My Big, Gigantic Drum Kit

johnvanderslice:

Hey everyone, here’s a premiere track from the new Diamond Dogs cover album I’m doing. 

I’m a Bowie obsessive and Diamond Dogs has always fascinated me. It’s often overlooked among fans and it’s very hard to place in his 70s output. I think it’s a drugged out masterpiece, an abandoned Orwellian concept album that has the most playing Bowie ever did on one of his records.

The best moments on this record are heartbreaking. I was not deferent to Bowie: I translated lyrics into German, chopped verses, moved bridges, changed chords, and otherwise ran roughshod over this beast.

I’m releasing it as an audiophile 200g vinyl pressing, limited to 500. It’s also bundled with my new album, Dagger Beach. Both are available for pre-order on my Kickstarter.

Really looking forward to hearing this whole thing. It’s probably heresy to some to say anything negative about ’70s Bowie, but I wouldn’t be too surprised if Vanderslice’s version hung together better stylistically than the original. Not sure if I consider it a feature or bug of the original, but it’s as if Bowie were deliberately subverting the flow you’d normally associate with concept albums with his musical detours into Philly soul/proto-disco, wailing sax showcases, etc.