LOW

The first of the so called "Berlin Trilogy" of albums. This was critically acclaimed at the time although that didn't translate into big sales but "Sound And Vision" was a surprise hit of sorts. Brian Eno really "makes" this record for me, the second half especially. There are a couple of killer tunes on the first side as well. I was impressed with all the instruments Bowie plays on here.

"Speed Of Life" is catchy which isn't surprising but the fact Bowie starts the album off with an instrumental is. We get bass, percussion, piano and synths standing out. "Breaking Glass" is a toe-tapper with guitar, bass and a beat to start as vocals join in. I do prefer the stripped down chorus to the rest. "What In The World" has these strange sounding synths and much more to begin with. So much going on including vocals. This reminds me of "Golden Years" for some reason. The guitar sounds excellent, quite interesting and Iggy Pop adds backing vocals.

"Sound And Vision" is good with the bass and synths bringing me some joy here. Again it's catchy and we get some backing female vocals and Bowie adds sax. He starts singing around 1 1/2 minutes. "Always Crashing In The Same Car" is a top three, yes I really like this for some reason. Check out the treated guitar to start as laid back vocals and more help out. It turns fuller with drums before a minute. Bowie adds some cello and I like how the guitars are used on this one.

"Be My Wife" is another top three. Piano and drums standout to begin with as the vocals join in. Bass and guitar follow. I really enjoy the bass. "A New Career In A New Town" has a beat and spacey sounds before high pitched piano lines join in along with harmonica from Bowie. Back to the opening them as they are contrasted. Nice bass 2 1/2 minutes in. "Warszawa" is pretty much all Eno as he wrote the song and plays everything on it. Love the mellotron-like sounds from the chamberlain and the synths as well. Bowie adds some World music-like vocals that I wish weren't on here but oh well.

"Art Decade" has synths and what sounds like a tambourine and more. It's a laid back tune and quite melancholic with chamberlain, cello, piano and guitar. "Weeping Wall" has some vibes and xylophone which adds a different shade here. Vocal melodies and guitar expressions as well. My favourite(and it's no contest) is "Subterraneans". Spacey synths and bass early then some vocal melodies 2 minutes in. Great sound here! Such a dreamy mood to it. Some relaxed sax after 3 minutes from Bowie then vocals a minute later. Sax is back before 5 minutes.

This is worth 4 stars but I give Eno a ton of credit for this album. And it's one of the rare Bowie albums I have kept after all these years.