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RisingStone

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RollingFreak
Am I the only one that likes "hours..."? I think its @#$%& brilliant and only gotten better with time. I don't know why THAT one has always been singled out as a real stinker. I guess cause he wasn't really doing anything really off the wall? Just kinda felt like happy, content Bowie, but I thought the songs were super strong and I'm sorry the reception to it really got to him.

Granted, if its what led to Reality and Heathen then its not for nothing. But the hours/Toy era is so often overlooked.

Its really crazy how consistent Bowie was. IMO he has a down decade from 84-94. I've tried and just Tonight, Never Let Me Down, Tin Machines, Black Tie White Noise, and Buddha were just not my thing. But the subsequent decade from 95-05 really made up for it in a big way.

I almost put, “Hours sucks,” in this post and then remembered I only had given a couple of listens to the album as it didn’t click on me on the first run hence unfair.

I’ve left it at home (halfway around the globe from where I am now) and I’m anti-streaming as I posted somewhere here so don’t have a means to give it another try I’m afraid…

I'm sure, like all Bowie albums, its not for everyone. And I've always assumed its less admired because he wasn't pushing any real boundaries. But I thought he wrote some damn good songs then and it only really falters with the last 3 IMO. The rest is pretty top notch. Something In The Air and Dreaming My Life Away are great atmospheric rock tracks, Survive and particularly Seven are tremendous to the point softer tracks, Thursday's Child is an excellent single, and The Pretty Things Are Going To Hell is great rock. I feel that one fits pretty similarly with some Earthling material that is better received. Even the track with lyrics written by a fan (What's Really Happening) is a strong one.

With everything that gets reevaluated with Bowie over the years, I keep waiting for this one to get its due. Its inoffensive but not uninteresting, in my mind, and I guess people like when Bowie's probing more. But I can regularly throw this on and be entertained.

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RollingFreak
Am I the only one that likes "hours..."? I think its @#$%& brilliant and only gotten better with time. I don't know why THAT one has always been singled out as a real stinker. I guess cause he wasn't really doing anything really off the wall? Just kinda felt like happy, content Bowie, but I thought the songs were super strong and I'm sorry the reception to it really got to him.

Granted, if its what led to Reality and Heathen then its not for nothing. But the hours/Toy era is so often overlooked.

Its really crazy how consistent Bowie was. IMO he has a down decade from 84-94. I've tried and just Tonight, Never Let Me Down, Tin Machines, Black Tie White Noise, and Buddha were just not my thing. But the subsequent decade from 95-05 really made up for it in a big way.

no you are not alone i love hours

i'm quite fond of omikron the nomad soul also

i really like black tie white noise and there's good stuff on tonight and even never let me down and the other albums you mentioned as well

but for me his real turn around was with outside that along with diamond dogs is my favorite album of his

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ProfessorWolf
but for me his real turn around was with outside that along with diamond dogs is my favorite album of his

Glad I'm not the only one with Hours!

And yeah, that Outside period was just so cool. As you say, there's redeeming qualities to all his albums, but it really seemed like he was done f'ing around and wanted to do something honest and throw himself fully into it. The tour was awesome, with Nine Inch Nails opening and transitioning seamlessly into his set. Just seemed like the first tour in forever when he was touring new material and feeling confident about it. And so many non hit old songs that he threw in there too. Really kickstarted those next couple eras till he disappeared. There's the 95-99 era where he was confidently making new material and still pushing boundaries, then the really spectacular 2000-2004 era where it finally felt like he could like back at his whole career and be current, yet retrospective, all at the same time. Finally enjoy the fruits of labors without feeling like an oldies act. I'm glad we got those 10 years, because Bowie in the 90s after the S&V tour could have coasted and he certainly didn't take the easy route for himself! Admirable to say the least, but got him producing some stand up material that he could be proud of, unlike literally any of his contemporaries that stopped being relevant in about 1980.

10 years. My how the time flies.

I agree with earlier posts about the quality of Outside, The Next Day and Blackstar. They are all excellent.

Recently I have listed to Black Tie/White Noise quite a bit. I had next to no interest in it upon release, but I think it is a fine record and a great listen.

I've always been partial to the Berlin trilogy, particularly the first two installments. Sometimes I play the collected instrumentals from that era. The disc is called All Saints. The albums that bookend the Berlin trilogy are up there for me as well. (Station to Station & Scary Monsters)

It's all good, of course. I like Hunky Dory, Ziggy, Alladin Sane too but that isn't my favourite era.

If you don't know it, give this outtake from Young Americans a listen. It should have made the cut instead of the perfunctory cover Across the Universe.

It's Gonna Be Me



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026-01-13 02:10 by JimmyTheSaint.

I think it was "Putting Out Fire" that made people with at least the slightest interest in music aware of him. Back in those days there were 2 songs that got everybody out on the dance-floor, one was "Putting Out Fire" and the other was "Because The Night" by Pattie Smith, at least in a student community. Then came the single "Let´s Dance" and a lot of people couldn´t take it. It wasn´t commercial enough. It was inevitably compared to it´s predecessor.

The original Putting Out Fire, and particularly the extended version released as a single was a full blast to the ears and ass! This was all over the radio in the Detroit area when I was a wee lad starting my love affair with all things Bowie.

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JimmyTheSaint
10 years. My how the time flies.

I agree with earlier posts about the quality of Outside, The Next Day and Blackstar. They are all excellent.

Recently I have listed to Black Tie/White Noise quite a bit. I had next to no interest in it upon release, but I think it is a fine record and a great listen.

I've always been partial to the Berlin trilogy, particularly the first two installments. Sometimes I play the collected instrumentals from that era. The disc is called All Saints. The albums that bookend the Berlin trilogy are up there for me as well. (Station to Station & Scary Monsters)

It's all good, of course. I like Hunky Dory, Ziggy, Alladin Sane too but that isn't my favourite era.

If you don't know it, give this outtake from Young Americans a listen. It should have made the cut instead of the perfunctory cover Across the Universe.

It's Gonna Be Me

OMG, thank you for sharing this. Absolutely stunning.

Ten years without David Bowie, he left an unfillable void





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026-01-10 12:18 by Stone601.

David Bowie 2025 documentary - David Bowie, dernier acte - [www.arte.tv] , HD-Video - (non-geoblocked).

Tribute to David Bowie - Heroes never die - [www.arte.tv] , HD-Video - (non-geoblocked).

In no other country did "Putting Out Fire" stay as a number 1 in the charts as long as in Norway with 7 weeks and then another one, according to wikipedia (4 weeks in Sweden). In contrast, "Let´s Dance" was a huge hit, real huge. They say it had a larger than life complexity.

Bowie:The Final Act is a decent doc, although the title is slightly misleading as it covers different eras of his career, not just the last one.

"Let´s Dance" only stayed for 2 weeks as number 1 in Norway, but they say it stayed longer totally, compared to "Putting Out Fire". I guess it was too sophisticated to many. It was called "Post Disco" according to wikipedia. A hit had to have a fast pace and catchy tune, not the blues of "Let´s Dance".

Re: It’s Gonna Be Me

DrWatts…

You are welcome. I am glad you enjoyed it. Hard to believe it didn’t make the cut for YA. It’s just as persuasive as the title cut at capturing the “Philly soul” vibe.

It does feature on live releases from that era.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2026-01-18 18:39 by JimmyTheSaint.

The Australian --- 20 January 2026



ROCKMAN