A rave up !!
Robert I. Bloom | brooklyn, ny USA | 08/11/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"i dont know why the tin machine albums gets such tepid reviews generally---i love this stuff-- all of it -and have been listening to it for years-----to me its classic bowie really in the sense that he stretches out and i think like all the geniuses of his generation--dylan hendrix lennon townsend--kinks cream etc----and perhaps to the greatest degree---he of all must reinvent himself--as all artists must--& not to please an audience -most usually who they leave in the dust till they catch up if they ever do- but to be true to their muses-- and w this tin machine stuff-- its a huge wall of sound coming at you----gorgeous and lush as in you belong in rock and roll---- a song as potent as anything he ever wrote--the song gives me much thrills and chills i must say----every time i hear it----- i believe tin machine actually to be bowie at his brilliant best-- and these songs all stand up--much better than some earlier stuff which can seem dated--too disco- ee or what have you--- but he's a genius so its just a matter of how much pay dirt he hits-----and w tin machine he hit quite a vein--and i love the sales brothers on this !! soupy sales sons help bring on the thunder !! the song "if there is something "-- is amazing--the screaming guitars and bowies voicings----sheer raging delight-- and some great melody in there-----w his usual rockin rhythms----this is sheer heaven listening to this-----the segue into the poignant amalpura---- his plaintive voice--- this is rich and gorgeous music !!! you cant talk----another gem--- if you are faMILAIR W FRANK ZAPPAS FIST FEW MOTHERS OF INVENTION albums-----some of the voicings/choruses are resonant with that stuff--- like a mothers of invention on acid if you will----but the real kicker on this disc for me is the fantastic song stateside- yeah its not bowie singing lead-- who cares man !!!!!!! this song is classy rockin bluesy gold ! the last 38 seconds of it rips yer skin off and leaves u shredded-then it segues into another amazing spacey trippy song shopping for girls------next up is a rave up w fire engine siren whiplashings and wailing guitars--this whole album of songs-could wake the dead from a drowsy slumber--I see this music as a soundtrack for a new interpretation of fraNKENSTEIN--big hurt---from the monster about his bad brain--the plaintive `sorry' the doctors answer to that mishap----goodbye mr ed--ed koch ?? who knows--but I just assume bowies talking about me--a universal me - who sees it all-----there must be someone on this planet who sees more than anyone else---why not you--the listener -or me--if the shoe fits etc---the closer to this raging album-hidden- has bowie blowing sax to the screaming guitars for a 58 second reminder that what this venture's import would turn out to be to most critics-hidden !! I think for bowie this work erased everything that preceded it in his own ouvre or mind--- he's clearing his throat here---- and starting anew---- for those w ears to listen and hear-----this album can rebirth you too----"
Hard ROCKING Bowie!
JadeRain | Juneau, AK United States | 02/05/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Ok, I'm a biased Bowie fan, pure and simple. I loved Hard Rock, Metal and Punk back in the day. (still do as an old fogey 44 year old) When Bowie announced that he was "retiring" the old catalog and moving forward, I wasn't sure, but when I heard the first song (off of the first album) Under the God, I was hooked! It had been a dream to see Bowie live, and I got my chance on the tour for this album. Caught him and the boys (all three fantastic players) at the Warfield in San Francisco. I was up close, and it was INCREDIBLE! To finally see Bowie--and so close, he could have been singing all Bon Jovi covers and I would have (ok, that is a stretch, but you know what I mean!) still probably loved it. Besides saying that if you like hard edged music, maybe "metallic punk", you will like both of these albums, but if not, then it probably isn't for you. Finally, Rolling Stone, that crap-rag of "music news" (they are basically worthless coverers of pop music, like Teen or People) had done an interview with Bowie a few years after Tin Machine was gone, and the reviewer--Rolling Stone Arrogance as usual--says in the intro of the piece that "Bowie remains unrepentant" over the Tin Machine albums. LIke he has to apologize for it or something!!! Ok, hey, this is just because I care man. cheers."
Excellent
William R. Nicholas | Mahwah, NJ USA | 03/02/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This and the first Tin Machine album are good reminders of why I hate the rock press. These albums arrived in 1989 and then 1991: grinding guitar rock before Nevermind--when this music was at its least fashionable
The critical gripe?: this was below Bowie's massive ability. Translation?: why is Bowie not following the path WE have laid out for him. I don't wanna play with you no more--give me MY dolly!
With Bowie, it is never about what he does with his massive musical capability, it is about how he applies it to anything he wants, and the fact that he DOES anything he wants.
In Tin Machine, he gave straight rock a punk energy. To an extent, he had since Ziggy Stardust. But this is the master way past glam--he is simply being the master.
And if you listen, the rock is straight, not simple. Hear how Reeve Grabral's guitar open's "One Shot" with a wha wha hook that makes your head turn, or the Frippish effects he applies to the grind of the music. Hear how this punk has a Lennonish melodic glow. As always with Bowie, the art is readily evident, it is just evident in the structure of great songs
When a master does the straight, it is never that straight. When a critic complains Bowie is too simple, we know the wannabe musician truly is simple as simpletons get."