Marc Lowe’s “After All”
Coming Saturday will be an exclusive video interview with musician and educator, Marc Lowe— actually it will be the first of a two part video interview. As a lead-up to the interview, I’m going to feature one of his Bowie covers every day this week, starting with this one, “After All,” which Bowie included on The Man Who Sold the World in 1970.
Marc and Marc’s works have appeared in this blog several times before, including as covers of the week as well as my very second interview (though that one was a written interview). Since then, I’ve also appeared as a guest on Marc’s YouTube channel.
Marc is prolific in making original music, but he’s also made many Bowie covers, some of which deviate considerably from Bowie’s original. This one is distinct, but there’s no mistaking what it is.
Bowie’s “After All” is dark and haunting, and Marc makes it darker and hauntinger. There’s a few things about this song that make it significant in Bowie’s catalogue, beginning with it sounding pretty unlike any of his other songs. I have often mentioned that The Man Who Sold the World is a heavy metal album— well, this song isn’t that. Though thematically similar some some of the other songs on the album about madness and isolation, because it sounds different, it makes for a good stand-alone reinterpretation.
Also, keep in mind that Bowie released the song in 1970– before Ziggy Stardust. Yet he might have been hinting at things to come with this line— “We’re painting our faces and dressing in thoughts from the skies, from paradise.”
Moreover, the lines, hold on to nothing and he won’t let you down” would turn out to touch on a theme that Bowie would revisit for the remainder of his career— “nothing.” The word appears in quite a few Bowie songs, to the point that I’m not exactly sure that he doesn’t mean “something” by “nothing.” But here, he probably just means “nothing.” And he’d go on to demonstrate that he really would hold on to nothing — he’d change musical genres, looks, bands, even art forms.
Marc’s even-more-introspective version puts the song in the context of his own music, which often touches on isolation, loss and pain. This cover serves as a bridge between Bowie and Lowe.
And for more Bowie and Lowe, come back tomorrow…