| An eerie dispatch from the furthest reaches of Bowie's cocaine paranoia, Station To Station has not become easier to listen to with the passing years. At this stage, Bowie was wrapped up in his peculiar--even by his standards--Thin White Duke period, which revolved largely around dressing like a fugitive war criminal and not blinking, at least not in public. Appropriate to such a detached, deranged persona, Bowie set about making what was effectively a soul record devoid of any soul whatsoever. He did it, as well. Station To Station spawned one lingering hit, in "Golden Years", but the album was littered with malevolent miracles. Bowie crooned like a replica Sinatra on "Word on A Wing" and "Wild is the Wind" and may have single-handedly invented the New Romantic movement with "TVC15". He sounds throughout on the verge of cackling dementedly and wandering off into the night; Station To Station is an absorbing postcard from somewhere you're kind of glad you haven't been. --Andrew Mueller |
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