David Bowie's Low & Why Brian Eno Just Might Be Jesus

Brian Eno has magical powers. And I think he might be immortal. Plus, he's got a huge collection of vintage pornography. Is the guy weird? Yep. But he has his fingerprints all over the genesis of the music considered by many to be the best, most groundbreaking in the (western) world--David Bowie, Talking Heads, Roxy Music, U2, John Cale (even Microsoft had him make music for Windows). Eno's own music and collaborative projects are also impressively numerous and diverse. But beneath all the production credits, solo work, and collaborative projects, Eno did something to which I will forever be indebted as a music enthusiast: he pioneered ambient music as we know it today. Through albums like 1978's Ambient 1: Music for Airports, Eno defined this genre. And it's not just that he pioneered ambient music, it's that he introduced ambient music to other artists' palettes, helping them expand their sound and making it more dynamic by, well, scaling it back. If this isn't a miracle I don't know what is. 


That being said, there's something appropriate about a David Bowie record on which Eno guests (not produces), that's called Low. This record doesn't reach for the stars like Ziggy Stardust, it is contained and self-reflective, mirroring the lows Bowie was feeling during the recording process. Released in 1977, just a year after the brilliant Station To Station, and produced by Tony Visconti (T. Rex, U2, Adam Ant, Morrissey, Paul McCartney), Low is a record of distinct sides. The first side was written almost exclusively by Bowie, while the second side was written with Eno. And while Eno's influence on the second side is apparent, particularly in the darkly ambient "Warszawa," (the original name used by Joy Division before they changed their name), it's difficult not to think he influenced Bowie's idea of what a record should sound like. I once heard the record described as "Eno masquerading as Bowie," though I think it may be true the other way around. "Speed of Life," "Sound & Division," and "A New Career In New Town" are some of my favorite tracks on the record, but its brilliance lies in just how diverse and ahead of its time it was. Oh, and Iggy Pop guests. I can't recommend it more, and I hope you enjoy the two tracks I've included below. I plan to do a more extensive post on some of my favorite Brian Eno records at a later date.

Artist: David Bowie
Album: Low
Year: 1977
Label: RCA/Rykodisk/EMI









Track Listsing
Speed of Life
Breaking Glass
What in the World
Sound & Division
Always Crashing In The Same Care
Be My Wife
A New Career In New Town
Warszawa
Art Decade
Weeping Wall
Subterraneans