Scary Monsters
by David Bowie

A slightly underrated record. 'It's No game (no. 1)' sticks out to me because of how completely unhinged and deranged it is. (Edited)

From Pastiche 08/12/2015 12:57 | #147573 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Every album Bowie has released since 1980 seems to be labelled "the best since Scary Monsters".
This is the standard to which all modern Bowie albums are immediately compared to. Bowie as an artist combines both the pop sensibilty seen three years later with the creativity and originality of the Berlin trilogy. This album fits the chronology perfectly in one of Bowie most significant works in his entire career.

Straight away you can tell this album though, is still a world away from Let's Dance. The screams on 'It's No Game' have no place in a pop song. However, the accessibility of 'Up the Hill Backwards', 'Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)' and the weirdly wonderful 'Ashes to Ashes' make the album irresitable as oppose to an aggressive assault on the ears. 'Fashion' without the guitars would fit right in on Let's Dance but does so equally sandwiched between the album's two best tracks. 'Teenage Wildlife', an apparent reworking of 'Heroes' is desperate and epic, a real highlight.

The only downside to the album is the second half.
The unique sound of the album is never relinquished but the quality of these songs, however, make the album stagnate slightly. It's the kind of album you start listening to and remember fondly only to find yourself tuning out shortly after the halfway mark. That is not to say that there are any bad songs on this album, and 'Scream Like a Baby' fits in with the tone perfectly but the second half is certainly not as consistently great as the first half. The cover of 'Kingdom Come' is nice but unneeded.

In short, this is an album with more character than arguably any other David Bowie work. It is recognisable within a few seconds whichever song is played from it. It is an iconic, artistic album, more than just 'the last great Bowie album'. The instrumentation suggests something dangerous, fitting in perfectly with the album's title. And that cover art...gorgeous.

8/10

The last iconic Bowie album before Outside and The Next Day. David Bowie missed a bit of direction needed in the 80's, but this album does NOT succumb to that. This is a good album, and a quite experimental one at that.

This album is definitely something new for Bowie at that point, instrumental experiments are mostly successful and they sound incredible, but vocal experiments are either incredible or horrible. Best tracks are Up The Hill Backwards, Scary Monsters, Ashes To Ashes, Fashion and hidden gem - Because You're Young. (Edited)

From DeusExMackia TOP 100 COMMENTER 11/09/2015 21:26 | #152716 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

It's a fantastic balance of experimental new wave and traditional Bowie brilliance. The result is easy listening, big and boomy rock and pop, with every track distinct enough to give him scope to flesh the sound out properly. A properly nice album just to listen to.