Heathen Freaks

Overall Album Score: 9.9 out of 10

Honestly, I've listened to this album way too much to properly review it. At least it isn't on the same playing field as most of the other albums that I've reviewed on this site. When I originally bought this album, I thought it was good and I liked it a lot ... but it didn't quite connect with me. And then sometime last summer, I put this in my car stereo, pumped the volume up to MAX, and this thing finally clicked with me and I was awe-inspired. This is album is, in one word, superb.

What really makes David Bowie one of the best (if not the best) rock stars who have been around for nearly a half-century is his ability to pull stuff like this off out of the blue. He absolutely refuses to let himself be washed-up. He didn't let outgoing Glam movement be his Cassius ... he changed styles and stayed on top of what he was doing. And ... whoah ... how absolutely out of the blue was this thing? ... He's been known to pull off great things out of the blue, but never like this before. This is not only one of the best albums of Bowie's career, but one of the best albums ever made. (Yeah, that's a pretty bold statement for something that's really just an opinion, but ... this is my web site and I'm the king.)

Now that it's the 2000s, (and he finally stopped following the new trends popular with the 12-year-olds) Bowie decided to pursue more of what The Flaming Lips and Radiohead were up to: music that is reminiscent of pop stuff of the old days except with artistic pretensions and studio mastery. Indeed, this might be the best bandwagon Bowie ever decided to leap upon ... judging by this album, it was right up his alley. He's always been an artistic guy (...I mean, Ziggy Stardust had an artistic purpose ... vaguely even Let's Dance had one...) and he was always able to create a catchy song or two no matter what album he was working on. So, this was pretty much an obvious thing for him. He started the switch on Hours, and now we get to see that fully blossom.

And ... geeeeez ... you're just going to have to listen to this. It's amazing. If you don't like it that much at first, listen to it more. If you can appreciate this thing half as much as I do, your money was well spent.

Note: Ziggy Stardust still has my vote for my favorite Bowie album ... but even I have to admit that Heathen is more impressive in most respects and has less glaring flaws.

Overall Album Score: 9.9 out of 10 (This thing is utterly splendid. I doubt I'll never get tired of listening to this ... This, along with Ziggy Stardust and Heroes is what makes David Bowie an immortal. This is a masterpiece.)

Average Song Score: 9.7 (All of these songs are nearly perfect. There's nothing I would do to change these.)

Album Tilt: 10 (This works better as an album more than anything Bowie's ever done.)

Artist Rating: 10 (High artistic points for Bowie all around on this one! The arrangements are amazing!)

Track Reviews

Sunday 9.5/10

This is a mightily effective song. It might not have much of a great melody, but everything about this song seems to be perfect in spite of that. The neat modern-sounding drum sequences going all throughout the beginning of it, and the echoey "space-age" synths are really neat. Even better than this is when the song finally takes off in the song's final minutes ... like this whopper of an album is ready for takeoff.

Cactus 10/10

Even when Bowie does a cover these days, he manages to rule all. This is even ever-so-slightly better than that Pixies song ... Yes, it's true that David's sounds more polished and mainstreamy, but the attitude isn't suppressed whatsoever. The attitude is what I always find so appealing about listening to Pixies songs, and Bowie sure manages to do it justice.

Slip Away 10/10

And Bowie even manages to get touching here, even though I've never totally been able to figure out what this song means. The piano, the melody, the chorus ... Bowie's vocal performance ... this song is absolutely stunning! ... This was originally my favorite song in the album ... and it remains *one* of my favorites to this day!

Slow Burn 10/10

This is quite easily one of the best songs that Bowie ever did. He was nominated for a Grammy for his vocal performance on this song (but knowing about the nature of the Grammy awards, it doesn't mean that much). This is a song that sounds a lot like "Heroes," with that pulsating bass rhythm. This one has the best tune, great feeling injected throughout it ... what a super song. And, yes, Bowie does actually turn in a good vocal performance.

Afraid 10/10

Yes ... I think it's pretty safe to say that you probably figured out already that I've absolutely fallen in love with Heathen, and there is going to be a lot of 10s in these track reviews. This is yet another brilliant song. The best thing here is those loud string sections doing awesome stuff in the background. This is another song that just takes off and it'll send you to the moooooooooon.

I've Been Waiting For You 9/10

Well, this certainly isn't a 10, even though it's still a very good song! I can say without fear of contradiction (from anyone who hasn't lost a few brain cells during the cultural revolution) that this is completely better than Neil Young's original. But don't worry, Neil Young fans, Neil is still awesome for writing it. Bowie is awesome for making it awesome, though.

I Would Be Your Slave 9.5/10

This doesn't sound much like something a rock star (whose likeness was commonly posted up in teenaged girls' bedrooms during the 70s and 80s and who is married to a supermodel who pretty much tips the scale of hotness) would write, but rather a completely un-hip and nerdular person like ME would write. Is Bowie finally reaching to his modern-age fan base (me)? This is an uncharacteristically vibrant song with mounds of passion and desperation dribbling off of him. You really wouldn't think that Bowie had it in him.

I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spacecraft 9/10

I love this song because it's so danged sci-fi that it can't help itself. It sounds so much like the Star Trek theme song (in certain respects) that it's just awesome. And I also like the lyrics of this one. They're playful and funny.

5:15 The Angels Have Gone 10/10

Bark! This is ANOTHER TOTALLY AWESOME SONG!!! I like this one's instrumentation the best on this one. The pleasant, Christmas-like quality of it, and then the loud, violent intrusion of the drums is great. Not only that, but Bowie's got a good handle on the melody. He also manages to inject some nice passion and feeling in this one. How wonderful! Another keeper!

Everyone Says Hi 10/10

This is VERY NEARLY a 10plus. At any rate, it's my favorite song on the album ... and it has the best melody of all of them. This is a mightily catchy tune that seems to strike a chord in me when I'm feeling depressed. Really, we need more songs like this!

I Demand a Better Future 10/10

More awesomeness! ... Bowie NEVER lets up, does he! Check out the awesome studio arranging of this one. Can you believe how wonderful it sounds? This sounds like a song meant for another cosmos ... that's how wonderful this is. Crappingly great!!!!!!!

Heathen (The Rays) 9/10

The end of the album clearly isn't one of its greatest songs (mostly due to its lack of awesomely-catchy melody), but ... bbbbbbbelrnoienorgin! With its great studio arrangements, how could I even halfway not like this, I ask ya? ... Yeah. Don't diss the song with superb studio arrangements or I'll have to sock you in your freaking jaw.

If you're a heathen click here! If you're not, then click on something else.