Search - David Bowie :: Buddha of Suburbia

Bowie's Forgotten Album Repackaged

neoninfusion | Sydney, NSW Australia | 12/16/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Back in 1993, this album was originally conceived as a straight soundtrack for the BBC TV dramatisation of the Hanif Kureishi novel, 'The Buddha of Suburbia'. It eventually became more than a series of instrumental passages recorded for the film due to Bowie's refound creativity and was rebuilt into a bona fide 10-track solo album. Unfortunately the album was marketed at the time as a mere soundtrack and consequently it was unfairly overlooked as a "real" Bowie album, especially when it followed shortly after Bowie's first solo effort in 5 years; 1993's jazzy 'Black Tie, White Noise'.



'The Buddha of Suburbia' is performed mainly by Bowie and multi-instrumentalist Erdal Kizilcay and begins with the title track (incidently, the only song to appear in the film); a slow-tempo accoustic piece which slowly builds with further instrumentation. Listen for the riff from Space Oddity - 3 and a half minutes into the song and quotes from The Man Who Sold the World's 'All the Madmen'. Aside from the album's instrumental pieces, these are the only salutes to his past as Bowie was then to provide a glimpse into the future, particularly the next phase which was to be the remarkable alternative-rock of the 'Outside' album, along with the odd jazz number from 'Black Tie, White Noise'.



Track 2 'Sex and the Church' (a quasi-techno piece with computer-filtered vocals and soothing sax) and track 3, the instrumental 'South Horizon' wouldn't sound out of place during Bowie's late 70's Berlin period, but with Mike Garson's piano over the top of Vangelis' Blade Runner theme. Garson would go onto provide the motif for Outside - that strange, jangling piano. Track 4 'The Mysteries' is also instrumental and in the same vein.



Track 5 'Bleed Like a Craze, Dad' provides more 'Black Tie' funk while the standout track follows in 'Strangers When We Meet'. This, although the same tempo as the re-recorded version on Outside, is significantly different and well worth a listen. For those uninitiated, this is one of Bowie's best songs since the 80's - uplifting and compassionate.



Track 7 'Dead Against It' is a melodic up-tempo song which was to give an incite into the way Bowie would sing his vocals in later albums like 'Hours': that rasp in the higher register. Track 8 'Untitled' is straight out of the 'Black Tie' sessions, while Track 9 'Ian Fish, UK Heir' is another moody instrumental piece similar to 'Moss Garden' and 'Subterraneans'. The album concludes with a remix of the title track.



What is appealing is that the instrumental tracks fit neatly into the album mixed with the vocal tracks, showing that Bowie was reconnecting with his experimental spirit. This was to be the key to the layers and textures of his next album, 95's 'Outside' - which contains some of his best material ever. Buddha is definately the forerunner to Outside. But its beauty is that it is one of those linking albums, like Young Americans - in this case, a halfway house between the jazz inflections and club beats of 'Black Tie, White Noise' and the dark tension and jangly piano of 'Outside'. So it fits perfectly within the Bowie canon, and now is finally recognised as such.



Buy it if you are curious, you'll be rewarded, especially if you are a Bowie fan and you like the Outside, Low and Heroes albums. If you are thinking of buying this for someone else, do so; it is accessible enough that they won't be disappointed. After all, Buddha is not a soundtrack, but a real Bowie album. And now it has finally been recognised and remastered as such.



"

This is VINTAGE - not new Bowie, from 1993

SFDreamsLA | 10/14/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"So I LOVE this album. The version of "Strangers When We Meet" on this album is far superior to the one recorded for the 1995 "Outside" album. But just so you all know - this is a 1993 album - not new, except as a domestic release. It's really fantastic. I think it's better than most of his albums from the next few years - the trilogy of Outside, Earthling and Heathen. IMHO of course."

A Flawless Work

Rob Pongi | Tokyo, Japan | 10/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As I mentioned earlier, I was able to purchase a pre-release version of "The Buddha of Suburbia" last week and, of course, I've been listening to it everyday since then! :O)



However, since many of the tracks here are quite complex, very emotional and so moving, I am still not quite able to fully appreciate and comprehend ALL of this truly excellent album: "The Buddha of Suburbia" But, honestly, the more I listen to it the more I really think that this album is just absolutely impeccable in its composition, performance and overall production. All of the tracks are outstanding in one way or another within their specific style and genre. And all of the songs are sequenced together in a very cohesive manner that brings the entire work together quite well. "The Buddha of Suburbia" is, indeed, a fully consummate and flawless work as a whole.



Also, I really feel that this is quite possibly the most genuine and sincere album ever released by David Bowie so far. There are no characters or costumes or gimmicks within this production at all. Instead, this release features a very wide, dynamic and absolutely magnificent range of musical styles that fully display Mr. Bowie's truly extensive gamut of musical production and performance, more so than any of this other albums, in my humble opinion. So in that respect, within "The Buddha of Suburbia" we get to fully appreciate more of the "real" David Bowie and really experience nearly all of his many truly unique signature styles, which make comparisons to other producers and performers impossible. Five stars. Get it NOW!!!"