Akira

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Piss Me Off

Tracks:

1. Starman (Ziggy Stardust): I think this was the song that i first really fell in love with from him. One of the best songs from his glam era, this is a perfect example of the out of space, charm filled song writing he did so well.

2. Drive-In Saturday (Aladdin Sane): One of my favourite ballad sorts by him, almost like a waltz really the way it strides.

3. Subterraneans (Low): Possibly my favourite out of the more ambient stuff he did, the mood and textures in the music is gorgeous and it's influence can be seen in tons of artists that followed.

4. Station to Station (Station to Station): A track of epic proportions, it builds and builds with such stride and the end product results in a track that is very underated.

5. Let's Dance (Let's Dance): Because it does exactly what it implies, it makes you want to dance your feet off. Anyone who says it's dated can feck off.

Album:

Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

It's the obvious choice but to be fair this album has such a stupid amount of tunes, confidence and charm that it's hard not to pick. It's the first album by him i got and it's made a lasting impression, to the extent i still see it as one of my favourite albums of all time.

Similar Artists:
T-Rex: Marc Bolan was just a less cool version of glam Bowie (in my eyes though, i'm sure others would disagree)
Brian Eno: Worked with Bowie on a few albums and his solo stuff is certainly similar.

Bowie means a crap load to me for... no real specific reason apart from he made incredible songs. Such is the sheer mass of stuff he did there is always something for whatever mood i'm in. I'm pretty sure that he has done a track that ANYONE can enjoy no matter what their taste is or what their background is, for that he is as close to being a genius as a musician can come.

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Akira

Tracks:

1. Starman (Ziggy Stardust)
2. Life on Mars? (Hunky Dory)
3. Changes (Hunky Dory)
4. Rock 'N' Roll Suicide (Ziggy Stardust)
5. Heroes (Heroes)

Album:

Hunky Dory


Similar Artists:

Lou Reed
Brian Eno

David Bowie is one of the most important figures in my musical journey. He is a true genius, a fact that remains a constant throughout his career. He is never afraid to change his sound and his image and yet he reels off great song after great song, awesome album after awesome album. His entire discography is so diverse and has influence so many people. One of the most important solo artists in music history.

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Double X

Tracks:

1. Sound and Vision (Low)
2. Heroes (Heroes)
3. Slow Burn (Heathen)
4. Ziggy Stardust (Ziggy Stardust)
5. Starman (Ziggy Stardust)

Album:

Low

Similar Artists:

Lou Reed
Brian Eno

Bulldog

Tracks:

1. Sound and Vision (Low)
One of the best ensemble performances by a backing band I've ever heard. The Alomar-Davis-Murray rhythm section really strikes gold here. It's simply 3 minutes of musical perfection

2. Joe the Lion (Heroes)
Robert Fripp's lead guitar here is absolutely insane, and it drives the song superbly with the help of a terrific group of musicians working with him and a white-hot vocal performance from Bowie

3. Jump, They Say (Black Tie, White Noise)
The man's last top 10 hit, it's a very lively and buoyant tune (like a 90s version of Let's Dance), propelled by virtuoso trumpet performance from the chap's namesake, Mr. Lester Bowie

4. Kingdom Come (Scary Monsters)
Bowie's vocal performance here is one of his finest (the notes he hits here are inhuman!). This lively cover of Tom Verlaine's solo tune also features the wonderful Alomar-Davis-Murray rhythm section propelling it

5. Space Oddity *acoustic version (Scary Monsters, rykodisc reissue)
I actually think the more popular, orchestrated version of this tune is a little on the overcooked side. This simplistic guitar-drums-piano reworking serves the meaty lyrical subject matter a lot better

Album:

Heroes
I'm probably going out on a bit of a limb here, but this is probably my personal favourite. A mix-up of some razor-sharp, at times pretty crazy songs and some wonderfully moving instrumental pieces, it really does benefit so much from repeated listening

Similar Artists:

Gary Numan: This chap was influenced heavily by Bowie's collaborations with Brian Eno

Talking Heads: In collaborating with Eno themselves, these guys were always (certainly in my eyes) in a very similar musical ball-park to Bowie. They even started writing pop songs with prominent horn figures around the same time that Bowie did

I basically have David Bowie to thank for expanding my horizons musically. If it weren't for him I simply wouldn't be as hooked on music as I am these days. His back catalogue is also one of such diversity, which more often than not yielded truly remarkable results, something you simply can't say for a lot of singer/songwriters down the years

Akira

Four votes so far. We only need one more to get this first one up. But plenty of time for a lot of other comments. Don't let the thin white duke down, folks.

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Urban Hat€monger ?

You try narrowing down about 200 songs you like to 5

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Akira

I have....

It's more about 5 songs that best represent him, his different styles or just one of his styles. If someone has never heard one Bowie track, which 5 would you reckon he would like and would get him interested?

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Urban Hat€monger ?

I'd probably slap them for living under a rock for the past 35 years

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Akira

To quote the man himself 'It ain't easy'

But try.

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