David Bowie is quoted as saying "Cut me and I bleed Low," which is a very ironic statement considering the fact that Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars is considered his most famous album. Bowie is one of the most often quoted and bewildering figures this side of Madonna in all of pop and this quote is truly a head-scratcher. What could he mean by that? I think it is because of all his albums, Low is probably the one Bowie album that is most ahead of its time. At the time it was made, Bowie was recovering from his cocaine addiction and the title Low is very fitting since low is the opposite feeling a person gets when they snort cocaine. Low is the sound of a man struggling with his demons. Back in the late 70's, artists sometimes recorded side one of a vinyl or 8-track for their hits and side two for their more adventurous songs (or filler). On Low, Bowie somewhat gives in to the formula, except that side one is considered more accessible than hit-friendly and side two is just completely non-commercial altogether. This is Bowie's artiest album by far. You could even say this is his "Anti-Let's Dance", since although "Sound and Vision" got radio play, (but not a big hit by any means) it was intentionally not supposed to be heard across the airwaves. Bowie was recovering from his cocaine habit, so I am guessing that album sales were the furthest thing from his mind at the time. I think Bowie was attempting an album of catharsis, an album that could prove to the world that cocaine wouldn't tear down his artistic integrity and in turn, making the album would help him on his path to sobriety. I am guessing that working on an album of this magnitude would be one of the most rewarding challenges possible during his attempt at redemption. The challenge paid off. Side 1 consists not of songs, but song fragments and contains Bowie at his most personal. If Lodger is considered Bowie's most personal and revealing album, than Low is his album that implies. "Always Crashing in the Same Car" and "Weeping Wall" are great examples of his implications. The first song implies his problems with eroticism; "crashing" being a less controversial way of saying "orgasm", but the way Bowie sings the song, it sounds as if the sex isn't doing anything for him at all since cocaine is ruining his life. "Weeping Wall" from side 2 is pure schizophrenia. It sounds like a man experiencing a withdrawal from drugs-all at once anxious and fidgety. The best song on the album, however, is "A New Career in a New Town" (symbolic title of Bowie escaping to Berlin to rid himself of his cocaine dealers), which closes side 1. Amidst the turmoil and chaos of the other songs on the album, the musically upbeat song offers the possibility of hope and getting through it all. At nearly three minutes, the song is perfect in both structure and melody and the hypnotic nature of it captivates from beginning to end. There really is no other song in rock quite like it. The Brian Eno touches on Low are apparent throughout, but this is clearly a Bowie album all the way since side 1 is so personal. I am not going to get into side 2's instrumental soundscapes too much. I will just say that the tone of the last four songs on Low is very brooding and sounds like a man struggling with his personal demons, which reiterates this being a Bowie album, but having said that, it is far more riveting than depressing. Elton John was the 70's most popular solo artist, but Bowie was the best and Low is further testimony to that argument. Low is perhaps the best example of electronics incorporated into rock and roll ever recorded and based on that alone it shares its place alongside the other great albums of the 70's. Add the element of catharsis to that synthesis and you have a one-of-a-kind work of art that will amaze listeners for years to come.