David Bowie fired the Spiders from Mars shortly after the release of Pin Ups, but he didn't completely leave the Ziggy Stardust persona behind.
Diamond Dogs suffers precisely because of this -- he doesn't know how to move forward.
Originally conceived as a concept album based on George Orwell's 1984, Diamond Dogs evolved into another one of Bowie's paranoid future nightmares.
Throughout the album, there are hints that he's tired of the Ziggy formula, particularly in the disco underpinning of "Candidate" and his cut-and-paste lyrics.
However, it's not enough to make Diamond Dogs a step forward, and without Mick Ronson to lead the band, the rockers are too stiff to make an impact.
Ironically, the one exception is one of Bowie's very best songs -- the tight, sexy "Rebel Rebel." The song doesn't have much to do with the theme, and the ones he does throw in to further the story usually fall flat.
Diamond Dogs isn't a total waste, with "1984," "Candidate," and "Diamond Dogs" all offering some sort of pleasure, but it is the first record since Space Oddity where Bowie's reach exceeds his grasp.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Future LegendDavid Bowie | David Bowie | Play | 01:08 | 2 MB | 7 MB |
| 2 | Diamond DogsDavid Bowie | David Bowie | Play | 05:58 | 13 MB | 44 MB |
| 3 | Sweet ThingDavid Bowie | David Bowie | Play | 03:38 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 4 | CandidateDavid Bowie | David Bowie | Play | 02:40 | 6 MB | 18 MB |
| 5 | Sweet Thing (Reprise)David Bowie | David Bowie | Play | 02:32 | 5 MB | 16 MB |
| 6 | Rebel RebelDavid Bowie | David Bowie | Play | 04:33 | 10 MB | 31 MB |
| 7 | Rock 'N' Roll With MeDavid Bowie, Warren Peace | David Bowie | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 8 | We Are the DeadDavid Bowie | David Bowie | Play | 04:59 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 9 | 1984David Bowie | David Bowie | Play | 03:27 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 10 | Big BrotherDavid Bowie | David Bowie | Play | 03:20 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 11 | Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal FamilyDavid Bowie | David Bowie | Play | 02:03 | 4 MB | 14 MB |
| 38 mins | 87 MB | |||||
| 38 mins | 258 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Bowie | Composer, Guitar, Mixing, Percussion, Primary Artist, Producer, Programmer, Saxophone, Vocals |
| 2 | Aynsley Dunbar | Drums |
| 3 | Herbie Flowers | Bass |
| 4 | Mike Garson | Guest Artist, Harpsichord, Mellotron, Moog Synthesizer, Piano |
| 5 | Keith Harwood | Engineer, Mixing |
| 6 | Tony Newman | Drums |
| 7 | Alan Parker | Guitar |
| 8 | Warren Peace | Composer |
| 9 | Ray Staff | Mastering |
| 10 | Tony Visconti | Mastering, Mixing, Strings |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |