Search - David Bowie :: All Saints: Collected Instrumentals 1977-1999

The Best of Bowie's Instrumentals!!

Louie Bourland | Garden Grove CA | 09/18/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

""All Saints" is an excellent collection of innovative instrumental work from the legendary David Bowie. Compiled personally by Bowie and initially given away as a Christmas gift to only his closest and personal friends, "All Saints" was later given an official release as a limited edition. At the time of this writing, the CD is still readily available and is worth picking up.
This collection spans from the years 1977 to 1999. Most of the tracks included here are from the two-thirds of Bowie's "Berlin" album trilogy ("Low" and "Heroes", the third being "Lodger"). Additionally, there are three rare pieces ("Abdulmajid", "Crystal Japan" and the CDs title track) which were only previously available as bonus tracks when the Rykodisc label reissued the entire Bowie catalog in the early 1990s (The Rykodisc reissues are now out-of-print).
This CD as a whole demonstrates David Bowie's pioneering use of synthesizers and ambient soundscapes. A majority of these compositions were made in collaboration with ambient music specialist Brian Eno and display a unique combination of lush beauty, harsh experimentation and cinematic intensity. Any of these compositions could've easily been used as film music for it is highly visual and adventurous. The closing piece ("Some Are" from Philip Glass's "Low Symphony") is particularly cinematic with its use of a full symphonic orchestra creating a dynamic sense of drama.
"All Saints" is not only a must have for David Bowie fans but also for fans of instrumental music as well. Like his collaborator Brian Eno as well as the German-based bands Tangerine Dream, Cluster and Kraftwerk, David Bowie has also garnered himself as an innovator of ambient electronic music. This collection shows Bowie at his instrumental best and reveals the full scope of his serious musical and compositional side."

An agreeable compilation of Bowie's overlooked material

Said Head | MN, USA | 12/29/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a Bowie fan for a number of years now (since around '03, when I got his latest album), and since then he's been the overlord of my music library. This compilation was actually one of the first DB albums I owned, when I came across it in a pawn shop. Since at the time the only actual instrumental of his I had heard was 'Brilliant Adventure', so I decided this would be a great opportunity to get more involved in his more artistic side.



While most of these tracks can easily be found on his other albums, some are rather obscure, and have found homes only on Ryko editions of his Berlin Trilogy, along with a few selections from 'Buddha of Suburbia' which we all know was, until last year, a very hard album to come by until re-released. While most tracks are from his 'Low' and 'Heroes' albums, there is a great deal of music aside.



As the talented multi-instrumentalist that Bowie is, his non-vocal work expands more heavily on exactly what his music can offer compared to more conventional song writing. In my honest opinion, if Bowie ever created an entirely instrumental album it would be probably the best thing in my collection, but as I doubt that'll happen this compilation will have to serve its place.



As with my disappointments, I was very bewildered that 'South Horizon', a jazzy trip hop piece from 'Buddha', was not featured. I also was not satisfied with the lack of liner notes; the booklets describe all the legal info about each track, who wrote them (mainly Bowie with Eno) and that's about it. A little more personal knowledge on some tracks would've been really great. I'm glad though that they didn't throw in the annoying 'Don't Sit Down' ditty from 'Space Oddity'; that would've destroyed the integrity of the entire compilation.



For the few tracks that are now and still hard to find (Some Are, Crysal Japan, Abdulmajid, and All Saints) are worth getting for the price of this compilation. Or at least purchase the individual tracks you want, considering the booklet doesn't offer much more aside from the interesting photos of late 90's Bowie (I can't deny that Bowie looks great with facial hair)."