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.
