Reality   I really hate this album. Until now I'd thought that Never Let Me Down was as low as Bowie could sink. Thing is, at least that 1987 turkey had one top notch song amidst the dreck. Reality is littered with also-rans, tracks that have one or two good things about them but never really get going, half-songs that sound like maybe they could have gone somewhere given the right approach. But it doesn't matter what the marshmallow tastes like when you bite into your Smores and find a big old turd inside. Time after time I found myself saying, "Why am I listening to this?" I'd skip to the next track and after a minute or so I'd find myself saying the same thing, "This is horrible". New Killer Star is supposed to be the lead single from the album but it sounds like an uninspired pastiche of things that are supposed to make a song sound catchy. Never Get Old is among the more passable tracks; this whole album is passable if you like kidney stones. Disco King reminds me of the Frank Zappa phrase, "Make a jazz noise here". I love the playing of Mike Garson in general, and his own jazz CDs, that's not the problem. Is it possible that this material was simply unsalvageable? Squeezing it into a west coast cool jazz kind of thing doesn't make the material any less polyester. The Loneliest Guy has gorgeous music that would have made a memorable instrumental but once the mope-vocals kick in it becomes a moot point. Did you know that Jonathan Richman's Pablo Picasso is a funny song? You wouldn't know it from the we're-so-alt version here. Do yourself a favor and check out the recording by the band Burning Sensations on the Repo Man soundtrack. The second "limited edition" CD fares a little bit better but not much. Fly improves with repeated plays. The remake of Rebel Rebel starts off sounding suspiciously like Rick Springfield's Jessie's Girl. Word has it that this same recording appears on the Charlie's Angels 2 soundtrack; it's optional at best. The two CD version of this album is not worth the extra couple bucks. There isn't one cut on this album that I would put on a mix tape or CD. Unlike Never Let Me Down, this isn't a betrayal, this is just a plain old case of "album that sucks". One online friend of mine says it sounds like a rush job to justify a tour and a holiday season. Every time Bowie comes out with a new album I know that there are probably subtleties in the music that will cause it to grow on me over time, that I'll understand it better a year from now. But with Reality I can easily commit to hating this album for the rest of my life. Bowie has at least one more timeless album in him. This ain't it. Reality - CD1 New Killer Star Pablo Picasso Never Get Old The Loneliest Guy Looking For Water She'll Drive The Big Car Days Fall Dog Bombs The Moon Try Some, Buy Some Reality Bring Me The Disco King Reality - CD2 Fly Queen Of All The Tarts - (Overture) Rebel Rebel - (2003 version)                     Links             Bowie Music Question?                             Home     Designed for viewing with Netscape Navigator 3.0 Copyright © 1996-2004, Philip Drenth. All rights reserved.