David Bowie - Silhouettes and Shadows (1981)

David Bowie had gone through a lot of turbulence in the years leading up to 1981. He had rejoined his old band, the Beatles the previous year following a period of independence that had rewarded him musical freedom. The reunion, however, was short lived when John Lennon was shot dead that December. The band quickly issued their final statement in April 1981 and then dispersed. Bowie looked back at what had happened and contemplated his place in the ever-changing music world. Now that he had to continue on as a solo artist permanently, could he sustain his current popularity? Bowie had indulged himself in art rock for the good part of half a decade, and yet, it felt so different from the punk and new wave that had dominated airwaves for the last few years. Regardless of what genre he would frequent next, Bowie was keen on staying on top, even without a band.

Bowie began work on a new album almost immediately following the Beatles' dissolution. In retrospect, it was actually quite easy for Bowie to prepare a solo record of all new material within a few months given the material he already had just lying around. Almost everything that ended up on the album was somewhat old material; "Kingdom Come", "Teenage Wildlife" and "Because You're Young" were outtakes written for Look Back in Anger, "Neighbourhood Threat" and "Don't Look Down" were Iggy Pop songs covered as a thank you from Bowie for his work in Berlin, "Cat People" was written for the movie of the same name that would be released the following year, "The Drowned Girl" was a song taken from the Bertolt Brecht play Baal, which Bowie would star in a BBC production of, and "Under Pressure" was a collaboration with Queen that would release as a single in October. Only "It's No Game", the opening track, would be written for the album, and even that wasn't completely new. It was partially taken from a portion of "Return of the Thin White Duke" which had, in turn, been written as early as 1971. Bowie's screaming was meant to evoke John Lennon's performance on the first Plastic Ono Band Album, Fly, as a tribute to him.

Silhouettes and Shadows, Bowie's first solo album following the dissolution of the Beatles, would be released on November 13, 1981 to moderately successful reviews. While critics noted that the songs didn't have as much staying power as Bowie's songs on Look Back in Anger did, they considered it a follow-up to the Beatles' final album due to the songs' shared similarities. They also noticed a sneaking influence of new wave and even modern dance music on the record, an interesting curiosity to all who noticed. Nonetheless, the 80's had officially arrived, and Bowie's future as a solo career seemed bright. Fans could only wait to see what he would do next.

DAVID BOWIE - SILHOUETTES AND SHADOWS

Released: 13 November 1981

Genre: New wave, pop rock, art rock, art pop

Producer: David Bowie, Tony Visconti

Side A

It's No Game

Kingdom Come

Teenage Wildlife

Neighbourhood Threat

Because You're Young

Side B

Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

Don't Look Down

The Drowned Girl

Under Pressure [w/ Queen]

Track list sources:

Tracks are sourced from Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), Tonight and A New Career in a New Town (1977-1982).

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Paul McCartney - Days Past (1976)

Following the release of Station to Station and John Lennon and David Bowie's departure from the Beatles, Paul McCartney spent the majority of 1976 holed up in his home in Peasmarsh, East Sussex. He had become depressed from the state his now 15 year old band was in. He had his wife, Linda, and his kids, but most of all, he had music to keep him busy. And it was Linda who persuaded McCartney to record solo to keep himself busy from the stress that the Beatles had put on him. This would be his second solo record, following his self-titled album two years prior that sold fairly well. Surrounded by the soothing sounds and sights of nature in the quaint town he now resided in, he was persuaded to continue the soft rock sound he had achieved from his first record. Unlike his first album, there was very little variation in genre. He chose a sound, and he stuck to it. The album would release October 15, 1976 to, again, fairly popular reviews and sales. In fact, the album fared slightly worse than McCartney since it was just more of the same. There weren't any songs in particular that critics didn't like, but they found the album's style "inoffensive", as was the last one. To the critics, it confirmed one crucial fact, Paul McCartney needed the other members of his band to make masterpieces. McCartney himself was baffled by these reviews, and he wished to prove them wrong. And his idea of doing so was bringing his new soft/folk sound to the Beatles for their next album.

PAUL MCCARTNEY - DAYS PAST

Released: 15 October 1976

Genre: Soft rock, pop rock, piano rock

Producer: Paul McCartney

Side A

Let 'Em In

Love In Song

You Gave Me the Answer

Magneto and Titanium Man

Mrs. Vanderbilt

Treat Her Gently (Treat Her Kind)

Side B

She's My Baby

Must Do Something About It

Name and Address

San Ferry Anne

Lunch Box / Odd Sox

Warm and Beautiful

Track list sources:

Tracks are sourced from Wings at the Speed of Sound, Venus and Mars, Band on the Run, and London Town. "Must Do Something About It" is Paul's version from the Archive Collection of Wings at the Speed of Sound, and "Lunch Box / Odd Sox" is from the Archive Collection of Venus and Mars.

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The Beatles - Look Back in Anger (1981)

August 6, 1980. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and David Bowie, all together again after four years at the Hit Factory in New York City. It was here where they decided they would make their comeback. It was the first day of recording, which coincidentally was also the 20 year anniversary of the band changing their name to the Beatles. The vibe in the studio was immediately positive, with the sessions starting with informal jamming and the like. The bad blood that had persisted in previous years had faded, and all five classic members had come into the studio with new songs for the band to perform. Lennon's songs all had a homemade feel to them, with retrospect and nostalgia being a big theme for him. Meanwhile, Harrison's originals were mostly introspective and looked outward instead of inward, yet they still had a tinge of Beatles in them. McCartney's songwriting was as it always was, writing hit after hit as if it were the easiest thing in the world while always an ear for the experimental side. Bowie, meanwhile, entered the sessions with some of the best material he had ever written. Two of these songs were written in Berlin alongside Brian Eno, but were kept off his experimental solo albums because he knew they should be saved for something bigger. And to Bowie, there was nothing bigger than a Beatles reunion. The theme of the album would be retrospect while still being able to look forward, hence the title of the album. Recording would conclude in late November, mixing for the album would start in early December and the album would be released mid to late December for the holiday season. Until...

December 8, 1980. 10:50 p.m. Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, were walking home from an interview they had just done an hour before. Lennon was in good spirits. He had talked with the interviewer about not only his personal life, but also his return to music and his excitement to play with his old mates again. But now that was over, and the couple were to return home to their home at the Dakota to greet their son, Sean. But fate had other plans. As they were nearing the apartment, a grey pickup truck drove up beside the two, slowed down, and four shots rang out. One shot hit Ono in the shoulder, while the other three hit Lennon in the back, stomach and the heart. Both were admitted to hospital immediately. While Ono's wounds were relatively small, Lennon had died immediately from the third shot and was declared dead on arrival. A manhunt for the truck would start almost immediately, and the man inside, one Mark David Chapman, would be discovered almost a week later.

Lennon's death changed everything about the release of the Beatles' next album. What was originally a late December release was delayed indefinitely until the band decided what to do next. They took the rest of the month off to grieve, without giving much of a public presence during the time. In late January 1981, the band finally reconvened at producer George Martin's AIR studio in Montserrat, not only to get away from newly-founded bad memories of New York but also out of fear that any of the remaining Beatles could be next in line to be murdered. One thing that was for certain for all that participated in recording was that this was now going to be the final Beatles album. They all rightfully agreed that with no Lennon, there were no Beatles. So the previously completed album would be redone as a partial tribute album to their fallen comrade. To do this, the album was stretched to two LPs, with new and previously rejected songs now making it onto the album. Harrison and McCartney both wrote their own songs about Lennon, and two old Lennon demos, "Watching the Wheels" and "Grow Old with Me", were brought forth to use on the now double album. Recording would finally finish in early March.

Look Back in Anger, now three months overdue, was released on April 2, 1981 to massive critical and public acclaim. People flocked to stores to buy it not only due to Lennon's passing, but also due to Lennon and Bowie being on the album, the first time in 5 years such a thing had happened. Critics applauded the fact that there was just about nothing to criticize. The writing was superb, with songs like "Heroes" becoming a Beatles anthem, the art rock direction was applauded as doing something new even in their final hour, and the tribute to Lennon was seen not only in good taste but also extremely emotional. The Beatles' final release while still together was Bowie's final statement in the band, "Heroes", which went to #1 as a single. The B-side, curiously enough, is a German version of the A-side, titled "Helden". The band decided to do this as one final thank you to the country where they had really gotten their start as a band more than twenty years before, as well as a general thank you to all of their international fans not located in either the UK or US. The news about the breakup of the band was announced the same day, not to many people's surprise.

As of April 10, 1981, the Beatles were no more.

THE BEATLES - LOOK BACK IN ANGER

Released: 2 April 1981

Genre: Rock, pop, art rock

Producer: George Martin

Side A

(Just Like) Starting Over

Love Comes to Everyone

Take It Away

Up the Hill Backwards

Arrow Through Me

Wrack My Brain

Here Comes the Moon

Side B

I'm Losing You

Scary Monsters and Super Creeps

Baltimore Oriole

Waterfalls

Beautiful Boy

Fashion

Side C

Blue Sway

Look Back in Anger

Watching the Wheels

The Writing's on the Wall

Wanderlust

"Heroes"

Side D

All Those Years Ago
Ashes to Ashes

Woman

As Far as We Can Go

Grow Old with Me

Here Today

Track list sources:

A full mix for this album can be found here:

https://vimeo.com/853882825

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Ringo Starr - Old Blood (1979)

Following the Beatles' temporary hiatus, Ringo Starr spent most of 1979 hiring musicians and old friends to make an album of his own. He had made an album of traditional pop classics titled Sentimental Journey back in 1970, but that was more of a passion project. This would establish him as a pop act of his own, showing the world that he didn't need the other Beatles. The first people Ringo phoned for the project were the other Beatles, with David Bowie, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and even John Lennon agreeing to help in some capacity. McCartney wrote and played on "Pure Gold", Harrison on "When Every Song Is Sung", Bowie played on his cover of "Bad Boy", and Lennon played piano on "Cookin' (In the Kitchen of Love)". Eric Clapton also wrote "This Be Called a Song" for Starr to sing. Starr's longtime friend Vini Poncia produced the sessions. The title came about from a newspaper article Starr had read back in 1976. Complaining about the large amount of old acts that were charting, the piece said that the music scene needed "new blood". Ringo, hardly new to the industry, called his album "Old Blood" in response. Going along with the theme, the album cover shows Ringo tattered in blood, somewhat controversial at the time.

The album released on November 9, 1979 to little attention from the public, largely due to an absence of advertising. The album has never been seen as much good other to a select few fans, and most consider it a missed opportunity for the drummer to show off his skills. He would release a follow-up titled Ringo's Second in 1982 that would get similarly little attention.

RINGO STARR - OLD BLOOD

Released: 9 November 1979

Genre: Rock, disco

Producer: Vini Poncia

Side A

Drowning in the Sea of Love

Who Needs a Heart

Bad Boy

Pure Gold
You Don't Know Me at All

Side B

Cookin' (In the Kitchen of Love)

This Be Called a Song

When Every Song Is Sung

Tonight

A Simple Love Song

Track list sources:

All tracks are sourced from Ringo's Rotogravure, Ringo the 4th, and Bad Boy. "When Every Song Is Sung" is "I'll Still Love You" from Ringo's Rotogravure.

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Rockestra - Rockestra (1979)

Paul McCartney just couldn't sit still for even a minute. He and everybody else knew it. He always had to be doing some sort of work. So when the Beatles temporarily broke up in February 1979, his mind started racing. He used the majority of the year to organize a series of benefit concerts called "Concerts for the People of Kampuchea". In the same vain as his bandmate George Harrison's "Concert for Bangla Desh" eight years prior, the money from the concerts would go to victims of war-torn Cambodia. Along with Kurt Waldheim, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, McCartney managed to get a series of well-known stars, both old and new, to perform. These included The Who, Queen, Elvis Costello and The Clash, all of which were still making hits. But it would the last star to become involved that would make headlines. Fresh out of Berlin and a short world tour, David Bowie had settled down in New York City. Drug-free and in his best years, he decided to check up on an old friend after reading the paper. McCartney was reluctant to have Bowie perform following his less than amicable leave from the Beatles three years prior. But, eventually, he would be allowed to perform a set of his own. Fans became excited and rumors spread that George Harrison and Ringo Starr had also agreed to perform, but alas, they were all just rumors.

McCartney would perform a set with his backing band Wings, former Beatles Linda McCartney and Denny Laine as well as two other new members. He would later call this performance awful and it would end up being one of the last concerts where McCartney would play with Wings. The concerts would prove to be a success in the end. At the end of the final concert, McCartney, Wings, Pete Townshend of the Who, Bowie, and many other musicians there that day would perform a small set as "Rockestra", billed as Earth's Biggest Band. This specific performance would also be received well, but it also made people curious as to what else the band would do, if anything. Originally a one time thing for the concert, Bowie persuaded McCartney to work with him again, citing an eagerness to work with synths. Townshend and John Bonham of Led Zeppelin would join them, and Townshend would later invite David Gilmour of Pink Floyd to make the greatest five-some any rock fan had ever seen.

Truth be told, other than McCartney and Bowie, it took time for the band to know each other's styles well. This combined with the fact that Gilmour brought no songs with him after the release of his first solo album meant that work had to be done on new (and sometimes old) material. Bowie brought forth "Sound and Vision" a song he had originally saved for his eventually return to the Beatles. Bowie thought it worked well alongside McCartney and Townshend's own experimental work. The lead single was obviously going to be Townshend's "Let My Love Open the Door", a song all of them knew would be an instant hit. Recording finished in November 1979, and the album, self-titled, was released on December 16, 1979. People immediately liked what they heard, and thought the album contained a good mix of all of their own styles. They also thought that the album was superior to the Beatles' Going Faster, not even a year old yet. But it had an unforeseen effect that no one else realized at the time. 

John Lennon, now 39 years young and almost four years into retirement, was sitting on his couch as he had many times before. His son, Sean, was upstairs and his wife, Yoko Ono, was out for the day. He had a guitar in hand and he was listening to his radio. All of a sudden, the DJ announced a new single called "Getting Closer" by a band called Rockestra, a name Lennon had never heard before. As the song started, Lennon dropped his guitar all at once. "Fuck a pig, that's Paul!" he said out loud. He had been out of the music scene for so long, this now months old album had completely evaded him somehow. He read a review of the album in the paper and saw the name "David Bowie" along with McCartney's. They were working together again and he hadn't even known it. For Lennon, this was the last straw. By now, he had a collection of songs he had written plus plenty of inspiration. He and Ono had been subjected to new wave music, something they were both interested in, and he was planning a trip to Bermuda with his family. There was inspiration abound! And now all this. And so, after some deep thought, Lennon picked up the phone and dialed a number he knew all too well. "This will be worth it", he said to himself. "It'll be just like starting over".

ROCKESTRA - ROCKESTRA

Released: 16 December 1979

Genre: Rock, hard rock, experimental rock, synth-pop

Producer: Paul McCartney, Chris Thomas

Side A

Rockestra Theme

Empty Glass

Getting Closer

No Way Out of Here

Old Siam, Sir

Side B

Sound and Vision

Let My Love Open the Door

Temporary Secretary

African Night Flight

I Like Nightmares

So Glad to See You Here

Boys Keep Swinging

Track list sources:

McCartney's tracks are all from Back to the Egg, with the exception of "Temporary Secretary", from McCartney II. All of Bowie's tracks are from Low and Lodger. Townshend's tracks are from Empty Glass with "I Like Nightmares" being a bonus track from The Who's Face Dances. Gilmour's one song is from his self-titled 1978 album.

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The Beatles - Going Faster (1979)

After the middling success of The Wings of an Eagle, Paul McCartney knew it was time for another change in sound. In the late 60s up until the mid 70s, musical style changes came very naturally to the band, and it progressed as time went on. Times were different now, two of the members from that period of time were gone, and they had just released their worst selling album ever. Too little time had passed to let the sound change on its own, so McCartney decided to force change on them. In September 1978, Blondie released their third album Parallel Lines. McCartney first listened to it on the day of release and instantly fell in love with the record, especially its standout song "Heart of Glass". McCartney wanted the Beatles to make an album like that, album full of new wave/disco tunes that would be accessible to all ages. Recording started a month later, and there was immediate backlash to the new change in style by George Harrison and Denny Laine (Linda McCartney had left a few months prior, mostly due to lack of interest in the band and to focus on her and Paul's family). As a middle ground, the band settled on a mostly rock-based record with some funk and disco aspects thrown in for good measure. Recording for the album was done surprisingly fast, with the band only needing not even a month to record ten songs. The threshold of songs that were brought in by each member was also surprisingly low; there wasn't many songs recorded outside of the ten that made it on the album.

The resulting album, and the successor to The Wings of an Eagle, was Going Faster, released January 15, 1979, to a different reaction then what McCartney was hoping. The album bombed like no other Beatles album had before, and critics agreed it was due to the forced change in direction. No Beatles fan wanted a disco album and it showed. While The Wings of an Eagle still sold less, Going Faster was easily the bigger failure, with the album's single "Blow Away", barely reaching the top 40. In later years, acclaim for the album would grow some, but would still be seen as a lesser release. McCartney conceded, and he, along with the rest of the band, decided it would be better if the band took an extended hiatus to focus on themselves. They weren't breaking up, but they agreed to spend some time apart from each other to better themselves. Perhaps when they returned to the studio, they would be joined by two old friends.

THE BEATLES - GOING FASTER

Released: 15 January 1979

Genre: Rock, disco, synth-pop

Producer: The Beatles, Chris Thomas

Side A

Faster

With a Little Luck

It's No Secret

 Again and Again and Again

Blow Away

Side B

Goodnight Tonight

Flying Hour

Daytime Nighttime Suffering

If You Believe

Spin It On

Track list sources:

McCartney and Laine's tracks are sourced from Back to the Egg and 7" Singles ("With a Little Luck" is the DJ edit). Harrison's tracks are from George Harrison and the reissue of Somewhere in England. And Ringo's sole track is from Ringo the 4th. "Reception" from Back to the Egg is an unlisted track that comes before "Faster".

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David Bowie - Despite Straight Lines (1978)

Things were looking up for David Bowie. His heavy drug addiction was in the past, the so-called "Bowie ban" by his label, RCA had concluded, and he was once again in the studio with his friend Brian Eno to record the follow-up to Day and Night. About half of the songs had already either been written or recorded by the time of the previous album's release, so he already had something to work with. They got to work in late March 1978, searching for new themes to go with. As the previous album was composed entirely of instrumental soundscapes, this album would contain relatively conventional songs with Bowie's voice present throughout most of it, although the instruments and sounds used in Day and Night would still be very prevalent here, plus even more.

As the sessions went on, Eno introduced something to Bowie that would completely change the course of recording: a deck of cards Eno produced himself called "Oblique Strategies". These cards were made to promote creativity for musicians in often unorthodox ways and encourage lateral thinking. Examples included having musicians swap instruments and introducing melodies of previously discarded songs. This turned Bowie's mind upside-down, and it allowed him to once again change his sound, even as the sessions were still ongoing. By the time recording for the now double album was finished, Bowie had retired the electronic and ambient style that he had used for the last year for art rock inspired by world and new wave. Bowie took advantage of this change in sound and sequenced the album so as to make the change gradual. The beginning would be the same electronic sounds used in Day and Night, but by the end, fans would be introduced to a new David Bowie.

The album released on September 29, 1978. Almost immediately, fans were much more keen to praise this album then his previous one. Critics saw it as a fitting chapter two, and today it is seen as a universal masterpiece. Over time, fans started calling Bowie's Day and Night, Iggy Pop's The Idiot and Bowie's Despite Straight Lines the Berlin Trilogy, as they were all recorded together in Berlin and all three have a somewhat similar sound.

DAVID BOWIE - DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES

Released: 29 September 1978

Genre: Art rock, experimental rock, electronic, ambient, avant-pop, world, new wave

Producer: David Bowie, Tony Visconti

Side A

Speed of Life

Beauty and the Beast

Joe the Lion

Breaking Glass

What in the World

Sons of the Silent Age

Side B

Fantastic Voyage

Always Crashing in the Same Car

Wild Is the Wind

Be My Wife

All Saints

Side C

DJ

Move On

Red Sails

Repetition

Blackout

Side D

Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)

Yassassin (Turkish for: Long Live)

Red Money

Scream Like a Baby

The Secret Life of Arabia

Track list sources:

All tracks are sourced from Low, "Heroes" and Lodger, with the exception of "All Saints" and "Fuji Moto San" ("Crystal Japan"), both sourced from the All Saints compilation.

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