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Heroes
: Ah, the second edition to the Bowie/Eno trilogy, thy name is 'Heroes'. This has a slightly different feel than "Low", but that doesn't mean anything. Once again, Bowie is doing experiments with music, mixing guitar stylings, odd synthetics, and unusual lyrics into his visions. The first five songs and the song at the end entitled "The Secret Life Of Arabia" go along these guidelines. The other tracks follow that mostly synthetic, highly ambient style of 'light, color, and mood' expresion. (These tracks are 'Sense Of Doubt', 'Moss Garden', and 'Neukoln') 'V2 Schneider' doesn't follow either, but is mainly an atmospheric experiment with guitars. (It sounds like the theme song to a late 70's sci-fi TV Show. "Dr. Who" or "Red Dwarf", perhaps?) All in all, this is an artistic sequel to "Low".
David Bowie's catalogue is very diverse in terms of styles and personas he's adopted over the years. Most people familiar with his work are likely to name 'Ziggy Stardust,' 'Station To Station' or even 'Let's Dance' as milestone albums. But when someone mentions "Heroes," one immediately thinks of the monolithic title track, which to this day retains a place in David's live shows. In my opinion, 'Heroes,' the album, has always been rather overlooked; the spotlight being stolen by it's sister, 'Low.' And while 'Low' is most definitely a masterpiece, 'Heroes' is an excellent work in it's own right and deserves re-evaluation. 'Heroes' takes the listener away to an alternative world filled with chaos ("Beauty and the Beast"), desperation ("Blackout"), nostalgia ("Sons of the Silent Age") and humor ("Secret Life of Arabia"). David's voice hits startling new heights here, and he's singing as though his life depended on it. The ambient instrumental tracks range from murky ("Sense of Doubt") to soothing ("Moss Garden") to horrific ("Neukoln"). I find it almost a cathartic experience listening to 'Heroes,' for it's as if David is purging all these raw emotions out of his system and trying to make the best of a difficult situation (relevant to his circumstances during the time the album was recorded). Depending on my mood, it's not uncommon that I feel either drained or refreshed after listening to the album in one sitting. 'Heroes' evokes a whole gamut of feelings, and is a most provocative listening experience. It's a wild runaway-train of an album, by an artist who was always far ahead of his time. Highly recommended to all DB fans (new or old) or anyone who likes music that takes you on an adventure.
Trillions of words have already been written about why and how "Heroes" is one of the greatest and most influential "art rock" albums, ever. I agree, but can't add anything to what's already been written, except to say that after all these years, the album is still an aesthetic masterpiece. It is worth trying to hear it with fresh ears. Sure, we've all heard the title track so many times that we can play it in our heads, but try to hear it "for the first time" again. Who else in popular music expresses themselves like that anymore, with such high drama, conviction, emotion, and sincerity? Hardly anyone in my view. Who is capable of composing something as oddly beautiful and compelling as "Joe the Lion," or "V2 Schneider?" Not many, if any. I was quite surprised to find fellow reviewers disparaging the lack of bonus tracks that the '80's Ryko rereleases included. Very, very few of those were worth listening to. The "remixes" were especially discardable embarassments. It's true that "Abdulmajid," an instrumental from the "Heroes" sessions included on the Ryko edition was a worthy addition, but the fact is that unless one took the time to program it (and the other, godawful bonus tracks) out, the original vinyl sequence, and thus, emotional/narrative flow of the work was destroyed. With this loving new edition, we thirty-something old-timers can enjoy the original program without having to edit out those Ryko additions. Perhaps this matters less with "Heroes" than other Bowie classics, but this buyer is quite grateful to have the original album sequence restored.
Something David Bowie achieved here is nothing like anything else he had or has since done,even with Brian Eno as
his collaborator."Beauty And The Beast" and "Joe The Lion" are
bracing,dissonant hardcore rock that's rigid,frozen and doesn't
do alot of "rolling".An Oriental-sounding ambinet instrumental
suite of side B adds varriety making way for the curious
dance-rock of "Secret Life Of Arabia" but it's the albums tital
track that apidomizes everything else here-a big,open-ended sound
that even I have trouble putting into words.It was'nt only a
very odd hit for Bowie but an odd hit PERIOD."Heroes" simply must
be heard!And if you ahve it,you don't really have much of a choice.
"Heroes" is a superb album, point blank. You will love "Heroes", the title track, and melt into sweetly gloomy reverie as you get enveloped by the instrumental tracks. Brrrrr! And "V-2 Schneider" is a rocking instrumental which deserves massive amounts of airplay somewhere. The late seventies were Mr Bowie's best period in many ways. So, when Rykodisc re-issued "Heroes" in 1991 (or sometime then) with two bonus tracks it was a genuine boon to hear extra material from the Bowie vaults at Bowie Mansions in Switzerland. There was "Abdulamjid" a scintillating eastern-sounding instrumental, and a nice reworking of "Joe the Lion" on that re-issue. Very good stuff. But this EMI re-issue deletes the bonus tracks and offers us nicer pictures, some undetectable improvement in audio fidelity and little else. This is a deeply cynical re-issue. Come the Duke's 60th birthday can I expect another re-issue with the bonus tracks put back? If you don't own "Heroes" then you can only thrill yourself with this record. But remember, someone somewhere has a better edition.
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