David Bowie: "Lodger" (1979)

 

David Bowie concluded the Berlin Trilogy with "Lodger" on May 18, 1979. The album sold well and ranked high on the charts in several countries, but it was still not considered a success at the time.

By Martin Johannessen

The album was recorded at Mountain Studios in Switzerland and The Record Plant in New York. It was produced by David Bowie and Tony Visconti. Brian Eno contributed significantly to "Lodger," and this is where the collaboration between Bowie and Eno is at its best.

"I would like to do something rivetingly new and, uh, earth-shattering. Every Saturday I want to do that! Let's do something earth-shattering. No, let's put the telly on,” Bowie said in a radio interview when the album was new.

A bit of back and forth there, but mostly forward, fortunately. And instead of being “earth-shattering,” the album consists of ten songs, each about 3-4 minutes long, and the entire album clocks in at just over half an hour. Although it appears to be a straightforward album, it is full of experiments.

An underrated album

The album sold well and ranked high on the charts in several countries, but it was still not considered a success at the time. Since then, it has been overlooked by many and serves as a good example of an underrated album.

"Lodger" is an incredibly good album in my opinion. And if it’s been a while since you last played it, today is a great opportunity to bring it out again.

The working title was "Planned Accidents" or "Despite Straight Lines" before they settled on "Lodger," which means tenant. It was recorded during breaks in the Isolar II Tour, also known as the Low / Heroes World Tour or the Stage Tour, as recordings from the tour were included on the live album "Stage" (1978).

Oblique Strategies
David Bowie and Brian Eno used the Oblique Strategies cards, which Eno had developed together with artist Peter Schmidt. In short, these are various cards with suggestions on how to solve a problem or task. The idea was to enhance creativity, and they succeeded very well with this album. When you drew a card, you had to commit to what was written on it.

Some examples are: "Honour thy error as a hidden intention" or "Work at a different speed."

Among the experiments included on the album were “using old songs played backwards,” “playing the same chords on multiple songs,” and “having musicians play unfamiliar instruments.” For example, guitarist Carlos Alomar played drums on "Boys Keep Swinging."

Another example is that guitarist Adrian Belew had to play to recordings he was not familiar with, and he didn’t know what key the song was in. This resulted in exciting music, especially when working with skilled musicians.

Yet another example of using the Oblique Strategies cards ("use an old idea") is the bassline on "Red Money." It is suspiciously similar to the one on "Sister Midnight" from Iggy Pop's "The Idiot" (1977). And "Move On" is "All the Young Dudes" played backwards.

Fuck you, Captain Tom
And what a team is involved in "Lodger": Brian Eno, Carlos Alomar, Adrian Belew, Tony Visconti, violinist Simon House from Hawkwind, and the musicians from the Stage tour. Cohesive and creative people.

Adrian Belew had already collaborated and played with Frank Zappa when Bowie discovered him at a concert in Berlin. The conversation between Bowie and Zappa supposedly went something like this:

Bowie: “Quite a guitar player you have here, Frank.”

Zappa: “Fuck you, Captain Tom.”

Simon House's violin also defines the album, perhaps especially on "Yassassin." His role in the soundscape is reminiscent of John Cale's role in Velvet Underground, of whom Bowie was a big fan.

“Lodger” is, as mentioned, an underrated album. Bowie himself was not too pleased with it either. The collaboration with both Visconti and Eno became strained over time: “I think Tony [Visconti] and I would both agree that we didn’t take enough care mixing.”

“Lodger” thus became the final chapter in the Berlin Trilogy. Bowie had moved away from the city, and it was recorded in Switzerland, but it is still Berlin “in spirit.”

Below you can hear Bowie himself talk about songs from the album in 1979.

The story behind the cover and the photos is also fascinating, and you can read more about it here.