HEROES

The second of the Berlin trilogy, and in my opinion better than its predecessor 'Low', Heroes sees Bowie taking his recently discovered electronic soundscapes into new and overall darker territory. Brian Eno's influence is seen more strongly on this album, and good old Bob Fripp takes lead guitar duties, perfectly complementing Alomar's less frantic style.

'Beauty and the Beast' is a brilliant opener, being a darker-than-most pop song. Although it performed poorly on the charts, it performs brilliantly here. 'Joe the Lion' is a very disjointed track, with Bowie's vocals portraying the title-character excellently. 'Heroes', of course, is the star here. A love song, at least on the surface, it soars, with its beautifully penned lyrics and unique production, making it an absolute highlight of Bowie's career. 'Sons of the Silent Age' is dark and brooding, perfectly structured with the pre- chorus providing contrast with the chorus proper, creating a tune of real character. The lyrics are also haunting. 'Blackout' is a real gem. Totally schizophrenic, it twists and turns through sections bordering an chaotic noise, to melodic refrains. All in little under four minutes. The instumentals start now, although 'V-2 Schneider' is not strictly instrumental. This song is pure kraftwerk-inspired electronica, with the only lyrics being a repeated refrain of the song's title. 'Sense of Doubt' pictures a dark and brooding landscape of sounds, achieved in very few notes. Minimalsim is the key to that piece. 'Moss Garden' is a meditative piece of more uplifting beauty, perhaps the very definition of ambient music. The final instrumental is the minimalistic jazz piece called 'Neukoln'. David plays sax himself here, very ably, as he did on the song 'Subterraneans off the Low album. 'The Secret Life of Arabia' closes the album somewhat strangely. I'm not sure if another vocal piece was necessary, and this vaguely Eastern-flavoured pop song seems like it was just added to the end of the album without any forethought. Nevertheless it is far from bad tune.

Heroes easily sits amongst my favourite Bowie albums, and out of the one's I know is the most atmospheric. Progressive, but not Prog.

Fans of electronic prog should love this. Five Stars.