"Heroes" (David Bowie album)

"Heroes"
The album cover features a black and white photograph of Bowie's face with his hands held up
Studio album by David Bowie
Released 14 October 1977 (1977-10-14)
Recorded July – August 1977
Studio Hansa Studio by the Wall
(West Berlin, Germany)
Genre
Length 40:36
Label RCA Records
Producer
David Bowie chronology
Low
(1977)		 "Heroes"
(1977)		 Stage
(1978)
Singles from "Heroes"
  1. ""Heroes"" b/w "V-2 Schneider"
    Released: 23 September 1977
  2. "Beauty and the Beast" b/w "Sense of Doubt"
    Released: 6 January 1978

"Heroes"[2] is the twelfth studio album by David Bowie, released in 1977. The second installment of his Berlin Trilogy with Brian Eno (the other releases being Low and Lodger) "Heroes" further developed the sound of Low and featured the contributions of guitarist Robert Fripp, who flew in from the US to record his parts in one day.[3] Of the three albums, it was the only one wholly recorded in Berlin. The title track remains one of Bowie's best known, and the album has received lasting critical acclaim as one of his best recordings.[4] It was named NME Album of the Year.

Production and style

Recorded at Hansa Tonstudio in what was then West Berlin, "Heroes" reflected the zeitgeist of the Cold War, symbolised by the divided city. Co-producer Tony Visconti considered it "one of my last great adventures in making albums. The studio was about 500 yards from the wall. Red Guards would look into our control-room window with powerful binoculars."[5] David Bowie again paid tribute to his Krautrock influences: the title is a nod to the track "Hero" on the album Neu! '75 by the German band Neu! – whose guitarist Michael Rother had originally been approached to play on the album[6] – while "V-2 Schneider" is inspired by and named after Kraftwerk's Florian Schneider.[7] Earlier in 1977, Kraftwerk had name-checked Bowie on the title track of Trans-Europe Express. The cover photo by Masayoshi Sukita was inspired by German artist Erich Heckel's Roquairol.[8]

Brian Eno called up Robert Fripp and invited him to play guitar on the album. Fripp, who had considered himself retired from music, said "Well, I don’t know because I haven’t played for three years, but if you’re prepared to take a risk, then so am I."[9] Upon arriving at the studio, jetlagged from his flight in, he played on the track "Beauty and the Beast" and his first take was used in the song's final mix.[9]

Though "Heroes" continued Bowie's exploration of ambient music[10] and included a number of dark and atmospheric instrumentals such as "Sense of Doubt" and "Neuköln", it was regarded as a highly passionate and positive artistic statement,[5][7] particularly after the often melancholy Low.[11] The lyrics for "Joe the Lion", written and recorded at the microphone "in less than an hour" according to Visconti, typified the improvisational nature of the recording.[12]

Release and impact

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
Robert ChristgauB+[14]
MusicHound4/5[15]
Pitchfork Media10/10[16]
Rolling Stone(favourable)[17]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[18]
Martin C. Strong9/10[19]
Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music[19]

"Heroes" was marketed by RCA with the catchphrase, "There's Old Wave. There's New Wave. And there's David Bowie..."[7] It enjoyed a positive critical reception on release in late 1977,[4] Melody Maker and NME both naming it 'Album of the Year'.[20][21] It reached No. 3 in the UK and stayed in the charts for 26 weeks, but was less successful in the US where it peaked at No. 35. The album was released in Germany with the track ""Heroes"/"Helden"", the lyrics sung partly in German. Its influence is enduring: John Lennon said that when making his album Double Fantasy in 1980, his ambition was to "do something as good as "Heroes"."[4][20]

A number of the album's tracks were played live at Bowie's concerts the following year, the Low and Heroes World Tour captured on record as Stage (1978). Philip Glass adapted a classical suite, "Heroes" Symphony, based on this album, a companion to his earlier Low Symphony. The title track has been covered by numerous artists, and has been frequently used as an encore by recent incarnations of King Crimson, while "The Secret Life of Arabia" was sung by Billy Mackenzie in 1982 on the British Electric Foundation LP Music of Quality and Distinction. Several tracks were used in the film Christiane F. Bowie performed as himself in the film.

The cover of Bowie's 2013 album, The Next Day, was an altered and obscured version of the "Heroes" cover.

Track listing

All lyrics written by David Bowie; all music composed by Bowie, except where noted.

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Beauty and the Beast"   3:32
2. "Joe the Lion"   3:05
3. ""Heroes"" (Bowie, Brian Eno) 6:07
4. "Sons of the Silent Age"   3:15
5. "Blackout"   3:50
Side two
No. Title Length
6. "V-2 Schneider"   3:10
7. "Sense of Doubt"   3:57
8. "Moss Garden" (Bowie, Eno) 5:03
9. "Neuköln" (Bowie, Eno) 4:34
10. "The Secret Life of Arabia" (Bowie, Eno, Carlos Alomar) 3:46

Reissues

"Heroes" has been rereleased on CD four times to date. The first CD issue was by RCA in 1984. It was reissued in 1991 by Rykodisc (with two bonus tracks). In the late 90s, Ryko released it on a 20-bit SBM Gold numbered edition. It was released again in 1999 by EMI/Virgin (featuring 24-bit digitally remastered sound and no bonus tracks).

1991 reissue bonus tracks
No. Title Length
11. "Abdulmajid" (Previously unreleased track, recorded 1976–79; composed by Bowie and Eno) 3:40
12. "Joe the Lion" (Remixed version, 1991) 3:08

Personnel

Technical personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1977) Position
Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart[23] 6
Austrian Albums Chart[24] 19
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[25] 44
Dutch Mega Albums Chart[26] 3
French SNEP Albums Chart[27] 19
Japanese Oricon LP Chart[28] 57
New Zealand Albums Chart[29] 15
Norwegian Albums Chart[30] 13
Swedish Albums Chart[31] 13
UK Albums Chart[32] 3
US Billboard 200[33] 35

Year-end charts

Chart (1977) Position
Dutch Albums Chart[34] 20
French Albums Chart[35] 94
Chart (1978) Position
Australian Albums Chart[23] 87

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[36] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[37] Gold 100,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Notes

  1. ↑ Bloechl, Olivia et. al. Rethinking Difference in Music Scholarship. Cambridge University Press, 2015. p. 307
  2. ↑ Shaar Murray, Charles (1977). "NME interview". Bowie Golden Years. Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2007. I'd felt that the use of quotes indicate a dimension of irony about the word 'heroes' or about the whole concept of heroism.
  3. ↑ Pegg, Nicholas (2006). The Complete David Bowie (4th ed.). London: Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. p. 312. ISBN 1-905287-15-1.
  4. 1 2 3 Pegg, Nicholas (2000). The Complete David Bowie. pp. 307–309.
  5. 1 2 Buckley, David (1999). Strange Fascination – David Bowie: The Definitive Story. pp. 320–325.
  6. ↑ Snow, Mat (2007). MOJO 60 Years of Bowie, "Making Heroes". p. 69.
  7. 1 2 3 Carr, Roy; Murray, Charles Shaar (1981). Bowie: An Illustrated Record. pp. 91–92.
  8. ↑ "UNCUT interview". Bowie Golden Years. 1999. Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  9. 1 2 Preston, Andrew. "David Bowie's biggest fans reveal all". Daily Mail (London). Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  10. ↑ Ultimate Classic Rock
  11. ↑ Visconti stated that the title of Low was partly inspired by Bowie's depression during the album's recording.BowieGoldenYears. Retrieved 12 June 2007.
  12. ↑ Pegg, Nicholas (2000). The Complete David Bowie. p. 112.
  13. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. ""Heroes" Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
  14. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "David Bowie". Retrieved 18 January 2010.
  15. ↑ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 151. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
  16. ↑ Dombal, Ryan (January 22, 2015). "David Bowie: "Heroes"". Pitchfork Media.
  17. ↑ Testa, Bart (12 January 1978). "Heroes". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
  18. ↑ "David Bowie: Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on 30 May 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  19. 1 2 Acclaimed Music – "Heroes"
  20. 1 2 Sandford, Christopher (1997). Bowie: Loving the Alien. Time Warner. pp. 182–193. ISBN 0-306-80854-4.
  21. ↑ Gittens, Ian (2007). "Art Decade", MOJO 60 Years of Bowie. pp. 70–73.
  22. 1 2 "Breaking down David Bowie's 'Heroes' - Track-by-track". BBC Arts. BBC. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  23. 1 2 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  24. ↑ "David Bowie – "Heroes" – austriancharts.at" (ASP). Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  25. ↑ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 28, No. 14" (PHP). RPM. 31 December 1977. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  26. ↑ "dutchcharts.nl David Bowie – "Heroes"" (ASP). dutchcharts.nl. MegaCharts. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  27. ↑ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (PHP). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 31 January 2014. Note: user must select 'David BOWIE' from drop-down.
  28. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  29. ↑ "charts.org.nz David Bowie – "Heroes"" (ASP). Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  30. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com David Bowie – "Heroes"" (ASP). Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  31. ↑ "swedishcharts.com David Bowie – "Heroes"" (ASP). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  32. ↑ "David Bowie > Artists > Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  33. ↑ "allmusic ((( "Heroes" > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  34. ↑ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1977" (ASP) (in Dutch). Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  35. ↑ "Les Albums (CD) de 1977 par InfoDisc" (PHP) (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  36. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – David Bowie – Heroes". Music Canada. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  37. ↑ "British album certifications – David Bowie – Heroes". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 31 January 2014. Enter Heroes in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
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