Diamond Dogs (Enhanced, Original Recording Reissued)

by

David Bowie

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You know, I've had this album since it was released back in 1974 and thought, "cool album, man".

But since trying to rebuild an album collection into a cd collection of the same size (currently about 400 cd's vs 900 albums) I am always hesitant about replacing some of the albums I've had with the cd format, whether its due to money or the cd formatting (straight transfer, record company ripoffs vs. digital remastering, the only way to go).

And so it came to be with this version of 'Diamond Dogs' by the master of paranoia induced futuristic tales David Bowie.

Last week I bought the 1999 remastered edition and was taken aback by scope of this particular work. Forget what you may read by Rolling Stone or AMG, this is one Bowie's deepest works. The fact that he was rebuked by Orwell's widow is a moot point. Here Bowie is bridging the gap between the glam era of "Man who sold the World"-"Aladdin Sane" to the 'Plastic Soul' period of "Young Americans" and "Station to Station" without missing a beat. The only missed beat was with the music critics, as it always is.

Listen to the often cited song cycle of 'Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing-reprise' if you don't believe, he was already there. Not the transition album some expert critics would have you believe, the real transition album would have been "Aladdin Sane". Sure you get some bleed through of moments past but this collection isn't built upon the past but pushing forward. I fail to find any music during the 'Thin White Duke' period that has as much soul or energy put into it as the aforementioned songs set of ST/C/ST-R or "We are the Dead", any of which would have been quite at home on either "Young Americans" or "Station to Station".

There are sure fire rockers included within this set as well, with "Rebel Rebel", "Diamond Dogs" and "1984", but personaaly the most overlooked gem on this entire set would have to be the track "Big Brother". The second line of the song even tells the listeners and critics "Don't think of last years capers, give me steel...," but I think the best passage of the song is the acoustic bridge in the middle of the song wherein its almost as if David were talking to his critics and especially his fans, face to face and says:

'I know you think you're awfully square

But you've made everyone and you've been everywhere

Lord I'd think you'd overdose if you knew what's going down'

And then the song slams back into the chorus with the bass and guitar to finish the song and end the collection with the "Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family". An incredible tour through the mind of a truly under appreciated artist in his own time, but isn't that always the s.o.s, Shake it up, move it up, brother!

Diamond Dogs is somewhat problematic for me. It's a concept album, perhaps Bowie's most theatrical, that marked a turn of direction away from the Ziggy-glam period and hinted at the "plastic soul" era of Young Americans. But while there are some excellent songs on Diamond Dogs and the concept is good, there is a lot of show tune-like music that focuses too much on vocal histrionics and musical bombast for my taste. Because some songs were written for the abandonned concept album 1984 might explain the change of direction and the mannerist quality to some of the more over-the-top songs. But Diamond Dogs is also a document of it's time: Bowie was moving away from glam and rock and towards a different aesthetic.

Unfortunately none of the songs on Diamond Dogs resonate with me as did the best from Ziggy or from Alladin Sane. I lay some of the blame on the absence of guitarist Mick Ronson. Bowie does a credible job on guitar but the rock that Mick would have brought to the mix just isn't there.

Ultimately Diamond Dogs is good but has, for me, some things going against it. Mick Ronson is missing, some of the music is overly showtune theatrical and emotionally the album is quite a downer, the primary theme being societal decay. On the plus side, Diamond Dogs is lyrically and thematically ambitious, there are some very good tunes on this album and David sings well. But there's just not enough rock and roll and I miss it.