LOW is one of those albums that you pull out from time to time just to hear something different and get away from the pablum of your more normal (*ahem*) records.  LOW is schizophrenic in that half of the album contains vocal tracks while the rest is comprised of instrumentals done with collaborator Brian Eno.  In the midst of his 1970's cocaine highs, David Bowie decided to get away from it all.  He picked up and moved to West Berlin, where this album and (I believe) his next two with Eno were recorded.  Apparently, the studio was very close to the Berlin Wall and Bowie could see over it into East Berlin.  I imagine that what he saw was major inspiration for the music on this fascinating album.  He looks one direction and see the vibrant night-life of West Berlin.  He looks over the wall and sees the dark, desolate dreariness of East Berlin.  Thus goes the album.  The first half is more energetic and I liken that to his experiences in West Berlin.  Standouts include "Breaking Glass" and "Always Crashing In the Same Car".  But the second half of this album takes a more dreary turn.  I love the instrumental work here.  "Warzsawa" is a masterpiece.  It's funny, but the more I thought about it, I realized that some of the instrumental music probably fit the drab lives of East Berliners so perfectly.  And with the spectre of the Berlin Wall hanging above them day and night, an aptly-titled somber instrumental like "Subterraneans" seems to be music for a film about them trying to dig under the wall to the west.  Anyway, a great album, one of Bowie's most mysterious in a catalogue full of bizarre works.