It seems as though me and
@Yer Ol' Uncle D are on the same wavelength tonight.
Day 3 - You Move Me
David Bowie - "Station to Station"
"Station to Station" is my favorite Bowie record and, by extension, one of my favorite albums of all time. From the sprawling groove of the title track, to the funky and eccentric "Golden Years", or the absurdist "TVC 15" or the ominously rollicking "Stay", in just six songs, Bowie delivers an album that worms itself into your brain and refuses to let you go. According to Bowie, the album was produced in such a cloud of cocaine that he barely remembers writing or recording the album at all. A tremendous period of transition for Bowie artistically, the album was anchored to yet another character Bowie adopted, the Thin White Duke, a much darker figure than the flamboyant Ziggy Stardust, who displayed a cold demeanor and an unfortunate penchant for fascism.
Much like many of other Bowie's other works, however, even taken out of such historical context, it stands as its own as a grand statement. And the record features two of the artist's finest and most emotional vocal performance of his whole career. The first is "Word on a Wing", a soulful closer to side one that seems to show the singer desperately grappling with a higher power of some sort.
However, the real star of the show on this album is Bowie's remarkably moving version of "Wild is the Wind." This song has been taken on by some of the greatest voices in history, perhaps most notably Nina Simone, who its said inspired Bowie to take the song on for himself. And his rendition is absolutely incredible, something that must be heard to be believed. It never fails to make me feel drenched in emotion and it's the perfect to end an album. A ballad for the ages.
