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Rating:
Once again "Heathen".
Why listen to this "Heathen" when we have behind us the red mane of Ziggy Stardust, the Apocalypse of "Diamond Dogs", the electronic rain of the Berlin pentalogy, and the blood palette of "Outside"?
Because "Heathen" is my tireless Bowie album. Careful, I'm not saying it's the best: I'm saying that it is absolutely magnetic, like the trip-hop magnets of "Sunday", a slow and inexorable opening track, "the beginning of an end" with the chorus of judgment day. Certainly deceptive as a beginning, since it's followed by a "Cactus" (Pixies cover) first acoustic then assertively electric, electronic, and choral together. But let's drop the drumsticks for a moment and head to a more classic zone for Bowie, that of the majestic ballad "Slip Away", a future "Space Oddity" dedicated to the show of Uncle Floyd, a sort of ingenious 70s BimBumBam. Bowie is relentless; following these three masterpieces are immediately two more: "Slow Burn", an epic rock fury inflamed by Pete Townshend's guitar and an effective bass line, and "Afraid", the speed of sound supported by precise string counterpoints.
Aside from two in my opinion weak covers, namely Neil Young's "I've Been Waiting For You", which adds nothing to the album's sound, and the brand new and delirious yet annoying "I Took A Trip On A Gemini Spaceship" by Legendary Stardust Cowboy (an obscure 60s bluesman from whom Bowie stole a piece for Ziggy's surname), all the other tracks on the album manage to amaze and surprise me every time. In "I Would Be Your Slave" the artist returns to experimenting by combining his slow crooner singing with unmistakably jungle drumming and an anxious electronic base of breaths, and in "5:15 The Angels Have Gone" the rhythms transform into the beats of our panting hearts as we try to run in the snow, with sudden bursts of drums, sprinkles of strings, and synthetic choirs.
The work closes with three songs I consider absolutely indispensable to understand that with this album Bowie wanted to gracefully conclude a phase of his discography: "Everyone Says Hi" is a lighthearted orchestral-acoustic pop ballad that summarizes and improves on the style of the previous "...Hours", "A Better Future" is an anguished protest glance towards God, dark and apocalyptic, while "Heathen (The Rays)" is a sky of magnificent and solemn suggestions both in the text and the sounds.
This is my relentless, magnetic, tireless, and visionary album of the White Duke, a furious, circular, and pagan concept album... and for now, it's also the last of "my" Bowie.
From "Heathen (The Rays)""Steel on the skyline
sky made of glass
made for the real world
all things must pass"
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
01 Sunday (04:46)
Nothing remains
We could run when the rain slows
Look for the cars or signs of life
Where the heat goes
Look for the drifters
We should crawl under the bracken
Look for the shafts of light on the road
Where the heat goes
Everything has changed
For in truth, it's the beginning of nothing
And nothing has changed
Everything has changed
For in truth, it's the beginning of an end
And nothing has changed
Everything has changed
(first voice)
In your fear
Of what we have become
Take to the fire
Now we must burn
All that we are
Rise together
Through these clouds
As on wings
(2nd voice)
In your fear, seek only peace
In you fear, seek only love
In your fear, seek only peace
In you fear, seek only love
In your fear, in your fear
As on wings
Ohhh
Woooo
This is the trip
And this the business we take
This is our number
All my trials, Lord
Will be remembered
Everything has changed
02 Cactus (02:55)
Sitting here wishing on a cement floor
Just wishing that I had just something you wore
I put it on when I go lonely
Will you take off your dress and send it to me?
I miss your kissin' and I miss your head
And a letter in your writing doesn't mean you're not dead
Just run outside in the desert heat
Make your dress all wet and send it to me
I miss your soup and I miss your bread
And a letter in your writing doesn't mean you're not dead
So spill your breakfast and drip your wine
Just wear that dress when you di yi yi yi yine
D -A -V -I -D
Sitting here wishing on a cement floor
Just wishing that I had just something you wore
So bloody your hands on the cactus tree
Wipe it on your dress and send it to me
Sitting here wishing on a cement floor
Just wishing that I had just something you wore
04 Slow Burn (04:41)
Here shall we live in this terrible town
Where the price for our eyes shall squeeze them tight like a fist
And the walls shall have eyes
And the doors shall have ears
But we'll dance in the dark
And they'll play with our lives
Like a Slow Burn
Leading us on and on and on
Like a Slow Burn
Turning us round and round and round
But who are we
So small in times such as these
Slow Burn
Slow Burn
Oh, these are the days
These are the strangest of all
These are the nights
These are the darkest to fall
But who knows?
Echoes in tenement halls
Who knows?
Though the years snare them all
Like a Slow Burn
Leading us on and on and on
Like a Slow Burn
Twirling us round and round and upside down
There's fear overhead
There's fear overground
Slow Burn
Slow Burn
Like a Slow Burn
Leading us on and on and on
Like a Slow Burn
Turning us round and round and round
And here are we
At the center of it all
Slow Burn
Slow Burn
Slow Burn
07 I Would Be Your Slave (05:14)
Walking in the snowy street
Let me understand
Drifting down a silent path
Stumbling over land
Open up your heart to me
Show me who you are
And I would be your slave
Do you sleep in quietude
Do you walk in peace
Do you laugh out loud at me
No one else is free
Open up your heart to me
Show me all you are
And I would be your slave
I don't sit and wait
I don't give a damn
I don't see the point at all
No footprints in the sand
I bet you laugh out loud at me
A chance to strike me down
Give me peace of mind at last
Show me all you are
Open up your heart to me
I would be your slave
I don't sit and wait
I don't give a damn
I don't see the point at all
No footprints in the sand
I would give you all my love
Nothing else is free
Open up your heart to me
And I would be your slave
12 Heathen (The Rays) (04:16)
Steel on the skyline
Sky made of glass
Made for a real world
All things must pass
Oo-o
Waiting for something
Looking for someone
Is there no reason?
Have I stared too long?
Oo-o, Oo-o
You say you'll leave me
And when the sun is low
And the rays high
I can see it now
I can feel it die
Oo-o, Oo-o
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Other reviews
By turkish
Bowie has been everything, done everything, played everything. And he’s still here, with his magnificent voice.
He knows what rock ’n’ roll is, they’ve lived it and can still churn out decent music.
By Mr_Iko
The White Duke never ceases to amaze!
An album of exquisite craftsmanship that will undoubtedly amaze even the longtime fans of the indomitable fashion-maker David.
By KillerJoe
With 'Heathen,' Bowie intended to offer an album worthy of his great masterpieces.
'Heathen (The Rays)' is a monumental song with a masterful arrangement.
