhythm guitar begins to pick out the melody, the crashing of cymbals, the sound of castanets and swirling keyboards all leading to...Amazon.co.uk reviewer Milt Ingarfield

Part 2:   as if announcing his emergence from the chrysalis of normal humanity, Bowie's snarled, po-faced first vocals on the album are:

"...The return of the thin white duke
Throwing darts in lovers' eyes
The return of the thin white duke
Making sure white stains..."

creepy Thin White Duke photo

Part 3    here's the background: Bowie's been seen around the traps in L.A., surrounded by magical props and chanting spells.  He warbles obliquely about them for a few verses,

"...Here are we
one magical movement from Kether to Malkuth..."

then it's back to:

"...The return of the thin white duke
Throwing darts in lovers' eyes..."

Part 4    a sudden change of gear into an uptempo:

"...It's too late
To be grateful
The European Man is here..."

Part 5:   bizarre boogie rock out and

"...It's not the side effects of the cocaine...
...I must be only one in a million...
...The European Man is here..."

               Station To Station

What the? Next up is the hit single Golden Years...

"...While staying with you baby for a thousand years
Nothing's gonna touch you in these Golden Years..."

                           Golden Years

...It's a kind of downer soul dance track but fades on a cool whistling solo. What the hell is that about?

Who knows?

Who cares? It sounds great, anyway, and while Bowie's obviously off his face, he seems to be having some kind of tortured "European" fun. Party! However, side 1 of the vinyl copy ends with the preposterous and totally unbelievable Word On A Wing with it's...

"...I've-found-old-time-religion-and-I'm-top-bod-in-the-God-squad..."

...er...thing:

"...In this Age of Grand Illusion
You walked into my life out of my dreams

Just because I believe
Don't mean I don't think as well
Don't have to question everything
In Heaven and Hell

Lord I kneel and offer you
My word on a wing...

...And I'm ready to shape the scheme of things..."

                      Word On A Wing

Just before you flip the album over, I'm sure you'll be thinking:

"Dave, between you and me...I think it is the side-effects of the cocaine..."

Still, you can't wait for the next side because Station To Station is a really interesting trip.

As far as I can gather, the next track, TVC 15, is a real-life story from Iggy Pop, in which he had consumed so many drugs that he became convinced that the television had eaten his lady friend. 

Very Twilight Zone,  TVC 15 has a nutty uptempo jaunty beat, kooky backing vocals on the chorus and some neato-keano super-session ivories-tinklin' from Roy Bittan (from the Bruce Springsteen band).

You might be thinking that I'm sending Station To Station up. I'm not. It's just, if you've ever met somebody who's coked...or manic...you can't talk sense to them, you just go along for the ride...and wait till they come down. 

Actually, I love Station To Station! It's got great, moody rock sounds, none better than the stupendous, utterly moving, totally alienated Stay, probably my favorite David Bowie song, ever. The lyrics are minimal, inarticulate, emotional, pleading, stop-start grunts but convey enough to merge with the music, creating sadness as a dance-beat defined. Fan-tas-tic!

"...Stay - that's what I meant to say - or do something
But what I never say is stay this time
I really meant to so badly this time
'Cause you can never really tell when somebody
Wants something - or wants to stay..."

                                Stay

N.B.: On my Ryko CD, I'm lucky enough to have an even better LIVE version of Stay from 1976 as a bonus track but unfortunately it isn't included on the new remaster.

Topping off this piece of coke-genius is a cover of Wild Is The Wind, again, one of my favorite Bowie tracks and a smart move to have an understandable lyric:

"...With your kiss
My life begins
You're Spring to me
All things to me
Don't you know...
...You're Life itself

Like the leaf
Clings to the tree
Oh my darling
Cling to me
For we're like
Creature's in the wind

...And wild is the wind..."

       Wild Is The Wind

"...Wild Is The Wind' is the Johnny Matthis song brought to a different universe - a little goth, very moving and highly cool. Years ago, when I first heard this song on my car radio, I had to pull off the side of the road and reflect and absorb..." Amazon reviewer Jacqueline Turner

"...One of my all time favorite songs whenever I feel out-of-it with the world is Wild Is The Wind. It reminds me that here, I belong..." Amazon reviewer Evelyn-valerie N. D. Arnal

Bowie plays Wild Is The Wind as Latin, existential and really over-the-top, creating a humane, exaggerated end to the album, an insane work of fascist, disorientated pop. "The European Man is here." Dig it!

David Bowie: Station To Station

"...A very, very interesting album and totally impossible to classify..." Amazon.co.uk reviewer Magic Rat

"...Station To Station is, in many ways, the forgotten gem in David Bowie's catalog...(constructing) something entirely different, something bleak and dark and paranoid, yet still with a danceable, soulful edge to it. Funky backbeats, slap bass, hazy keyboards and overdriven, fierce guitars...mix to provide a background that is claustrophobic, bleak, and yet somehow oddly uplifting at times. The end result is an extraordinary album that points the way to the future..."  Amazon reviewer Michael Stack

"...A stupendous achievement, probably the best album of his career..." Amazon.co.uk reviewer pieter "Toypom"

"...David Bowie may have been all a-clutter in the mid-70's but as is the case with Station To Station, some brilliant music came out of it.This music is special becauses it's funky,rocking and dramatic all at the same time..." Amazon reviewer Andre S. Grindle

"...It's not perfect. But God damn, it's close..." Amazon.co.uk reviewer Christopher Morris

David Bowie Rolling Stone canvas edition art poster

Committed fans should also check out Hugo Wilcken's book about Bowie's cocaine years it's (sniff), really (sniff) interesting... 

Hugo Wilcken: David Bowie's Low

"...One day I blew my nose and half my brains came out." Los Angeles, 1976. David Bowie is holed up in his Bel Air mansion, drifting into drug-induced paranoia and confusion. Obsessed with black magic and the Holy Grail, he’s built an altar in the living room and keeps his fingernail clippings in the fridge. There are occasional trips out to visit his friend Iggy Pop in a mental institution. His latest album is the cocaine-fuelled Station To Station (Bowie: "I know it was recorded in LA because I read it was.")..." Amazon Blurb 

For more info, see:

• wikipedia Station To Station
• a slightly hostile Playboy interview with a coked-out-sounding Bowie on bisexuality, drugs, Mick Jagger etc.
• the original Station To Station promotional poster from RCA, presently selling for around $1,000
• a very brief but thorough look at Bowie's activities in 1976 from Roger Griffin
• Melody Maker interviews Bowie at the start of the Station To Station tour
• Extensive Rolling Stone article conducted during the recording of Station To Station + recording with Iggy Pop + breaking with manageer Tony Defries + chatting with (now) Rolling Stone Ron Wood + an outrageous rave about Evil(see original cover, directly below)

David Bowie Rolling Stone canvas edition art poster

• Circus Magazine talk to Station To Station co-producer Harry Maslin & guitarist Earl Slick
• Circus Magazine interviews Bowie on the eve of the Station To Station tour, talking about Iggy, Ziggy The Movie etc. 
• RAM Magazine reports on the first gig of the tour
• The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reports Bowie busted for dope
• In the U.K. for the English leg of the tour, great reading as  The Daily Express put Bowie under the microscopeand make him squirm
• The Sunday Times compare Shirley Bassey & The Thin White Duke