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DIAMOND DOGS - 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION
David Bowie
(EMI)
One of my five favourite records, Diamond Dogs already got the treatment on Old School several months back.
To paraphrase, it's the perfect fusion of Bowie's sci-fi and glam rock leanings in the early '70s, taking the dark mood of Five Years off Ziggy Stardust all the way in an homage to George Orwell's 1984 with a nuclear war thrown in.
And so much for that.
This special edition is a must have because it presents the album in its structurally solid original form (Ryko pressings added cool, but slightly anticlimactic bonus tracks to all Bowie albums in the '90s). Those add-ons still exist here, but on a supplementary disc for the curious.
The thick liner book is what brings it over the finish line, full of fantastic photos (one with William S. Burroughs), insights into how the album strayed from being a straight adaptation of Orwell's work (his widow, damn her, wouldn't go for it), and talk of the dog genitals on the back cover, which caused quite a stir amid those obsessed with them for a time. You'll be happy to know they're back. Maybe not.
Anyhoo, buy this album, because Rebel Rebel is probably the worst song on it. Prepare for madness, however!
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Sunday, July 25, 2003
Scifi-Glam fusion
Edmonton Sun