
David Bowie "Low"
David Bowie's album "Low", released on 14 January 1977, was his eleventh studio album and marked his departure from the glam rock sound he was known for. The album was created during a period when David Bowie had moved to France to get sober after years of drug addiction in Los Angeles.
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David Bowie's album "Low", released on 14 January 1977, was his eleventh studio album and marked his departure from the glam rock sound he was known for. The album was created during a period when David Bowie had moved to France to get sober after years of drug addiction in Los Angeles.
There, he produced Iggy Pop's debut album, "The Idiot", which influenced the sound of "Low". David Bowie collaborated with American producer Tony Visconti and English musician Brian Eno to create the first of three albums that became known as the Berlin Trilogy. They recorded Low at Hérouville's Château d'Hérouville and Hansa Studios in West Berlin, where David Bowie and Iggy Pop had relocated.
"Low" features David Bowie's first foray into electronic and ambient music and is heavily influenced by German bands such as Tangerine Dream, Neu!, Harmonia, and Kraftwerk. The album is split into two sides, with side one containing short, avant-pop song fragments with downbeat lyrics reflecting David Bowie's state of mind. Side two is mostly instrumental tracks conveying musical observations of Berlin. Visconti created a unique drum sound using an Eventide H910 Harmonizer.
RCA initially refused to release "Low", fearing it would be a commercial failure, but it was eventually released and reached number two on the UK Albums Chart and number 11 on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart. The album divided critical opinion and received little promotion from RCA or David Bowie, who opted to tour as Iggy Pop's keyboardist. The singles "Sound and Vision" and "Be My Wife" were released, with the former reaching number three on the UK Singles Chart.
Despite the initial mixed response, "Low" has since been regarded as one of David Bowie's best works and has influenced numerous post-punk and post-rock bands. The album has been reissued several times and was remastered in 2017 as part of the A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982) box set.