Bowie PDF Book from JFK247

work, the perfect gateway between American and
European music. The turnaround it represented with
the David Bowie of Ziggy Stardust – the man who
arrived in the studio with a dozen songs, written and
fully rehearsed – was complete. This was not an
exercise in songwriting: this was a sculpture, carved
out of sound. In less than three years, David had not
just changed genres; he had completely changed his
working methods, from start to finish. This was the
embodiment of the advice he’d given to Glenn
Hughes, earlier that year. ‘Do the contrary action –
do something you’re not used to. Let’s not make it
comfortable – let’s make it uncomfortable.’ Station
to Station’s chart performance was perhaps the
ultimate vindication of this advice, peaking at
number three after its release in January 1976: the
critical reception, too, was respectful, recognising
the bravery with which Bowie had staked out new
territory.
Yet the fate of David’s next recording showed the
downside of his high-risk approach. Since signing
up for The Man Who Fell to Earth, David had seen
the challenge of composing its soundtrack as an
intrinsic part of the project’s appeal. Around
November, he started work on the project, partnered
by Paul Buckmaster, who’d arranged the strings on
‘Space Oddity’. Alomar, Dennis Davis and George
Murray were called in for some of the recording,
augmented by J. Peter Robinson on piano. Roughly
six pieces were recorded, two of them funky-ish rock
instrumentals, a ballad instrumental, later named
‘Subterraneans’, and ‘Wheels’, ‘which had a gentle