DAVID BOWIE - "HEROES" @ 45

 

October 14th marks the 45th anniversary of the release of David Bowie’s 12th studio album, “Heroes”, which was issued on this date in 1977. It was the second in what would become known as the “Berlin trilogy”, but the only one of the three recorded entirely at Hansa Studios in Berlin. Whereas Low, the first of the trilogy, released earlier in the year, had received little promotion from Bowie or his label, “Heroes” would merit their full attention and became a major commercial and critical success because of it.

After completing Low, Bowie felt the album was too noncommercial and, rather than tour to support it, went on the road to play keyboards with Iggy Pop when not in the studio working with him to launch his solo career, co-producing two definitive LPs, The Idiot and Lust For Life. After that, Bowie got together with Brian Eno and producer, Tony Visconti to begin work on his next album in July of 1977, with sessions ongoing until the end of August. The band were essential the same as for Low, with Carlos Alomar on guitar, George Murray on bass and Dennis Davis on drums. Initially, there were discussions of bringing in NEU! guitarist, Michael Rother, to augment the band, but somehow that inclination got lost in the shuffle.

Ultimately it came down to a frustrating night in the studio working on the title track to determine the missing ingredient for these sessions. While struggling to figure out what was lacking in the arrangement, Eno suggested phoning friend and collaborator, Robert Fripp, in New York. Bowie spoke to him and Robert initially expressed reservations, stating that he hadn’t really done anything for the last three years, but would give it a go if Bowie was willing to take a chance. With a first class ticket couriered to Fripp, he was on a plane and spent three days in the studio, knocking out his guitar parts. Bowie and Eno were bowled over by his virtuosity as he nailed each take, never having heard the songs before arriving to record on them.

The bed tracks for the album came together quickly over the course of a few days, but the overdubbing process would take slightly longer. Sometimes this would leave them struggling to resolve creative blocks, a situation which Eno would frequently remedy by the use of his Oblique Strategy Cards, a deck of vague “suggestions”, which could be randomly drawn from to illicit unexpected ideas and approaches.

The vocals would all come last, after the music was completely in place and there was no one left in the studio except Bowie and Tony. Bowie had become enamored with Iggy Pop’s uncanny ability to improvise lyrics in the studio, often laying down complete songs off the top of his head in one take. Bowie determined to pursue this approach with “Heroes” and did so with the exception of one song being written in advance. Visconti was amazed at the passion which Bowie delivered while singing in this method. A prime example of that is the title track, which begins with Bowie offering a soft croon, but eventually peaks with him belting out at a shout that was powerful enough to crumble the Berlin Wall which inspired the lyrics.

Like Low, the first side of the album was given over to a mostly mainstream pop song format while the B-side featured more adventurous instrumentals like the Kraftwerk tribute V-2 Schneider. However, where Low had come across as more disturbed and dour, “Heroes” took on a much more optimistic and upbeat disposition. Something about doing it all at Hansa, a former concert hall used as a ballroom by Gestapo officers during World War II, which was within 500 yards of the Berlin Wall so soldiers from the other side were able to peer through their windows with binoculars, gave the musicians and producers a sense of defiant vitality while working in this potential powder-keg of an environment.

The cover for the album followed along the design aesthetic which had been used on the two Iggy Pop albums with a black & white photo of Bowie on the front. The look would be carried over for the video of the title track, which became one of the early harbingers of the video revolution lurking around the corner. I can recall seeing it on Bing Crosby’s Christmas special that year and being beguiled by Bowie’s presence. It was the first time he’d really made an impression on my 14 year old teen brain. It would be an impression which would stick with me and lead me to soon getting onboard with his final installment in the trilogy, Lodger.

While the label and Bowie had eschewed promoting Low, they weren’t so reluctant with “Heroes” and Bowie set about on a major touring schedule to promote the album and bring the material from Low into his live repertoire as well. The result was that the album was a success on both sides of the Atlantic, garnering a 3rd place peak on the UK charts and 35 in the US. The single, while a modest success at the time of its release has since gone on to become one of Bowie’s most frequently referenced songs. Of the three Berlin albums, it remains the most commercially successful.