Best and Worst Song From Every Bowie Album (Part 4: 1989-1997)

Tin Machine (1989). Though I don’t think I’ve ever seen it expressed this way, Tin Machine marked the beginning of Bowie’s return to being loud. Loud and angry. With fourteen tracks to choose from, there’s both good and bad on this album. I have long thought the best is a short song, “Bus Stop.” I also think the album is plagued by several uncharacteristically overt, preachy songs about societal ills, but for the worst I’m going to go with the cover of John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero.” It isn’t one of Lennon’s best, and Tin Machine did nothing to improve it.

Tin Machine II (1991). One of the worst marketed of Bowie albums, on the whole it marks progression for the band and left me hoping for a third album. Many of the songs are pretty good and my favorite, which I’ll say is the best, is “Goodbye Mr. Ed.” Unfortunately the album also contains two of the more infamous songs to appear on what is otherwise a Bowie album— “Stateside” and “Sorry,” both of which feature Hunt Sales as the lead singer. “Stateside” is particularly reviled, and I have to say it is the album’s weakest track.

Black Tie White Noise (1993). Amidst cacophonous decade, Bowie decided to dial it back a bit in 1993. Technically his first solo album since 1987, Black Tie White Noise offers a grab bag of styles, and although “Pallas Athena” would offer a hint of things to come, the overall album is really a stand-alone. I like “Miracle Goodnight” as the best song on the album. Along with, “Jump They Say,” I think it could have formed the core of an album that would have gone over much better as the successor to Let’s Dance instead of Tonight or Never Let Me Down. I think it has been under-appreciated in part because Bowie had ceased being cool in 1993, and in part because the album was so uneven. And to that end, the title song is a true stinker. Another well-intentioned song about a societal ill (in this case racism), the song is both too overt and just doesn’t sound very good.

The Buddha of Suburbia (1993). Another “quiet” album, this one was so quiet that it wasn’t released in the United States for another two years. Those who know it generally like it, but its fans often think of themselves as having secret knowledge that it even exists. Bowie uses few words on the album, which I think is best heard as a whole rather than as a collection of songs. That said, the two songs that stand best on their own are “Stranger When We Meet,” which I’m going to say is the album’s best, and the title track. There really isn’t a bad piece on the album, but because by my own rules I have to choose one, I’m going to go with the second version of “Buddha of Suburbia” that bookends the album much as “Its No Game” does for Scary Monsters. But, though the second version is slightly different than the first (and features Lenny Kravitz), they are too similar and it isn’t evident what the point was in opening and closing the album with essentially the same song.

1. Outside (1995). After taking a brief quieter turn away from Tin Machine, Bowie returned to loud and angry form with one of my favorite of his albums. Replete with an album-wide concept, a variety of exotic characters and at least one song that both mentioned space and uncertain sexual orientation, 1. Outside was the most Bowie-esque Bowie album in years. Though it had a mixed reception among fans, I think most of the songs are strong, and as for the best, it’s that space/confused sexual orientation song— “Hallo Spaceboy.” The album contains many “segues” that are more spoken word than songs. Derived from an as-yet (officially) unreleased body of music sometime known as The Leon Suites, the segues get in the way of the genuine songs after repeated listening. Yet I think it would be unfair to choose among them for the worst song. Instead, I’m going to go with the very same song that was the best on the previous album— what the heck is “Strangers When We Meet” doing here? Its the same song. Not only does it have nothing to do with the rest of 1.Outside, as the closing track it dashes the mood of Bowie’s dark nightmare rather than wrap up the “non-linear Gothic drama hyper-cycle.”

Earthling (1997). The last consistently loud and fast album Bowie would ever make, Earthling built off a style he teased with such songs as “Pallas Athena” and “Sex and the Church.” Although at the time, I was somewhat disappointed that it wasn’t the promised sequel to 1.Outside, today Earthling stands on its own two feet. I’m partial to “Little Wonder,” which I’ll call the album’s best and I really don’t dislike any of the songs. Since I have to choose one for the worst slot, I’m going to go with “Looking for Satellites,” which, while not a bad song, has a bit of a drony quality to it.