The Secret Life of Arabia
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| “The Secret Life of Arabia” | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by David Bowie | |||||
| Album | "Heroes" | ||||
| Released | October 14, 1977 | ||||
| Recorded | Hansa Studio by the Wall, West Berlin July-August 1977 |
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| Genre | Rock, Krautrock | ||||
| Length | 3:46 | ||||
| Label | RCA Records | ||||
| Writer | David Bowie, Brian Eno, Carlos Alomar | ||||
| Producer | David Bowie, Tony Visconti | ||||
| "Heroes" track listing | |||||
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"The Secret Life of Arabia" is a song written by David Bowie, Brian Eno and Carlos Alomar in 1977 for the album "Heroes". It was the final track on the original vinyl album, following the instrumental "Neuköln". Like Bowie's 1971 song "Life on Mars?", it evoked a world where film and reality become merged and confused.
NME editors Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray described the song as "like seeing 'The Sheik' on acid and laughing quietly to yourself. Bowie's vocal is genuinely humorous."[1] Author Nicholas Pegg considered it an "unjustly overlooked" piece, remarking on Bowie's "outrageous extremes of bass and falsetto".[2] However for biographer David Buckley, "The Secret Life of Arabia" was "a great song, but its position on the album spoils the dramatic effect... the last note of 'Neuköln' really ought to have been the last sound on the album..."[3]
[edit] Other releases
- It appeared on the The Best of 1974/1979 compilation in 1998.
[edit] Cover versions
- Nina Hagen – Live recording from the NunSexMonkRock tour.
- Billy Mackenzie – On the British Electric Foundation album Music of Quality and Distinction Volume One (1982) and on David Bowie Songbook.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). Bowie: An Illustrated Record: p.92
- ^ Nicholas Pegg (2000). The Complete David Bowie: p.181
- ^ David Buckley (1999). Strange Fascination - David Bowie: The Definitive Story: p.325
