“Rain” was the first glimpse of The Beatles exploration of psychedelia. Perhaps more than any other Beatles track, this song highlights the rhythm section with brilliant performances by Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney. Add Lennon’s lyrics and great vocals, and you’ve got one of the best songs to come out of the trippy, mind-expanding ’60’s. On this episode, we take a closer look at the individual performances and studio trickery– backwards, forwards, sped up & slowed down– that went into this classic track. 

“Rain” (John Lennon/Paul McCartney) Copyright 1966 Northern Songs

The Temptations’ first #1 Hit on the Billboard “Hot 100” chart was “My Girl” in 1965. 4 years later, they had their 2nd #1 with “I Can’t Get Next To You”, and the difference between these 2 songs tells you a lot about the 1960’s. “I Can’t Get Next To You” features a different lead vocalist, a more aggressive, funky beat and a trippy vibe courtesy of producer & songwriter Norman Whitfield. The early Temptations songs are great, but for my money, they were never better than when they teamed up with Whitfield and created “psychedelic soul”. Let’s listen to each piece of the puzzle that created this masterpiece.

“I Can’t Get Next To You” (Barret Strong & Norman Whitfield) Copyright 1969 Jobette Music Co., Inc. All rights controlled and administered by EMI Blackwood Music Inc. on behalf of Stone Agate Music (A division of Jobette Music Co., Inc.)

If you know Richard Lloyd at all, it’s either as a member of Television (the first band to play CBGB’s) or as the guitarist on many of Matthew Sweet’s best tracks.  But Richard released some great solo work in between those gigs, including an album called Field Of Fire.  Overlooked & forgotten, this is one of the best records of the 1980’s (in my opinion, of course).  The title song features some of his best ever guitar work.

On this episode, we’re listening to a great rockin’ track called “Backtrack” that’s as close to “classic rock” as Richard Lloyd will ever get– and I mean that in the best possible way.  Keith Richards would be proud of this guitar riff.

“Backtrack” (Richard Lloyd) Copyright 1985 Richard Lloyd (ASCAP) Anapestic Music/Basement Music LTD. (PRS)

The Kinks earned their place in Rock History on the basis of “You Really Got Me”, “All Day & All Of The Night”, and “Where Have All The Good Times Gone” alone.  But it didn’t take long for Ray Davies to stretch out beyond riff-driven, teenage anthems to write songs that could only have come from his imagination.  “Autumn Almanac” is one of the first Kinks songs to show Davies reaching for a whole new level of songwriting–  both musically and his interest in writing about characters, which would become the focus of his songwriting over the ensuing years.

“Autumn Almanac” (Ray Davies) Copyright 1967 Davray Music Ltd. Carlin Music Corp.

Stevie Wonder was on an unrivaled creative streak starting in 1972, releasing 5 brilliant albums in a row, culminating with Songs In The Key Of Life in 1976. That album spawned 2 hit singles, including “I Wish”, the subject of this episode.  A masterpiece blending funk with pop sensibilities, it’s a celebration of youthful innocence and simpler times.  How does this song make *you* feel?  Let me know on Facebook, write a review on iTunes or wherever you listen to this show.  And share it with your friends!

“I Wish” (Stevie Wonder) Copyright 1976 Jobette Music Co. Inc, and Black Bull Music c/o EMI April Music Inc.

After a few longer-than-usual episodes, I thought it was time for a quick take on a straight-forward rocker with a premise not often heard in rock, pop, metal or rap — Graham Day & The Gaolers (pronounced “Jailers”) with “Glad I’m Not Young”.

“Glad I’m Not Young” (Graham Day) Copyright 2008 Graham Day (MCPS)

Few bands have changed their sound as drastically as Yes did on their 90125 album, a radical departure from their previous progressive rock style.  But it ended up giving them their one & only #1 hit, “Owner Of A Lonely Heart”.  In this episode, we follow the song’s evolution from Trevor Rabin’s solo demo to the final production, including its innovative production techniques (such as being one of the first rock songs to use samples).  This was the most challenging episode I’ve done yet, but I think it was worth it.  If you enjoyed it, share it with your friends!

“Owner Of A Lonely Heart” (Trevor Rabin, Jon Anderson, Trevor Horn & Chris Squire) Copyright 1983 Carlin Music Corp, Unforgettable Songs And Affirmative Music

50 years ago today — July 16, 1969 — Apollo 11 was launched and human beings first stepped on the moon.  Let’s celebrate that occasion with the most famous song about space travel: David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”, a song that exploits our fear and wonder of the final frontier. 

In lesser hands, this track could’ve been nothing more than a goofy, one-joke song for the Dr. Demento crowd, but the clever songwriting, brilliant production and a vocal performance that captures Bowie’s innate other-worldly, alienated style makes this track so much more than a novelty song.

“Space Oddity” (David Bowie) Copyright 1969 Onward Music Limited

TRANSCRIPT:

Take your protein pills and put your helmet on– it’s time for the “I’m In Love With That Song” podcast. On July 16, 1969–50 years ago today– NASA launched Apollo 11 and humans set foot on the moon for the first time. For the 50-year anniversary of one of the greatest achievements of our species, let’s listen to the most famous song about space travel, David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”.

My name is Brad Page, and what I try to do on each episode of this podcast is to get inside of a great song, to listen closely and uncover the elements that make a song work. We don’t get into music theory here, so you don’t have to be a musician to enjoy this podcast. We’re focusing on the performances, the arrangement, and the production choices that make a song great.

“Space Oddity” was released on July 11, 1969, five days before the launch of Apollo 11. The story of an astronaut marooned in space was always a common science fiction trope, explored in countless Sci-Fi novels, short stories, and films. “2001 A Space Odyssey” was obviously a major influence on this song. Clearly the source for the song title, “Space Oddity”.

Left alone, Major Tom drifting in space, the song is a meditation on alienation and isolation. Though Bowie is credited as the sole songwriter on this track, he was working with a musical partner named John Hutchinson at the time, and you can detect some of Hutchinson’s influence in the composition of this track. In fact, when the song was first recorded in February of 1969, it was a duet between Bowie and Hutchinson, with Hutchinson portraying the ground control parts, while Bowie played the role of Major Tom in space. Here’s a sample of that original version.

That’s Hutchinson on the lead vocal, with Bowie providing the harmony.

By April of ‘69, Hutchinson had left, and Bowie was back to being a solo act. He signed a record deal with Phillips Mercury Records in June, and the song was re-recorded as the version we know today. Bowie had been working with producer Tony Visconti, who would eventually produce many of Bowie’s classic albums. He was producing this album for Bowie, but Visconti declined to work on the song “Space Oddity” because he thought it was a lame novelty song. So, a producer named Gus Dudgeon was brought in to produce just this one song, and he did a brilliant job.  By the way, Visconti would eventually regret that decision.

Dudgeon mapped out the song on paper. Since he couldn’t read music, he used color-coded sections to indicate where certain instruments or the string section would come in. Paul Buckmaster created the actual string arrangement, translating Dudgeon’s color-coded pages into actual string charts for the orchestral musicians.

Bowie plays acoustic guitar on the track, along with Herbie Flowers on bass, Mick Wayne on electric guitar, Terry Cox on drums, and Rick Wakeman on Mellotron. Wakeman would go on to become one of rock’s greatest keyboard players with Yes, but at this time he was relatively unknown.

The song begins with Bowie’s acoustic guitar, I believe it’s a twelve-string, slowly fading in, primarily in the right channel. The bass will slide down from a high note. Then we get some militaristic snare drums and harmonics played by the electric guitar. Bowie also plays an instrument called the Stylophone on this track. Invented in 1967, the stylophone is a tiny keyboard that you play with a stylus. It was primarily sold as a children’s toy. And it sounds like this.

Let’s remove the bass, drums and guitar so you can hear the stylophone more clearly.

They’ve added a harmony vocal along with that lead vocal. And now we’re going to hear a voice in the background doing the countdown as we approach liftoff.

Notice how the lead vocal shifted to the right channel.

Now we’ve reached liftoff, and we get the sense of taking flight as the instruments climb in pitch. I’m sure this section was inspired by the middle of “A Day In The Life” by The Beatles.

Let’s listen to what some of the individual tracks are doing in this section. Check out the guitar part. I bet he’s using a bottleneck slide here to get that sound. This is also the first point in the song where the string section comes in. So let’s hear what they’re playing in this party.

Pure Bowie. The line about Major Tom making the grade and the papers all wanting to know whose shirts he wears. Bowie was always keenly aware of the power of advertising and the influence of media. As we play that part back, notice how the string section has been replaced by the Mellotron, which is emulating the sound of a string section. In essence, we’ve replaced a real human orchestra with an artificial reproduction. As we move further into space, we leave humanity behind.

I also want to listen to the bass guitar part behind the second verse. Because Herbie Flowers is doing some great stuff on the bass here. At this point in the second verse, the perspective changes from ground control to Major Tom. And we begin to see things from his point of view.

I always like how he says the word “peculiar” there.

This is the bridge, and it shifts to a different feel here. These chord changes, in conjunction with the arrangement, really give you the feeling of floating freely, untethered. It’s almost disorienting in a way.

Let’s have a closer listen to some of these parts. Here’s the vocals with the strings. And this time it’s the Mellotron. That’s replaced by the orchestra as soon as we hit the first chord of the bridge.

Now let’s hear what the bass and drums are doing during the bridge. That is some pretty cool stuff. As we come out of the bridge, there’s a break for an acoustic guitar part. Which leads into the guitar solo.

Hand claps. That’s Mick Ronson on the guitar solo. The guitar solo ends in dramatic fashion. And we’re into the third verse.

That’s my favorite line in the whole song. I think it’s the most human moment in the song.

You can really hear the stylophone there, too. I really like those little guitar touches there, those chords. Let’s see if we can listen to those. And there’s the stylophone. Sounds like it’s tapping out Morse code. Okay, let’s go back and listen to that in context.

This time there’s a seamless transition between the verse and the bridge.

The acoustic guitar break returns one last time before the final long fade. The solo is kind of buried in the mix, so let’s just listen to that for a bite.

Major Tom drifts off into the void, and the song follows him.

David Bowie – “Space Oddity”

 “Space Oddity” peaked at number 5 on the British charts, making it his first top ten hit. But it wasn’t a hit in America until 1972. Major Tom was also Bowie’s first successful mythic character, years before Ziggy Stardust or the Thin White Duke.

David Bowie, always contradictory, even about his own work, said he wanted “Space Oddity” to be the first anthem on the moon. But in the same interview, he also said the song was an antidote to “space fever”.

I was five years old when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. “Space fever” was a real thing. Everyone was caught up in the excitement. It was like the complete opposite of September 11. The country, the whole world really, was united by hope and what we could do together. For that brief time, it seemed like anything was possible.

Thanks again for sharing your time and listening to the podcast. Please join me again soon. There’s another “I’m In Love With That Song” podcast right around the corner. In the meantime, you can email me at lovethatsongpodcast@gmail.com. Or find the podcast on Facebook– just search for the “I’m In Love With That Song” podcast.

And please, it really helps the podcast if you leave a review on iTunes, Facebook, or wherever you listen to the show. So thanks.

Let’s celebrate the 50th anniversary of man’s first journey to the moon with David Bowie and “Space Oddity”.

To listen to the song again, complete and uninterrupted, stream it, download it, or buy it and support the music you love.

RESOURCES:

NASA
https://www.nasa.gov

2001: A Space Odyssey
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/

David Bowie
https://www.davidbowie.com/

Tony Visconti
http://www.tonyvisconti.com/

Gus Dudgeon
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/gus-dudgeon-mn0000948280

Paul Buckmaster
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/paul-buckmaster-mn0000014654

Rick Wakeman
http://www.rwcc.com/

Stylophone
https://dubreq.com/stylophone/

Melotron
https://www.mellotron.com/

Beatles ‘A Day in the Life’
https://www.thebeatles.com/song/day-life

Yes (Band)
http://yesworld.com/

Among the many high points in David Bowie’s catalog, “Station To Station” stands as one of his most epic compositions.  Written when Bowie’s life was at its most fractured point– having split with his longtime manager, suffering from cocaine psychosis and obsessed with the occult, “Station To Station” transcends the insanity to become one of his most monumental works.

This episode, we’re taking a deep dive into the live version of “Station To Station” from the 1978 Isolar II Tour, as captured on the Stage live album featuring brilliant guitar work from Adrian Belew.

David Bowie, circa 1976, drawing the Tree Of Life, a mystical
diagram referred to in “Station To Station”

TRANSCRIPT:

Put ​on ​your ​red ​shoes ​and ​dance ​the ​blues– ​It’s ​time ​for ​another ​episode ​of ​the ​“I’m ​In ​Love ​With ​That ​Song” ​podcast. ​ Today, ​we’re ​taking ​a ​deep ​dive ​into “Station ​To Station” ​by ​David ​Bowie.

Hi, ​I’m ​Brad ​Page, ​and ​on ​this ​podcast, ​I ​pick ​one ​of ​my ​favorite ​songs ​and ​we ​spend ​some ​quality ​time ​listening– ​really ​listening– ​to ​all ​the ​nuances ​and ​details ​that ​make ​it ​a ​great ​song. ​No ​musical ​knowledge ​is ​required ​here, we’re ​not ​getting ​into ​music ​theory. ​I’m ​more ​interested ​in ​arrangements, ​performances ​and ​production– ​the ​craft ​and ​design ​that ​goes ​into ​making ​a ​great ​piece ​of ​music. ​And ​this ​time ​we’ve ​got ​an ​amazing ​piece ​of ​music. ​One ​of ​David ​Bowie’s ​masterpieces: ​“Station ​To ​Station”.

So, ​I’m ​going ​to ​do ​something ​a ​little ​different ​this ​time; we’re ​going ​to ​listen ​to ​the ​live ​version ​of ​this ​song, ​rather ​than ​the ​studio ​version. ​Most ​people ​would ​consider ​the ​studio ​version ​to ​be ​the ​definitive ​version, ​and ​I’m ​not ​going ​to ​disagree ​with ​that, but ​I ​just ​really ​love ​this ​particular ​live ​version, ​partly ​because ​it ​features ​two ​of ​my ​favorite ​musicians: ​Roger ​Powell ​from Utopia ​on ​keyboards, ​and ​the ​amazing ​guitar ​player, ​Adrian ​Belew.

This ​version ​is ​from ​the ​album ​called ​“Stage”, ​released ​in ​1978 ​and ​culled ​from ​performances ​in ​Philadelphia, ​Providence, ​Rhode ​island ​and ​Boston, ​Massachusetts, ​from ​the ​‘78 ​tour. ​Along ​with ​Adrian ​Belew ​and ​Roger ​Powell, ​the ​band ​includes ​Sean ​Mayes ​on ​piano, ​Simon ​House ​on ​violin, ​and ​three ​guys ​who ​had ​become ​Bowie’s ​go-to ​rhythm ​section ​on ​the ​last ​few ​albums, ​George ​Murray ​on ​bass, ​Dennis ​Davis ​on ​drums, ​and ​Carlos ​Alamar ​on ​rhythm ​guitar. ​Alamar ​was ​more ​than ​just ​a ​rhythm ​guitarist, he ​was ​Bowie’s ​band ​leader ​and ​defacto ​musical ​director ​during ​this ​period.

The ​song ​begins ​with ​the ​sound ​of ​a ​steam ​train ​pulling ​out ​of ​the ​station, ​picking ​up ​speed ​and ​moving ​faster. ​The ​sound ​slowly ​moves ​from ​right ​to ​left.

​On ​the ​original ​studio ​recording, ​Bowie ​used ​recordings ​of ​an ​actual ​train ​and ​then ​manipulated ​them ​in ​the ​studio. ​But ​here, ​live ​in ​concert, ​Roger ​Powell ​coaxes ​the ​train ​sounds ​out ​of ​his ​synthesizer. 

The ​song ​doesn’t ​actually ​have ​anything ​to ​do ​with ​trains ​or ​train ​stations, ​but ​the ​sound ​of ​the ​train ​could ​be ​taken ​as ​a ​metaphor ​for ​the ​spiritual ​journey ​that ​the ​song ​is ​about ​to ​take ​us ​on

The ​train ​sounds ​build ​for ​over ​a ​minute ​before ​Adrian ​Belew’s ​guitar ​appears, ​mimicking ​the ​sound ​of ​a ​train ​whistle. 

And ​then ​the ​guitar ​starts ​to ​go ​nuts. 

​A ​piano ​enters, ​ticking ​back ​and ​forth ​between ​two ​notes. 

​The ​guitar ​is ​really ​interesting ​here, ​as ​Adrian ​somehow ​wrangles ​sounds ​out ​of ​it ​that ​are ​more ​like ​an ​out-​of-​control ​machine ​than ​a ​guitar. 

​Two ​minutes ​into ​the ​song, ​and ​the ​rest ​of ​the ​band ​comes ​in. ​Listen ​to ​the ​crazy ​stuff ​Adrian ​is ​doing ​with ​his ​guitar. ​That’s ​why ​I ​love ​this ​version ​of ​the ​song. 

The ​first ​time ​I ​heard ​this ​was ​a ​video ​clip. ​I ​think ​it ​was ​on “​Don ​Kirschner’s ​Rock ​Concert”. ​I’d ​never ​seen ​or ​heard ​of ​Adrian ​Belew ​before, ​but ​his ​performance ​here ​made ​a ​huge ​impression ​on ​me. ​What ​he’s ​able ​to ​do ​with ​his ​guitar ​here ​is ​incredible. 

​The ​heaviness ​of ​the ​guitar ​is ​offset ​a ​bit ​by ​the ​groove, ​courtesy ​of ​Alamar, ​Murray ​and ​Davis, ​all ​seasoned ​R&​B ​players.

Finally, ​three ​minutes ​into ​the ​song, ​the ​chaos ​subsides ​and ​Bowie ​enters ​with ​his ​vocals ​for ​the ​first ​time.

“One ​magical ​moment, ​such ​is ​the ​stuff ​where ​dreams ​are ​woven” —  ​that’s ​a ​pretty ​clear ​reference ​to ​a ​line ​from ​the ​Shakespeare ​play ​“The ​Tempest”, ​where ​there’s ​a ​line ​that ​reads, “​we ​are ​such ​stuff as ​dreams ​are ​made ​of” ​in ​the ​play. That ​line ​is ​spoken ​by ​a ​character ​named ​Prospero, ​who ​is ​both ​a ​powerful ​magician ​and ​a ​duke. ​

This ​is ​the ​first ​of ​many ​references ​in ​this ​song ​to ​magic ​and ​the ​occult. 

You ​won’t ​hear ​Simon ​House’s ​violin ​much ​at ​all ​in this ​song. ​He ​spends ​most ​of ​the ​song ​playing ​the ​violin pizzicato; that’s ​when ​you ​pluck ​the ​string ​with ​your ​finger ​rather ​than ​using ​the ​bow. ​You ​can ​just ​about ​hear ​it ​in ​this ​section.

So ​that ​line ​there: “​Here ​we ​are, ​one ​magical ​movement ​from ​Kether ​to ​Malkuth”.

Let’s ​take ​a ​look ​at ​that ​line ​for ​a ​minute. Kether ​and ​Malkuth ​are ​terms ​that ​come ​from ​the ​Kabbalah, ​an ​ancient ​form ​of ​jewish ​mysticism. ​According ​to ​the ​wisdom ​of ​Kabbalah, ​the ​tree ​of ​life ​is ​a ​mystical ​diagram ​where ​Kether ​sits ​at ​the ​top, ​representing ​pure ​consciousness ​and ​absolute ​compassion. ​Malkuth ​is ​at ​the ​bottom ​of ​the ​tree ​of ​life, ​representing ​the ​material ​world. ​Now, ​I’m ​definitely ​no ​scholar ​of ​this stuff, ​so ​I’m ​simplifying ​here, ​but ​Bowie had ​a ​particular ​obsession ​with ​this ​stuff ​during ​1976 ​when ​he ​was ​writing ​this.

Check out how ​the ​bass, ​keyboards ​and ​violin ​all ​hit ​the ​same ​riff ​here.

“There ​are ​you, ​you ​drive ​like ​a ​demon ​from ​station ​to ​station”; ​yet ​another ​magical, ​mystical ​reference. ​The ​stations ​could ​refer ​to ​the ​stations ​of ​the ​cross ​or ​the ​positions ​along ​the ​tree ​of ​life. 

“White ​Stains” ​is ​an obscure ​book ​of ​poetry ​written ​by ​Alastair ​Crowley, ​published ​under ​the ​pseudonym ​George ​Archibald ​Bishop. ​Crowley, ​of ​course, ​is ​probably ​the ​most ​famous ​occult ​figure ​in ​history. ​Most ​of ​the ​poems ​in ​“White ​Stains” ​involve ​sex ​in ​one ​way ​or ​another, ​and ​Crowley ​and ​his ​disciples ​also ​had ​an ​interest ​in ​the ​Tree ​of ​Life. ​Musically, ​here, ​I ​like ​the ​way ​the ​guitars ​arpeggiate ​the ​chords ​like ​a ​retro ​1950s ​song.

Now, ​five ​minutes ​into ​the ​song, ​we ​reach ​the ​bridge. ​The ​tempo ​speeds ​up ​and ​the ​lyrics ​start ​to ​look ​back ​with ​longing. ​“Some ​time ​in ​the ​past, ​once ​there ​were ​mountains ​on ​mountains ​and ​once ​there ​were ​sunbirds ​to ​soar ​with, ​and ​once ​I ​could ​never ​be ​down.”

Bowie ​is clearly ​on ​a ​spiritual ​journey ​here ​as ​he ​sings, ​“Got ​to ​keep ​searching ​and ​searching ​and ​what ​will ​I ​be ​believing ​and ​who ​will ​connect ​me ​with ​love”.

The ​next ​few ​lines ​will ​descend ​in ​pitch, ​and ​then ​be ​punctuated ​with ​rapid ​fire ​chord ​changes ​and ​some ​rhythmic ​changes ​as ​well. ​This ​all ​creates ​a ​sense ​of ​disorientation ​and ​keeps ​you ​off ​balance. 

Then ​very ​quickly, ​the ​song ​normalizes ​to ​a ​straightforward ​four ​four ​groove ​and ​hits ​a ​much ​faster ​tempo ​that ​will ​drive ​us ​through ​to ​the ​finish ​of ​the ​song. ​

He ​begins ​by ​singing, ​“It’s ​not ​the ​side ​effects ​of ​the ​cocaine, ​I’m ​thinking ​that ​it ​must ​be ​love”…  Well, ​​by ​this ​point ​in ​Bowie’s ​career, ​he ​was ​living ​like ​a ​vampire ​in ​Hollywood; he ​was ​barely ​eating, ​living ​on ​a ​diet ​of ​cocaine, ​cigarettes ​and ​milk. ​He ​would ​go ​five ​or ​six ​nights ​without ​sleep. ​He ​was ​paranoid, ​delusional ​and ​experiencing  hallucinations. ​Cocaine ​psychosis. ​By ​the ​time ​this ​live version ​was ​recorded ​in ​1978, ​he ​was ​in ​better ​condition,  but ​when ​he ​wrote ​the ​song ​in ‘76, ​he ​was ​in ​terrible ​shape.  So ​I’m ​going ​to ​say, ​yeah, ​it ​probably ​was ​the ​side ​effects ​of ​the ​cocaine.

“It’s ​too ​late ​to ​be ​grateful, ​it’s ​too ​late ​to ​be ​late ​again, ​it’s ​too ​late ​to ​be ​hateful, ​the ​European ​canon ​is ​here.” 

​Now, ​that ​last ​line ​is ​interesting, ​because ​the ​word “​canon”, ​that ​word ​has ​two ​meanings, ​depending ​on ​how ​you ​spell ​it. ​And ​I’ve ​seen ​it ​written ​both ​ways ​in ​transcriptions ​of ​the ​lyrics. ​C-A-N-N-O-N ​as ​in ​the ​thing ​you ​shoot ​cannonballs ​out ​of, ​and ​C-A-N-O-N ​as ​in ​a ​set ​of ​rules, ​principles, ​or ​a ​list ​of ​sacred ​texts ​that ​are ​seen ​as ​genuine ​or ​definitive. ​I ​think ​that’s ​the ​word ​that ​Bowie’s ​going ​for ​here, ​the “​European ​canon”. ​

After ​finishing ​the ​“Station ​To ​Station” ​album, ​Bowie ​packed ​up ​and ​left ​Hollywood ​for ​Germany, ​settling ​in ​Berlin, ​where ​he ​pulled ​himself ​together ​and ​made ​the ​next ​few ​albums ​in ​his ​career. ​​So ​in ​this ​lyric, ​I ​think ​he’s ​looking ​towards ​the ​sounds ​coming ​from ​Europe ​as ​his ​way ​forward.  ​Working ​with ​Brian ​Eno ​and ​drawing ​inspiration ​from ​bands ​like ​Kraftwerk ​would ​shape ​Bowie’s ​sound ​for ​the ​next ​few ​years.

Listen ​to ​George ​Murray’s ​bass ​part. ​All ​through ​this ​section, ​he ​is ​really ​smoking.

Adrian ​Belew ​gets ​another ​chance ​to ​tear ​it ​up, ​this ​time ​with ​a ​more ​traditional ​guitar ​solo. 

​The ​whole ​band ​is ​really ​cooking ​here, ​and ​the ​backing ​vocals ​give ​David ​something ​to ​bounce ​off ​of. 

This ​is ​a ​great ​drum ​fill.

Check ​out ​the ​descending ​run ​on ​the ​bass ​guitar ​here.

And ​then ​the ​party’s ​over. ​ And ​again, ​listen ​to ​George ​Murray’s ​bass ​guitar. ​What ​he’s ​playing ​is ​simple ​but ​interesting.

David Bowie – “Station To ​Station”, ​Live ​1978

“Station ​To ​Station” was ​the ​longest ​song ​David ​Bowie ​ever ​recorded. ​And ​not ​coincidentally, ​this ​is ​the ​longest ​episode ​of ​this ​podcast ​that ​I’ve ​ever ​recorded. ​But ​the ​song ​is ​an ​epic, ​with ​lots ​of ​elements ​to ​chew ​on. ​So ​thanks ​for ​sticking ​around. ​I ​think ​this ​song ​was ​worth ​the ​time.

Over ​a ​lifetime ​in ​the ​music ​business, ​with ​dozens ​and ​dozens ​of ​albums, ​many ​high ​watermarks, ​and ​iconic ​songs ​that ​have ​influenced ​generations ​of ​musicians ​and ​artists, ​“Station ​To ​Station” ​stands ​out ​as ​one ​of ​Bowie’s ​finest ​works. 

Of ​course, ​David ​Bowie ​died ​in ​2016, ​but ​I ​gotta ​tell ​you, ​not ​a ​week ​goes ​by ​where ​I ​find ​it ​hard ​to ​believe ​I ​live ​in ​a ​world ​where ​there’ll ​be ​no ​more ​new ​David ​Bowie ​music. ​It ​breaks ​my ​heart, ​but ​we ​have ​that ​amazing ​catalog ​of ​Bowie ​albums, ​and ​it’ll ​have ​to ​be ​enough. ​If ​you’re ​not ​familiar ​with ​his ​work, ​please ​go ​explore ​it. ​There’s ​so ​much ​good ​stuff ​in ​there, ​including ​the ​later ​half ​of ​his ​career. ​There’s ​literally ​something ​in ​his ​catalog ​for ​everyone. Go ​check ​it ​out.

Well, ​thanks ​again ​for ​listening ​to ​this ​podcast. ​As ​always, ​you ​can ​find ​me ​at ​lovethatsongpodcast@gmail.com, ​or ​search ​for ​the “​I’m ​In ​Love ​With ​That ​Song” ​podcast ​on ​Facebook. ​If ​you ​like ​what ​you ​hear, ​please ​leave ​a ​review ​on ​iTunes ​or ​wherever ​you ​listen ​to ​the ​show. ​And ​as ​always, ​don’t ​forget ​to ​subscribe ​to ​the ​podcast ​using ​the ​podcast ​player ​of ​your ​choice. ​That ​way ​you ​never ​miss ​an ​episode. 

​Now ​go ​and ​listen ​to ​the ​whole ​song ​again. ​Download ​it, ​stream ​it, ​or ​buy ​it ​from ​wherever ​you ​find ​great ​music. ​Support ​the ​music ​you ​love.

REFERENCES:

David Bowie
https://www.davidbowie.com/

Adrian Belew
http://www.adrianbelew.net/

Roger Powell (Utopia)
http://www.rogerpowell.com/

Don Kirschner’s Rock Concert
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0199257/

White Stains by Alastair Crowley
https://www.sacred-texts.com/oto/ws/index.htm

The Tempest by William Shakespeare
https://shakespeare.folger.edu/shakespeares-works/the-tempest/

Kabbalah
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/kabbalah/

Aqualung was the album that made Jethro Tull famous, and features 3 songs that became classic hits.  But the song at the heart of the album is “My God”, Ian Anderson’s very personal statement on religious institutions.  It’s the most instrumentally adventurous track on the album and features great guitar by Martin Barre and a flute workout from Anderson.

“My God” (Ian Anderson) Copyright 1971 Chrysalis Music, Ltd.