And so another year, look you see, but a continuation of this whole “Random Bowie” thing I started in the last. This is all down to demand – thank you, yet or if you like once again, to all those who read, share and enjoy these.
It was two years ago this month that we said, no, when David Bowie said goodbye to us. He elected to do so in the most astonishing, artistic way possible. Yes, I will press on and do all the albums, so Blackstar will feature here one day. But not today.
For this edition, considering the time of year, I thought it appropriate to do Reality. This record, as many of you will know and as we shall look at here, was the one that for close to a decade seemed to be the rather unintended “farewell” album.
To start as usual, some quick and fast facts. By the commonly agreed measurement of them, Reality was David Bowie’s 23rd solo album. It was released middle to late 2003, just slightly over a year after Heathen. Several of the songs came from the Heathen sessions, whilst some – in particular the two cover versions on the standard edition of the album – were ones he had tinkered with for years. Reality was supported and promoted by a tour far more extensive than Bowie had undertaken for the previous two records.
I kind of get the sense that this one is the most neglected on the Bowie discography. There are all sorts of reasons for this, and none of them are to do with any lack of quality on the album at all. Perhaps it’s due to no particularly huge hits on the record, that it came out far too soon after the celebrated Heathen or it was simply overshadowed by the abrupt end to the tour in support of it. Well, all I can do is throw this at the internet, then, and maybe one or two shall discover, rediscover or simply remember how good Reality is.
Above I mentioned that there were “no huge hits”. That’s probably down to no song in particular being released as a single in any conventional sense. Yes, I know, bear with me. Whilst in some countries New Killer Star was released as a single proper, not so for many. Here in the UK it came out as a DVD single only, featuring the headache inducing video and his clearly struggling to keep a straight face whilst doing it cover of Sigue Sigue Sputnik’s Love Missile F1-11.
Somewhere on this blog – and if I remember I will link here – is a piece I did on that DVD single. New Killer Star is a brilliant, catchy single, and does the job of conveying much – if not quite all – of the tone of the album it ostensibly previewed. Yes, the ownership for listening pleasure of this song makes the price of admission worth it alone, but there’s so much more.
Of particular interest are the cover versions. There are two on the album proper, three if you pick up one of the “special edition” variations, or indeed four if you include the Sputnik celebration mentioned. For now, let’s stick with the standard two.
When I picked up the album – as point of fact I think my Dad picked it up for me on one of his many overseas business trips – I was hopeful, when looking at the tracklisting, that one called Pablo Picasso would be that version of the song. Indeed it was, a cover of the song by Modern Lovers. My first encounter with this tune was on the soundtrack for classic 80s movie Repo Man. Perhaps that is where Bowie heard it too, although I suspect he would have been aware of it earlier. Anyway, much like Love Missile F1-11, it seems that Bowie had enormous fun with the funny lyrics. Bear this in mind for later.
The second standard cover is of a George Harrison solo number, Try Some Buy Some. Indeed, it’s entirely possible that he recorded this as a tribute to the recently deceased quiet one from The Beatles. It’s more likely that his passing prompted him to get around to recording it, however, as it’s known that Bowie had wanted to do a version of it for many years. As in, back in the 70s he wanted to do it.
I have given focus to the covers with good reason. Despite some serious moments, the tone one – well, I – walks away from Reality with is of Bowie having fun, enjoying it all, being relaxed and entirely at peace with himself, both as a private person and his public persona. This is evident in the clearing enjoying and entertaining himself – although never taking the p!ss – nature of Pablo Picasso and Love Missile F1-11. All further evidence you could wish for of thjs is right there on the A Reality Tour DVD and CD set. And, indeed, in the wonderful behind the scenes, on tour footage revealed in the BBC documentary The Last Five Years.
What of Bowie’s original compositions for the record? Little to no filler. Not bad for your 23rd solo album; many musicians have clearly run out of steam by the 23rd minute of their first album, after all.
Other than New Killer Star, one of the most interesting – and intriguing – songs to be found on Reality is The Loneliest Guy. The song exists, perhaps, somewhat outside of the fun element I’ve focused on. It’s a haunting, quasi jazz piece and, I dare say, shows Bowie at his clairvoyant best.
Just remember that this was 2003. Whilst the internet very much existed, it was not as it is today. Connection to it was not widespread, and was done so mostly via dial up. Speeds saw you take some 20 minutes to download a 3 minute song. Social Media had yet to dawn. My Space had only just started, and Friends Reunited was in essence a glorified message board – an expensive one at that. And yet Bowie foresaw how people would come to use the internet, with the narrator of the song seeing himself as the “luckiest” rather than “loneliest” guy by living life away from people in reality but through people on his computer.
It’s a brilliant song, arguably the strongest and most direct return to the theme of isolation Bowie had done since Station To Station and Low. Also, quite intriguing. The line “the pictures on my hard drive make me the luckiest guy” has been picked up on by more than one person, I think, or maybe it is just me. Exactly what was it Bowie hinted at having stored away?
There is not, in truth, a bad song on the album. Much of it is light hearted, whimsical maybe, but never lazy or giving a sense of “this will do”. But, knowing now what we did not know then, there is a danger of reading things into some of the songs which were clearly never there. Many songs reference or touch on a sense of time, and indeed death or departure. To suggest that this is so because Bowie “knew” something was up is just plain wrong. He had been referencing such subjects from the start. Consider, off the top of my head, the fact that a cover of My Death featured prominently during the Ziggy Stardust tour of 1972.
An obvious example of the above might be Never Get Old. It’s a wonderful, whimsical pop tune that’s simply uplifting. Lyrically it’s about not feeling your age, about being happy and content with who you are, where you are, when you are. Maybe it’s a nod to Pete out of The Who, referencing the intent of that most famous line from My Generation. No, Bowie wasn’t feeling old, so had no hope to die.
The Reality Tour, then. In terms of releases, the DVD of a gig in Ireland on this tour came out in 2004, with an excellent 2 CD set of the same being released in 2010. With regards to the latter, it really did seem that it was to be “that’s all”, as it was part of a sequence of releases of live stuff year after year, with notable ones being the VH1 Storytellers set and an official release for the much loved Santa Monica 72 bootleg.
I would have no hesitation at all in saying that The Reality Tour, as DVD and CD, are essential to own. To be blunt, frank or whatever you wish, the way you see and hear David Bowie on this release is the way to remember him, always. It really does capture him at peace and at one, and absolutely, unrestrainedly, delightfully comfortable with being David Bowie. He’s relaxed and at one with the fans, he is clearly loving the band he plays with and, perhaps most importantly, he’s embracing his entire catalogue. Other than a wonderful reinterpretation of Rebel Rebel, there’s an acoustic take on Loving The Alien. This is introduced with quite a story, in which he makes clear how sad he was that this song “didn’t work” as well as he had hoped.
You probably do not need me to tell you this, but yes, The Reality Tour was the last time David Bowie was accessible to the public. Beyond some outrageously great performances, and classic Spinal Tap incidents such as the “lollipop in the eye” gig, it ended abruptly. Stories are unclear as to what exactly happened, but the gist is that Bowie had a massive heart attack prior to or during one gig – one which by all accounts he was most fortunate to survive. Whether he had pushed himself too hard with the tour, or his lifestyle had caught up with him, or both, doesn’t really matter, I suppose.
Between the unintended end of the Reality tour and the surprise release of The Next Day all sorts of stories circulated. Reports were that he was frail and fragile, with some even suggesting he was suffering the onset of dementia. He rarely spoke publicly or gave any interviews, save for one hope for the fans. At some stage during those ten or so years he, in between denying he was involved with various rumoured projects, said that it would “have to take something really spectacular” to see him make new music. Some of us fans speculated – maybe hoped – that this might come in the form of a soundtrack for a film made by his son. Now, of course, we all know what that something spectacular was that saw him return to the recording studio.
An obvious answer to the standard question towards the end of these Random Bowie episodes is yes. Indeed, Reality is very much an album worth getting and owning, irrespective of what level of Bowie fan you are. Few, if any, of the songs on it turn up on “best of” compilations, and they are just too good not to be heard.
The question is “which version”, as there are at least three. If it’s the most freely available then I would say that the standard one, commencing with New Killer Star and closing with Bring Me The Disco King, is worthwhile. From what I remember, and probably have here somewhere, there was a 2 CD version too. The second disc features the re-recorded take on Rebel Rebel, as well as a track called Fly and some remixes. OK, but not essential – in particular if you pick up A Reality Tour, featuring the fun live version of Rebel Rebel.
Best of the lot, though, is the CD and DVD variation, coming in packaging what is silver rather than white. On the CD there is one extra track, a superb cover of Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks. And I do mean superb. It’s beautiful, loving and wonderful. David Bowie may well have turned down a Knighthood, thinking it was “silly” to accept when he no longer lived in England, but boy did he retain his love for London through it all.
The DVD showcases a specially arranged gig, in which Bowie and the musicians assembled perform the entirety of the standard version of the Reality album, no more and no less. He did a similar, smaller scale thing for a video to go with Black Tie White Noise. This one, however, turned out to be rather inspirational. All of a sudden “full album gigs” were a thing. Or if you like a thing once more. Sure, The Who, Marillion and to an extent Pink Floyd had done “album gigs” performing certain rock operas in full. After this, though, all of a sudden you had everyone from The Rolling Stones to Suede to the Manic Street Preachers doing gigs focused on one album in particular.
In truth, much of what I have tried to say here about Reality could have been achieved via a simple count of how many times New York is mentioned. No secret was ever made of how much Bowie loved the city, or for that matter that he'd made it home. The number of references to it - whether in his own compositions or in the cover of Pablo Picasso - kind of shows how relaxed, at ease and at one he really was during this period.
And so I think that is that for this episode. There is undoubtedly a whole load more I could be saying or writing on it. But, mostly, hopefully this prompts you to go off and discover, or rediscover, the audio and very visual treats on offer in the Reality releases.
Thank you, once again, for taking the time to drop by and read this. I hope it has been of some interest, even if just so in passing!
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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