Bowie and his Collaborators
Hiya,
I’ve been Bowie-binging of late. No need to wonder why. I was as shocked as the next person. It’s a shame that this is what it took for me to delve deeper into his work, but however it started it’s been a rewarding journey. One song that struck me was “Be My Wife” – both the song and the clip. There’s such a sense of desolation in both. I also love the lyric – each line seems like a separate statement – “I’ve lived all over the world / I’ve left every place” there’s something about it that just grabs me. And the look on his face as he sings the words – I see a despondence. Of course then there is the guitar work in it. So good. Enjoy …
(Note: that’s David playing lead guitar)
One of his great knacks was finding great collaborators – here are a few:
Mick Ronson
Let’s start at Ziggy era … but I’ll also share some interview footage with Mick – so gentlemanly, softly spoken … then he rips out various riffs that we all know
Life on Mars – I’ve picked this one because of the gloriously melodic, slinky solo
Moving away from the guitar stuff for a second, this is a live in a TV studio of the same song, no guitar, but worth it just to hear an older him sing the song and tell the story behind it’s creation:
Starman – I’ve picked this one purely because of the camaraderie when David puts his arm around Mick in the chorus. Hey – not all great songs need a solo!
… and here’s the interview footage with Mick … just casually demonstrating how to play some of those great songs.
Brian Eno & Robert Fripp on ‘Heroes’
I've long been into the work of Brian Eno as well as his collaborations with Robert Fripp (checkout No Pussyfooting and Evening Star - both albums are endlessly rewarding). The creativity in this song becomes even more apparent when you watch the making of.
Making of with Tony Visconti – this is great:
Nile Rodgers & Stevie Ray Vaughan - Let’s Dance
I’m going with the album version – more SRV getting his best Albert King on! So brimming with life!
And here’s a clip of Nile Rodgers telling the story of how the song developed – watch how he deomonstrates the transformation of the song from it’s original shape to the one we all know – I find this stuff fascinating.
And for a special treat, here’s David reuniting with Mick Ronson at the tribute to Freddy Mercury concert – playing ‘Heroes’ which he was not on the original recording, but the way he hits it from top to bottom is just killer:
Cheers,
Rosie
