David Bowie

Item: Heathen
Author: Josh Hurst

Heathen

(2002)

Reviewed by Josh Hurst

Discogs Apple Music TIDAL Amazon Music Spotify

Label Columbia RecordsThe Rebel Base2002

alternative rock art rock electronic experimental

With four decades of music-making and a plethora of hits under his belt, David Bowie could have packed up his mic and called it quits long ago without shocking anyone at all. But thank God he didn't; Heathen, Bowie's celebrated 2002 release, stands among his very finest.

Marrying his love for electronica with his robust melodies and knack for potent hooks, Bowie has created twelve of the most memorable and powerful songs in recent memory. Simply put, songs don't get much more artful than "Sunday," nor do they get more catchy than "A Better Future."

But wait - the praise doesn't stop there, folks. Because in addition to being so dadgum cool, these songs are also funny, heartbreaking, and even prayerful. Consider Heathen to be the evil twin of a U2 record. Like Bono, Bowie takes the listener on a sobering trip through heartache and doubt, but while Bono proclaims it a beautiful day in spite of the darkness, Bowie has a hard time latching onto such hope. Instead, he angrily shakes his fist at the Almighty: "I demand a better future/ Or I just might stop loving you."

"Sunday" begins the album with urgency and intrigue. Though the title harkens the mind to a certain U2 classic, this song never reaches the energy and intensity of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" until the final few seconds, a furious crescendo of drums. Here Bowie is surveying a scene of grisly desolation, urging us to "look for the signs of life." A reflection on 9/11? Perhaps. Thankfully, though, Bowie has the subtlety and dignity to keep things tastefully vague.

"Slip Away" revisits the dramatic 80s power ballad with a modern twist and a scorching explosion of nostalgia. (Bowie gets extra Weird Points for referencing 80s kiddie show host Uncle Floyd). Guest musician Pete Townshend weaves his electrifying guitar magic through the next song, "Slow Burn," a troubled, angry anthem of paranoia.

Every one of these songs hits the bullseye, even the more lightweight fare, like "Everyone Says 'Hi.'" It's a testament to his skills as a vocalist and a songwriter, and to the remarkable sonic sensibilities of producer Tony Visconti, that rock's greatest chameleon has released such a praiseworthy project so many years after most critics shrugged him off as a has-been.

Among the record's most emotionally sharp tracks is "5:15 The Angels Have Gone," a song of heartbreak and longing for a change: "5:15/ Train overdue/ Angels have gone/ No ticket/ I'm jumping tracks/ I'm changing time."

One of Bowie's greatest talents is selecting tasteful cover songs, and he picks out three gems on this album, all of which fit perfectly with the tone and theme of Heathen. The Pixies' fetishist anthem "Cactus" is at once grotesque and immediately enjoyable; Neil Young's "I've Been Waiting for You" is wistful and emotive; and Legendary Stardust Cowboy's "I Took a Ride on a Gemini Spacecraft" is the kind of guilty-pleasure "astro rock" that Bowie himself helped to pioneer with songs like "Space Oddity."

Bowie's lyrics can be hard to swallow, as is demonstrated by his fierce attack at the Divine on "I Would Be Your Slave": "I don't see the point of it/ No footprints in the sand / I'll bet you laugh out loud at me / at the chance to strike me down." But Bowie can also be shrewdly comical, as on the frenzied rocker "Afraid," where he finds only one thing to put his faith in: the Beatles. Take that, John Lennon.

The artist formerly known as Ziggy Stardust doesn't offer many answers here, nor does he break new stylistic ground. What he does give us is a troubling collection of prayers and protests, set against a fiery backdrop of old and new sounds. Heathen presents a soul-searching dialogue with Deity that is all too rare in rock music (Bono and Dylan have done it, but I can think of few others).

Frankly, in our war-torn world, some solid answers would be nice. Hopefully Bowie will give us something a little more hopeful on his next release. But until then, Heathen asks some tough questions and urges us on to conversation with God. And that's always a good place to start.