David Bowie - Low

Low is the first part of a beautiful friendship between David Bowie and Brian Eno. When I first dropped the needle on this record, I thought, "This sounds like early Roxy Music." It wasn't until I did a little research that I found out that I was right on the money.

The first half of this album is a sort of post-glam experimental rock, and the back half is populated by ambient electronica typical of Eno. While Diamond Dogs found Bowie wandering a bit, he hits on something solid with Low. Every track has a purpose, and although I tend to prefer his Ziggy Stardust output, you can't argue with how solid and driven this album sounds. This is one of many times in which Bowie successfully reinvented himself, and as his reinventions go, this is one of the better ones. It's certainly better than his 1980's pantsuit years.