“Heroes” - 1977

“Heroes”

See those speech marks? Apparently they’re ironic. Hmmmmm.

Following on from the triumphant experimentation of ‘Low’, “Heroes” was released just 10 months later. The album is the only one of the ‘Berlin trilogy’ that lives up to it’s name as it was recorded and fiddled with in West Berlin, a mere stones throw from the dreaded Wall. The same wall David Hasselhoff would one day tear down with his bare teeth during his frantic search for freedom.
“Heroes” followed the previous albums format with one side devoted to songs and the other to heavily Eno influenced instrumentals. The title track is one of the best loved Bowie singles and was named his best song ever last April by Mojo magazine.
It was the NME album of the year back in ’77 and has 5 stars on the American ‘Allmusic’ guide.
I flippin loved ‘Low’ so I came to this with my tongue hanging out, eagerly expecting to lap up more of the same.

What’s bad about it?
First track ‘Beauty and the Beast’ gets things off to a very under whelming start, featuring dire lyrics and a terrible (and terribly loud) female backing singer. Closing track ‘The Secret Life of Arabia’ is equally naff, a piece of cod-world music with more nonsense lyrics. Any album book ended by these two duffers would have a hard time. The rest of “Heroes” is an even split between decent stuff, some of it very good, and dull filler. Ultimately it’s the filler tracks that are the biggest problem with the album, making “Heroes” a highly forgettable album.

What’s Good?
Who doesn’t love the title track? The production job is a land mark in rock history and the song itself isn’t too bad either.
‘Joe the Lion’ is a crackin’ song, as desolate as “Heroes” (the song) but with out the star crossed lovers. Apparently it’s a tribute to an artist who had himself nailed to his VW Beetle in 1974.
‘V2 Schneider’ is a fun instrumental dedicated to the Kraftwerk co-founder and ‘Moss Garden’ is among the best of the Eno-Bowie instrumentals.
But 4 good tracks is a pretty poor showing.

How many good tracks?
4 out of 10

Bowie-o-meter: 45 Ziggys.

Before I knew a single Bowie album track I knew the legend of “Heroes” and it’s status as a ‘classic album’. It beats me how such a bland collection of material ever made a dent in popular culture. For me this is one of Bowie’s weakest albums yet. I can’t even think of anything pithy to say about it, it’s that forgettable.