Station to Station

I never listened to Bowie before this project, and I now admire how this guy kept re-inventing himself between albums and always coming out with something new and fresh vs. prior work. Mad respect. Someday I'll go through his catalogue end to end.
Highlights: golden years

I had almost forgotten Station to Station. But that was exactly what I listened to alongside Heroes in my early youth by David Bowie. Who still remembers "Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo" (We Children from Bahnhof Zoo)? Still a great album that I will listen to again and again, but not that often. 4/5

It sounds so much like Talking Heads took a cue from the second track, Golden Years. And that's not a bad thing. I also like those really big bold, ballad Bowie songs like Word on a Wing.

With the exception of the oft discussed title track, Station To Station is an album that is generally more well known for what it represents in Bowie's career than for its music. Station To Station is Bowie's only album released in his Thin White Duke era. Which is to say that this was Bowie's controversial "mountains of cocaine, and fascism" period. At this time, he was so far gone it feels kind of amazing that Bowie managed to release an album as great as Station To Station. A real, distinct mania runs through Station To Station, which isn't all that surprising, when considering the circumstances. It's one of the things that separates this album from Bowie's discography at large, and it gives the album a real "dance until you collapse" kind of vibe. The album is just 6 songs, 3 are essential Bowie and the other 3 are between good and very good. The title track is a microcosm of what's going on here. We see Bowie extending his sound closer to where The Berlin trilogy would pick up over the course of 10 minutes. The construction is pretty immaculate for just how fevered he sounds: this is probably the best song on the album. Word On A Wing is similarly fevered and worth reading about a little. It works great on its own, but Bowie's motivation for writing this song puts into perspective just how bad things were. And while I don't want to romanticize this sort of behavior, I do think knowing what was going on with Bowie at this time is kind of essential to getting to the bottom of this album. The last essential here is his cover of Wild Is The Wind, recorded as a tribute to Nina Simone. And it is one of the purest moments of beauty on Station To Station. And it keeps the album from ending on an entirely dour note. As far as the other three songs go, I still really like Stay, and enjoy Golden Years. But I am a little bit more ambivalent towards TVC15. That being said, my complaints with this album are mostly within the context of Bowie's broader discography. This is a remarkable, slightly harrowing whole. And it is, as a whole, essential to understanding the arc of Bowie's life on some level.

Better than Coldplay

Great album

Solid, if short, Bowie album.

From the iconic cover to the songs: a unique and highly entertaining offering from Bowie at the absolute top of his game. Masterful. Bowie’s cocaine rattled brain struck gold in LA. A bit ironic that a Brit - kilometers away from Düsseldorf - wrote one of the most infectious Krautrock influenced backbeats on Station to Station and that he cannot even recall much of the recording sessions.

Not my favorite Bowie album tbh. This was just ok, I didn’t mind it but nothing stood out to me.

Not one of my more listened to Bowie albums. But really great.

Pretty freaky Bowie

Please give us the best of Bowie.

I understand the music is good but it didn't impact me much

Station to Station by David Bowie is a superb album and has long been one of my favourites, so this was always going to be an easy listen.

At just 38 minutes and only six tracks, the record flies by, I’d happily take another couple of songs because it’s over far too soon. The Thin White Duke era really is Bowie at his best, and this album is a perfect example of that run of brilliance. Station to Station is an effortless 5/5 for me. Every track is superb.

Favourite track: If I had to choose, it would be Wild Is the Wind, TVC 15, or Golden Years, which is half the album!
Least favourite track: There isn’t a weak moment here.
Album artwork: Pure Bowie, striking, stylish, and iconic.

Bloody brilliant album, absolutely loved it. This is my seventh of the 9 Bowie albums on here and probably my second favourite so far after Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust. Coming up to a year of doing this now and one of my big takeaways so far is a much bigger appreciation for David Bowie. He was always one of those artists where I liked the big hits but never delved any deeper. Once I get the last two albums I’m going to take a few nights and go through his whole discography.

Top Track - Station To Station but Stay is a very close second.

This is amongst the upper echelons of Bowie's back catalogue IMO.

It captures a delicate balance between his artsy side and his more accessible, radiant rocking side. The bass-lines throughout are incredible, with an invitingly funky feel to them, whilst on the flip side there is a constant tension laid bare across all facets of the album, owing to Bowie's physical and mental state at the time of its recording. The man was quite literally wasting away but smashed out a banging album purely on adrenaline (and the white stuff).

Decent album. Pretty much more of David Bowie, but not as exciting. 3/5

Station to Station is in my top 5 Bowie albums. It might even be in top 3.

It’s still got some funk and plastic soul from Young Americans, but we’re also starting to see some of the Krautrock influences and electronic experimentation that drove a lot of the Berlin Trilogy.

There really isn’t a bad song on this album. Mind you there are only 6 songs, and at 38 minutes it doesn’t overstay its welcome at all either.

This list has forced me to finally deep dive into Bowie and I’ve been pleasantly surprised. This album is no exception.

Banger. This might be my favorite Bowie project yet, its shorter tracklist with longer songs make the album feel more focused, and they're all just incredibly fun. The Bowiepill starts to take effect!

Standouts: Station to Station • Golden Years • TVC15 • Stay