Bowie tv ''tribute'

JanekLubanski

Flicking through the channels last night and saw Marc Almond singing a Bowie song. Ok I thought. Then some grey haired geezer sings with a load of 'musicians' playing like a gang of wailling cats! What the **** was all that about? Absolutely taking the ****.

ourmaninthenorth

I sat through as much of it as I could bear, really gave it a chance. However I called it a draw after 25 minutes...didn't enjoy a single note of it. 

boogieman

I think Bowie songs are almost impossible to cover tbh, the originals are that iconic. The only exception is All the Young Dudes, Mott did an exceptional job on that (and just maybe, if Bowie had done it first, then the Mott version would still be second best?) 

ourmaninthenorth

I largely agree @boogieman, however poorly executed covers are one thing, poorly executed re-writes or re-compositions (in the words of the conductor) are another thing entirely. 

JezWynd

I thought it began very well, the first few numbers were excellent, though Neil Hannon's voice could have used some reinforcement. The arrangements using classical instruments were inventive while holding to the mood of Bowie's originals. The middle part went downhill somewhat and Almond singing Starman was very unfortunate. The outro of Let's Dance worked very well with the audience finally getting going on the chorus (something the band had tried to induce a couple of times earlier I thought, without success). The featured bass player was a missed opportunity, that could have been a lot better, but on the whole I thought it went well.

I disagree that Bowie's work can't be covered. The melodies are very strong and lend themselves to reinterpretation. Wouldn't surprise me to know that in the long run he's held in a lot higher esteem than many currently lauded acts.

shrinkwrap

I liked it. Some worked a lot better than others. 
Trouble was it livened up every time a showman was on stage like Anna Calvi/ Laura Mvula/Cale/Almond. The Cale pieces at the end were a  relief with modern electric instruments.
It really needed one or two pieces with a proper guitar solo  or some Bowie style sax blaring. (Calvi's solos were ok but a bit 'let's widdle around with some slide' )
Main problem was the orchestra could only do one style - modern Euro Jazz tinged minor key - but there were lots of great minor key chords and Lady Grinning Soul was good and Station to Station was almost brilliant.
Did that thing in NY get done with Debbie Harry and other pop people ? at least this was off tangent and not too many egos.
(hmm.. but then again pop music needs egos..) Maybe they should have done some drugs before hand.

JezWynd

shrinkwrap said:

...
It really needed one or two pieces with a proper guitar solo  or some Bowie style sax blaring. (Calvi's solos were ok but a bit 'let's widdle around with some slide' )....

Agreed. Bowie had a great ear (and eye) for a cool guitar player but all the guitar work on the night came from the 'interesting noises' school - they kinda ignored what a great riffmaster Bowie was.

JezWynd

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richardhomer

I loved Paul Buchanan's version of 'I Can't Give Everything Away'.

Not wild about the rest of it though....

tone1

I saw the 'Cat Wailing' bit at the end...if the rest of it was like that, I'm glad I missed it

WezV

There is one Bowie covers album I listen to almost as much as actual Bowie

These are stripped down to the very basics and sung in  Portuguese - the best Bowie covers ever!






Obviously a shout out for the nirvana cover too sine I was a teenager in the 90's

JezWynd

There is one Bowie covers album I listen to almost as much as actual Bowie

Fantastic stuff. Thanks for the intro.

chugington

I found it a bit difficult to watch - I lasted 30 minutes - it wasn't that the performances were bad or that the arrangements were 'different' - I just didn't get any sense of joy from listening to the songs - something I normally do when I listen to Bowie.

BigLicks67

It was pretty awful. Almond literally murdered 'Life on Mars', he was so bad he should have been arrested.
The arrangements were mostly poor, especially when you compare it to what the New Blood orchestra did with Peter Gabriel's stuff. Also, the changes between songs were pedestrian and poorly executed.

Philly_Q

WezV said:

There is one Bowie covers album I listen to almost as much as actual Bowie

These are stripped down to the very basics and sung in  Portuguese - the best Bowie covers ever!






Obviously a shout out for the nirvana cover too sine I was a teenager in the 90's

They got on my bloody nerves in the film.  But to be fair I've never heard them in their own right.

WezV

Philly_Q said:

WezV said:

There is one Bowie covers album I listen to almost as much as actual Bowie

These are stripped down to the very basics and sung in  Portuguese - the best Bowie covers ever!






Obviously a shout out for the nirvana cover too sine I was a teenager in the 90's

They got on my bloody nerves in the film.  But to be fair I've never heard them in their own right.

I think a lot of the film is pretty forgettable, nice vapid Sunday afternoon viewing, but nothing more.

love the songs though

Philly_Q

I somewhat agree about the film... I love Wes Anderson's films, but The Life Aquatic might be his weakest.

JezWynd

BigLicks67 said:

It was pretty awful. Almond literally murdered 'Life on Mars', he was so bad he should have been arrested.
The arrangements were mostly poor, especially when you compare it to what the New Blood orchestra did with Peter Gabriel's stuff. Also, the changes between songs were pedestrian and poorly executed.

That's a bit harsh. Much of the earlier stuff from Low period translated to the orchestra really well - at least they were able to reproduce almost exactly, the original material. It was the Proms after all and they often reproduce original artists work.

I liked the guy who did The Man Who Sold, it was a pretty ordinary reading of the original but he did it with style and his voice was pleasant. This guy -



What's the view on taking childcare to the stage?

axisus

I really enjoyed the film until they [SPoILER!!!!] ................................................................  Killed off one of the characters. Unnecessary and spoiled the enjoyment of the film for me.

DaevidJ

I enjoyed it for what it was... A Proms event with a plethora of singers with some in general reasonable renditions of Bowie's repertoire...  It was never going to better the original material imho... it never could... 

impmann

I thought it was very poorly rehearsed and there was no excuse for terrible time-keeping during several songs - if the conductor can't keep time, he shouldn't be waving his arms around.

The version of Blackstar was good, though. I thought Hannon did better than I expected, despite looking like a rabbit in the headlights for most of his performances.

The worst point of the evening was John Cale though... I'm a massive Velvets fan so was interested to see what he'd do. And... oh dear. I turned it off after about three minutes of Cale's clattering, badly timed (and too loud) keys and his mumbling vocal performance... dreadful.

It *could* have been so much better.