Wiki
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Release Date
23 May 1989
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Length
14 tracks
Tin Machine is the debut album of Tin Machine originally released by EMI in 1989.
The group was the latest venture of David Bowie, inspired by sessions with guitarist Reeves Gabrels. Drummer Hunt Sales and bassist Tony Sales formed the rest of the band, with “fifth member” Kevin Armstrong providing rhythm guitar.
The project was intended as a back-to-basics album by Bowie, with a hard rock sound and simple production, as opposed to his past two solo albums. Unlike previous Bowie bands (such as Spiders from Mars), Tin Machine acted as a democratic unit.
A remarkable recording for many reasons, the debut of Tin Machine predates by nearly half a decade much of the guitar-oriented alternative pop that followed the grunge explosion of 1991-1992.
This does not sound like Bowie in a band; missing are the quirkiness and theatrics that characterize much of Bowie‘s solo work. This is a band with a band attitude, not exactly what the fans were wanting at the time. Stunt guitarist Reeves Gabrels provides much in the way of ambient guitar solos, not unlike Adrian Belew‘s work.
Drummer Hunt Sales provides a sticky tenor vocal similar to Bowie‘s own voice in a higher register; they blend very well together. The music is hard-edged guitar rock with an intelligence missing from much of the work of that genre at the time. Highlights include the emotional “Prisoner of Love” and the driving “Under the God.” The band does a rocking rework of John Lennon‘s “Working Class Hero,” with a killer machine-gun fire-sounding riff that permeated the track. The strongest analog to Bowie‘s earlier work is a five-minute number toward the beginning of the record called “I Can’t Read”; with its deliberately out-of-tune guitars and half-hearted vocals, it’s a nice piece of artistry. This record would have been more popular had it been released five or six years later.
Track Listing
“Heaven’s in Here” (Bowie) – 6:01
“Tin Machine” (Bowie, Gabrels, Sales, Sales) – 3:34
“Prisoner of Love” (Bowie, Gabrels, Sales, Sales) – 4:50
“Crack City” (Bowie) – 4:36
“I Can’t Read” (Bowie, Gabrels) – 4:54
“Under the God” (Bowie) – 4:06
“Amazing” (Bowie, Gabrels) – 3:06
“Working Class Hero” (Lennon) – 4:38
“Bus Stop” (Bowie, Gabrels) – 1:41
“Pretty Thing” (Bowie) – 4:39
“Video Crime” (Bowie, Sales, Sales) – 3:52
“Run” (Armstrong, Bowie) – 3:20 (Not on vinyl version)
“Sacrifice Yourself” (Bowie, Sales, Sales) – 2:08 (Not on vinyl version)
“Baby Can Dance” (Bowie) – 4:57
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