David Bowie - Night and Day (1977)

David Bowie had made the trip to Berlin in late 1976. Eager to make connections and draw inspiration from the burgeoning German culture, Bowie, and his good friends Iggy Pop and Brian Eno, took many trips around the city wanting to find out what Berlin got what America don't. They found their answer in krautrock, a broad genre of German experimental rock, careened by Tangerine Dream, Neu!, and Kraftwerk. Bowie had first heard the of the genre when the Beatles' own Station to Station was described as such. He knew it was the natural next step in his musical direction, and he decided to climb the next rung of his ladder of musical excellence.

Or at least that would've happened immediately if Bowie hadn't gotten caught up producing Iggy Pop's debut record, The Idiot. Similarly krautrock/art rock, the album was divisive, being a major sound change for the former Stooge. This put Bowie's label, RCA, into a panic of if Bowie's eventually next solo album would sound the same. RCA would physically block any releases made by Bowie during this time. On the bright side, this allowed Bowie to continue to gather influences. When he finally decided to start recording his own music, he once again got sidetracked by producing Iggy Pop's second album, Lust for Life, which would end up doing better than his debut. By the time RCA discontinued the boycott of Bowie's "experimental" music, it was now September, and they released his first post-Beatles album on October 14, 1977.

The one thing people noticed immediately was his singing, or a lack thereof. The album was composed entirely of electronic soundscapes, nothing that any Bowie or Beatles fan had heard before. On top of that, Bowie released no singles to promote the album, leaving it almost entirely drowned in mystery to the average buyer. It would later receive mostly positive reviews, with many diehard Bowie fans considering it a favorite.

DAVID BOWIE - NIGHT AND DAY

Released: 14 October 1977

Genre: Ambient, progressive electronic, art rock, space ambient, electronic

Producer: David Bowie, Tony Visconti

Side A

V-2 Schneider

A New Career in a New Town

Abjulmajid

Art Decade

The Weeping Wall

Side B

Sense of Doubt

Moss Garden

Neukoln

Subterraneans

But Some Are...

Track list sources:

All tracks are sourced from Low and "Heroes", with the exception of "Some Are" and "Abdulmajid" which are sourced from the 1991 reissues of the two albums respectively.

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The Beatles - The Wings of an Eagle (1977)

John Lennon quit. David Bowie left. Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were absolutely dumbfounded at their place in the music industry in mid 1976. A temporary hiatus was in order to get their bearings together, but none of them knew what this meant for the band upon their eventual return to writing and recording. McCartney continued playing with his side band, Wings, throughout 1976, playing small clubs and venues to anyone who'll listen. His band was comprised of himself, his wife Linda, Denny Laine formerly of the Moody Blues and Ginger Baker's Air Force, and session musicians Jimmy McCulloch and Joe English. These shows went over well, with the band playing a healthy mix of Beatles songs and songs that Paul had written by himself while on the road. It was during these shows that people started to notice that Denny's position in the live band was almost akin to John Lennon and his partnership with McCartney. This gave McCartney an idea that would manifest only months later.

It was around April of 1977 where the Beatles finally regrouped for a light recording session. McCartney brought his wife Linda, as per usual, but he also brought Laine with him. McCartney has been quoted to say "George, Ringo, you know who Linda and Denny are. They are Beatles now. Now let's get to work." Starr took it well compared to Harrison who stormed out for the day. Not out of anger but to sleep on the idea. The first official recording session for what would become their next album started two days later when Harrison agreed to work with the two new Beatles, but only if they were temporary replacements for Lennon and Bowie. During their hiatus, they had all gone to different and exotic locales. The McCartneys and Laine had been to multiple areas of the UK while on the road, but they had also stopped at New Orleans and Paris. Harrison went to Hawaii with his soon-to-be wife Olivia, and Starr had been residing in Los Angeles until he was called back to work. These locations inspired the group to record a concept album about traveling to these exotic locations around the world by plane.

Recording went surprisingly swimmingly with the atmosphere being in a generally good mood. Linda and Laine worked well with the other Beatles; playing with Paul live was a warm-up for the real thing. The only real tension came from Harrison, who was once again miffed by him only getting two songs to himself while Paul got five. This was due to Paul's lead role in the band, and, at the end of the day, there wasn't much that could be done, especially since Harrison starred in other songs such as "The Wide Prairie". They decided to pawn off "Girls' School" and "World of Stone" has a single in July, as they didn't have much to do with the concept. Recording for the album finished up around the same time as the release of the "Girls' School" single. A title for the album wasn't given until last minute with them landing on The Wings of an Eagle, named after a lyric from "Wings", Starr's only song on the album.

The album released on November 11, 1977. Seeing how critics thought that the "Girls' School" single was a one time thing, they were at first confused by the idea of a full album without Lennon and Bowie. A lot of people didn't see the point going on until they would eventually return. Reception to the album itself was at least better. It would get mixed to generally positive reviews and became the lowest-selling Beatles album in the band's history. Fans pointed out that the concept was extremely lite and even seemed out of order at times. Even if songs like "Mull of Kintyre" would go on to be timeless classics, the album as a whole didn't stand out compared to their prior releases. Paul McCartney was frustrated at this news and would later agree that album felt quite drab at times. The Beatles agreed to another longer hiatus after this release. Hopefully for their next album, if there was gonna be a next album, they would come back with some more timeless Beatle-esque material.

THE BEATLES - THE WINGS OF AN EAGLE

Released: 11 November 1977

Genre: Folk pop, pop rock, art pop, soft rock, singer-songwriter

Producer: The Beatles, Tom Scott

Side A

Mull of Kintyre

Soft-Hearted Hana

Time to Hide

Wings

The Wide Prairie

Side B

London Town

Mull of Kintyre (Reprise)

Spirits of Ancient Egypt

Cafe on the Left Bank

New Orleans

Crackerbox Palace

 Winter Rose/I'm Carrying

Track list sources:

I've made a full mix for this album that you can listen to here:

https://vimeo.com/881337791

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