Bowie In Berlin: A new career in a new town

David Bowie's albums Low, "Heroes," and Lodger are some of the most seminal pieces of popular music released in the 1970s. Two albums in the same ranks are Iggy Pop's The Idiot and Lust for Life, both of which Bowie had a large hand in creating. The years the two spent together in Berlin, each recovering from substance abuse and general mental deterioration, were a fascinating time that will interest any fan of either; and this book does an excellent job of detailing those heady days. Bowie is seen here as a fragile genius (if an opportunistic one) rather than the chameleon-like fashion plate he can be accused of being. My only quibbles are that the author sometimes gets lost in off-topic tangents that become boring history lessons - Christopher Isherwood may have played a role in Bowie's Berlin years, but we didn't need a multi-paragraph rundown on Isherwood and W.H. Auden's story (already told so many damn times!). Likewise, while the film The Man Who Fell To Earth (Bowie played the lead role) certainly had much to do with what became of Bowie in the years after its making, we didn't need a play-by-play, multi-page synopsis of the film. But once you get past those moments of excess, everything else in the book is well done, thoughtful, engaging . . . If you are interested in David Bowie in general, and particularly if you are a fan of his experimental late 70s work, or if you care to read about the friendship and working relationship between Bowie and Iggy (also Bowie and Eno, as well as Bowie and Tony Visconti), you will enjoy this book.

Maybe because I have not read every possible thing about David Bowie ever written, I found new information about the Berlin period in this book. I wished for even more detail however, that may not be possible even if Bowie wrote his memories from this time. I read that he can't remember well from this time. If would have been nice if he kept a diary.One thing that puzzles me is how well could any artist do with limitless funds for cocaine? How much was him and how much was the drug? Since I like the Berlin works best, this is the most interesting time in Bowie's life for me. If you agree this book is for you.Bowie kept himself very thin to the point of ill health, and I also read if he did not use the cocaine he drank a lot. Drinking heavily is very destructive to the brain. Bowie burned himself out in a short period of time, but he made some wonderful music. Naturally it is interesting to read about how he did it.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. While the author may not himself gathered much new material dealing with Bowie's "Berlin" Trilogy, he did amass a great deal of information from other sources and it was interesting to read about Bowie's artistic and personal development during this time in his career.I would easily have given the book four stars, but I feel I have to dock it one because the formatting of the Kindle edition is just terrible. There are major typos on nearly every screen, some of them so bizarre one has to wonder what was originally meant. One such typo was a word somewhat like "cmcical" in regard to Iggy Pop. Was that supposed to be "crucial" or "comical"?And take this section, talking about Iggy Pop's "TV Eye" which was meant to be a contract-breaker for RCA, "the label that Bcrvvie had urged tcr sign Iggy, but which had never really understood him c>r his music. While it is of some interest as a document cfr Iggy's return to the stage, and of 13<rwie's brief role as as his keyboardist..." All of that is exactly how it appears in the book, though admittedly that's a particularly ripe plumb.In short, I enjoyed the book; it's engagingly written and gathers a lot of information, the author is quite insightful, and it's a fun and compelling read. But I urge someone connected with it to take another pass at editing the Kindle edition. The number of typos exceeds even what an Oblique Strategy would recommend.

Just finished reading this book and it is a fascinating account about Bowie's growth as an artist and a musician following his tumultuous years after Ziggy and the Thin White Duke era. While the tales of the sessions {the Big Three (the so-called Berlin Trilogy): Low, Heroes and Lodger} contain interesting commentary of his life during this period, it is NOT the book to read if you are looking for trashy gossip about the man and his music. This is a more a detailed and eye-opening account of what went into the making of his music during those "Berlin" years and a breakdown of how the songs were recorded. Included are stories relating the contributions of Iggy Pop, Tony Visconte and the great Brian Eno. Also some great info on his work on Iggy's The Idiot and Lust For Life.

At the time of publication of Bowie's Berlin production, I was involved with music myself and can attest on the significance/impact/impulse generated by the 3 and a half masterpieces of the epoch (Lust For Life being half a chef d'oeuvre, Lodger none at all).The reading of this book however is my first investment into getting to know the story behind the Berlin adventure. Compared to most literature on music, this book is extremely well written and a pleasure to read. Unlike my fellow reviewer, I also enjoyed the detours into side-stories and parallel personalities. The only character that finds it hard to come off the page is Iggy. But then the book is not about him...Thoroughly enjoyable!P.D.: Warsaw is not the Czech capital, it is Poland's.

I've had my eye on this book for quite some time and I'm quite happy I finally purchased it! Seabrook masterfully weaves an account of Bowie's descent into L.A. and cocaine, and his arduous road to artistic redemption via Berlin- alongside tales from people like Tony Visconti and Brian Eno, as well as interview snippets from the Thin White Duke himself, "Bowie in Berlin" certainly affords great insight into the classic Berlin trilogy as well as the man!

apesar de não ser uma biografia sobre o período que Bowie viveu em Belrin, o livro contem comentários e anedotas sobre as gravações que Bowie, Iggy Pop, Brian Eno e Tony Visconti fizeram em Paris, Munique e Berlin.Também é revelado quem era a "China Girl" da música originalmente cantada por Iggy e depois gravada por Bowie para dar uma força ao amigo.

If you are a Bowie fan , particularly one who either makes music or enjoys reading about its creation, this is a good read. I found the account of how Bowie worked with the others involved in making the so called Berlin Trilogy and with Iggy Pop, particularly interesting. Inspired me to listen to the albums again, which having heard them a thousand times before I don't often do, despite their greatness.I found the last chapter about Bowie's influence on other artists less convincing. I think most people would like to say he influenced them, because he made some amazing records. His influence was obviously huge, though hard to pin point most of the time, making the some of the attempts seem a tad silly. Overall though, a good book that's well worth reading.

There are only a handful of decent books written about Bowie - period. They are written by Charles Shaar Murray and Roy Carr, Nicholas Pegg, and David Buckley. After that things get decidedly thin on the ground.I'm glad to say that Thomas Jerome Seabrook can be added to the list. A New Career In A New Town: Bowie in Berlin is a tremendous book which I happily read in one go. It is well written and entertaining with many anecdotes and observations that I've never encountered before. The author clearly has an understanding of Bowie and the music, withough coming over as a gushing fanboy.Although I've been a great fan of Bowie's so-called 'Berlin' period, this book made me go back a relisten to virtually all Bowie's work from David Live to Heathen.Whilst an appreciation of Bowie, especially his late 70's output, is helpful, it's not essential as the book is effectively the story of a successful artist who ignoring commercial success, took a potentially suicidal career left turn and inspired and influenced a generation and beyond.I can't recommend this book enough.

The strength of this book is the technical understanding of the music. It really passes the test of making you want to hear the albums once again.It also places the Berlin period in a broader context, starting with DB's time in LA & how it shaped Low, & finishing with a review of DB's influence on future generations of musicians.Having said this, this book doesn't really evoke Berlin or get us closer to DB. Instead, reach for the Trynka book on Iggy, Hugo Wilcken or the dependable Mr Pegg.Required reading for DB fans (in this barren time for us, but maybe not first choice for the unacquainted.

Starts off well, then gets a little boring