Product Description

LODGER (1979) was third in Bowie's Berlin trilogy, his collaboration with legendary producer/experimentalist Brian Eno,which began with HEROES and LOW (both released in 1977). While those dark records were heavy on alien-sounding instrumentals, LODGER had none, and even contained songs that seemedrelatively straightforward. Considered inaccessible at the time, LODGER now sounds like a classic, transitional Bowie album, if only for its rich spirit of experimentation. From the Middle Eastern strains of "Yassassin" to the bizarre wordplay of "African Night Flight", LODGER feels like a journey through strange lands.
Songs like "Boys Keep Swinging" (later covered by ex-Bangle Susanna Hoffs) and "DJ" have the structure of traditional rock songs, but the odd textures, rough edges and dissonant elements make them into something richer and stranger. "Look Back in Anger", with fierce guitar playing by Adrian Belew, became a staple of Bowie's live concerts for years to come. "Red Money" is Bowie's adaptation of Iggy Pop's decadent, futuristic "Sister Midnight" from THEIDIOT. The anthemic "Red Sails" (co-written with Eno) has amajestic sense of forward motion, its glorious crescendo and fadeout providing the record's most spine-tingling moments.

Track Listing

1. Fantastic Voyage
2. African Night Flight
3. Move On
4. Yassassin (Turkish for: Long Live)
5. Red Sails
6. DJ
7. Look Back in Anger
8. Boys Keep Swinging
9. Repetition
10. Red Money

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18985 in Music
• Released on: 1999-09-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced

Customer Reviews

bit of a classic really
ok so the production is kind of muddy and crap-sounding but this some of the best Bowie songs:Fantastic Voyage,Repetition,African Night Flight,D.J.,etc...

Bowie's weakest album of the 70's
Lodger isn't a bad album, but is somewhat disappointing after the 2 stunningly original Berlin albums and his previous 70's output. It feels rather lacklustre and many of the songs just aren't that memorable. Fantastic Voyage is a good opener and Look Back In Anger is superb, but the rest are rather murky, odd but rather untuneful tracks. I thought this album might be a grower but after many years, my opinion of it remains the same: occasionally interesting, but generally a disappointment.

Artful lodger
I recall buying the single 'Boys Keep Swinging' and playing it for weeks. In the wake of its success, I was surprised that 'Lodger' seemed to pass everyone by, more so than just how conventional the b-side, 'Fantastic Journey', sounded. It isn't so difficult to understand now, though, why the album seems to have a reputation for being wedged in at the end of the 1970s. Unlike its two predecessors, 'Lodger' has a jarring disparity of styles. The exotic 'African Night Flight' and 'Yassassin' provide a stark contrast to the album's more straightforward moments. Though each track benefits from the usual care and attention, the sense of fragmentation gives 'Lodger' an unfinished air, as if Bowie hadn't decided how he wanted it to sound. Brian Eno was reputedly none too impressed with the finished item because some of the more daring material was axed in favour of the straighter stuff.
Even so, there are several great moments on 'Lodger', Adrian Belew's guitar-throttling solo on 'Boys Keep Swinging' only adds to the riotous feel of the song and the follow-up single, 'DJ', has Bowie's delicate offbeat magic behind it. Bowie's experimentation doesn't work as well as on previous albums, but 'Lodger' is certainly worth a spin.