Station to Station - 1976

This is a weird album, which shouldn’t work. For one thing, it came off the back of the travesty that is Young Americans. For another, it sees Dave-oh lazily going back to doing ‘another character’. Perhaps he thought it would win back his alienated fan base? It’s widely reported that the Bow-ster only had a couple of songs when he went into the studio and that he and the rest of the band were massive cocaine fiends at the time.
So this album shouldn’t work. But it does. It honestly does.

What’s Good about it?
‘Golden years’ is a killer groove and appears to achieve in one song everything that Bowie failed to do over the whole course of the Young Americans album. Probably his best single since ‘Jean Geanie’.
‘Station to Station’ is like ‘Width of a Circle part 2’, a colossal opening track that never out stays it’s welcome.
‘TVC15’ is pure rock pop about Iggy Pop’s girl friend being swallowed by a telly. Who could ask for more?

What’s bad?
Not much. It lacks some of the energy of the earlier albums like Man Who Sold the World or the excitement of Ziggy Stardust. But it feels like I’m just picking holes.

How many good songs?
7 out of 7. Not bad huh.

Bowie-o-meter: 89 Ziggys, all pretending to be trapped in a big glass box

Station to Station is a classy album where the whole is greater then the sum of it’s parts, making it one of those records that rewards repeated listening.