David Bowie was never the type of artist who let his mood – or his private life – stop him from being creative. Depending on what era of his that you might favor, you can never deny that he was putting his soul into his work.

At times he could be light and playful, while at other times he would explicitly wallow in the pain that defined his mental state at that specific time. I’ve heard many explanations about why this album is titled “Low”, but by my observation, he is quite obviously referring to his state of mind when he started this project. Referring to this era in his life, Bowie himself stated “I was in serious decline, emotionally and socially…on course to be just another rock casualty,” meaning that he was at the lowest point of his life, up until this point in time. 

There is a relentlessly cool bleakness that defines “Low”, and yet the music is so intriguing and strange that it transcends hopelessness. The very first words we hear (on the song “Breaking Glass”, after the intriguing instrumental opener) are quite literally that of a deranged mind. That sense of off-balance mentality persists on “Low” and is responsible for some critics despising the album, but in rock and roll, there have been (and should be) an infinite number of perspectives, so Bowie’s dark hour takes us on a mental trip that is dissociative, antisocial and ice cold, and yet honest and always intriguing. Like Bowie would later sing about his most famous character, Major Tom, here we see the author himself hitting an all-time ‘Low” but maintaining his creativity in remarkable fashion.

Featured Tracks:

Speed of Life

Breaking Glass

What in the World

Sound and Vision

Always Crashing in the Same Car

Warszawa

Art Decade

Weeping Wall

Subterraneans

January 1977 - Billboard Charted #11