Brian Eno is MORE DARK THAN SHARK

INTERVIEWS, REVIEWS & RELATED ARTICLES

Record Collector NOVEMBER 2024 - by John Tucker

DAVID BOWIE 1964-1982 - ON TRACK: EVERY ALBUM, EVERY SONG

Well-intentioned but insubstantial overview by Carl Ewens

To the question 'does the world really need another book on David Bowie's catalogue?' the answer is probably no. Ewens is obviously a great fan, but this book is workmanlike and lacking in depth. Despite his enthusiasm for his subject, it lacks the detail even the most basic research would have turned up. Just as examples, the guitar riff from The Jean Genie is described as "an old chestnut from manny blues songs" when it's acknowledged as a direct lift from Bo Diddley's 1955 I'm A Man, via The Yardbirds and then Bowie's mate Iggy Pop; the musicians swapping instruments for Boys Keep Swinging was "perhaps at Eno's suggestion" when it's pretty common knowledge that this was a direct result of Eno's Oblique Strategies cards (Eno did receive a co-writing credit on the album, incidentally, although here it's incorrectly credited to Bowie alone); and the live albums are skimped with no mention, for example, that Stage originally appeared with a strange chronological running order, later reissued as it was actually played on the night (and furthermore the text gives two different years of release). It's a sparky read and useful for the novice but it doesn't add anything substantial to the 'European canon' of Bowie books.