Read Online Ashes to Ashes The Songs of David Bowie 19762016 Chris O'Leary 9781912248308 Books

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Download As PDF : Ashes to Ashes The Songs of David Bowie 19762016 Chris O'Leary 9781912248308 Books

From the ultimate David Bowie expert comes an exploration of the final four decades of his musical career, covering every song he wrote, performed or produced.

From the ultimate David Bowie expert comes this exploration of the final four decades of the popstar's musical career, covering every song he wrote, performed or produced from 1976 to 2016.

Starting with Low, the first of Bowie's Berlin albums, and finishing with Blackstar, his final masterpiece released just days before his death in 2016, each song is annotated in depth and explored in essays that touch upon the song's creation, production, influences and impact.

Read Online Ashes to Ashes The Songs of David Bowie 19762016 Chris O'Leary 9781912248308 Books

"In 2009, Chris O’Leary began a blog entitled ‘Pushing Ahead of the Dame’ in which he ambitiously aimed to say something about every Bowie song. ‘Ashes to Ashes: The Songs of David Bowie, 1976-2016’ is the second book to grow out of that project; the first being ‘Rebel, Rebel: All the Songs of David Bowie from ’64 to ‘76’, which was published to some acclaim in 2015.

This volume likewise aspires to be as comprehensive as can be (unless and until official releases or bootlegs reveal ‘new’ material), by analysing all the songs which Bowie wrote, co-wrote, produced or performed on in any capacity “in the rough order of their creation” from 1976 to 2016, from ‘Sister Midnight’ on Iggy Pop’s ‘The Idiot’ to Bowie’s ‘Blackstar’ swansong, or, if you wish to treat the subject matter alphabetically, from ‘Abdulmajid’ to ‘Zeroes’.

This means that, like its companion volume, this is a large book, topping 700 pages. Indeed, so sizeable is it that the footnotes and some additional information have been relegated to an online supplement.

On the plus side O’Leary not only has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Bowie’s output but understands music and has a knack of writing about it accessibly. He is also not afraid to be opinionated, in the best possible sense of that word: expressing a personal opinion and being willing to back it up.

On the debit side, O’Leary misses some interesting anecdotes, such as the fact that it was Bowie who, having heard the demo, approached Badalamenti to provide the vocal for the latter’s arrangement of ‘A Foggy Day in London Town’, thereby beating Bono’s identical request by one day. There are also a few errors (the Sandy Hook shooting, having occurred after ‘Valentine’s Day’ was written and recorded could hardly have acted as a possible inspiration for the song) and an occasional tendency to display a wide vocabulary at the expense of intelligibility (‘China Girl’, we’re told, “was a slick anomie”). Moreover, some, like myself, may lament O’Leary’s decision “to devote a bit more space” than was the case in his original blog “to the music” at the expense of “lyrical analysis”.

Nevertheless, for all its shortcomings, this book should be welcomed as a major addition to the growing literature on Bowie, which no fan will want to be, or should be, without."

Product details Paperback 710 pages Publisher Repeater (February 12, 2019) Language English ISBN-10 1912248301

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Ashes to Ashes The Songs of David Bowie 19762016 Chris O'Leary 9781912248308 Books Reviews :

Ashes to Ashes The Songs of David Bowie 19762016 Chris O'Leary 9781912248308 Books Reviews

• This is a book adaptation of the Bowie song-analysis essays found in the "Pushing Ahead of the Dame" blog. The book includes revisions/rewrites of essays + plus some new and exclusive song essays (e.g., Blackstar, Dollar Days) that are not available on the blog.
  
  I recommend the book, especially if you'd like to support the great work done by Chris O'Leary over the years.
  
  I will mention some things i didn't like so much though.
  
  For one, imo some of the rewrites made are vastly inferior to the essay versions found on the blog. For example, the book version of the essay for "The Motel" feels prosaic and neutered compared to the tremendous version found in the blog.
  
  My second general complaint is similar to my first in that i felt some of the new "exclusive" essays were really not worth the wait, as they felt insipid considering the weight and significance of the songs.
• Having thoroughly enjoyed the author’s “Pushing Ahead of the Dame” Bowie blog, I highly recommend this book and his previous one, “Rebel Rebel,” which covers Bowie through 1976’s “Station To Station.”
  
  That being said, I have a few bones to pick with the author. Not in terms of factual accuracy or chronology, but in his subjective interpretation of Bowie’s latter career. Of course, the author’s opinions are valid, but he is often very critical and dismissive of a significant portion of the body of work he is writing about.
  
  I grew up loving David Bowie; his music has been part of the fabric of my life for as long as I can remember, but his1990’s and 2000’s incarnations were “my” Bowie. I bought “Outside”, “Earthling”, “Hours...”, “Heathen” and “Reality” all when they were new, and the author gives them somewhat short shrift. He does give a comprehensive accounting of their creation and as clear a window into Bowie and his process as is probably possible now that he’s gone, but rather than taking these albums on their own terms, the author seems to regard them as self-evidently inferior to or lesser than their predecessors.
  
  I couldn’t disagree more! I was 19 when “Heathen” came out, and though I consistently listened to his glam records throughout high school, it was such a formative album for me. I have always regarded it as one of his best, an older, wiser man returning to his classic sounds and reclaiming them after two decades. O’Leary has an obvious reverence for David Bowie and his music, and this is nowhere more apparent than the chapters on “Warszawa” and “Heroes,” or “Station To Station” from the previous book. But around the time we get to “Never Let Me Down” a tone of dismissal creeps into the narrative. Bowie is constantly recycling, revisiting, indulging and imitating rather than creating, in the author’s estimation.
  
  But that was always Bowie’s strength. He had this ability to invent by imitation and assimilation. Some of his best work resulted from recycling. Listen to “New Angels Of Promise”, which the author correctly points out, recycles from “Sons of the Silent Age.” It’s fantastic!
  
  I really enjoyed these two books, but I had to share my opinion. Hopefully we’ll hear more Bowie in the future, and hopefully Chris O’Leary will be willing to provide these insights on that as well. Thanks for the enjoyable read!
• It does not get more thorough. Not only analysis of the songs, but context of the times and Bowie's life. Perfect
• In 2009, Chris O’Leary began a blog entitled ‘Pushing Ahead of the Dame’ in which he ambitiously aimed to say something about every Bowie song. ‘Ashes to Ashes The Songs of David Bowie, 1976-2016’ is the second book to grow out of that project; the first being ‘Rebel, Rebel All the Songs of David Bowie from ’64 to ‘76’, which was published to some acclaim in 2015.
  
  This volume likewise aspires to be as comprehensive as can be (unless and until official releases or bootlegs reveal ‘new’ material), by analysing all the songs which Bowie wrote, co-wrote, produced or performed on in any capacity “in the rough order of their creation” from 1976 to 2016, from ‘Sister Midnight’ on Iggy Pop’s ‘The Idiot’ to Bowie’s ‘Blackstar’ swansong, or, if you wish to treat the subject matter alphabetically, from ‘Abdulmajid’ to ‘Zeroes’.
  
  This means that, like its companion volume, this is a large book, topping 700 pages. Indeed, so sizeable is it that the footnotes and some additional information have been relegated to an online supplement.
  
  On the plus side O’Leary not only has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Bowie’s output but understands music and has a knack of writing about it accessibly. He is also not afraid to be opinionated, in the best possible sense of that word expressing a personal opinion and being willing to back it up.
  
  On the debit side, O’Leary misses some interesting anecdotes, such as the fact that it was Bowie who, having heard the demo, approached Badalamenti to provide the vocal for the latter’s arrangement of ‘A Foggy Day in London Town’, thereby beating Bono’s identical request by one day. There are also a few errors (the Sandy Hook shooting, having occurred after ‘Valentine’s Day’ was written and recorded could hardly have acted as a possible inspiration for the song) and an occasional tendency to display a wide vocabulary at the expense of intelligibility (‘China Girl’, we’re told, “was a slick anomie”). Moreover, some, like myself, may lament O’Leary’s decision “to devote a bit more space” than was the case in his original blog “to the music” at the expense of “lyrical analysis”.
  
  Nevertheless, for all its shortcomings, this book should be welcomed as a major addition to the growing literature on Bowie, which no fan will want to be, or should be, without.
• Ashes to Ashes by Chris O'Leary is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in early February.
  
  Fifteen chapters, each describing 1-3 albums - parts of which were written in the 2000s as part of an online blog, but includes input from other books, writers, interviews, etc. to plump it up. The writing has a very closeup quality, rather a lot you’re being told something firsthand at a nightclub over a low table, screamed over a din of music, or held arms around shoulders between two sweatily glittering people who think you’re in the know and can keep a secret. David Bowie is (rightly) described with invoking, evocative, palpable sexiness and equal attention is placed to B-sides as A’s, likewise with music videos.