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"Hours..."
David Bowie
Virgin Records, 1999
REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 10/11/1999
If I had to use a word to describe my past experiences with
David Bowie's music, it would be "unapproachable". Sure, the man
has had some great songs over the years, but every time I've tried
to listen to one of his albums, I've always found myself feeling
like an outsider who's just being shown a small glimpse of the big
picture. Maybe that's why I've not found myself willing to take
chances with Bowie's recent releases -after my not-so-pleasant
first experience with
Black Tie White Noise, I all but gave up on his recent
output.
Then, I decided to take a chance on
'hours...', Bowie's latest release - and, no, I didn't base
this review off the Webcasts of the album, I actually got a copy to
review. Much to my surprise and delight, Bowie seems to have shed
the "hipper-than-thou" attitude which torpedoed a lot of his recent
work, and has created one of the most approachable albums of his
career - one, in fact, that might get him noticed on the radio
again.
It didn't start out quite that promising. "Thursday's Child" had
a decent enough rhythm section, but Bowie's vocals seemed to have
taken a dip south, almost becoming slightly out of tune at times.
(Having freely admitted I've not listened to most of Bowie's 1990s
work, I don't know if this is a new development or not.) But his
heart seems to be in the right place musically, and things end on a
more positive note.
For much of
'hours...', Bowie spends the time with
guitarist/collaborator Reeves Gabriels creating music that harkens
back to his glory days. Tracks like "Survive," "New Angels Of
Promise," "Seven" and "The Pretty Things Are Going To Hell" (I
don't think this refers to the band of the same name) all are
moments of pure brilliance, showing that Bowie has hardly lost his
pop sensibilities.
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