David Bowie "Tin Machine" 1989***

So much was made about David Bowie being a simple singer in a band of equals called Tin Machine, it seems absurd for me to attribute it to Bowie alone as if it was a solo album - but this is exactly how it appears on the CD reissue. Back then it was Bowie's way to re-invent himself once more, this time as a singer in a real rock band, as opposed to the pop star he had been during the 80's. But let's not kid ourselves, who were these other members? talented guitarist Reeves Gabrels and the rhythm section of Hunt and Tony Sales were (still are) unknowns, though the brothers had previously played in Iggy Pop's Lust For Life LP. So, naturally, Tin Machine is now only remembered as a phase in the David Bowie transformation saga rather than a group in its own right, and their albums has taken their place in the Bowie canon. And yet, they were much more than mere session musicians, as they contributed a lot to the songwriting, and Gables' guitar dominated the songs more than any other Bowie sideman, Mick Ronson included, ever did. The volume of distorted guitar poses the band's sound somewhere between classic hard rock and the alternative scene of the era (Bowie had at the time professed his love for the experimental guitar rock of The Pixies and Sonic Youth). Grunge was destined to merge the two styles very successfully a few years later, but at the time this move from new wave-y pop towards hard rock puzzled critics and audience alike. Not that Bowie could ever be considered a grunge forerunner - God, can you imagine him wearing flannel shirts and torn jeans?  Sound-wise Tin Machine's lean, mean, rock sound was an improvement over Bowie's last albums' commercial Top-40 sound - and while the songwriting was not impressive by Bowie standards, it topped everything he had produced since Let's Dance. Even that album contained a few great songs but was carelessly puffed up to full length with filler, while the whole of Tin Machine is obviously a work of love. "Prisoner of Love" is clearly the album's winner, a tune reminiscent of his late 70's albums, only rockier. Another highlight is the anti-fascist "Under the God" sounding a bit like Billy Idol, albeit with quality. "Working Class Hero" is an interesting reworking of this John Lennon classic - funkier, harder, but somewhat ill-fitting: who'd buy Bowie as an angry class fighter? "Amazing" is the album's (sappy) love song, while opener "Heaven's in Here" is classic rock in bluesy Clapton/Hendrix vein, and "Tin Machine", "Crack City", "Pretty Thing" and "Sacrifice Yourself" explore the band's aggressive noisy side. "I Can't Read", "Run", and "Baby Can Dance" are more typical of his 80's albums, but with a live rock feel instead of studio gloss. Overall, one can talk of a decent -rather than great- David Bowie album. His vocals are as good as always, less dramatic and more aggressive maybe but bearing his quality mark. The rhythm section's playing is faultless and occasionally inventive while the guitars, which are loud and all over the place, may divide opinion. I personally like them that way, but I can understand listeners who would have welcomed a more judicious use. Maybe, now that the artist's unfortunate death has lent him Pope-like infallibility, the time is right for this album's re-appraisal.

**** for Heaven's in Here, Prisoner of Love, Under the God, Baby Can Dance

*** for Tin Machine, I Can't Read, Working Class Hero, Run, Sacrifice Yourself

** for Crack City, Amazing, Bus Stop, Pretty Thing, Video Crime