126-489: The Berlin Trilogy consists of three studio albums by English musician David Bowie : Low , "Heroes" (both 1977) and Lodger (1979). Bowie recorded the albums in collaboration with English musician Brian Eno and American producer Tony Visconti . The trilogy originated following Bowie's move from Los Angeles to Europe with American singer Iggy Pop to rid themselves of worsening drug addiction. Influences included
252-454: A ballet . Both the ballet and Symphony were greeted with acclaim. Glass described Low and "Heroes" as "part of the new classics of our time". Bowie and Glass remained in contact until 2003 and discussed making a third symphony, which never came to fruition. After Bowie's death in 2016, Glass said the two had talked about adapting Lodger for the third symphony, adding "the idea has not totally disappeared". In January 2018, Glass announced
378-420: A "live" sound. Recordings, including live, may contain editing, sound effects, voice adjustments, etc. With modern recording technology , artists can be recorded in separate rooms or at separate times while listening to the other parts using headphones ; with each part recorded as a separate track . Album covers and liner notes are used, and sometimes additional information is provided, such as analysis of
504-801: A "rebellion inspiration", Ian Astbury of the Cult and Robyn Hitchcock . John Lennon and U2 have also acknowledged the album's influence when making their records Double Fantasy (1980) and Achtung Baby (1991), respectively. Scott Walker used "Heroes" as "the reference album" when making the Walker Brothers ' Nite Flights (1978), according to engineer Steve Parker. Lodger ' s use of world music has been cited by Trynka as influencing Talking Heads and Spandau Ballet , while Spitz views it as influential on Talking Heads' Remain in Light (1980) and Paul Simon 's Graceland (1986). In
630-603: A Bowie album just as much as a Pop one. Although the Berlin Trilogy is said to comprise Low , "Heroes" , and Lodger , O'Leary argues the true Berlin Trilogy consists of The Idiot , Low , and "Heroes" , with Lust for Life a "supplement" and Lodger an "epilogue". The first album in the trilogy was Low , most of which was recorded at the Château, with the sessions completing at Hansa in Berlin. At this point, Bowie
756-458: A brown heavy paper sleeve with a large hole in the center so the record's label could be seen. The fragile records were stored on their sides. By the mid-1920s, photo album publishers sold collections of empty sleeves of heavier paper in bound volumes with stiff covers slightly larger than the 10" popular records. (Classical records measured 12".) On the paper cover in small type were the words "Record Album". Now records could be stored vertically with
882-412: A collection of pieces or songs on a single record was called an "album"; the word was extended to other recording media such as compact disc, MiniDisc , compact audio cassette, 8-track tape and digital albums as they were introduced. An album (Latin albus , white), in ancient Rome, was a board chalked or painted white, on which decrees, edicts, and other public notices were inscribed in black. It
1008-403: A compilation of songs created by any average listener of music. The songs on a mixtape generally relate to one another in some way, whether it be a conceptual theme or an overall sound. After the introduction of Compact discs, the term "Mixtape" began to apply to any personal compilation of songs on any given format. The sales of Compact Cassettes eventually began to decline in the 1990s, after
1134-424: A current or former member of a musical group which is released under that artist's name only, even though some or all other band members may be involved. The solo album appeared as early as the late 1940s. A 1947 Billboard magazine article heralded " Margaret Whiting huddling with Capitol execs over her first solo album on which she will be backed by Frank De Vol ". There is no formal definition setting forth
1260-561: A customer buys a whole album rather than just one or two songs from the artist. The song is not necessarily free nor is it available as a stand-alone download, adding also to the incentive to buy the complete album. In contrast to hidden tracks , bonus tracks are included on track listings and usually do not have a gap of silence between other album tracks. Bonus tracks on CD or vinyl albums are common in Japan for releases by European and North American artists; since importing international copies of
1386-461: A few hours to several years. This process usually requires several takes with different parts recorded separately, and then brought or " mixed " together. Recordings that are done in one take without overdubbing are termed "live", even when done in a studio. Studios are built to absorb sound, eliminating reverberation , to assist in mixing different takes; other locations, such as concert venues and some "live rooms", have reverberation, which creates
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#17327720337601512-405: A group of fans outside of London Victoria station , he was photographed making what some alleged to be a Nazi salute . Bowie denied this, saying that he was simply waving to fans and the photographer happened to take the photo while his arm was outstretched. As early as 1976, Bowie began disavowing his allegedly pro-fascist comments and said that he was misunderstood. In an interview that year in
1638-404: A major influence on the post-punk genre, inspiring artists like Joy Division and Gary Numan , elements of Lodger have been identified as a precursor to an increased interest in world music . The American composer and pianist Philip Glass adapted the three albums into classical symphonies. They were remastered in 2017 as part of the A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982) box set . I
1764-407: A medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette ), or digital . Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records (78s) collected in a bound book resembling a photo album ; this format evolved after 1948 into single vinyl long-playing (LP) records played at 33 + 1 ⁄ 3 rpm . The album
1890-407: A more pop-oriented direction for his next studio album, Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980), his first release after the Berlin Trilogy. The Berlin Trilogy initially received a mixed reception from music critics. Low divided critics; some, including Rolling Stone and NME were negative, while others, including Billboard and Sounds magazine, were positive. Initially, "Heroes"
2016-783: A proposed soundtrack album for The Man Who Fell to Earth , Bowie decided to move back to Europe. He began rehearsals for the Isolar tour to promote Station to Station in January 1976; the tour began on 2 February. While the tour was critically acclaimed, Bowie became a controversial figure during the tour. In his persona as the Thin White Duke , he made statements about Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany that some interpreted as expressing sympathy for or even promoting fascism . He later blamed his erratic behaviour during this period on his addictions and precarious mental state, saying, "I
2142-657: A single artist, genre or period, a single artist covering the songs of various artists or a single artist, genre or period, or any variation of an album of cover songs which is marketed as a "tribute". The Thin White Duke The Thin White Duke was the persona and character adopted by the English musician David Bowie for public appearances in the mid-1970s. Though the Duke is primarily identified with Bowie's 1976 album Station to Station and
2268-522: A single case, or a triple album containing three LPs or compact discs. Recording artists who have an extensive back catalogue may re-release several CDs in one single box with a unified design, often containing one or more albums (in this scenario, these releases can sometimes be referred to as a "two (or three)-fer"), or a compilation of previously unreleased recordings. These are known as box sets . Some musical artists have also released more than three compact discs or LP records of new recordings at once, in
2394-433: A solo album for several reasons. A solo performer working with other members will typically have full creative control of the band, be able to hire and fire accompanists, and get the majority of the proceeds. The performer may be able to produce songs that differ widely from the sound of the band with which the performer has been associated, or that the group as a whole chose not to include in its own albums. Graham Nash of
2520-414: A studio. However, the common understanding of a "live album" is one that was recorded at a concert with a public audience, even when the recording is overdubbed or multi-tracked. Concert or stage performances are recorded using remote recording techniques. Albums may be recorded at a single concert , or combine recordings made at multiple concerts. They may include applause, laughter and other noise from
2646-406: A theme such as the "greatest hits" from one artist, B-sides and rarities by one artist, or selections from a record label , a musical genre , a certain time period, or a regional music scene. Promotional sampler albums are compilations. A tribute or cover album is a compilation of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may involve various artists covering the songs of
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#17327720337602772-517: A third project with Pop in 1978, Lust for Life would be the pair's last official collaboration until the mid-1980s. As the second release of the Berlin Trilogy, "Heroes" (1977) expands on the material found on Low . Like its predecessor, it delves into art rock and experimental rock, while continuing Bowie's work in the electronic and ambient genres. The songs emphasise tone and atmosphere rather than guitar-based rock. However, they have been described as more positive in both tone and atmosphere than
2898-493: A time, and lived on a diet of red peppers, milk , and hard drugs. In subsequent interviews, he blamed his erratic behavior and fascination with Nazi Germany and the occult during his Thin White Duke period on drug-induced paranoia and depression, and claimed that his mental state was such that he could not remember the late-1975 recording sessions for Station to Station . "It was a dangerous period for me," he explained. "I
3024-516: A trend of shifting sales in the music industry , some observers feel that the early 21st century experienced the death of the album . An album may contain any number of tracks. In the United States, The Recording Academy 's rules for Grammy Awards state that an album must comprise a minimum total playing time of 15 minutes with at least five distinct tracks or a minimum total playing time of 30 minutes with no minimum track requirement. In
3150-430: A way of promoting the album. Albums have been issued that are compilations of older tracks not originally released together, such as singles not originally found on albums, b-sides of singles, or unfinished " demo " recordings. Double albums during the seventies were sometimes sequenced for record changers . In the case of a two-record set, for example, sides 1 and 4 would be stamped on one record, and sides 2 and 3 on
3276-580: Is any vocal content. A track that has the same name as the album is called the title track. A bonus track (also known as a bonus cut or bonus) is a piece of music which has been included as an extra. This may be done as a marketing promotion, or for other reasons. It is not uncommon to include singles, B-sides , live recordings , and demo recordings as bonus tracks on re-issues of old albums, where those tracks were not originally included. Online music stores allow buyers to create their own albums by selecting songs themselves; bonus tracks may be included if
3402-500: Is credited as co-author on four of the ten songs, leading biographer Thomas Jerome Seabrook to call this album the "truer" collaboration. Eno acted as "assistant director" for Bowie, giving feedback to the musicians and suggesting new and unusual ways to approach the tracks. One way was using Eno's Oblique Strategies cards. According to O'Leary, these cards were "part-fortune cookie, part- Monopoly 'Chance' cards", intended to spark creative ideas. Bowie improvised lyrics while standing at
3528-534: Is mentioned by name in the title track , he had first begun to adopt aspects of the persona during the tour supporting his Young Americans album in late 1974. The look and character of the Thin White Duke were also influenced by that of Thomas Jerome Newton, the humanoid alien played by Bowie in the film The Man Who Fell to Earth , which filmed in mid-1975. The Thin White Duke became a controversial figure due to ostensibly pro-fascist statements made by Bowie in press interviews during this period. Soon after making
3654-555: Is not necessarily just in MP3 file format, in which higher quality formats such as FLAC and WAV can be used on storage media that MP3 albums reside on, such as CD-R-ROMs , hard drives , flash memory (e.g. thumbdrives , MP3 players , SD cards ), etc. The contents of the album are usually recorded in a studio or live in concert, though may be recorded in other locations, such as at home (as with JJ Cale's Okie , Beck's Odelay , David Gray's White Ladder , and others), in
3780-424: Is now recognised as one of Bowie's greatest and most innovative records. The Quietus argues that Bowie created the blueprint "reinvention" album with Low , a record from an artist at the peak of their popularity that confounded the listening public's expectations. Furthermore, it "challeng[ed] the idea of what an album could be, in its structure and in its ingredients", a feat that would not be achieved again until
3906-402: Is recorded on both the "A" and "B" side of the tape, with cassette being "turned" to play the other side of the album. Compact Cassettes were also a popular way for musicians to record " Demos " or "Demo Tapes" of their music to distribute to various record labels, in the hopes of acquiring a recording contract . Compact cassettes also saw the creation of mixtapes , which are tapes containing
Berlin Trilogy - Misplaced Pages Continue
4032-504: The Daily Express , he explained that while performing in his various characters, "I'm Pierrot . I'm Everyman. What I'm doing is theatre, and only theatre ... What you see on stage isn't sinister. It's pure clown. I'm using myself as a canvas and trying to paint the truth of our time on it. The white face, the baggy pants – they're Pierrot, the eternal clown putting over the great sadness." In 1977 (after retiring
4158-569: The Brücke Museum , becoming in Sandford's words: "a prolific producer and collector of contemporary art ... Not only did he become a well-known patron of expressionist art , locked in Clos des Mésanges he began an intensive self-improvement course in classical music and literature , and started work on an autobiography." Eno played a greater role on "Heroes" than he had on Low . He
4284-832: The Record Plant in New York City. Many of the same musicians from the previous records returned for the Lodger sessions; a new addition was future King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew . The sessions saw a greater emphasis on Eno's Oblique Strategies cards: "Boys Keep Swinging" entailed band members swapping instruments, "Move On" used the chords from Bowie's 1972 composition " All the Young Dudes " played backwards, and "Red Money" took backing tracks from The Idiot track "Sister Midnight". Unlike "Heroes" , most of Lodger ' s lyrics were written late; they were unknown during
4410-520: The iPod , US album sales dropped 54.6% from 2001 to 2009. The CD is a digital data storage device which permits digital recording technology to be used to record and play-back the recorded music. Most recently, the MP3 audio format has matured, revolutionizing the concept of digital storage. Early MP3 albums were essentially CD-rips created by early CD- ripping software, and sometimes real-time rips from cassettes and vinyl. The so-called "MP3 album"
4536-565: The title track of Bowie's next album, Station to Station , and he appeared in that persona during the following Isolar Tour . Bowie was significantly influenced by William S. Burroughs , whom he met in 1973, enthusiastically incorporating his 'cut-up' technique as a method to harness unconscious creative processes. Stark suggests that Burroughs' reference to semen in Naked Lunch as 'the Thin White Rope' may have influenced
4662-524: The 1970s. Appraising the concept in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau said most "are profit-taking recaps marred by sound and format inappropriate to phonographic reproduction (you can't put sights, smells, or fellowship on audio tape). But for Joe Cocker and Bette Midler and Bob-Dylan -in-the-arena, the form makes a compelling kind of sense." Among
4788-591: The 1990s, Britpop bands Blur and Oasis would use aspects of Lodger tracks in their own recordings, including the former's 1997 single " M.O.R. " and the latter's 1996 single " Don't Look Back in Anger ". In 1992, the American composer and pianist Philip Glass composed a classical suite based on Low , titled "Low" Symphony . It was his first symphony and consisted of three movements, each based on three Low tracks. The Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra recorded
4914-443: The 25-minute mark. The album Dopesmoker by Sleep contains only a single track, but the composition is over 63 minutes long. There are no formal rules against artists such as Pinhead Gunpowder referring to their own releases under thirty minutes as "albums". If an album becomes too long to fit onto a single vinyl record or CD, it may be released as a double album where two vinyl LPs or compact discs are packaged together in
5040-411: The Berlin Trilogy, which he considered forerunners in the development of industrial rock , synth-pop and "ambient trance". In Stylus Magazine , Alfred Soto also noted the influence of the trilogy, alongside Bowie's earlier Diamond Dogs (1974), on gothic rock , stating that the "sepulchral baritone" of the records "rumbled beneath the desiccated landscapes created by The Mission U.K. , Fields of
5166-561: The Dark , Magazine , Gang of Four and Wire . Robert Smith of the Cure and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails have also acknowledged Low ' s influence on their respective records Seventeen Seconds (1980) and The Downward Spiral (1994). Artists inspired by "Heroes" include Andy McCluskey of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, who referred to the "unconscious influence" of Bowie on his singing style, Vince Clarke , who called it
Berlin Trilogy - Misplaced Pages Continue
5292-462: The Duke), Bowie stated that "I have made my two or three glib, theatrical observations on English society and the only thing I can now counter with is to state that I am not a fascist". In later years, Bowie called the mid-1970s "the darkest days of my life" due to "astronomical" usage of cocaine and amphetamines . For much of 1975, he was obsessed with Satanic symbols , remained awake for days at
5418-546: The German krautrock scene and the recent ambient releases of Eno. Both Low and "Heroes" experiment with electronic and ambient music, with conventional tracks on side one and instrumental pieces on side two. Lodger features a wide variety of musical styles with more accessible songs throughout; both sides are split thematically by the lyrics. King Crimson guitarists Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew contributed lead guitar to "Heroes" and Lodger , respectively. During
5544-496: The Hollies described his experience in developing a solo album as follows: "The thing that I go through that results in a solo album is an interesting process of collecting songs that can't be done, for whatever reason, by a lot of people". A solo album may also represent the departure of the performer from the group. A compilation album is a collection of material from various recording projects or various artists, assembled with
5670-533: The Mountain sessions. The lyrics have been interpreted as covering two major themes—travel on side one and critiques of Western civilisation on side two. Biographer Nicholas Pegg writes of side one's theme of travel, that the songs revive a "perennial motif" prevailing throughout the Berlin Trilogy, highlighting the line, "I've lived all over the world, I've left every place" from the Low track " Be My Wife ", pointing out
5796-479: The Nephilim , Sisters of Mercy and, most famously, Bauhaus ." Both Low and The Idiot have been considered major influences on the post-punk genre. Stylus Magazine regards Low as a crucial influence on the post-rock genre, which would come to prominence among underground musicians nearly two decades after the album's release. Commentators have cited Joy Division , an English post-punk band formed in
5922-561: The Pops . After releasing "Heroes" , Bowie spent much of 1978 on the Isolar ;II world tour , bringing the music of the first two Berlin Trilogy albums to almost a million people during 70 concerts in 12 countries. By now he had broken his drug addiction; biographer David Buckley writes Isolar II was "Bowie's first tour for five years in which he had probably not anaesthetised himself with copious quantities of cocaine before taking
6048-487: The Thin White Duke persona. David Bowie, who had experience performing in experimental theatre before becoming famous as a musician, began adopting different performing personae in the early 1970s, most notably the glam alien Ziggy Stardust . He famously retired Ziggy in 1973 at the end of the Ziggy Stardust Tour , and adopted the dystopian Halloween Jack persona for his Diamond Dogs album and most of
6174-591: The United Kingdom, the criteria for the UK Albums Chart is that a recording counts as an "album" if it either has more than four tracks or lasts more than 25 minutes. Sometimes shorter albums are referred to as mini-albums or EPs . Albums such as Tubular Bells , Amarok , and Hergest Ridge by Mike Oldfield , and Yes's Close to the Edge , include fewer than four tracks, but still surpass
6300-616: The acts Tangerine Dream , Neu! , Kraftwerk and Harmonia . While Eno had worked with Harmonia both in-studio and on stage, Bowie exhibited a krautrock influence on Station to Station , particularly its title track . After the meetup, the two agreed to stay in touch. After moving to Switzerland, Bowie booked studio time later in the summer at the Château d'Hérouville in Hérouville , France, where he made plans to write and produce an album for his old friend, singer Iggy Pop . Pop, who
6426-457: The album as unrepresentative of his repertoire and as evidence of his being "co-opted" by Bowie for his own ends. Bowie later admitted: "Poor [Iggy], in a way, became a guinea pig for what I wanted to do with sound. I didn't have the material at the time, and I didn't feel like writing at all. I felt much more like laying back and getting behind someone else's work, so that album was opportune, creatively." Biographer Chris O'Leary considers The Idiot
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#17327720337606552-413: The album can be cheaper than buying a domestically released version, Japanese releases often feature bonus tracks to incentivize domestic purchase. Commercial sheet music is published in conjunction with the release of a new album (studio, compilation, soundtrack, etc.). A matching folio songbook is a compilation of the music notation of all the songs included in that particular album. It typically has
6678-446: The album is seen as an extension or refinement of its predecessor's achievements rather than a "definitive new work". It has, nonetheless, been regarded as one of Bowie's best and most influential works. Although regarded as the weakest of the Berlin Trilogy on release, Lodger has come to be considered one of Bowie's most underrated works. Bowie would later describe the trilogy's music as his "DNA". Consequence of Sound characterised
6804-526: The album's artwork on its cover and, in addition to sheet music, it includes photos of the artist. Most pop and rock releases come in standard Piano/Vocal/Guitar notation format (and occasionally Easy Piano / E-Z Play Today). Rock-oriented releases may also come in Guitar Recorded Versions edition, which are note-for-note transcriptions written directly from artist recordings. Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one-half of
6930-511: The album. If a pop or rock album contained tracks released separately as commercial singles , they were conventionally placed in particular positions on the album. During the sixties, particularly in the UK, singles were generally released separately from albums. Today, many commercial albums of music tracks feature one or more singles, which are released separately to radio, TV or the Internet as
7056-479: The amount of participation a band member can solicit from other members of their band, and still have the album referred to as a solo album. One reviewer wrote that Ringo Starr 's third venture, Ringo , "[t]echnically... wasn't a solo album because all four Beatles appeared on it". Three of the four members of the Beatles released solo albums while the group was officially still together. A performer may record
7182-510: The audience, comments by the performers between pieces, improvisation, and so on. They may use multitrack recording direct from the stage sound system (rather than microphones placed among the audience), and can employ additional manipulation and effects during post-production to enhance the quality of the recording. Notable early live albums include the double album of Benny Goodman , The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert , released in 1950. Live double albums later became popular during
7308-596: The band King Crimson , who Bowie recruited at Eno's suggestion. On his arrival at the studio, Fripp sat down and recorded lead guitar parts for tracks he had never heard before. He received little guidance from Bowie, who had yet to write lyrics or melodies. Fripp completed his guitar parts in three days. Bowie was in a much healthier state of mind during these sessions than during those for Low . He and Visconti frequently travelled around Berlin. While there, Bowie began exploring other art forms and visiting galleries in Geneva and
7434-406: The best selling live albums are Eric Clapton 's Unplugged (1992), selling over 26 million copies, Garth Brooks ' Double Live (1998), over 21 million copies, and Peter Frampton 's Frampton Comes Alive! (1976), over 11 million copies. In Rolling Stone ' s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time , 18 albums were live albums. A solo album , in popular music , is an album recorded by
7560-446: The cassette tape throughout the 1970s and early 1980s; the popularity of the cassette reached its peak during the late 1980s before sharply declining during the 1990s. The cassette had largely disappeared by the first decade of the 2000s. Most albums are recorded in a studio , although they may also be recorded in a concert venue , at home, in the field, or a mix of places. The time frame for completely recording an album varies between
7686-498: The character as "A very Aryan, fascist type; a would-be romantic with absolutely no emotion at all but who spouted a lot of neo-romance." The Thin White Duke was a controversial figure. While being interviewed in the persona in 1975 and 1976, Bowie made statements about Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany that some interpreted as being sympathetic to fascism or even pro-fascist. The controversy deepened in May 1976 when, while acknowledging
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#17327720337607812-568: The comments, Bowie claimed that they were "theatrical" remarks made in character and did not reflect his actual views. In later years, he blamed his erratic behaviour during the mid-1970s on an "astronomical" use of hard drugs (particularly cocaine ) while living in Los Angeles . He left California for Europe in late 1976 to improve his mental and physical well-being and settled in West Berlin in early 1977, at which point he quietly retired
7938-483: The completion of a symphony based on Lodger . The work is Glass's 12th Symphony ; it premiered in Los Angeles in January 2019. Like Glass's other adaptations, the "Lodger" Symphony is separated into seven movements, each named after tracks on Lodger . The symphony marked the completion of his trilogy of works based on the Berlin Trilogy. The Berlin Trilogy, along with the live album Stage and Scary Monsters ,
8064-528: The engineer to imitate Low ' s drum sound; they could not. Like Morris, many musicians, producers and engineers tried to imitate Low ' s drum sound. Visconti refused to explain how he did it, instead asking them how they thought it had been done. Commentators would later recognise an array of artists who were influenced by Low , including the Human League , Cabaret Voltaire , Arcade Fire , Gary Numan, Devo , Ultravox , Orchestral Manoeuvres in
8190-517: The fabric of time". Visconti rigged the machine to Davis's snare drum and fed the results through his headphones, so he could hear the resultant sound. Bowie's label, RCA Records , was shocked after hearing Low . Fearing the album would perform poorly commercially, RCA delayed its original planned release date in November 1976, releasing it instead in January 1977. Upon release, it received little to no promotion from either RCA or Bowie. Bowie felt it
8316-624: The field – as with early blues recordings, in prison, or with a mobile recording unit such as the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio . Most albums are studio albums —that is, they are recorded in a recording studio with equipment meant to give those overseeing the recording as much control as possible over the sound of the album. They minimize external noises and reverberations and have highly sensitive microphones and sound mixing equipment. Band members may record their parts in separate rooms or at separate times, listening to
8442-403: The following tour . An early version of the Thin White Duke character began to appear in late 1974 during the second leg of the tour. During this " plastic soul " lead-up to his Young Americans album, Bowie's hair was still orange, but it was cut shorter, and his stage costumes moderated from colorful glam outfits to more conventional dress clothes. The Thin White Duke was mentioned by name in
8568-500: The form of a prototype. Compact Cassettes became especially popular during the 1980s after the advent of the Sony Walkman , which allowed the person to control what they listened to. The Walkman was convenient because of its size, the device could fit in most pockets and often came equipped with a clip for belts or pants. The compact cassette used double-sided magnetic tape to distribute music for commercial sale. The music
8694-480: The form of boxed sets, although in that case the work is still usually considered to be an album. Material (music or sounds) is stored on an album in sections termed tracks. A music track (often simply referred to as a track) is an individual song or instrumental recording. The term is particularly associated with popular music where separate tracks are known as album tracks; the term is also used for other formats such as EPs and singles . When vinyl records were
8820-465: The journey is both metaphorical and geographical. Lodger was released in May 1979, almost two years after "Heroes" . Buckley notes that music videos and artists who were influenced by the music on Bowie's prior releases of the Berlin Trilogy, like Gary Numan , were becoming popular. Although Lodger performed well commercially, Numan out-performed Bowie commercially throughout the year. According to Buckley, Numan's fame led indirectly to Bowie taking
8946-588: The later '30s, record companies began releasing albums of previously released recordings of popular music in albums organized by performer, singers or bands, or by type of music, boogie-woogie , for example. When Columbia introduced the Long Playing record format in 1948, it was natural the term album would continue. Columbia expected that the record size distinction in 78s would continue, with classical music on 12" records and popular music on 10" records, and singles on 78s. Columbia's first popular 10" LP in fact
9072-428: The latter regularly during the American leg of the tour. Biographers Marc Spitz and Hugo Wilcken later recognised Another Green World in particular as a major influence on the sound Bowie aimed to create for Low ; Bowie biographer Christopher Sandford also cites Eno's Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) (1974) as an influence on Bowie. Individually, the two became infatuated with the German music scene, including
9198-487: The lead role in the David Hemmings film Just a Gigolo (1978), set in pre-World War II Berlin. It was around the time of Lodger (1979) that Bowie began framing his previous two albums as the beginning of a Berlin-centred trilogy, concluding with Lodger , largely as a marketing technique to support the unusual new album. Compared to its two predecessors, Lodger abandons the electronic and ambient styles and
9324-520: The listener into new worlds, "offer[ing] full immersion into another universe of sound and vision ". Three years later, Classic Rock History ranked the Berlin Trilogy as Bowie's seventh greatest work, calling the three albums a "fascinating chapter" in Bowie's life. Commentators regard the Berlin Trilogy as among the most innovative works of Bowie's career. When reviewing Bowie's 1995 album Outside , Barry Walters of Spin compared its sound to that of
9450-492: The longer 12-inch 78s, playing around 4–5 minutes per side. For example, in 1924, George Gershwin recorded a drastically shortened version of his new seventeen-minute composition Rhapsody in Blue with Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra. The recording was issued on both sides of a single record, Victor 55225 and ran for 8m 59s. By 1910, though some European record companies had issued albums of complete operas and other works,
9576-409: The lyrics, often in response to the music Bowie was creating. During its recording, Bowie developed a new process, where the backing tracks were recorded first, followed by overdubs, with lyrics and vocals written and recorded last. He heavily favoured this "three-phase" process, which he would use for the rest of his career. Because The Idiot was recorded before Low , the album has been referred to as
9702-633: The microphone, after seeing Pop do so for The Idiot . "Heroes" was released in October 1977 in the wake of the punk rock movement. RCA marketed the album with the slogan, "There's Old Wave. There's New Wave . And there's David Bowie ...". Like Low , "Heroes" was commercially successful—more so in the UK than in the US. Bowie promoted "Heroes" extensively, conducting numerous interviews and performing on various television programmes, including Marc , Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas , and Top of
9828-483: The mid-1930s, record companies had adopted the album format for classical music selections that were longer than the roughly eight minutes that fit on both sides of a classical 12" 78 rpm record. Initially the covers were plain, with the name of the selection and performer in small type. In 1938, Columbia Records hired the first graphic designer in the business to design covers, others soon followed and colorful album covers cover became an important selling feature. By
9954-487: The mid-1960s to the late 1970s when the Compact Cassette format took over. The format is regarded as an obsolete technology, and was relatively unknown outside the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Stereo 8 was created in 1964 by a consortium led by Bill Lear of Lear Jet Corporation , along with Ampex , Ford Motor Company , General Motors , Motorola , and RCA Victor Records . It
10080-399: The months between the releases of Low and The Idiot , as having been influenced by both albums. Joy Division themselves have acknowledged Low ' s influence on the band; their original name was "Warsaw", a reference to the Low track "Warszawa". The band's drummer, Stephen Morris , told Uncut magazine in 2001 that when they made their 1978 An Ideal for Living EP, the band asked
10206-453: The music. Side one consists primarily of short, direct avant-pop song-fragments; side two comprises longer, mostly instrumental tracks. In 1977, Bowie said side one was about himself and his "prevailing moods" at the time while side two was about his musical observations living in Berlin. Low features a unique drum sound created by Visconti using an Eventide H910 Harmonizer . When Bowie asked him what it did, Visconti replied, "It fucks with
10332-575: The name of the Thin White Duke. At first glance, the Thin White Duke appeared more conventional than Bowie's previously flamboyant glam incarnations. Sporting well-groomed blonde hair and wearing a simple, cabaret -style wardrobe consisting of a white shirt, black trousers, and a waistcoat, the Duke was a hollow man who sang songs of romance with an agonised intensity while feeling nothing, "dry ice masquerading as fire". The persona has been described as "a mad aristocrat", "an amoral zombie", and "an emotionless Aryan superman". Bowie himself described
10458-443: The other parts of the track with headphones to keep the timing right. In the 2000s, with the advent of digital recording , it became possible for musicians to record their part of a song in another studio in another part of the world, and send their contribution over digital channels to be included in the final product. Recordings that are done in one take without overdubbing or multi-tracking are termed "live", even when done in
10584-414: The other. The user would stack the two records onto the spindle of an automatic record changer, with side 1 on the bottom and side 2 (on the other record) on top. Side 1 would automatically drop onto the turntable and be played. When finished, the tone arm's position would trigger a mechanism which moved the arm out of the way, dropped the record with side 2, and played it. When both records had been played,
10710-409: The period, Bowie also co-wrote and produced Iggy Pop 's debut solo album The Idiot (1977) and follow-up Lust for Life (also 1977); the former features a sound similar to that which Bowie explored on the trilogy. Bowie began referring to the three albums as a Berlin-centred trilogy during the promotion of Lodger , although "Heroes" was the only instalment recorded completely in the city; Low
10836-464: The practice of issuing albums was not widely taken up by American record companies until the 1920s. By about 1910, bound collections of empty sleeves with a paperboard or leather cover, similar to a photograph album, were sold as record albums that customers could use to store their records (the term "record album" was printed on some covers). These albums came in both 10-inch and 12-inch sizes. The covers of these bound books were wider and taller than
10962-406: The primary medium for audio recordings a track could be identified visually from the grooves and many album covers or sleeves included numbers for the tracks on each side. On a compact disc the track number is indexed so that a player can jump straight to the start of any track. On digital music stores such as iTunes the term song is often used interchangeably with track regardless of whether there
11088-404: The record industry as a standard format for the "album". Apart from relatively minor refinements and the important later addition of stereophonic sound capability, it has remained the standard format for vinyl albums. The term "album" was extended to other recording media such as 8-track tape , cassette tape , compact disc , MiniDisc , and digital albums, as they were introduced. As part of
11214-623: The record not touching the shelf, and the term was applied to the collection. In the early nineteenth century, "album" was occasionally used in the titles of some classical music sets, such as Robert Schumann 's Album for the Young Opus 68, a set of 43 short pieces. With the advent of 78 rpm records in the early 1900s, the typical 10-inch disc could only hold about three minutes of sound per side, so almost all popular recordings were limited to around three minutes in length. Classical-music and spoken-word items generally were released on
11340-451: The recording, and lyrics or librettos . Historically, the term "album" was applied to a collection of various items housed in a book format. In musical usage, the word was used for collections of short pieces of printed music from the early nineteenth century. Later, collections of related 78s were bundled in book-like albums (one side of a 78 rpm record could hold only about 3.5 minutes of sound). When LP records were introduced,
11466-497: The records inside, allowing the record album to be placed on a shelf upright, like a book, suspending the fragile records above the shelf and protecting them. In the 1930s, record companies began issuing collections of 78s by one performer or of one type of music in specially assembled albums, typically with artwork on the front cover and liner notes on the back or inside cover. Most albums included three or four records, with two sides each, making six or eight compositions per album. By
11592-452: The release and distribution Compact Discs . The 2010s saw a revival of Compact Cassettes by independent record labels and DIY musicians who preferred the format because of its difficulty to share over the internet . The compact disc format replaced both the vinyl record and the cassette as the standard for the commercial mass-market distribution of physical music albums. After the introduction of music downloading and MP3 players such as
11718-461: The release of Radiohead 's Kid A (2000). Billboard similarly notes it was not until Kid A that rock and electronic would once again meet and move forward in such a mature fashion. Although "Heroes" was the best-received work of the Berlin Trilogy on release, in subsequent decades critical and public opinion has typically shifted in favour of Low as the more ground-breaking record owing to its daring experimental achievements. Pegg writes
11844-430: The seven-disc deluxe box set The Bowie Years . The set includes remastered versions of both albums along with outtakes, alternate mixes, and a 40-page booklet. The two original albums were also re-released individually, each paired with an additional album of live material to create separate stand-alone two-disc deluxe editions. Studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music ) issued on
11970-599: The song/instrumental split that defined the two earlier works, in favour of more conventional song structures. Instead, Lodger features a variety of musical styles, including new wave, Middle Eastern music , reggae and krautrock. Some of its musical textures, particularly on "African Night Flight", have been cited by The Quietus as presaging the popularity of world music . Lodger was recorded at Mountain Studios in Montreux , Switzerland, with additional recording at
12096-465: The songs on Low . Visconti would describe the album as "a very positive version of Low ". It follows the same structure as its predecessor, with side one featuring more conventional tracks and side two featuring mostly instrumental tracks. "Heroes" was the only instalment of the Berlin Trilogy recorded entirely in Berlin. Most of the same personnel on Low returned to record, with the addition of Bowie on piano, and guitarist Robert Fripp , formerly of
12222-414: The spotlight. Although The Idiot was completed by August 1976, Bowie wanted to be sure he had his own album in stores before its release. Château owner and The Idiot bassist Laurent Thibault opined that, "[Bowie] didn't want people to think he'd been inspired by Iggy's album, when in fact it was all the same thing." Although reviewers consider The Idiot good in its own right, Pop's fans have criticised
12348-412: The spring of 1975. His drug intake escalated so that decades later, he recalled almost nothing of the recording of Station to Station , saying, "I know it was in L.A. because I've read it was." Although he enjoyed commercial success during this period, particularly with the singles " Fame " and " Golden Years ", he was ready to rid himself of the drug culture of Los Angeles and get sober. After abandoning
12474-461: The stage. ... Without the oblivion that drugs had brought, he was now in a healthy enough mental condition to want to make friends." He played tracks from both Low and "Heroes" on the tour. Recordings from the tour were included on the live album Stage , released later the same year, and again from a different venue in 2018 on Welcome to the Blackout . During this time he also portrayed
12600-620: The studio to record Pop's second solo album Lust for Life (1977). Bowie had less influence over Lust for Life . Instead, he let Pop compose his own arrangements for the tracks, resulting in a sound more reminiscent of Pop's earlier work. Recording took place at Hansa by the Wall in West Berlin and was completed in two and a half weeks, from May to June 1977, and released in August. Although Bowie had told interviewers he planned to collaborate on
12726-447: The time, 1996 In the summer of 1974, David Bowie developed a cocaine addiction. Over the following two years, his addiction worsened, affecting both his physical and mental state. He recorded both Young Americans (1975) and Station to Station (1976), and filmed The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), while under the influence of the drug. He attributed his growing addiction to the city of Los Angeles, California, where he moved in
12852-468: The trilogy as an " art rock trifecta". In 2017, Chris Gerard of PopMatters considered the trilogy, along with Scary Monsters , among "the most vital and influential [albums] by anyone in the rock era". He found the albums to be the reason Bowie is "so profoundly revered", further describing them as "uncompromising and untethered artistic expressions with no commercial considerations limiting...scope". He concluded by praising these albums' abilities to take
12978-413: The unofficial beginning of Bowie's Berlin period, as its music featured a sound reminiscent of that which Bowie would explore in the Berlin Trilogy. Bowie and Tony Visconti co-mixed it at Hansa Studios in West Berlin . Bowie became fascinated with Berlin, finding it a place of great escape. In love with the city, he and Pop decided to move there in a further attempt to kick their drug habits and escape
13104-464: The user would pick up the stack, turn it over, and put them back on the spindle—sides 3 and 4 would then play in sequence. Record changers were used for many years of the LP era, but eventually fell out of use. 8-track tape (formally Stereo 8: commonly known as the eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, or simply eight-track) is a magnetic tape sound recording technology popular in the United States from
13230-484: The work at Glass's Looking Glass Studios in New York and his Point Music label released it in 1993. Speaking about the album, Glass said: "They were doing what few other people were trying to do – which was to create an art within the realm of popular music. I listened to it constantly." On his decision to create a symphony based on the record, Glass said: "In the question of Bowie and Eno's original Low LP, to me there
13356-549: The work. The singer eventually collapsed, admitting later, "There were pieces of me laying all over the floor." One instrumental composed for the soundtrack evolved into "Subterraneans", later properly recorded for Low ; the remaining material was scrapped. When Bowie presented his material for the film to Nicolas Roeg , the director decided it would not be suitable; Roeg preferred a more folksy sound. The soundtrack's eventual composer John Phillips described Bowie's material as "haunting and beautiful". Six months after Bowie's proposal
13482-592: Was Frank Sinatra's first album, the four-record eight-song The Voice of Frank Sinatra , originally issued in 1946. RCA's introduction of the smaller 45 rpm format later in 1948 disrupted Columbia's expectations. By the mid-1950s, 45s dominated the singles market and 12" LPs dominated the album market and both 78s and 10" LPs were discontinued. In the 1950s albums of popular music were also issued on 45s, sold in small heavy paper-covered "gate-fold" albums with multiple discs in sleeves or in sleeves in small boxes. This format disappeared around 1960. Sinatra's "The Voice"
13608-495: Was a further development of the similar Stereo-Pak four-track cartridge created by Earl "Madman" Muntz . A later quadraphonic version of the format was announced by RCA in April 1970 and first known as Quad-8, then later changed to just Q8. The Compact Cassette was a popular medium for distributing pre-recorded music from the early 1970s to the early 2000s. The first "Compact Cassette" was introduced by Philips in August 1963 in
13734-400: Was adamant about not taking the spotlight away from Pop, often staying behind his keyboard and not addressing the audience. Despite this, some reviewers believed Bowie was still in charge. Likewise, during interviews, Pop was often asked more about Bowie than his own work. As a result, Pop took a more direct approach when making Lust for Life . At the end of the tour, Bowie and Pop returned to
13860-464: Was also suffering from drug addiction, was ready to get sober and accepted Bowie's invitation to accompany him on the Isolar tour, and then move to Europe with him. After they relocated to the Château, Bowie travelled back to Switzerland, where he spent the next few weeks writing and devising plans for his next album. Bowie composed a majority of the music for The Idiot (1977), while Pop wrote most of
13986-536: Was at the end of my tether physically and emotionally and had serious doubts about my sanity." Eventually, he began to see the Thin White Duke as "a nasty character indeed", and later, "an ogre ". In an attempt to salvage his mental and physical health, Bowie left California's drug-fueled social scene for Europe in late 1976, staying in Geneva , Switzerland , for a time before joining his friend Iggy Pop in West Berlin in early 1977. Though he did not publicly retire
14112-414: Was expected to be wholly responsible for the film's music but found that "when I'd finished five or six pieces, I was then told that if I would care to submit my music along with some other people's ... and I just said 'Shit, you're not getting any of it.' I was so furious, I'd put so much work into it." Station to Station co-producer Harry Maslin argued Bowie was "burned out" and could not complete
14238-469: Was flattered by the symphony and gave it unanimous praise, as did Pegg. In 1997, Glass adapted "Heroes" into a classical suite, titled "Heroes" Symphony . The piece is separated into six movements; each is named after tracks on "Heroes" . Like its predecessor, Glass acknowledged Eno's contributions as equal to Bowie's on the original album and credited the movements to the two equally. American choreographer Twyla Tharp developed "Heroes" Symphony into
14364-414: Was from this that in medieval and modern times, album came to denote a book of blank pages in which verses, autographs, sketches, photographs and the like are collected. This in turn led to the modern meaning of an album as a collection of audio recordings issued as a single item. The first audio albums were actually published by the publishers of photograph albums. Single 78 rpm records were sold in
14490-409: Was fully ready to move to Berlin but had already booked another month of studio time at the Château, so recording began there. Bowie and Visconti co-produced the album, with contributions from Eno. Visconti, who was absent for the recording of Station to Station because of conflicting schedules, was brought back to co-produce after mixing The Idiot . Despite being widely perceived as a co-producer, Eno
14616-520: Was his "least commercial" record, and rather than promote it opted to tour as Pop's keyboardist. Despite the lack of promotion, Low was a commercial success. The success of the single " Sound and Vision " helped Bowie to persuade RCA to release The Idiot , which they did in March 1977. Although RCA was hoping he would tour to support Low , Bowie toured with Pop as he promoted The Idiot . The tour began on 1 March 1977 and ended on 16 April. Bowie
14742-420: Was in serious public decline, emotionally and socially. I think I was very much on course to be another rock casualty. In fact, I’m quite certain I wouldn't have survived the '70s if I'd carried on doing what I was doing. But I was lucky enough to know somewhere within me that I was really killing myself, and I had to do something drastic to pull myself out of that. – David Bowie discussing his mental state at
14868-399: Was issued in 1952 on two extended play 45s, with two songs on each side, in both packagings. The 10-inch and 12-inch LP record (long play), or 33 + 1 ⁄ 3 rpm microgroove vinyl record, is a gramophone record format introduced by Columbia Records in 1948. A single LP record often had the same or similar number of tunes as a typical album of 78s, and it was adopted by
14994-406: Was no doubt that both talent and quality were evident there ... My generation was sick to death of academics telling us what was good and what wasn't." Glass used both original themes and themes from three of the record's instrumentals for the symphony. The "Low" Symphony acknowledges Eno's contributions on the original record. Portraits of Bowie, Eno and Glass appear on the album cover. Bowie
15120-592: Was not. Visconti commented: "Brian is a great musician, and was very integral to the making of [the Berlin Trilogy]. But he was not the producer." According to biographer Paul Trynka, Eno arrived late in the sessions, after all the backing tracks for side one were "essentially" finished. Low ' s music delves into electronic , ambient, art rock and experimental rock . The tracks on Low emphasize tone and atmosphere, rather than guitar-based rock. German bands like Tangerine Dream, Neu! and Kraftwerk influence
15246-546: Was out of my mind, totally crazed." He later said: "It was a dangerous period for me. I was at the end of my tether physically and emotionally and had serious doubts about my sanity." At the conclusion of the Isolar tour on 18 May 1976, Bowie and his wife Angela moved to Switzerland. After completing Station to Station in December 1975, Bowie began work on a soundtrack for The Man Who Fell to Earth with Paul Buckmaster , his collaborator on Space Oddity (1969). Bowie
15372-520: Was recorded mostly in France, while Lodger was recorded in Switzerland and New York City. Though considered significant in artistic terms, the trilogy has proven less successful commercially. Bowie would later call the trilogy's music his "DNA". The albums of the trilogy received mixed reviews on release but garnered massive acclaim over time and have proven highly influential. While Low provided
15498-513: Was rejected, he sent Roeg a copy of Low with a note stating: "This is what I wanted to do for the soundtrack. It would have been a wonderful score." While on the Isolar tour in May 1976, Bowie met ex– Roxy Music keyboardist and conceptualist Brian Eno backstage at a London concert. Although the two had occasional meetups since 1973, they had yet to become friends. Since leaving Roxy Music, Eno released two ambient solo albums in 1975— Another Green World and Discreet Music ; Bowie listened to
15624-507: Was remastered in 2017 for Parlophone 's A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982) box set . Named after the Low track of the same name, it was released in CD, vinyl, and digital formats, as part of this compilation and then separately the following year. The box set also includes a new remix of Lodger by Visconti, which was approved by Bowie before his death in 2016 . Both The Idiot and Lust for Life were expanded and remastered in 2020 for
15750-411: Was the dominant form of recorded music expression and consumption from the mid-1960s to the early 21st century, a period known as the album era . Vinyl LPs are still issued, though album sales in the 21st-century have mostly focused on CD and MP3 formats. The 8-track tape was the first tape format widely used alongside vinyl from 1965 until being phased out by 1983, being gradually supplanted by
15876-594: Was the most well-received work of the trilogy, with NME and Melody Maker naming it their Album of the Year. Lodger was the least well-received, with Rolling Stone calling it one of Bowie's weakest releases to date. Although each album reached the top five on the UK charts, they proved less commercially successful than Bowie's earlier records. Buckley writes that with his next album, Scary Monsters , Bowie achieved "the perfect balance" of creativity and mainstream success. Considered by Wilcken to be ahead of its time, Low
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