"Heroes" (David Bowie album)

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"Heroes"
The album cover features a black and white photograph of Bowie's face with his hands held up
Studio album by David Bowie
Released 14 October 1977 (1977-10-14)
Recorded July–August 1977
Studio Hansa Studio by the Wall, West Berlin
Genre Art rock, experimental rock[1]
Length 40:36
Label RCA Records
Producer David Bowie, Tony Visconti
David Bowie chronology
Low
(1977)Low1977		 "Heroes"
(1977)		 Stage
(1978)Stage1978
Singles from "Heroes"
  1. ""Heroes"" b/w "V-2 Schneider"
    Released: 23 September 1977
  2. "Beauty and the Beast" b/w "Sense of Doubt"
    Released: 6 January 1978

"Heroes"[2] is the twelfth studio album by David Bowie, released in 1977. The second installment of his Berlin Trilogy with Brian Eno (the other releases being Low and Lodger) "Heroes" developed further the sound of Low.[3] Of the three albums, it was the only one wholly recorded in Berlin. The title track remains one of Bowie's best known, a classic story of two lovers who meet at the Berlin Wall. The album is considered one of his best by critics, notably for the contributions of guitarist Robert Fripp who flew in from the US to record his parts in one day.[4] It was named NME Album of the Year.

Production and style

Recorded at Hansa Tonstudio in what was then West Berlin, "Heroes" reflected the zeitgeist of the Cold War, symbolised by the divided city. Co-producer Tony Visconti considered it "one of my last great adventures in making albums. The studio was about 500 yards from the wall. Red Guards would look into our control-room window with powerful binoculars."[5] David Bowie again paid tribute to his Krautrock influences: the title is a nod to the track "Hero" on the album Neu! '75 by the German band Neu! – whose guitarist Michael Rother had originally been approached to play on the album[6] – while "V-2 Schneider" is inspired by and named after Kraftwerk's Florian Schneider.[7] Earlier in 1977, Kraftwerk had name-checked Bowie on the title track of Trans-Europe Express. The cover photo by Masayoshi Sukita was inspired by German artist Erich Heckel's Roquairol.[8]

Brian Eno called up Robert Fripp and invited him to play guitar on the album. Fripp, who had considered himself retired from music, said "Well, I don’t know because I haven’t played for three years, but if you’re prepared to take a risk, then so am I."[9] Upon arriving at the studio, jetlagged from his flight in, he played on the track "Beauty and the Beast" and his first take was used in the song's final mix.[9]

Though "Heroes" included a number of dark and atmospheric instrumentals such as "Sense of Doubt" and "Neuköln", it was regarded as a highly passionate and positive artistic statement,[5][7] particularly after the often melancholy Low.[10] This relative optimism was evident not only through '"Heroes"' the song but in the rocking opener "Beauty and the Beast" (released as the second single in January 1978), the raucous "Joe the Lion" and the light-hearted closer "The Secret Life of Arabia". The lyrics for "Joe the Lion", written and recorded at the microphone "in less than an hour" according to Visconti, typified the improvisational nature of the recording.[11]

Release and impact

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 5/5 stars[1]
Robert Christgau B+[12]
MusicHound 4/5[13]
Rolling Stone (favourable)[14]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide 4.5/5 stars[15]
Martin C. Strong 9/10[16]
Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music 5/5 stars[16]

"Heroes" was marketed by RCA with the catchphrase, "There's Old Wave. There's New Wave. And there's David Bowie..."[7] It enjoyed a positive critical reception on release in late 1977,[4] Melody Maker and NME both naming it 'Album of the Year'.[17][18] It reached No. 3 in the UK and stayed in the charts for 26 weeks, but was less successful in the US where it peaked at No. 35. The album was released in Germany with the track "Heroes/Helden", the lyrics sung partly in German. Its influence is enduring: John Lennon said that when making his album Double Fantasy in 1980, his ambition was to "do something as good as 'Heroes'."[4][17]

A number of the album's tracks were played live at Bowie's concerts the following year, the Low and Heroes World Tour captured on record as Stage (1978). Philip Glass adapted a classical suite, "Heroes" Symphony, based on this album, a companion to his earlier Low Symphony. The title track has been covered by numerous artists, and has been frequently used as an encore by recent incarnations of King Crimson, while "The Secret Life of Arabia" was sung by Billy Mackenzie in 1982 on the British Electric Foundation LP Music of Quality and Distinction. Several tracks were used in the film Christiane F. Bowie performed as himself in the film.

The cover of Bowie's 2013 album, The Next Day, was an altered and obscured version of the "Heroes" cover.

Track listing

All lyrics written by David Bowie; all music composed by Bowie, except where noted.

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Beauty and the Beast"   3:32
2. "Joe the Lion"   3:05
3. "'Heroes'" (Bowie, Brian Eno) 6:07
4. "Sons of the Silent Age"   3:15
5. "Blackout"   3:50
Side two
No. Title Length
6. "V-2 Schneider"   3:10
7. "Sense of Doubt"   3:57
8. "Moss Garden" (Bowie, Eno) 5:03
9. "Neuköln" (Bowie, Eno) 4:34
10. "The Secret Life of Arabia" (Bowie, Eno, Carlos Alomar) 3:46

Reissues

"Heroes" has been rereleased on CD four times to date. The first CD issue was by RCA in 1984. It was reissued in 1991 by Rykodisc (with two bonus tracks). In the late 90s, Ryko released it on a 20-bit SBM Gold numbered edition. It was released again in 1999 by EMI/Virgin (featuring 24-bit digitally remastered sound and no bonus tracks).

1991 reissue bonus tracks
No. Title Length
11. "Abdulmajid" (Previously unreleased track, recorded 1976–79; composed by Bowie and Eno) 3:40
12. "Joe the Lion" (Remixed version, 1991) 3:08

Personnel

Technical personnel

Charts

Notes

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  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Visconti stated that the title of Low was partly inspired by Bowie's depression during the album's recording.BowieGoldenYears. Retrieved 12 June 2007.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Acclaimed Music – "Heroes"
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Note: user must select 'David BOWIE' from drop-down.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter Heroes in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
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