"Station to Station" is a song by English musician David Bowie. It was written and recorded at Cherokee Studios in 1975 and released in 1976 as a 7-inch single in France. It is the title track and opener on Bowie's tenth studio album.
Composition
The song is Bowie's longest studio recording, clocking in just above 10 minutes. Structurally, the song builds from a droning, guitar-driven introductory portion that mimics a train building up speed, to an uptempo section punctuated by the refrain "It's too late."
The lyrics contain various references to Aleister Crowley, Kabbalah[1] and gnosticism.[1] Bowie stated that "The "Station to Station" track itself is very much concerned with the stations of the cross."[1] It is on this track that Bowie introduces himself as "The Thin White Duke". It also contains the oft-quoted[by whom?] lyric, "It's not the side-effects of the cocaine/I'm thinking that it must be love." The line was later used as the title of a Fall Out Boy song from their EP My Heart Will Always Be the B-Side to My Tongue.
Single version
The song was released as promo single (42549 A) in January 1976 in France with a shortened duration of 3:40 and "TVC 15" on the b-side.[2] It just begins at the central section of the track with the drums just prior to the "once there were mountains..." lyric. This short edit of "Station To Station" was mainly for radio stations and was played a lot on French radio at the time. The edit single can be heard on the Deluxe Edition 2010 reissues of the Station to Station album.
Track listing
| 1. |
"Station to Station" |
3:40 |
Personnel
- Carlos Alomar – guitar
- Roy Bittan – piano, organ
- David Bowie – lead vocals, guitar, composing, production
- Dennis Davis – drums
- Harry Maslin – melodica, train noises, production
- George Murray – bass guitar
- Warren Peace – percussion, backing vocals
- Earl Slick – guitar
Live versions
- A live performance recorded on 23 March 1976 was released on Live Nassau Coliseum '76, part of the 2010 reissues of the Station to Station album.
- A live version, edited from recordings made at concert performances in Providence, RI on 5 May 1978 and in Boston, MA on 6 May 1978,[3] was released on Stage. This version was also featured in the Christiane F. movie, where Bowie, miming the 1978 live recording, made an appearance as himself performing the song at a concert. An edit of this version was released on the soundtrack of the film.
- A live version recorded on 12 September 1983 was released on the concert film Serious Moonlight.
Cover versions
- The song was covered by The Merry Thoughts on the album A Tribute to David Bowie: The Dark Side of David Bowie (1997)
- The song was also covered by Melvins on their cover album Everybody Loves Sausages, with J.G. Thirlwell handling the vocals.
Release history
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Tony Visconti (2005). Stage 2005 reissue: CD booklet
External links
|
|
|
|
| 1960s |
|
| 1970s |
|
| 1980s |
|
| 1990s |
|
| 2000s |
|
| 2010s |
|
| Other songs |
|
<templatestyles src="Asbox/styles.css"></templatestyles>
France
