..:: audio-music dot info ::..


Main Page    The Desert Island    Copyright Notice
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz


David Bowie: Station to Station

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s

Artist: David Bowie
Title: Station to Station
Released: 1976
Label: EMI Records
Time: 51:19
Producer(s): David Bowie, Harry Maslin
Appears with: Tin Machine
Category: Pop / Rock
Rating: ********.. (8/10)
Media type: CD
Purchase date:  2003.01.11
Price in €: 6,99
Web address: www.davidbowie.com

 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Station to Station (D.Bowie) - 10:11
[2] Golden Years (D.Bowie) - 4:00
[3] Word on a Wing (D.Bowie) - 5:50
[4] TVC 15 (D.Bowie) - 5:31
[5] Stay (D.Bowie) - 6:13
[6] Wild Is the Wind (D.Tiomkin/N.Washington) - 6:00

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


DAVID BOWIE - Guitar, Keyboards, Alto & Tenor Saxophone, Vocals, Moog Synthesizer, Engineer, Mellotron

EARL SLICK - Guitar
CARLOS ALOMAR - Guitar
ROY BITTAN - Piano, Keyboards
DENNIS DAVIS - Percussion, Drums
STACY HEYDON - Guitar
TONY KAYE - Keyboards
GEORGE MURRAY - Bass
WARREN PEACE - Vocals, Background Vocals

HARRY MASLIN - Composer, Engineer
JONATHAN WYNER - Mixing, Assistant Mastering Engineer
Dr. TOBY MOUNTAIN - Mastering
PETER MEW - Remastering
NIGEL REEVE - Remastering
KEVIN CANN - Design
STEVE SHAPIRO - Photography
MICK ROCK - Photography  

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


1976 LP RCA 1327
1976 CS RCA 1327
1991 CD Rykodisc RCD-10141
1991 CS Rykodisc RACS-10141
1997 CD Rykodisc 80141
1999 CD Virgin 21906
1999 CD EMI 7243 521906 0 7

STATION TO STATION was the soundtrack to Bowie's nightlife.This time around he fashioned himself as the king of slick,the "Thin White Duke/Throwing darts in lover's eyes". This new persona enabled Bowie to show his sensual side and his affection for American soul music--something that would have seemed out of context on previous efforts. The album's smooth vibe is evident in the funky guitar of "Golden Years", and mixed with a dangerous charm and the "side effects of the cocaine" on "Stay". Bowie had miraculously done it again--he picked up a new musical identity, and molded it to perfection. STATION TO STATION was a refining period for Bowie.Gone was his other-worldly sexuality; The Thin White Duke was right here on Earth, no alien veneer, just a man completely run by his desires. It is then purely appropriate that the medium through which he expressed this lustful angle wouldbe soul music. Carlos Alomar's biting guitar on "Golden Years" is straight out of the James Brown catalogue, while the frantic drums and background vocals of "Stay" are pure strobe light disco.


Borrowing heavily from Marc Bolan's glam rock and the future shock of A Clockwork Orange, David Bowie reached back to the heavy rock of The Man Who Sold the World for The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. Constructed as a loose concept album about an androgynous alien rock star named Ziggy Stardust, the story falls apart quickly, yet Bowie's fractured, paranoid lyrics are evocative of a decadent, decaying future, and the music echoes an apocalyptic, nuclear dread. Fleshing out the off-kilter metallic mix with fatter guitars, genuine pop songs, string sections, keyboards, and a cinematic flourish, Ziggy Stardust is a glitzy array of riffs, hooks, melodrama, and style and the logical culmination of glam. Mick Ronson plays with a maverick flair that invigorates rockers like "Suffragette City," "Moonage Daydream," and "Hang Onto Yourself," while "Lady Stardust," "Five Years," and "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" have a grand sense of staged drama previously unheard of in rock & roll. And that self-conscious sense of theater is part of the reason why Ziggy Stardust sounds so foreign. Bowie succeeds not in spite of his pretensions but because of them, and Ziggy Stardust -- familiar in structure, but alien in performance -- is the first time his vision and execution met in such a grand, sweeping fashion.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All-Music Guide



Taking the detached plastic soul of Young Americans to an elegant, robotic extreme, Station to Station is a transitional album that creates its own distinctive style. Abandoning any pretense of being a soulman, yet keeping rhythmic elements of soul, Bowie positions himself as a cold, clinical crooner and explores a variety of styles. Everything from epic ballads and disco to synthesized avant-pop is present on Station to Station, but what ties it together is Bowie's cocaine-induced paranoia and detached musical persona. At its heart, Station to Station is an avant-garde, art rock album, most explicitly on "TVC15" and the epic sprawl of the title track, but also on the cool crooning of "Wild Is the Wind" and "Word on a Wing," as well as the disco stylings of "Golden Years." It's not an easy album to warm to, but its epic structure and clinical sound were an impressive, individualistic achievement, as well as a style that would prove enormously influential on post-punk.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All-Music Guide
All-Music Guide, © 1992 - 2003 AEC One Stop Group, Inc.

Station to Station
Appears On: Station to Station [1976]

The longest single song on any David Bowie album, "Station to Station" can also claim to be among the most evocative. It is best regarded, of course, for unveiling his latest alter ego, the Euroman of the Thin White Duke, "throwing darts in lover's eyes." But it would also appear to have some religious significance, as Bowie confirms he is referring not to railroad stations, but Christianity's Stations of the Cross, shot through with several less than subtle references to Aleister Crowley. The "white stains" of the lyric, sometimes construed as a tip of the hat to cocaine (with which Bowie had recently undergone a flirtation), also refers to the self-styled Great Beast's first book. That said, "Station to Station" is also a vital contribution to the then-ongoing mutual appreciation society formed by Bowie and the electronic band Kraftwerk. The song's very structure echoes the Germans' "Autobahn" hit, and Kraftwerk repaid the favor by name-checking Bowie and his traveling companion, Iggy Pop, in its own "Trans-Europe Express."

Heralded by some fabulous guitar, "Station to Station" was the utterly heart-stopping opening number throughout Bowie's 1976 tour, and has been revisited frequently since then. It is also a highlight (albeit in stringently edited form) of the Christiane F movie soundtrack.

Dave Thompson, All-Music Guide

Golden Years
Appears On: Station to Station [1976], Singles Collection [EMI] [1999]

Released as the follow-up single to the mega-hit "Fame," the funky "Golden Years" provided a peculiar introduction into David Bowie's next album, 1976's Station to Station — peculiar, in that it had absolutely nothing in common with the rest of that set. Rather, it was drawn from precisely the same "plastic soul" cloth as the Young Americans set and, while Bowie's ex-wife Angie has claimed it was written about her, it is intriguing to learn that Bowie originally wrote the song for Elvis Presley. A Top Ten hit on both sides of the Atlantic, "Golden Years" nevertheless made little impression on Bowie's live repertoire until the redefining Serious Moonlight tour of 1983.

Dave Thompson, All-Music Guide

Word on a Wing
Appears On: Station to Station [1976]

This song from Station to Station, a sort of rock & roll hymn, is one of the most underrated entries in the David Bowie catalog. The lyrics are personal and direct in a way that Bowie's lyrics rarely are as they address his relationship with the idea of religion: "Just because I believe don't mean I don't think as well/Don't have to question everything in heaven or hell." The lyrics build to an emotional peak on the chorus, which finds Bowie directly addressing his maker: "Lord, I kneel and offer you my word on a wing/And I'm trying hard to fit among your scheme of things." Appropriately, the melody has a gospel-inspired feel as it contrasts soulful yet quietly rousing verse melodies with an operatic chorus that reaches for euphoric heights. Bowie's recording lives up to the song's emotional potential with a heart-tugging arrangement: Earl Slick's metallic guitar is pushed back in the mix to make way for Roy Bittan's gorgeous keyboard work, which layers emotional, Elton John-styled piano riffs with ethereal washes of synthesizer. Elsewhere, congas and a gently funky bass line bring out the song's soulful edge. However, the recording's highlight is Bowie's vocal, which is one of his finest recorded achievements: it starts as a gentle croon but builds to searing emotional heights throughout the chorus before retreating to a hushed falsetto on the chorus' closing lines. It's a bracing performance that drives the heartfelt lyric home in high style and shows off the full extent of Bowie's formidable vocal skills. As a result, it became an emotional highlight on the Station to Station tour and remains a major cult favorite among David Bowie fans.

Donald A. Guarisco, All-Music Guide

TVC 15
Appears On: Station to Station [1976], Singles Collection [EMI] [1999]

The second single to be drawn from David Bowie's Station to Station album in 1976, "TVC 15" is best described as a surreal comedy, allegedly based around an anecdote Bowie heard from Iggy Pop, about a girlfriend who was eaten by her television set. If that is so, the knockabout backing track and Bowie's so-jaunty vocal perfectly set the scene for what must have been a very chaotic scene, and Bowie's own affection for the song can be gauged from its regular appearance in his live set. Indeed, in 1985 he even chose to feature it at Live Aid, a far cry indeed from the hot hits routine favored by other performers that day.

Dave Thompson, All-Music Guide

Stay
Appears On: Station to Station [1976]

Strange as it may sound, "Stay" found David Bowie combining the dramatic rock of Diamond Dogs with the funk and soul of Young Americans, ending up with a deserved standout on the Station to Station album as a result. As compared to the generally warmer grooves of songs like "Young Americans" itself, "Stay" has a chillier edge to its bass and beats, due in part both to the addition of icy keyboard backing and Bowie's own partially muffled singing. He sounds like he's coming from behind the band in ways, with swathing echo further downplaying his often quite entrancing vocal takes, while his story of romantic and personal connection sounds equally abstract as a result. Carlos Alomar and Earl Slick both get some flashy guitar moments throughout the song, while the overall arrangement manages to sound like something that could easily fit into a 1976-era nightclub though still somehow standing apart from it.

Ned Raggett, All-Music Guide

Wild Is the Wind
Appears On: Station to Station [1976]

David Bowie's inclinations and abilities for classic pop/jazz crooning had long been clear by the time he tackled the standard "Wild is the Wind," perhaps most memorably performed by Nina Simone in a very low key but strong take. The tune served as the concluding number on Station to Station and in later years was released a single, helping bring further attention to his own lovely version of the song. The electric guitar's slight funk tinge updates the arrangement without dominating it, while the core acoustic guitar and rhythm section performance suggests a slightly jazzier variant on Bowie's own folk efforts from the late sixties. It's Bowie's vocals that really deserve the notice here above all else, though — while he initially sounds almost too relaxed, he gets stronger and more passionate as the song goes, much as the music also does itself. When he hits the dramatic a capella pauses — most especially with the line "Don't you know your life, it's hell" — the only reaction is to give in, it's that good.

Ned Raggett, All-Music Guide



An eerie dispatch from the furthest reaches of Bowie's cocaine paranoia, Station To Station has not become easier to listen to with the passing years. At this stage, Bowie was wrapped up in his peculiar--even by his standards--Thin White Duke period, which revolved largely around dressing like a fugitive war criminal and not blinking, at least not in public. Appropriate to such a detached, deranged persona, Bowie set about making what was effectively a soul record devoid of any soul whatsoever. He did it, as well. Station To Station spawned one lingering hit, in "Golden Years", but the album was littered with malevolent miracles. Bowie crooned like a replica Sinatra on "Word on A Wing" and "Wild is the Wind" and may have single-handedly invented the New Romantic movement with "TVC15". He sounds throughout on the verge of cackling dementedly and wandering off into the night; Station To Station is an absorbing postcard from somewhere you're kind of glad you haven't been.

Andrew Mueller, Amazon.co.uk Review


Viewed as a whole, David Bowie's career consists of one brilliant decade (the `70s) sandwiched by two pretty bleak ones. And although the "Glass Spider" tour, Absolute Beginners, Labyrinth and other assorted `80s nightmares might lead one to believe that Bowie's creative muse has all but abandoned him, it's easy to forget how truly revolutionary these two albums were at the time of their release. Even for a career based on drastic image changes, Young Americans was Bowie's most radical self-reinvention: Having taken rockism far beyond its wildest extremes with Ziggy Stardust and David Live, he simply abandoned it, wholeheartedly embracing the "Philly Soul" sound and recruiting top sessioneers of the day (Luther Vandross, Andy Newmark, David Sanborn and Main Ingredient musical director Carlos Alomar) to interpret his bionic TSOP. Long a black sheep of the Bowie catalog, the album sounds postively visionary now-from Duran Duran to Happy Mondays, its exquisitely textured sound echoes through two generations of white dance music. And ridiculous as Bowie might sound saying "sho'nuff," the fact remains that no rock artist had so successfully maneuvered such a drastic change of musical direction. Young Americans broke him in the States, and Bowie even appeared on Soul Train miming "Fame," the result of a spontaneous session with John Lennon that some call the first disco song; it bumped two tracks from the already completed LP (they're included here as bonus cuts, along with a seven-minute disco version "John I'm Only Dancing," making for much programming fun). "Fame"'s sparse groove foreshadowed the far more original ice-funk of Station To Station, which was another trip altogether. Where Young Americans embraced the high life, Station recoils. Emotionally wracked by stardom, cocaine, L.A. and a divorce-not to mention his starring role in The Man Who Fell To Earth-this album is a nervous breakdown preserved in amber (Low, the ultra-bleak follow-up, was its aftermath), a palpably desperate lunge for any kind of stability, from love ("Stay") to God ("Word On A Wing") to television ("TVC15"). Digitally speaking, both albums refilter the mix without losing the essential `70s vibe, revealing the intricate layers of percussion, vocals and guitars that were mere blurs on vinyl. At a time when Soup Dragons stalk the earth, these albums show the evolutionary resilience of sharks.

Jem Aswad, CMJ



After the success of the dance hits "Fame" and "Young Americans" (both off 1975's Young Americans), Bowie seemed to step back, ponder the future of rock, and then turn up the guitars and the art-rock sensibilities and make a completely engaging and evocative album. From the epic title track (introducing the Thin White Duke character and building into an incendiary rocker) to the irresistible "Golden Years" (another dance hit) and on to the physically wrenching and funk-drenched "Stay," the soul of David Bowie is pretty much meshed into every track. The playful "TVC15" takes the listener on a bumpy ride into unholy tech-love, and the gorgeous "Wild is the Wind" and "Word on a Wing" have Bowie stepping out of his rocker persona and into sensual crooner mode. Strong from beginning to end.

Lorry Fleming, Amazon.com


 L y r i c s


STATION TO STATION

The return of the Thin White Duke
Throwing darts in lovers' eyes
Here are we, one magical moment, such is the stuff
From where dreams are woven
Bending sound, dredging the ocean, lost in my circle
Here am I, flashing no colour
Tall in this room overlooking the ocean

Here are we, one magical movement from Kether to Malkuth *
There are you, you drive like a demon from station to station
The return of the Thin White Duke, throwing darts in lovers' eyes
The return of the Thin White Duke, throwing darts in lovers' eyes
The return of the Thin White Duke, making sure white stains

Once there were mountains on mountains
And once there were sunbirds to soar with
And once I could never be down
Got to keep searching and searching
Oh, what will I be believing and who will connect me with love?
Wonder *who*, wonder who, wonder when
Have you sought fortune, evasive and shy?
Drink to the men who protect you and I
Drink, drink, drain your glass, raise your glass high

TWO TIMES:
  It's not the side-effects of the cocaine
  I'm thinking that it must be love
  It's too late - to be grateful
  It's too late - to be late again
  It's too late - to be hateful
  The european cannon is here

  I must be only one in a million
  I won't let the day pass without her
  It's too late - to be grateful
  It's too late - to be late again
  It's too late - to be hateful
  The european cannon is here

  Should I believe that I've been stricken?
  Does my face show some kind of glow?
  It's too late - to be grateful
  It's too late - to be late again
  It's too late - to be hateful
  The european cannon is here, yes it's here
  It's too late

  It's too late, it's too late, it's too late, it's too late
  The european cannon is here


GOLDEN YEARS

Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop

Don't let me hear you say life's taking you nowhere, angel
Come get up my baby
Look at that sky, life's begun
Nights are warm and the days are young
Come get up my baby

There's my baby, lost that's all
Once I'm begging you save her little soul
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Come get up my baby

Last night they loved you, opening doors and pulling some strings, angel
Come get up my baby
In walked luck and you looked in time
Never look back, walk tall, act fine
Come get up my baby

I'll stick with you baby for a thousand years
Nothing's gonna touch you in these golden years, gold
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Come get up my baby

Some of these days, and it won't be long
Gonna drive back down where you once belonged
In the back of a dream car twenty foot long
Don't cry my sweet, don't break my heart
Doing all right, but you gotta get smart
Wish upon, wish upon, day upon day, I believe oh lord
I believe all the way
Come get up my baby

There's my baby, lost that's all
Once I'm begging you save her little soul
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Come get up my baby

Don't let me hear you say life's taking you nowhere, angel
Come get up my baby
Run for the shadows, run for the shadows
Run for the shadows in these golden years

I'll stick with you baby for a thousand years
Nothing's gonna touch you in these golden years, gold
Golden years, gold whop whop whop (11 times)


WORD ON A WING

In this age of grand illusion you walked into my life out of my dreams
I don't need another change, still you forced away into my scheme of things
You say we're growing, growing heart and soul
In this age of grand illusion you walked into my life out of my dreams
Sweet name, you're born once again for me
Sweet name, you're born once again for me
Oh sweet name, I call you again, you're born once again for me
Just because I believe don't mean I don't think as well
Don't have to question everything in heaven or hell

CHORUS
  Lord, I kneel and offer you my word on a wing
  And I'm trying hard to fit among your scheme of things
  It's safer than a strange land, but I still care for myself
  And I don't stand in my own light
  Lord, lord, my prayer flies like a word on a wing
  My prayer flies like a word on a wing
  Does my prayer fit in with your scheme of things?

In this age of grand illusion you walked into my life out of my dreams
Sweet name, you're born once again for me
just as long as I can see, I'll never stop this vision flowing
I look twice and you're still flowing
Just as long as I can walk
I'll walk beside you, I'm alive in you
Sweet name, you're born once again for me
And I'm ready to shape the scheme of things

Ooh, ready to shape the scheme of things (5 times)
Ooh...

Lord, I kneel and offer you my word on a wing
And I'm trying hard to fit among your scheme of things
It's safer than a strange land, but I still care for myself
And I don't stand in my own light
Lord, lord, my prayer flies like a word on a wing
And I'm trying hard to fit among your scheme of things
It's safer than a strange land, but I still care for myself
And I don't stand in my own light
Lord, lord, my prayer flies like a word on a wing
My prayer flies like a word on a wing
Does my prayer fit in with your scheme of things?


TVC 15

Oh oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh (3 times)

Up every evening 'bout half eight or nine
I give my complete attention to a very good friend of mine
He's quadraphonic, he's a, he's got more channels
So hologramic, oh my T V C one five
I brought my baby home, she, she sat around forlorn
She saw my T V C one five, baby's gone, she
She crawled right in, oh my
She crawled right in my
So hologramic, oh my T V C one five
Oh, so demonic, oh my T V C one five

VERSE
  Maybe if I pray every, each night I sit there pleading
  "Send back my dream test baby, she's my main feature"
  My T V C one five, he, he just stares back unblinking
  So hologramic, oh my T V C one five
  One of these nights I may just
  Jump down that rainbow way. be with my baby, then
  We'll spend some time together
  So hologramic, oh my T V C one five
  My baby's in there someplace, love's rating in the sky
  So hologramic, oh my T V C one five

CHORUS
  Transition
  Transmission
  Transition
  Transmission

  Oh my T V C one five, oh oh, T V C one five
  Oh my T V C one five, oh oh, T V C one five
  Oh my T V C one five, oh oh, T V C one five
  Oh my T V C one five, oh oh, T V C one five

VERSE

Oh oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh (3 times)

CHORUS

Oh my T V C one five, oh oh, T V C one five (repeat ad inf.)


STAY

This week dragged past me so slowly
The days fell on their knees
Maybe I'll take something to help me
Hope someone takes after me
I guess there's always some change in the weather
This time I know we could get it together
If I did casually mention tonight
That would be crazy tonight

Stay - that's what I meant to say or do something
But what I never say is stay this time
I really meant to so bad this time
'cause you can never really tell when somebody
Wants something you want too

Heartwrecker, heartwrecker, make me delight
Right is so vague when it brings someone new
This time tomorrow I'll know what to do
I know it's happened to you

Stay - that's what I meant to say or do something
But what I never say is stay this time
I really meant to so bad this time

'cause you can never really tell when somebody
Wants something or wants to stay
That's what I meant to say or do something
But what I never say is stay this time
I really meant to so bad this time
'cause you can never really tell when somebody
Wants something you want too


WILD IS THE WIND

Love me, love me, love me, say you do
Let me fly away with you
For my love is like the wind, and wild is the wind
Wild is the wind
Give me more than one caress, satisfy this hungriness
Let the wind blow through your heart
For wild is the wind, wild is the wind

CHORUS
  You touch me, I hear the sound of mandolins
  You kiss me
  With your kiss my life begins
  You're spring to me, all things to me
  Don't you know, you're life itself!

Like the leaf clings to the tree,
Oh, my darling, cling to me
For we're like creatures of the wind, and wild is the wind
Wild is the wind

CHORUS

Like the leaf clings to the tree,
Oh, my darling, cling to me
For we're like creatures in the wind, and wild is the wind

Wild is the wind (4 times)

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


Currently no Samples available!