David Bowie's Low (33 1/3) - Softcover

Wilcken, Hugo

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0826416845 ISBN 13: 9780826416841

Publisher: Continuum, 2005

Synopsis

Los Angeles, 1976. David Bowie is holed up in his Bel-Air mansion, drifting into drug-induced paranoia and confusion. Obsessed with black magic and the Holy Grail, he's built an altar in the living room and keeps his fingernail clippings in the fridge. There are occasional trips out to visit his friend Iggy Pop in a mental institution. His latest album is the cocaine-fuelled Station To Station (Bowie: "I know it was recorded in LA because I read it was"), which welds R&B rhythms to lyrics that mix the occult with a yearning for Europe, after three mad years in the New World.

Bowie has long been haunted by the angst-ridden, emotional work of the Die Brucke movement and the Expressionists. Berlin is their spiritual home, and after a chaotic world tour, Bowie adopts this city as his new sanctuary. Immediately he sets to work on Low, his own expressionist mood-piece.

About this title

About the Author:

Hugo Wilcken is a Paris-based, Australian-born writer and translator. His first novel, The Execution, was published by HarperCollins in 2002. ("A remarkably accomplished debut heralding the arrival of a noteworthy talent"- Publishers Weekly.) It was well reviewed, and has since been translated into Dutch and German. A second novel, Colony, was published in August 2007.

Review:

"David Bowie's album Low,released in 1977, is an inspired high point for the singer/actor/musician/icon,yet the record still fails to generate the attention it deserves. HugoWilcken's Low will hopefully put anend to the long neglect....his book will captivate Bowie fans and the musicallyinquisitive looking for a lost gem from a name artist. Fascinating for rockhistorian types who are drawn in to the never-ending debate of who influencedwho, and those that simply want to know the stories behind the songs. Devoteeswill be anxious to rediscover a forgotten favorite....an absorbing and appealinganalysis, thankfully sans the type of mind-numbing prose that often accompaniesthis type of scrutiny. Once Bowie's long career has concluded Low will surely stand as his creativeapex, and Hugo Wilcken's book will be its knowing and worthy companion. — Drastic Plastic Press

“David Bowie’s album Low,released in 1977, is an inspired high point for the singer/actor/musician/icon,yet the record still fails to generate the attention it deserves. HugoWilcken’s Low will hopefully put anend to the long neglect....his book will captivate Bowie fans and the musicallyinquisitive looking for a lost gem from a name artist. Fascinating for rockhistorian types who are drawn in to the never-ending debate of who influencedwho, and those that simply want to know the stories behind the songs. Devoteeswill be anxious to rediscover a forgotten favorite....an absorbing and appealinganalysis, thankfully sans the type of mind-numbing prose that often accompaniesthis type of scrutiny. Once Bowie’s long career has concluded Low will surely stand as his creativeapex, and Hugo Wilcken’s book will be its knowing and worthy companion. – Drastic Plastic Press

About this edition

• Publisher: Continuum
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0826416845
• ISBN 13: 9780826416841
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144