DIAMOND DOGS

Probably not having enough time to write new material after becoming famous in the wake of Ziggy and Aladdin Sane, Bowie first released 'Pin-Ups'. But obviously he was under pressure to come up with a new original album, while also getting wrapped up in the rich'n'famous rock'n'roll lifestyle he sought to critique it from within. This album feels like both a statement on the rock circus but also is to some extent a phone-in performance. The title track in particular is a disappointing rock standard, and it is not surprising it didn't fare well as a single. The better-known radio-friendly "Rebel Rebel" fares a bit better, but is very much in the same formula as "Jean Jeanie", and both singles could have been written by the Rolling Stones, which I guess Bowie was into at the time, but I have no inclination to ever put these on. "Rock'n'roll with Me" is similar, and just sounds crass and cynical. The best tracks, to my ears, are the "Sweat Thing-Candidate-Sweat Thing' suite, and the 1984-inspired tracks at the end ("1984", "Big Brother"), which musically switch out of the Stones-rock-on-autopilot and into at least some new territory, if still fairly tame. Like Aladdin Sane, this is not an album I can listen to all the way through easily, and with only half the tracks of high quality this ends up a mixed bag albeit still an important entry in the Bowie discography for fans. I give this 6.2 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to 3 PA stars.

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