Maps of Music

Lodger (1979)

Where the lyrics of Lodger take you, and where it was really made.

Recorded mostly in an Alpine studio in Switzerland, Lodger closed Bowie's Berlin Trilogy and was judged the weakest of the three at release, yet it is now often called one of his most underrated albums.

Key places

Lodger's main recording sessions in Montreux (1979)

Recording site Mountain Studios — Most of Lodger was recorded at Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland, during a break in the Isolar II tour. The sessions lasted three weeks. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Overdubs and mixing at the Record Plant (1979)

Recording site The Record Plant — Bowie returned to the Record Plant in New York City in March 1979 to record his lyrics and overdubs and begin mixing the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Lodger is the thirteenth studio album by the English musician David Bowie
• Released 25 May 1979 through RCA Records
• Final release of the Berlin Trilogy, following Low and "Heroes" (both 1977)
• Made in collaboration with musician Brian Eno and producer Tony Visconti
• Music based in art rock and experimental rock
• Drops the electronic and ambient styles and the song/instrumental split of its two predecessors
• Lyrics divided into two themes: travel (side one) and critiques of Western civilisation (side two)
• Four singles, including the UK top 10 hit "Boys Keep Swinging"
• Peaked at number 4 in the UK and number 20 in the US

Background

• Sessions took place in September 1978 during a break in the Isolar II world tour
• Further sessions in New York City in March 1979 at the end of the tour
• Bowie had toured Low and "Heroes" on the Isolar II world tour from March 1978 to the end of that year
• Most of the personnel from earlier releases returned, joined by guitarist Adrian Belew
• Belew had been touring with Frank Zappa before Bowie recruited him
• Bowie and Visconti were dissatisfied with the album's original mix

Recording

• Largely recorded at Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland
• Finished at the Record Plant in New York City
• Mountain Studios sessions lasted three weeks, after which the band went back on tour
• Techniques drawn from Eno's Oblique Strategies cards, such as playing old tunes backwards and swapping instruments
• Belew's guitar parts were composited from multiple takes played against backing tracks he had not heard before
• Visconti remixed the album in 2015 with Bowie's approval, released on the 2017 box set A New Career in a New Town (1977-1982)

Cover

• Cover design made with English pop artist Derek Boshier
• Photo by Brian Duffy, taken in February 1979 at Duffy's London studio
• Gatefold sleeve shows Bowie as an accident victim
• The bandaged hand in the photo was genuine

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947 in Brixton, London.
• Studied art, music and design; took up saxophone in 1961.
• Adopted the stage name David Bowie in 1966 to avoid confusion with Davy Jones of the Monkees.

Career

• Breakthrough with "Space Oddity" in 1969, reaching the UK top five.
• Glam rock success in 1972 with the Ziggy Stardust persona and album.
• Berlin Trilogy (Low, "Heroes", Lodger) with Brian Eno and Tony Visconti in the late 1970s.
• Greatest commercial success with Let's Dance in 1983.
• Fronted the hard rock band Tin Machine from 1988 to 1992 before resuming a solo career.
• Final studio album Blackstar was released two days before his death in 2016.

Legacy

• Sold over 100 million records worldwide.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
• Widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone's Greil Marcus called it "one of [Bowie's] weakest" albums
• Melody Maker's Jon Savage found it boring and "slightly faceless"
• Smash Hits' Red Starr described it as "a ragbag of rejects from previous styles"
• The Village Voice's Robert Christgau wrote favourably, calling its impassive quality part of its charm
• The New York Times' Ken Emerson called it Bowie's "most eloquent" record in years
• Record Mirror's Tim Lott praised its variety of musical styles but criticised some lyrics as lazy

Reappraisal

• Uncut's Chris Roberts wrote in 2008 that it never received the appreciation it deserved
• Pitchfork's Mike Powell described it as the first Bowie album marketed as nothing more than an album of recorded music by Bowie
• Erlewine praised the 2017 remix as dense and colorful without changing the feel of the original
• Rolling Stone's Kory Grow called the new mix a brilliant new take

Records

• UK Albums Chart peak: number 4, 17 weeks on the chart
• US Billboard Top LPs & Tape peak: number 20, 15 weeks on the chart
• "Boys Keep Swinging" reached number 7 on the UK Singles Chart
• "D.J." stalled at number 29 in the UK as the second single

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Mountain Studios was built on the site of an earlier studio that had burned down
• Bowie wrote "Move On" after accidentally playing "All the Young Dudes" backwards
• The album's original working titles included Planned Accidents and Despite Straight Lines
• Blur used the chord sequence of "Fantastic Voyage" and "Boys Keep Swinging" in their 1997 single "M.O.R."
• Moby said he got his first job as a golf caddy so he could afford to buy Lodger when it had just come out
• Philip Glass completed a symphony based on Lodger in 2018, the final part of his Bowie trilogy of symphonies

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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