Ah, the Berlin Trilogy. One of Bowie's most experimental, yet fertile periods. There's an equal spread of great songs and strangeness to be found on those three records. Personally, I'd settle for a 'Berlin Highlights' album, rather than listen to all three in full. Don't hate me - I'm a massive Bowie fan, as you know, so that's not blasphemy, OK? One song that would be sure to feature - in fact it would open the record - is Sound And Vision, one of my Top 10 Bowie moments for sure. Franz Ferdinand recorded this rather splendid version for the BBC to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Radio One in 2007. Those backing singers? Why, it's none other than Girls Aloud. Honestly!
For me, "Heroes" is the best record of the trilogy. Oh yeah, I said as much here. The title track is one of Bowie's best known and most universally loved songs, but I'm going to throw a curveball and plump for this take on the album's closing number. B.E.F. consisted of two members of Heaven 17 who had also been in the Human League. They made four albums, including their own trilogy 'Music Of Quality And Distinction', which consisted of cover versions featuring guest vocalists. Volume One included this version of Secret Life Of Arabia with the voice of Billy McKenzie. Wait a mo, wasn't he here yesterday? Oh no matter, I'm sure you won't mind...
'Lodger' has never been a critics favourite, but a lot of fans like it a lot. The Swede, for instance. Some really good songs on it, for sure. It marked the end of the Bowie/Eno partnership, but they clearly had a lot of fun working together, as some of 'Lodger''s tracks suggest. Boys Keep Swinging is a bit of a throwback to Dave's gender-bending glam rock past self and is probably the main highlight. A Camp was the solo project of Nina Persson, singer with Swedish popsters The Cardigans. Around the time of her second album, she released an EP of cover versions entitled - wait for it - 'Covers' (see what she did there?) It featured a more than decent airing of Boys Keep Swinging.
Tough one to call today. If you pushed me, I'd probably go for Franz Ferdinand, mainly because I really really love Sound And Vision. I suppose we ought to deal with the elephant in the room while we're at it: "Heroes". So many covers of that over the years, so where is it? Well, hold that thought 'til the weekend. That's all I'm saying for now. In the meantime, as a special treat, here's one of the most epic covers you'll ever see/hear. Beck is no stranger to thinking outside the box when it comes to music, so here's how he does Sound And Vision. Well, he and 157 other musicians playing everything from musical saws to gamelan instruments. There's even a yodeller and an Alpenhorn.
Bowie turned his back on glam as others tried to eke out as much of a living from it as they could years past its sell-by date. What he did next came as shock to many. Recording a soul album wouldn't have been at the top of many people's lists, but that's exactly what he did. His first attempt was abandoned (released as 'The Gouster' in the 2016 box set 'Who Can I Be Now?'), but the sessions eventually yielded 'Young Americans'. Critics at the time were less than complimentary, but later on, with hindsight, they've been kinder.
Which is more than I'm going to be about The Cure's take on the title track. Recorded for former alternative radio station XFM, it is pretty diabolical. Sorry, I love The Cure, but I can't excuse this mess.
Now, you probably know of my love for 'Station To Station', for me the Bowie album against which all others must be judged. I won't go on about it. In 2013, Melvins released 'Everybody Loves Sausages', an album of cover versions which included this rather loud rendition of Station To Station, featuring Aussie maverick JG Thirlwell on lead vocals. It's a faithful take in some respects, but doesn't set my pulses racing like it ought to, what with it being the Melvins and all.
The highlight of 'Station To Station' is Bowie's incredible version of Wild Is The Wind. That's the one I turn to when I need a lift. Thing is, he didn't write it - it's a cover. Johnny Mathis did it first, then Nina Simone made it her own. Countless others have also had a go. Now you can argue all you like about the best version of this, but no one's going to convince me of anything other than Bowie's version being the definitive one. THAT VOICE!
I'm more than well aware of the love many of my readers have for the late Billy McKenzie, so I'm going to be honest here. His version of Wild Is The Wind appeared on a posthumous EP of the same name, and while it can't hold a candle to Bowie's version, it does have something special about it. It's certainly the best of the bunch as far as today's songs go.
But I also think this is worthy of a mention. Birmingham blues bombshell Joanne Shaw Taylor recorded this version on her 2016 album 'Wild'. My only criticism is that I wish she'd let her voice really go on the "Don't you know you're life itself" part. But then, maybe she's trying to do something different with it. There's something about her deep, husky blues tone that seduces me whenever I hear her.
