‘Station To Station’ – A David Bowie Masterpiece

Influenced by a series of mystical events, the results of a paranoia fueled by an illegal substance he was voluntarily addicted to, his intoxicated lethargy in Los Angeles was interrupted by the necessity to put those old and destructive practices into action in order to reinvent himself once again.

This time flirting with a different character – the return of the Thin White Duke.

He’d been summoned to become the main character in a film by Nicolas Roeg, The Man Who Fell To Earth. Legend has it that a very atypical stage persona characterized by a romantic personality, an apathetic behavior and a refined, cold and mesmerizing appearance began to take shape during long recording hours. In a context where he was prisoner to the dangerous effects of cocaine, in conjunction with a fanatical religious and political tendency and an alleged fondness for occultist Aleister Crowley, David Bowie had created the Thin White Duke.

In October 1975, the recording of his tenth studio album ‘Station to Station‘ began. Growing apart from Tony Visconti who accompanied him on ‘Young Americans‘ and on that fabulous double album ‘David Live‘, this was the first work co-produced by Harry Maslin. Settled in L.A, but still curious for the dazzling new sounds that were stirring up the musical scene across the Atlantic, Bowie became greatly influenced by German musicians Kraftwerk, who adopted the ostinato patterns as part of an experimental process.

‘Station to Station’ is considered a transition point between ‘Young Americans’ and its subsequent conceptual collection which turned into an object to worship for music lovers – the Berlin Trilogy. From the hand of the talented and renowned photographer Steve Schapiro, the album cover shows a scene from the aforementioned film, where the main character, alien scientist Thomas Jerome Newton, decides to leave our world by entering a capsule that takes him to a distant planet. Apparently, there was an unspoken need to escape into inhospitable and far off places on the skin of a fantasy creature.

Bowie remarked on several occasions to not remember the recording process of the album, or even know exactly where he was living at the time. Later he admitted: “There were pieces of me laying all over the floor.” Funny how these kind of wonderful and unusual creations are borne in moments of extreme drug dependency and its disconcerting side effects.

‘Station to Station’ is a short album – with only six tracks – however its content, regarding music quality, lyrics and an entire concept beginning with the creation of a sophisticated character, is extremely irresistible. Following ‘Young Americans’ atmosphere, leading R & B sounds to the mainstream rock and roll world, Bowie pleasantly surprises with ‘Stay‘. With an intro that sets a night-out mood, the track boasts a funky melody with touches of disco beats and strongly seductive lyrics, together with beautiful guitar lines and solos courtesy of lead guitarist Carlos Alomar. The song delivers beautifully.

Infected with the same sound, only with less sparkle and consistency, is ‘Golden Years‘. Bowie tries to tell the audience that no matter what has happened in the past or if your present is unfortunate, you should take advantage of the best days of your life; your golden years.

‘Word On a Wing‘ is the album’s first ballad. The song is about the confrontation between two states of the person, faith and its eternal re-evaluation. “My prayer flies like a word on a wing,” such is his faith that he does not need anything more. But on the other hand he does not surrender so easily; human nature rises through a defense mechanism that prevents every man to be abandoned to the mercy of the unknown: “Just because I believe do not mean I do not think as well / Do not have to question everything in heaven or hell.”

The second ballad on the album is a cover, and one of the most beautiful songs ever written; Nina Simone’s ‘Wild Is The Wind‘. It owns a simple melody that would not have the desired effect on its target without the detached and melancholic interpretation of the Thin White Duke.

‘TVC15‘ is a song that, when compared to the rest of the tracks on this album, goes a bit unnoticed. The name can be attributed to the context in which Thomas Jerome Newton attempted to understand the human world, surrounded by televisions turned on permanently. Also, the name was endorsed to a strange event which happened to Iggy Pop at that time. Los Angeles, 1975; everything was possible.

The title track of the album, ‘Station To Station‘, is immense. A ten minute song that begins with a sound that resembles a train, the piano and highly contagious riff exploits and floods the room with a party tainted by the most poisonous groove of all time. The God in a two-piece suit could be Bowie himself, boycotting his need for surviving his degenerated life, with portions of sanity begging him to come back to normal and fall in love, but the Thin White Duke keeps throwing darts on the lover’s eyes. After the chorus, where the lyrics let us see a very sad character wracked by doubt, the song explodes into an elated disco rhythm that is also present in the rest of the album to a lesser extent. The cheerful feeling on this part of the track is very ironic, when the main message is quite pessimistic.

In the midst of joy, this vibrant energy is contrasted with existential issues such as the influence of the Kabbalah. His disturbing trend towards mystical matters can be reflected on his lyrics, as he refers to Kether and Malkuth, two of the emanations of God. David can also be seen drawing the Sephiroth on the floor in a photo inside the album.

This is fine until his exotic alter ego takes him away from these spiritual utopias as it is time to face reality and deal with the rules – the European cannon is here. David and the Duke seem to be constantly fighting through perfect lyric lines with real meaning only known to them, the indivisible ones. This eternal battle is an object of praise and respect, and its result is the conception of one of the most impressive albums in rock history.

It’s very interesting how David Bowie sets the context in which a new album takes shape. Simply writing good songs is definitely not enough for this artist. What really makes the difference is the intention to blend himself and his entire work with a character of his creation; half autobiographic, half the product of his deepest fantasies.

These kind of masterpieces are definitely missed. As we try to play the game in life, he plays with our minds in the same way he slithered his favorite French cigarette through his fingers, facing the crowd, dressed like an aristocrat.

(Vanna Reflex)