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Revision as of 19:26, 1 December 2011

Untitled
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Blender [2][dead link‍]
The Music Box[4]
NME[5]
Pitchfork(7.8/10)[6]
Robert Christgau(C+)[3]
Rolling Stone[7][dead link‍]

Heathen is an album by English rock musician David Bowie, released in 2002. It was considered something of a comeback for Bowie in the U.S. market; it was his highest charting album (No. 14) since Tonight (1984), and earned some of his strongest reviews since Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980). Worldwide, it sold over two million copies and experienced a four-month run on the UK charts. Essentially, the album deals with Bowie's impressions of the September 11 attacks in 2001.[8][9]

Recording and production

Heathen marked the return of record producer Tony Visconti, who co-produced (with Bowie himself) several of Bowie's classic albums. The last album Visconti had co-produced was Scary Monsters in 1980.

Originally, Bowie had recorded the album Toy for release in 2000 or 2001. This album was meant to feature some new songs and remakes of some his lesser-known songs from the 1960s. Although Toy remains officially unreleased, a few of its tracks—including "Afraid" and "Slip Away" (then titled "Uncle Floyd")—appear on Heathen. Some other re-recorded songs were included as B-sides to the singles from Heathen.

The album features guest appearances from The Who guitarist Pete Townshend (who had played guitar on an earlier Bowie track, "Because You're Young" from Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)), Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess, pianist Kristeen Young, and prolific bassist Tony Levin of King Crimson.

Style and themes

Although many of its songs were written for the album Toy, and some are cover versions, biographers, and critics of the time claimed that Heathen deals with Bowie's impressions of the 11 September attacks.[8][9] The lyrics of songs such as "Slow Burn", "Afraid", "A Better Future", and "Heathen (The Rays)" focus on the degradation of mankind and the world in general, recalling his earlier album Diamond Dogs and the song "Five Years".

Writing about the connection between the album and 9/11, Dave Thompson says:

Although we can probably credit nothing more spiritual than saturation-level television coverage for its visceral impact, 9/11 remains the single most resonant event in recent world history for many people, igniting so many thoughts, fears and conflicts within the minds of those who witnessed it that, even today, people who have never been to America, can still bond over those 102 terrifying minutes. At the time, and through the months of uncertainty that followed, the need for that bonding was even more pronounced. Heathen sounded like it understood how people felt. People automatically felt the need, then, to understand Heathen and, of all Bowie's albums of the nineties and beyond, it remains the one that is most frequently singled out as his best, because it is certainly his most direct. Even Tony Visconti referred to it as his magnum opus. I told him, 'That was more like a symphony.'[10]

The album contains cover versions of three songs: "Cactus" by Pixies, "I've Been Waiting for You" by Neil Young, and "I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spaceship" by Norman Odam, aka the Legendary Stardust Cowboy, from whom Bowie lifted his "Ziggy Stardust" moniker in 1972.

Alternative versions

A remix of the song "Everyone Says 'Hi'" is featured in the PlayStation 2 rhythm game Amplitude.

In 2011, UK band Films of Colour released a cover of "Slow Burn"[11]

The song "Sunday" was played live at the Heathen Tour and A Reality Tour concerts. A live version recorded at The Point, Dublin in November 2003 was included on the A Reality Tour DVD. A Moby remix is available on the bonus disc of the 2-CD version of Heathen, and a Tony Visconti remix was released on the European version of the single "Everyone Says 'Hi'" and the single "I've Been Waiting for You".

Heathen has also been released in SACD format in a limited number of copies with slightly longer versions of five of the songs.[citation needed]

Track listing

All tracks are written by David Bowie, except where noted[12]

No.TitleLength
1."Sunday"4:45
2."Cactus" (Black Francis)2:54
3."Slip Away"6:05
4."Slow Burn"4:41
5."Afraid"3:28
6."I've Been Waiting for You" (Neil Young)3:00
7."I Would Be Your Slave"5:14
8."I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spaceship" (Norman Carl Odam)4:04
9."5:15 The Angels Have Gone"5:00
10."Everyone Says 'Hi'"3:59
11."A Better Future"4:11
12."Heathen (The Rays)"4:16
Japanese release bonus track
No.TitleLength
1."Wood Jackson" 

Limited edition bonus disc

No.TitleLength
1."Sunday (Moby Remix)"5:09
2."A Better Future (Remix by Air)"4:56
3."Conversation Piece" (written in 1969, recorded in 1970, and re-recorded in 2002)3:51
4."Panic in Detroit" (outtake from a 1979 recording)2:57
5."Wood Jackson"4:48
6."When the Boys Come Marching Home"4:46
7."Baby Loves That Way"4:46
8."You've Got a Habit of Leaving"4:53
9."Safe"4:44
10."Shadow Man"4:46

Personnel

  • Greg Kitzis – 1st violin
  • Meg Okura – 2nd violin
  • Martha Mooke – viola
  • Mary Wooten – cello
Additional personnel
  • Kristeen Young – vocals, piano
  • Pete Townshend – guitar on "Slow Burn"
  • Dave Grohl – guitar on "I've Been Waiting for You"
  • Brian Rawling and Gary Miller – co-producers with Bowie on "Everyone Says 'Hi'"
  • Mark Plati – co-producer with Bowie on "Afraid"
Design credits

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
2002 Danish Album Charts 1[citation needed]
2002 French Album Charts 3[citation needed]
2002 German Album Charts 3[citation needed]
2002 Norway's Album Charts 2[citation needed]
2002 UK Albums Chart 5[citation needed]
2002 Billboard 200 14[citation needed]

Notes

  1. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Heathen - David Bowie". Allmusic. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  2. ^ "Heathen – Blender". Blender. Retrieved 16 June 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)[dead link‍]
  3. ^ Robert Christgau. "David Bowie". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  4. ^ John Metzger. "David Bowie - Heathen (Album Review)". The Music Box (February 2003). Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  5. ^ Sarah Dempster. "Bowie, David : Heathen". NME (11 June 2002). Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  6. ^ Eric Carr (16 June 2002). "David Bowie: Heathen". Pitchfork. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  7. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/davidbowie/albums/album/116605/review/6067954/heathen[dead link‍]
  8. ^ a b Simon Groth (2010). Off the Record: 25 Years of Music Street Press. Univ. of Queensland Press. p. 310. ISBN 0702238635.
  9. ^ a b James E. Perone (2007). The Words and Music of David Bowie. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 137. ISBN 0275992454.
  10. ^ Dave Thompson (2006). Hallo Spaceboy: The Rebirth of David Bowie. ECW Press. p. 257. ISBN 1550227335.
  11. ^ "TV to produce FOC plus free Slow Burn download". davidbowie.com. 30 October 2011. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
  12. ^ Heathen album liner notes.
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