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74-722: The Hours Tour was a small-scale promotional concert tour by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie comprising a handful of live performances and numerous television appearances in support of the album Hours in late 1999. Several live songs from the tour were included as b-sides to singles from the album, and concert recordings from the tour were released in 2020 as Something in the Air (Live Paris 99) and in 2021 with David Bowie At The Kit Kat Klub (Live New York 99) . Bowie had released his album Hours in October 1999, and embarked on

148-697: A Tin Machine record". Spitz similarly states that Gabrels and the Sales brothers assumed they would be assisting Bowie in creating a follow-up for Never Let Me Down rather than forming a band. Recording for the new project began at Mountain Studios in Montreux , Switzerland in August 1988. Bowie and Gabrels spent a week there, writing songs such as "Baby Can Dance", "Pretty Thing" and "Shopping for Girls", before

222-468: A day. Gabrels elaborated, "We recorded the songs, overdubbed, and sometimes even mixed them in the same day." After a break in recording, the sessions moved in the spring of 1989 to Compass Point Studios in Nassau , Bahamas , which Palmer recalled as being a completely different environment than Switzerland. There, Bowie resided at Robert Palmer 's house on the beach. John Lennon 's son Sean visited

296-625: A few years. Tin Machine was accompanied by the release of three singles . The first, "Under the God" backed by "Sacrifice Yourself", was released in June 1989 and peaked at number 51 in the UK. It also enjoyed heavy airplay on MTV and American radio stations. The second, the title track backed by a live cover of Dylan's " Maggie's Farm " by Dylan, was released in September 1989 and peaked at number 48 in

370-468: A jam session with himself and Bowie. According to Gabrels, the Sales brothers were chosen as the rhythm section so they didn't have "checkbook musicians", specifically wanting former members of a band. Bowie insisted the four form a band, with each member providing equal input. Meanwhile, the positive reaction of the "Look Back in Anger" remix led Bowie to hire producer Tim Palmer —at the recommendation of

444-649: A live appearance at the International Rock Awards Show on 31   May 1989. Two weeks later, they embarked on their 12-show Tin Machine Tour , wrapping up in early July. The set-list consisted only of songs from Tin Machine , new tracks and 1960s covers. The shows were received with mixed reviews; critic Alastair McKay wrote in the Herald Scotland : "For all their experience, the band are poor timekeepers, and Bowie's voice

518-773: A new form of theatrical entertainment, a fusion of song, performance art, innovative stage craft, and state-of-the-art technology. She managed to popularize the Las Vegas residency as a desirable way for top artists to essentially tour in place, letting their fans come to them. American singer Lady Gaga , who cancelled the 2018 European leg of her Joanne World Tour , signed for a Las Vegas residency to help manage her fibromyalgia illness, which can be exacerbated by touring. The 2015 study by charity Help Musicians found that over 60% of musicians suffered from depression or other psychological issues, with touring an issue for 71% of respondents. Tin Machine (album) Tin Machine

592-496: A punchbag". Rolling Stone ' s David Fricke praised the album's "cynical, indignant and acidic" approach to music as an "all-too-welcome feast of aggro-guitar flamboyance and bass-drum body checking", noting that at times it sounds like Sonic Youth meets Station to Station . A review by the McClatchy Company called Tin Machine "a lean, mean rock 'n' roll machine", that showed how "Bowie's back". Don Waller of

666-474: A record that had been released internationally. [Their] attitude was like, 'Well, we all know who we are. Who's this guy?'" Gabrels and Palmer expressed doubts about the project initially. Palmer at first intended to make "the greatest-sounding Bowie album ever" and was disappointed at the different direction taken. Meanwhile, Gabrels despised being in a band, calling them "nightmares", further believing bands didn't work as democratic units. Gabrels got fed up with

740-524: A short, mostly-promotional set of shows to promote the album. Prior to the album's release, on 21 August, Bowie and his band performed tracks for UK's Top of the Pops , and two days later on 23 August, they appeared on VH1's Storytellers , released in 2009 as VH1 Storytellers . For the rest of the shows, guitarist Page Hamilton , founding member of Helmet , was drafted to replace Reeves Gabrels whose final performance and association with Bowie ended with

814-534: A sonic edge" that contains malacious lyrics. Tony Fox Sales described the band's approach to the music they created by saying: We were so sick of turning on the radio and hearing disco and dance music and drum machines ; all that stuff, which I think in the business they call "crap." We were just thinking about doing a project that would put an end to rock 'n' roll. Jon Pareles of The New York Times stated that lyrically, Tin Machine "juxtaposes love songs with rants about current crises". He noted that, with

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888-453: A tour are denoted in different ways, dependent on the artist and type of tour, but the most common means of separating legs are dates (especially if there is a long break at some point), countries and/or continents, or different opening acts. In the largest concert tours, it has become more common for different legs to employ separate touring production crews and equipment, local to each geographical region. Concert tours are often administered on

962-532: A weekend." The beginning of Bowie and Gabrels' collaboration sparked a new journey in Bowie's career. Although there would still be tours and media interviews, he aimed to scale down the expectations of the listening public in terms of his music. Gabrels stated, "He was at a crossroads. Either he became Rod Stewart and played Las Vegas , or he followed his heart." He told Bowie, "The only barrier between you doing what you want and you doing what you think you should do,

1036-485: Is Taylor Swift 's Eras Tour , with $ 2.089 billion earned from 125 shows. In 2024, Coldplay 's Music of the Spheres World Tour became the second tour to gross $ 1 billion in revenue. In third place is Elton John 's Farewell Yellow Brick Road , with a total gross of $ 939 million from 2018–2023. On fourth place is Ed Sheeran 's ÷ Tour , with a gross of $ 776.2 million. On fifth place

1110-400: Is U2 's 360° Tour , with $ 736.4 million. Global touring revenue reported to Billboard Boxscore exceeded $ 5.5 billion in 2016. Due to the collapse of record sales in the 21st century, concert tours have become a major source of income for recording artists. Besides the tickets, touring also generates money from the sales of merchandise and meet-and-greet packages. However,

1184-555: Is you ." One of the first projects Bowie and Gabrels collaborated on was a new version of Bowie's 1979 Lodger track " Look Back in Anger ", which was created for a London theatre performance in July 1988. Afterwards, the two returned to Switzerland, where Bowie presented Gabrels with music that he was listening to at the time. These included hard rock acts such as Led Zeppelin , Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Guy , avant-garde acts such as Sonic Youth , and one of Bowie's new favourites,

1258-461: Is "hard to love", which he notes may have been Bowie's initial intention. Buckley primarily criticises the lack of melodies or catchy choruses, a sentiment echoed by Bowie's previous collaborator Adrian Belew . Nevertheless, some reviewers have praised certain tracks, including "I Can't Read", which Bowie himself considered the best song on the record. Bowie rerecorded the song during the sessions for his 1997 album Earthling , which appeared in

1332-443: Is a concert tour intended to signal the retirement of a singer, the disbanding of a band, or the end of a show's run. Many of the tours end up not being the last tour, with frequent regroupings, or revivals of shows. Luciano Pavarotti 's 2004 tour and Kenny Rogers 's 2015–2017 tour are examples of farewell tours which were the last to be staged before their deaths. As of October 2024, the highest-grossing concert tour of all time

1406-439: Is a peculiar thing, it doesn't suit me particularly well. I'm a real homebody and I get so much joy in the small things." A concert residency concept is offered as an alternative to performers who just need to stay in one venue and the fans come to see them. The concept has been revitalized in the 21st century by Canadian superstar Céline Dion with the success of her A New Day... residency (2003–2007). Her residency introduced

1480-437: Is a retrospective of her career to that point, where each act of the concert represents one of her albums . In another case, artists embark on a concert tour to celebrate the anniversary of their past albums, such as U2 's 2017 tour to mark the 30th anniversary of The Joshua Tree (1987) and Janet Jackson 's 2019 tour to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989). A farewell tour

1554-479: Is at sea with the very notion of high-volume aggression. ... [T]he grinning Bowie promised his group would return to repeat the experience in the new year. This raised just one question: Why?" Gabrels later insisted that because of the Sales brothers, the band improvised "one third of every show". A performance on 25   June in Paris was released for digital download and streaming in August 2019, to coincide with

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1628-580: Is the debut studio album by the Anglo-American hard rock band Tin Machine , released on 22   May 1989 through EMI America Records . The band consisted of the English singer-songwriter David Bowie , the American guitarist Reeves Gabrels and brothers Tony Fox and Hunt Sales on bass and drums, respectively, while Englishman Kevin Armstrong acted as an additional guitarist. The project

1702-404: Is the loudest drummer I have ever worked with ... I almost went deaf within the first couple of days." Meanwhile, Palmer set up various microphones around the studio in order to capture a live sound. The tracks on the album were recorded raw and live with few overdubs to capture the energy of the band. The other Tin Machine members urged Bowie to avoid re-writing his lyrics: "They were there all

1776-553: The Los Angeles Times gave the album a positive review, calling all 12 tracks on the LP edition "solid" and welcoming "a couple" as "classic additions" to Bowie's catalogue. On the other hand, Pareles felt that most of the songs "seem unlikely to stand up over time" against Bowie's best work. Joe Levy of Spin magazine called the album "noise rock without the noise. Aggressive, direct, brutal and stylishly plain, it combines

1850-509: The American Express Blue Concert series transmitted on 7 December 1999, in addition to a simulcast radio broadcast by SFX Radio network on the same date, and eventually released on a promotional-only CD-R that pared the setlist down to 12 songs. The webcast, reportedly one of the first live streams of a concert, was fraught with issues and was described as going "not particularly smooth." This live release, sourced from

1924-563: The CD single of "Survive"; the full concert was eventually released in 2020 as Something in the Air (Live Paris 99) . The concert is notable for being recorded one day after Bowie received the rank of Commander in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government for his contributions to art and music. Something in the Air was released on CD and vinyl for the first time in early 2021, part of

1998-583: The Pixies . From there, Bowie and Gabrels composed demos for a new project, which included "Bus Stop", "Baby Universal", "Pretty Pink Rose" and an early version of " Under the God ". During a launch party for a Glass Spider Tour video in Los Angeles, Bowie ran into bassist Tony Fox Sales , whom he hadn't worked with since the recording of Iggy Pop 's Lust for Life in 1977. The two reconnected, leading Tony to invite his brother, drummer Hunt Sales , to

2072-484: The Storytellers performance. Rumours of a split were initially denied by both parties until a few months later when Gabrels guitarist admitted that he and Bowie had drifted apart . In October, Bowie appeared on the 25th season of Saturday Night Live and played " Thursday's Child " and " Rebel Rebel ". The Libro Music Hall, Vienna, performance on 17 October 1999, coinciding with the launch of BowieNet Europe

2146-666: The 30th anniversary of Tin Machine . The release, called Live at La Cigale, Paris, 25th June, 1989 , was mastered by Palmer. At the conclusion of the tour, Tin Machine took a break before reconvening in Australia during late 1989 to begin recording their next album. While there, they performed a one-off gig in Sydney on 4 November. The sessions for Tin Machine II (1991) continued until January 1990 before suspending, as Bowie announced his new solo Sound+Vision Tour . Tin Machine

2220-450: The Cult 's Billy Duffy —for his next project. Palmer recalled that he was a big fan of Bowie, particularly "the classic albums, but not so much of the later material". He also enjoyed Bowie's working methods, including the encouragement of ideas from all parties involved. Nevertheless, Palmer told Buckley that when he signed on for the project, he assumed it would be "a David Bowie record, not

2294-400: The God" and "Crack City", respectively. Others, including "I Can't Read" and "Video Crime", discuss the effects of television on literacy and tabloids , respectively. Meanwhile, O'Leary notes that Bowie recalls his unreleased track " Shadow Man " on "Baby Can Dance". Gabrels would later describe the songs as Tin Machine "screaming at the world". The cover artwork for Tin Machine depicts

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2368-432: The Sales brothers arrived. Palmer recalled that once they arrived, "all hell broke loose". The brothers had abrasive personalities and, according to biographer Chris O'Leary, "made it clear they wouldn't be sidemen". Gabrels recalled that the first week of their arrival was the equivalent of "freshman hazing ": "all they wanted to do was push me because David was placing a certain amount of trust in me, and I had never done

2442-468: The Sales' attitudes after the first week, choosing to do things his way without their input. Bowie similarly recalled a "strange period of feeling each other out" during the first week. An addition in the sessions was guitarist Kevin Armstrong , who had played with Bowie at Live Aid in 1985. In the studio, Hunt Sales arranged his drum set on a riser, which overpowered the room, leaving the guitarists unable to hear themselves play. Armstrong recalled, "He

2516-405: The UK. The third and final single, an edit of " Prisoner of Love " backed by a live version of "Baby Can Dance", was released the following month and failed to chart. Tin Machine accompanied the album's release with a 13-minute long music video comprising performance-style clips of songs, with each one segueing into the next, starting with "Pretty Thing" and ending with "Under the God". The video

2590-611: The album after one of the tracks . Unlike Bowie's previous backing bands, Tin Machine acted as a democratic unit, which was reflected in promotional interviews. Upon release, the album peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart , although sales declined quickly. It was accompanied by three singles and a 13-minute long music video containing performances of the tracks. Like its supporting concert tour , Tin Machine received mixed reviews and continues to receive similar assessments from Bowie's biographers, who mainly criticise

2664-469: The band as well". This move would be written off by critics as a publicity stunt by an artist who is unsure of what he wanted to do next. Bowie commented in 1999: "I think the context annoyed and angered, and really gave the critics the excuse they needed to humiliate somebody, which is what they really look for more than anything else." Upon hearing of Tin Machine and the album, Bowie's label EMI America Records were perplexed. Tim Palmer told Buckley that

2738-526: The band during this time; this encounter inspired them to cover his father's 1970 song " Working Class Hero ". Also present in the Bahamas was Bowie's new girlfriend Melissa Hurley, who was one of his backup dancers during the Glass Spider Tour. The band were shocked at the pervasive drug use throughout Nassau, which partly inspired "Crack City". Bowie also claimed his own cocaine -addled past in

2812-425: The band explored elements of grunge and alternative rock before those styles became popular; Palmer and Asregadoo considered the record's sound " proto-grunge ". Allender and Asregadoo argued that the album was ahead of its time and had the release been five to six years later, it would have garnered more appreciation. Bowie's biographers have given the album mixed assessments overall. Although Perone feels it

2886-450: The best work didn't make it to the first record. I think David was deliberately trying to go for a fucked-up sound: if it was too safe or polite, he'd dump it." According to Gabrels, there were a few options for potential band names. The band ultimately set on Tin Machine for both the album and band name, after one of the tracks . Bowie recollected a feeling of indifference: "We really weren't interested in what kind of band name we had, so it

2960-625: The end of 1987, Bowie conducted some sessions in Los Angeles , California with members of Bryan Adams ' backing band and producer Bruce Fairbairn . The only tracks that came out of the sessions were a demo of "Pretty Pink Rose", an early version of "Lucy Can't Dance" and a cover of Bob Dylan 's 1965 hit " Like a Rolling Stone ", the last of which was given to Bowie's former Spiders from Mars guitarist Mick Ronson , whose version appeared on his posthumous album Heaven and Hull (1994). According to biographer Nicholas Pegg , Bowie's style during

3034-409: The energy of the rock avant-garde with traditional R&B rhythmic punch", summarising the album by calling it "incendiary fun" and noting that "the buoyant Sales brothers and Gabrels certainly equal and frequently surpass Bowie". Music critic Jon Savage didn't understand what the band were going for, describing the music as having "an ugly macho side to it". In Record Mirror , Steve Masters said

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3108-477: The exceptions of "Pretty Thing" and "Sacrifice Yourself", the majority of the love songs "approach romantic cliches". Furthermore, Perone states that the "apocalyptic imagery " of the title track sets up the overarching theme of "the end of the world" that "pervades" the album. Pegg finds that the band's refusal to allow Bowie to rewrite lyrics results in words that are mostly "half-baked". Some songs cover sensitive subjects including neo-Nazism and drugs on "Under

3182-409: The four band members in dark suits, which Spitz describes as giving them a look of "a gang of clean-cut bankers". Bowie grew a goatee during this time—a first in his career—which Spitz states polarised audiences. When promoting the album, Bowie made it clear to interviewers that the band were a democratic unit, with Pegg calling it the mindset of "anyone wanting to interview David would get the rest of

3256-444: The label were eager for another Let's Dance best-seller and confused regarding Bowie's new direction. The label were unsure of how to market the album, so they attached stickers to the cover informing potential buyers that it was Bowie's new project. Nevertheless, EMI America released Tin Machine on 22   May 1989, issuing different LP and CD formats, with the catalogue numbers MTLS 1044 and CDP 7919902, respectively. At

3330-404: The last three albums I've done. Getting back on course, you could say." AllMusic 's Mark Allender described the music as "hard-edged guitar rock" that contains "intelligence" which other albums in the genre lacked at the time. Ted Asregadoo of Ultimate Classic Rock similarly considered it "grittier" than other rock bands of the time. Author James Perone calls the music "loud guitar rock, with

3404-458: The live series Brilliant Live Adventures . These live versions of "Thursday's Child", "Survive" and "Seven" were previously released as b-sides to Bowie's 2000 single release of " Survive ". Something in the Air reached #16 on the UK album charts. In November 1999, Bowie performed a concert at the small Kit Kat Klub in New York to invitees and contest winners. This show was filmed as part of

3478-434: The local level by concert promoters or by performing arts presenters . Usually, small concert tours are managed by a road manager whereas large concert tours are managed by a tour manager . The main challenge in concert tours is how to move the performance's logistics from one venue to another venue, especially for a transcontinental tour. Tour logistics should be very organized and everything has to happen on time and in

3552-494: The lyrics and lack of melodies. Nevertheless, some reviewers noted that the band were exploring grunge and alternative rock styles before those styles became popular. Tin Machine began recording a follow-up album in late 1989 before Bowie embarked on the solo Sound+Vision Tour . Bowie later rerecorded " I Can't Read " during the sessions for his 1997 album Earthling . More than anything else, I thought I should make as much money as I could, and then quit. I didn't think there

3626-433: The mid-1970s served as an inspiration for the track. Tin Machine recorded the track and " I Can't Read " on the same night. In total, the band recorded 35 songs in just six weeks and all songs were a group effort. In 2017, Gabrels said that the album "could have been a double album" given the amount of material recorded yet not released by them during this period. Armstrong told biographer Paul Trynka, "I thought some of

3700-514: The music Reviewers have categorised Tin Machine as rock , hard rock, art rock and noise rock . Biographers have also identified elements of blues rock on "Heaven's in Here", post-punk and new wave on "Bus Stop" and alternative rock on "Run"; Bowie himself described "Heaven's in Here" as "deconstructionist R&B ". Stylistically, Bowie felt that Tin Machine was a continuation of Scary Monsters (1980): "It's almost dismissive of

3774-459: The music "trudges along mechanically in a kind of soft metal mould" and the album itself ends up "a dusty trip down self-indulgence street". When asked in an interview what the main criticism of Tin Machine would be, Bowie conceded that the album might be "not accessible" to fans: "I guess it's not as obviously melodic as one would think it would probably be [for a Bowie album]." Spitz states that Bowie believed his audience would be ill-prepared for

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3848-425: The next album tomorrow." As the band finished the album, Bowie was sure they would continue. He said, "There'll be another two albums at least. Oh, yes, this will go for a while. While we're all enjoying playing with each other so much, why not?" There's going to be a whole bunch of people who'll say it's just not accessible. It's not as obviously melodic as one would think it probably would be. —David Bowie on

3922-474: The right order as planned. Autoweek magazine estimated 30 to 50 trucks were required by Taylor Swift 's The 1989 World Tour to bring all the stage, sound equipment, instruments, props, and clothes. When Beyoncé visited the United Kingdom with her 2016 The Formation World Tour , it took seven Boeing 747 air freighters and a fleet of more than 70 trucks to get her stage set and other gear to

3996-929: The same promotional CD-R released in late 1999/early 2000 was announced on 17 March 2021 and released on 2 April 2021. Live at the Kit Kat Klub reached #20 in the UK and #93 in Ireland upon its release. From Hunky Dory From Aladdin Sane From Diamond Dogs From Station to Station From Low From Lodger From Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) From Let's Dance From Tin Machine From Earthling From Hours Other songs: Concert tour Different segments of longer concert tours are known as "legs". The different legs of

4070-703: The sessions was close to what he would explore for his next big project. Towards the end of the Glass Spider Tour in November 1987, the tour's American press officer Sarah Gabrels gave Bowie a demo tape containing recordings of her husband Reeves , whom Bowie had unknowingly met and befriended backstage during the American leg; he believed Gabrels was a painter. The demos showcased Gabrels' unique guitar sound, described by biographer Marc Spitz as "improvisational and multi-note but simultaneously hard and bluesy". He recalled, "It happened really fast. David called me, I went over to Switzerland, and we had this music to do—in

4144-426: The sound he wanted to go towards if he had released it under his own name. Tin Machine appeared on Q magazine's 1989 end of the year list; the same magazine would place the album on a list of "Fifty Albums That Should Have Never Been Made" only seven years later. Meanwhile, in a 1998 poll conducted by Melody Maker compiling the 20 worst albums of all time, as chosen by numerous DJs and journalists, Tin Machine

4218-415: The stadium rockstar lifestyle. While he considered retiring from music, Bowie decided the best course of action, as he had done a decade earlier, was to completely rejuvenate himself. One of the first things he did was part ways with his longtime collaborator Carlos Alomar , who had acted as Bowie's bandleader. Biographer David Buckley calls his departure the end of Bowie's tenure as a "pop star". Towards

4292-432: The success of the album caused him to hit a creative low point in his career which lasted the next few years. After his follow-up albums Tonight (1984) and Never Let Me Down (1987) were critically dismissed, Bowie began to re-evaluate where he was at in his career; he would later dismiss this period as his " Phil Collins years". The Glass Spider Tour had begun to tear away at him, as he found it hard to maintain

4366-614: The time of release, the album sold well initially, peaking at number three on the UK Albums Chart , three places higher than Never Let Me Down , and number 28 on the US Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. It also reached the top-ten in Norway and Sweden, although sales decreased quickly. According to Dave Thompson , it spent a total of nine weeks on the UK chart. Short-term sales of Tin Machine were estimated to have been between 200,000 and 1,000,000 copies within

4440-420: The time saying, 'Don't wimp out,' sing like you wrote it ... I have done and frequently do censor myself in terms of lyrics. I say one thing and then I think, 'Ah maybe I'll just take the edge off that a bit." He elaborated, "We wanted to come out of the box with energy, the energy we felt when we were writing and playing. There's very, very little over-dubbing on [the album]. For us [it] is our live sound." Bowie

4514-499: The touring business suffered in the early 2020s because of the COVID-19 pandemic . Pollstar estimated the total lost revenue for the industry in 2020 at more than $ 30 billion. The mobility of concert tours requires a lot of costs, time, and energy. It is very common for musicians to not see family members for over a year during their touring. British singer Adele expressed her unhappiness of concert tours, saying "Touring

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4588-577: The venues. The logistics phase of that tour did not include transportation of the backstage staff, musicians, performers, and the singer herself. The majority of concert tours are part of a promotional campaign to support an album release. Hence, new songs from the respective album are included on its tour's setlist . Some tours are known as "greatest hits tours" or "reunion tour" without any new material or specific album release, such as Fleetwood Mac 's 2009 Unleashed tour and No Doubt 's 2009 Summer Tour . Taylor Swift 's The Eras Tour (2023–2024)

4662-610: The video his all-time favourite of all his music videos. EMI planned an official commercial release for the video in 2007, although this was scrapped due to iTunes ' policy of limiting videos to 10 minutes in length. The label instead released partial clips of the title track and "Under the God" and the full-length clips of "Heaven's in Here" and "Prisoner of Love". The full 13-minute video was later released in 2019 to celebrate its 30th anniversary. The band played an unannounced live show in Nassau while recording Tin Machine , before making

4736-414: Was a good debut album that found "some of the 1970s edge returning to Bowie's music and lyrics", he criticises the lyrics throughout and believes the special charm of Bowie's earlier solo efforts was lost. Pegg states: "As an album in its own right, Tin Machine [remains] one of the least satisfactory listening experiences in Bowie's recorded legacy," a sentiment echoed by Trynka, who calls it an album that

4810-513: Was almost arbitrary – ah, let's just pick a song title." The Sales brothers liked Tin Machine as they felt it was reminiscent of the Monkees , "having your own theme song!" Gabrels's suggestion for the title was The Emperor's New Clothes , although he later admitted that "it was a little too much like setting yourself up; giving your critics ammunition". Bowie enjoyed making Tin Machine , saying "I'm so up on this I want to go and start recording

4884-492: Was also keen on improvising lyrics while standing at the microphone, which he previously did recording "Heroes" (1977). He primarily sang about the first topics that came to him. Gabrels told Buckley that Tin Machine was recorded digitally, which most people at the time figured could not have been done for the sound they were playing. The first song Tin Machine recorded was " Heaven's in Here ", which they wrote from scratch and recorded in their first 30 hours together. This

4958-443: Was any alternative. I thought I was obviously just an empty vessel and would end up like everyone else, doing these stupid fucking shows, singing ' Rebel Rebel ' until I fall over and bleed. — David Bowie on his career at this time, 1996 By the end of 1987, David Bowie was at an artistic low point. Although he had garnered massive commercial success throughout the 1980s starting with Let's Dance (1983), he later said that

5032-467: Was filmed at The Ritz in New York City and directed by Julien Temple , who had previously worked with Bowie on videos and releases such as Jazzin' for Blue Jean (1984), " Absolute Beginners " (1986) and " Day-In Day-Out " (1987). The film was rarely screened on television at the time, although according to Pegg it was distributed as a supporting feature in some UK cinemas. In 1999, Bowie named

5106-407: Was followed by a cover of Roxy Music 's 1972 song " If There Is Something ". Bowie stated: "We were so exhausted that we didn't have it in us to write another song, so we used an old song to show how we as a band would approach someone else's material;" the song would be left off the album and placed on the band's follow-up . Recording progressed quickly, with Tin Machine sometimes recording one song

5180-450: Was made available as a live webcast . Tracks from the Top of the Pops performance on 21 August 1999 were made available in 2024 as part of Hours' 25th anniversary, as were official video recordings from Bowie's performance on Later... with Jools Holland from 4 December 1999. The Elysée Montmartre performance on 14 October 1999 was filmed and recorded with three songs later appearing on

5254-528: Was met with generally mixed reviews from music critics on release. Trynka states that while many welcomed it as Bowie's most challenging record since Station to Station (1976) and Low (1977), the album would quickly be criticised as "pompous, dogmatic and dull". Some noted it as Bowie's most aggressive work since 1980's Scary Monsters , with a reviewer for Q magazine calling it "the loudest, hardest, heaviest effort of his entire career" and "an experience that's not unlike allowing your head to be used as

5328-476: Was recorded in August 1988 at Mountain Studios in Montreux , Switzerland, and later at Compass Point Studios in Nassau , Bahamas in the spring of 1989. The sessions were productive despite personality clashes among the members. The tracks were mostly recorded live in few takes, with Bowie improvising lyrics while standing at the microphone, resulting in a predominantly hard rock sound and lyrics discussing world issues and love. Tin Machine named themselves and

5402-431: Was spearheaded by Bowie, who felt disconnected in his career by 1987 and looked to reinvent himself. After meeting Gabrels through his Glass Spider Tour , the two agreed to work together and would collaborate frequently for the next decade. Bowie hired the Sales brothers, neither of whom he had worked with since the 1970s, after a meeting in Los Angeles, while English producer Tim Palmer was hired to co-produce. The album

5476-462: Was voted number 17. I think [ Tin Machine ] was important as it was sort of a proto-grunge album. [...] Tin Machine I think opened the door to some of the more chaotic-sounding guitar bands. This, to me, was the least vital Bowie album for some time. People seemed to either love it or hate it. At least we got a strong reaction. — Tim Palmer on Tin Machine Some reviewers noted that

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