Scary Monsters

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Lore & Background

The album's lead single, "Ashes to Ashes", revisited the character of Major Tom from "Space Oddity" and was promoted with an inventive music video. Scary Monsters garnered critical and commercial acclaim: it topped the UK Albums Chart and restored Bowie's commercial standing in the US, reaching No. 12 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart. It was Bowie's final studio album for RCA and the final collaboration between him and Visconti for over 20 years. Several publications have considered it one of the greatest albums of all time.

In Their Own Story

Recording began at the Power Station in New York City in February 1980. Bowie informed returning producer Tony Visconti that this was going to be a more commercial record than his previous releases. Brian Eno did not return, having ended his collaboration with Bowie after Lodger, stating he felt the Berlin Trilogy had "petered out" by that record. It was the fifth and final Bowie album with the core lineup of Dennis Davis (drums), Carlos Alomar (guitar) and George Murray (bass), who had been together since Station to Station (1976); only Alomar continued working with Bowie thereafter. King Crimson's guitarist Robert Fripp, who played on "Heroes", was brought back for the sessions, replacing Lodger guitarist Adrian Belew. Bowie hired an additional guitarist, Chuck Hammer, after hearing him play with Lou Reed in London the year before. Initial sessions at the Power Station took place over two and a half weeks, with an additional week used for overdubs. Tracks completed were solely instrumental. One instrumental, titled "Crystal Japan", was originally intended to be the album's closing track, but was dropped in favour of a reprise of "It's No Game"; the reprise, titled "It's No Game (No. 2)", was completed in its entirety during the initial sessions. At Alomar's suggestion, Bowie recorded a cover of Tom Verlaine's "Kingdom Come". Bowie felt the track was a standout from Verlaine's 1979 eponymous solo album and asked Verlaine to play lead guitar. Verlaine agreed, although Fripp ended up playing lead guitar. Rather than improvising lyrics and music as he had with prior releases, Bowie took time composing and developing the lyrics and melodies, ensuring the musicians adhered to his thought-out structures before adding their own personal touches. Many of the tracks had working titles early on. Some of these included "People Are Turning to Gold" ("Ashes to Ashes"), "It Happens Everyday" ("Teenage Wildlife"), "Jamaica" ("Fashion"), "Cameras in Brooklyn" ("Up the Hill Backwards") and "I Am a Laser" ("Scream Like a Baby"), which was originally written and recorded in 1973 by a group of Bowie collaborators known as the Astronettes. The lyrics for the title track, which dated back to a 1975 song called "Running Scared", were inspired by a promotional campaign for Kellogg's Corn Flakes cereal, which offered a cereal prize of "Scary Monsters and Super Heroes". The sessions resumed in April 1980 at Good Earth Studios in London, Visconti's own studio at the time. Final instrumental overdubs were provided by Fripp and the keyboardist Andy Clark, along with a guest appearance by the Who guitarist Pete Townshend on "Because You're Young". Vocal tracks were recorded last, including the Japanese narration provided by the actress Michi Hirota for "It's No Game (No. 1)".

Reader's Guide

Commentators have classified Scary Monsters as art rock, new wave, and post-punk. Writing for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine considers Scary Monsters to be a culmination of Bowie's 1970s works and the record's sound similar to early 1980s post-punk. Nicholas Pegg agrees, describing the record as "the triumphant culmination of Bowie's steely art-rock phase and a crucial doorway into early 1980s British pop". In a career retrospective, Consequence of Sound described Scary Monsters as "a high watermark of art pop by which Bowie's future releases are still compared." Carr and Murray describe the album's sound as being harsher – and his worldview more desperate – than anything he had released since Diamond Dogs (1974). The biographer Christopher Sandford writes that lyrically, Scary Monsters reaffirms themes that Bowie had explored throughout his career up to that point, including madness, alienation and the "redeeming power of love"; in this case however, Bowie is able to bring the listener in instead of "freezing [them] out". The album opens with "It's No Game (No. 1)", which features sinister guitar loops and Bowie's screaming vocal performance, which Chris O'Leary cites as reminiscent of John Lennon's performance on Plastic Ono Band (1970). Partly taken from an older tune titled "Tired of My Life", it features lyrics read by the Japanese actress Michi Hirota, which were translated by Hisahi Miura. Hirota delivers her performance in what is described by Buckley as a "macho, samurai voice", which was done at Bowie's insistence as a way to "break down a particular type of sexist attitude about women". The lyrics of "Up the Hill Backwards" deal with the struggle of facing a crisis. Bowie misquotes Thomas Anthony Harris's 1967 self-help book I'm OK – You're OK, a guide on how to save marriage relationships; Carr and Murray see this as a reference to Bowie's divorce from Angie Bowie. For the title track, the rhythm section took inspiration from Joy Division; Davis's drum performance has been compared to Stephen Morris's on "She's Lost Control" (1979). Described by Perone as punk rock, the music is heavily distorted, featuring Fripp's ferocious guitar-playing, Davis's pounding drums, and David Bowie's treated Cockney accent. "Ashes to Ashes" revisits the character of Major Tom from "Space Oddity" (1969). Over ten years later, Major Tom is described as a "junkie", which has been interpreted as parallel to Bowie's own struggles with drug addiction throughout the 1970s. Musically, "Ashes to Ashes" is built around a guitar synthesiser theme by Hammer, augmented by Clark's synthesiser. "Fashion" is reminiscent of Bowie's former single "Golden Years", with its mix of funk and reggae. It evolved out of a reggae "spoof" started by Clark on his synthesiser and features guitar "squeals" from Fripp. Apart from being a dance track, the song provokes elements of fascism, with lyrics such as "we are the goon squad" and "turn to the left, turn to the right". "Teenage Wildlife", the longest track on the album, is structurally similar to "'Heroes'" but does not feature a refrain; its verses only end with the title being sung over Fripp's guitar breaks. Its backing vocals are reminiscent of the Ronettes, while piano is provided by Roy Bittan. The song's lyrics have been widely interpreted. One interpretation is they are an attack on Bowie imitators who emerged in the late 1970s, such as Gary Numan, who personally believed himself a target. Carr and Murray state that the song is Bowie reflecting on his younger self, while Pegg considers it a confrontation to critics.

Did You Know?

• The album's title track was inspired by a promotional campaign for Kellogg's Corn Flakes cereal, which offered a cereal prize of 'Scary Monsters and Super Heroes'.
• The working title for 'Ashes to Ashes' was 'People Are Turning to Gold'.
• The Japanese narration on 'It's No Game (No. 1)' was provided by actress Michi Hirota, who delivered her lines in a 'macho, samurai voice' at Bowie's insistence.
• Pete Townshend of The Who made a guest appearance on the track 'Because You're Young'.
• An instrumental titled 'Crystal Japan' was originally intended to be the album's closing track but was dropped in favour of a reprise of 'It's No Game'.