Review: David Bowie – Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) (1980)

Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) is David Bowie’s 14th studio album.

Scary Monster (And Super Creeps) is Bowie’s first album after the so-called Berlin Trilogy. The first two albums of the experimental Berlin trilogy, Low (1977) and Heroes (1979), received great acclaim, but the reception of the final part of the trilogy, Lodger (1979), was more lukewarm. This was a good moment for Bowie to change direction again.

Lodger saw tensions rise between Bowie and Brian Eno, the visionary producer central to the Berlin Trilogy, and Eno was no longer involved in Scary Monsters. However, Bowie’s old trusted recording engineer/producer Tony Visconti is still on board, as are the core band members Dennis Davis (drums), George Murray (bass), and Carlos Alomar (guitars). On Lodger, Robert Fripp’s replacement as lead guitarist, Adrian Belew, has been replaced by… well, Robert Fripp. Another returnee can be heard on the album, as pianist Roy Bittan, who last played on Station To Station (1976), also plays on a few tracks.

After the Berlin Trilogy, Bowie heads into slightly more commercial waters with Scary Monsters. Whereas the songs on the Berlin Trilogy were constructed very spontaneously using various experimental methods (e.g., randomness and Eno’s Oblique Strategies cards), this time Bowie worked on the song material in a more traditional way and was well prepared when he arrived at the studio. The result is a more straightforward and conventional album than its predecessors. Of course, straightforwardness and conventionality are relative, and the vibe is still quite experimental. Scary Monsters is an almost perfect combination of the more experimental elements of the previous two albums and simply ingenious pop hooks. Viscount’s production is also very successful, and Bowie’s songs are embellished with a variety of small effects that have also stood the test of time surprisingly well.

Read also: Review: Scott Walker – Tilt (1995)

Robert Fripp, known from King Crimson, is the not-so-secret weapon of Scary Monsters. Fripp’s fierce guitar playing elevates Bowie’s magnificent songs far beyond pop mediocrity. Fripp plays the role of a sound terrorist on the album, splashing wild and unrestrained solos throughout, which are among the finest moments of his career. Fripp’s guitar is heard much more on Scary Monsters than on ”Heroes”, and Fripp plays impressively on all but two of the album’s tracks.

A particularly memorable solo can be heard on the title track, where Fripp’s shredding practically carries the song. At times, it even feels as if Fripp is sabotaging the commercial potential of the album! Bowie has stated that Fripp ”sprayed” his guitar throughout the album, which seems very descriptive and apt, especially since the album begins with the hissing and rattling sound of spray paint cans.

However, the most famous and beloved song on Scary Monsters is “Ashes To Ashes,” which Fripp was not counted on to disrupt. Continuing the story of Major Tom (whom we first encountered in Bowie’s 1969 classic ”Space Oddity”), ”Ashes To Ashes” is one of the finest pop songs of all time. The funky, pulsating song features Bowie’s intricately layered vocals and the textural and subtle guitar synthesizer artistry of classically trained guitarist Chuck Hammer, who was recruited from Lou Reed’s band and recorded multiple layers of guitar. Oh, and of course, there’s the truly delicious and laconic chorus.

Ashes to ashes, funk to funky
We know Major Tom’s a junkie
Strung out in heaven’s high
Hitting an all-time low

Alongside Nimibiisi and ”Ashes To Ashes,” the third song worthy of special mention is ”It’s No Game (Part 1),” which kicks off the album with a bang. The song is impressive not only because of Fripp’s violently buzzing and howling electric guitar and Bowie’s emphatic vocal performance, which at times grows into outright roaring, but also because of Michi Hirota’s strange and emphatic Japanese spoken word recitation. Together with Bowie’s vocals (which translate Hirota’s lyrics into English), Hirota’s emotionless and clearly articulated voice creates a truly fascinating effect. A brilliant move! At the end, there is a delicious moment when Fripp’s oppressively dissonant guitar loop is stopped by Bowie himself as he shouts ”SHUT UP!” twice at the top of his lungs. A great song.

Read also:

“It’s No Game (Part 1),” “Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps),” and “Ashes To Ashes” are songs above all others, but almost all of the other material is also astonishingly high quality and interesting. Only the cover song “Kingdom Come” doesn’t particularly thrill me, but even that is a decent rock song in its own right. “Kingdom Come” was originally composed by Television guitarist Tom Verlaine for his first solo album (1979). Bowie asked Verlaine to play the guitars on his own version as well, and Verlaine did come to the sessions, but he didn’t get anything done, so Fripp ended up playing the solos on that song as well.

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) takes Bowie well into the 80s, and when you look at his catalog of 14 studio albums at this point, you can’t help but marvel at the speed with which he made records, and with very little repetition. It’s a cliché to call David Bowie the ”chameleon of rock,” but his achievements by 1980 speak more than enough in favor of that title. In my own books, Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) easily ranks among Bowie’s five best albums.

Best tracks: ”It’s No Game (Part 1)”, ”Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)”, Ashes To Ashes”, ”Fashion”, ”Teenage Wildlife”, ”Scream Like A Baby”, ”It’s No Game (Part 2)”,

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Author: JANNE YLIRUUSI
Read also: Review: Peter Gabriel – i/o (2023)

A-puoli

  1. ”It’s No Game (No. 1)” 4:20
  2. ”Up the Hill Backwards” 3:15
  3. ”Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)” 5:12
  4. ”Ashes to Ashes” 4:25
  5. ”Fashion” 4:49

B-puoli

  1. ”Teenage Wildlife” 6:56
  2. ”Scream Like a Baby” 3:35
  3. ”Kingdom Come” 3:45
  4. ”Because You’re Young” 4:54
  5. ”It’s No Game (No. 2)” 4:22

David Bowie: vocals, synthesizers, Mellotron, electric piano, piano, synthesizer bass, sound effects, backing vocals, saxophone Dennis Davis: drums George Murray: bass guitar Carlos Alomar: lead and rhythm guitars Chuck Hammer: guitar synthesizer (”Ashes to Ashes” and ”Teenage Wildlife”) Robert Fripp: guitar (”Fashion,” ”It’s No Game,” ”Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps),” ”Kingdom Come,” ”Up the Hill Backwards,” and ”Teenage Wildlife”) Roy Bittan: piano (”Ashes to Ashes,” ”Teenage Wildlife,” and ”Up the Hill Backwards”) Andy Clark: synthesizer (”Fashion,” ”Scream Like a Baby,” ”Ashes to Ashes,” and ”Because You’re Young”) Pete Townshend: guitar (”Because You’re Young”) Tony Visconti: acoustic guitar (”Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)” and ”Up the Hill Backwards”), backing vocals Lynn Maitland: backing vocals Chris Porter: backing vocals Michi Hirota: vocals (”It’s No Game (No. 1)”)

Producer: David Bowie, Tony Visconti
Label: RCA

Jätä kommentti

Website Built with WordPress.com.

Ylös ↑