Earthling (album)
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| Earthling | |||||
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| Studio album by David Bowie | |||||
| Released | 30 January 1997 | ||||
| Recorded | Looking Glass Studios Right Track Recording (New York, USA) |
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| Genre | Drum and bass Oldschool jungle Techno Rock Dance rock |
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| Length | 48:57 | ||||
| Label | BMG | ||||
| Producer | David Bowie Mark Plati Reeves Gabrels |
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| Professional reviews | |||||
| David Bowie chronology | |||||
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Earthling is a 1997 album by David Bowie. The album showcases an electronica-influenced sound partly inspired by the rave culture of the 1990s. Because of this, Earthling was also seen as a return to form for Bowie as an alternative artist embracing underground music — in this case, techno and jungle.
Though not a major commercial success, the album scored a number of positive reviews and scored a minor hit with a Trent Reznor remix of "I'm Afraid of Americans". Bowie also received criticism, as the pioneering artist of the 1970s now seemed to be following the pack rather than leading it. However, the album featured elements not common to dance electronica, such as live acoustic and electric guitar (and even solos), jazzy live piano, and song structures more common to pop-rock than techno. The album performed better than its highly experimental predecessor Outside, reaching number 6 in the UK charts and number 39 in the US.[1]
Bowie's enthusiasm for remixing reached its peak when this album was released and the numerous singles from it were also issued to clubs, as well as online: three versions of "Telling Lies" were released on Bowie's official website months prior to the album's release, constituting the first ever downloadable single by a major artist.[2] "Little Wonder" was the album's biggest hit, reaching number 14 in the UK. Three more singles — "Dead Man Walking", "Seven Years in Tibet", and "I'm Afraid of Americans" — did not fare so well, although the latter did remain in the U.S. charts for 16 weeks, peaking at number 66.[1]
The videos for Earthling were elaborate. Artist and director Floria Sigismondi directed the short films for "Little Wonder" and "Dead Man Walking" while Dom and Nic directed "I'm Afraid of Americans", the latter being nominated for an MTV Video Music Award. A video was also made for "Seven Years in Tibet", comprised largely of concert footage.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
Lyrics for all songs written by Bowie. Music written by Bowie, Gabrels and Plati except for "Seven Years in Tibet", "Dead Man Walking" and "Law (Earthlings on Fire)" by Bowie and Gabrels, "Telling Lies" music by Bowie, "I'm Afraid of Americans" music by Bowie and Eno.
- "Little Wonder" – 6:02
- "Looking for Satellites" – 5:21
- "Battle for Britain (The Letter)" – 4:48
- "Seven Years in Tibet" – 6:22
- "Dead Man Walking" – 6:50
- "Telling Lies" – 4:49
- "The Last Thing You Should Do" – 4:57
- "I'm Afraid of Americans" – 5:00
- "Law (Earthlings on Fire)" – 4:48
[edit] Bonus tracks on reissue
- "Little Wonder (Danny Saber Dance Mix)"
- "I'm Afraid of Americans (Nine Inch Nails V1 Mix)"
- "Dead Man Walking (Moby Mix 2 US Promo 12")"
- "Telling Lies (Adam F Mix)" (This version is not on the Digibook Expanded Edition.)
[edit] Bonus disc for Digibook expanded edition
- "Little Wonder (Censored Video Edit)"
- "Little Wonder (Junior Vasquez Club Mix)"
- "Little Wonder (Danny Saber Dance Mix)"
- "Seven Years in Tibet (Mandarin Version)" (The Mandarin title of this version translates as "A Fleeting Moment".)
- "Dead Man Walking (Moby Mix 1)"
- "Dead Man Walking (Moby Mix 2 US Promo 12")"
- "Telling Lies (Feelgood Mix)"
- "Telling Lies (Paradox Mix)"
- "I'm Afraid of Americans (Showgirls Soundtrack Version)"
- "I'm Afraid of Americans (Nine Inch Nails V1 Mix)"
- "I'm Afraid of Americans (Nine Inch Nails V1 Clean Edit)"
- "V-2 Schneider (Tao Jones Index)"
- "Pallas Athena (Tao Jones Index)"
[edit] Miscellanea
"I'm Afraid of Americans" first appeared in 1995 on the soundtrack for the movie Showgirls, in a version that was extremely rough compared to the remake on Earthling.
Bowie asked Reeves Gabrels to play a guitar solo for "Looking for Satellites", though Gabrels didn't think it should have one. Bowie insisted, instructing Gabrels to divide the solo into four parts: the first only using the deep E string, the second only using the A string, the third only using the D string, and the fourth only using the G string — and it had to be in constant 16th notes. Gabrels did so grudgingly, playing angrily, and the result was surprising. Says Gabrels: "By being put in that box, stylistically, you're defined by your limitations. The arbitrary limitation of that approach made me do stuff that I normally wouldn't have done. It's actually one of my favorite guitar solos that I've recorded."
At the Phoenix Festival in 1997, Bowie and his band played in the Radio 1 Dance tent as Tao Jones Index, with no spotlights on David; instead, they performed in darkness with dry ice and strobe lights. Tao Jones Index, was a pun based on his own real name, David Jones and the 1997 Bowie Bond issue (Tao is pronounced "Dow", as in Dow Jones Index from the US stock market)[3].
US sales of the album stand at 254,000 copies according to Soundscan.
[edit] Personnel
[edit] Production
- David Bowie – production
- Mark Plati – co-production
- Reeves Gabrels – co-production
[edit] Musicians
- David Bowie – vocals, guitar, alto saxophone, samples, keyboards
- Reeves Gabrels – programming, synthesizers, real and sampled guitars, vocals
- Mark Plati – programming, loops, samples, keyboards
- Gail Ann Dorsey – bass, vocals
- Zachary Alford – drum loops, acoustic drums, electronic percussion
- Mike Garson – keyboards, piano
[edit] Charts
[edit] Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | UK Albums Chart | 6 |
| 1997 | Billboard Pop Albums | 39 |
| 1997 | Norway | 13 |
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Buckley, David [1999] (2000). Strange Fascination - David Bowie: The Definitive Story. London: Virgin, pp.517-527, pp.624-625. ISBN 075350457X.
- ^ Pegg, Nicholas [2000] (2004). The Complete David Bowie. London: Reynolds & Hearn. ISBN 1903111730.
- ^ Tao Jones Index
[edit] External links
- Teenage Wildlife hosts the original press release for the album.
