Earthling (album)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Earthling'' (stylised as ''EART HL I NG'') is the 21st studio album by English musician
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
, released on 3 February 1997 through
RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
in the United Kingdom,
Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...
in the United States, and
Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...
/ BMG in other territories. Mostly self-produced by Bowie, it was primarily recorded from August to October 1996 at New York City's Looking Glass Studios. Bowie composed the tracks with
Reeves Gabrels Reeves Gabrels (born June 4, 1956) is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. A member and guitarist of British band the Cure since 2012, Gabrels worked with David Bowie from 1987 to 1999, and was a member of the band Tin Machine. ...
and
Mark Plati Mark Plati is a New York–based musician, record producer, and songwriter, best known for his work in the 1990s with David Bowie. Plati also has worked with Spookey Ruben, The Cure, Duncan Sheik, Hooverphonic, Robbie Williams, Joe McIntyre, D ...
, who are credited as co-producers, with
Mike Garson Michael David Garson (born July 29, 1945) is an American pianist, who has worked with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, St. Vincent, Duran Duran, Free Flight and The Smashing Pumpkins. Early career Garson went to Lafayette High School in Broo ...
,
Gail Ann Dorsey Gail Ann Dorsey (born November 20, 1962) is an American musician. With a long career as a session musician mainly on bass guitar, she is perhaps best known for her lengthy residency in David Bowie's band, from 1995 to Bowie's death in 2016. Asid ...
and
Zack Alford Zachary "Zack" Alford is a professional drummer, known for his work with the B-52's, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and Tomoyasu Hotei. Alford was brought in by Danny Kortchmar to drum on Billy Joel's ''River of Dreams'' album. Alford contribut ...
providing
overdubs Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...
later. Developing musical styles previously explored on '' Outside'' (1995), ''Earthling'' showcases an
electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...
-influenced sound partly inspired by the
industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...
and
drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...
culture of the 1990s, further exhibiting
jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅ ...
and
techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...
styles. Lyrically, the tracks express themes of alienation and
spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...
. One of them, "
I'm Afraid of Americans "I'm Afraid of Americans" is a song by English musician David Bowie, released as a single from his album '' Earthling'' on 14 October 1997 through Virgin Records. The song was co-written by Bowie and Brian Eno and originally recorded during the ...
" was
remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
ed for release as a
single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
by
Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...
'
Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, wh ...
, who appeared in its
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
. The artwork depicts Bowie wearing a
Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
coat co-designed by
Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen CBE (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen label in 1992, and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His achievements in fashion ...
. ''Earthling'' charted better than its predecessor and reached the top ten in several countries. Its accompanying singles featured numerous remixes and were supported with music videos. Bowie promoted the album through television appearances and on the
Earthling Tour The Earthling Tour was a concert tour by British musician David Bowie, in promotion of his album '' Earthling'', released in 1997, The tour started on 7 June 1997 at Flughafen Blankensee in Lübeck, Germany, continuing through Europe, North Am ...
in 1997. Although the album was mostly received positively on release, later reviews find ''Earthling'' lacked innovation in a time when the drum and bass craze was well-established; others consider it a worthwhile addition to an underrated decade. It was reissued with bonus tracks in 2004 and remastered in 2021 for inclusion on the
box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...
''
Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001) ''Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001)'' is a box set by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on 26 November 2021. A follow-up to the compilations '' Five Years (1969–1973)'', '' Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976)'', '' A New Career in ...
''.


Background and recording

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
supported his 20th studio album '' Outside'' on the
Outside Tour The Outside Tour was a tour by English rock musician David Bowie, opening in September 1995 and lasting over a year. The opening shows preceded the release of the '' 1. Outside'' album which it supported. The tour visited stops in North Americ ...
, which ran from September 1995 to February 1996. The lineup for the tour included guitarists
Reeves Gabrels Reeves Gabrels (born June 4, 1956) is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. A member and guitarist of British band the Cure since 2012, Gabrels worked with David Bowie from 1987 to 1999, and was a member of the band Tin Machine. ...
and
Carlos Alomar Carlos Alomar (born 7 May 1951) is a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican guitarist. He is best known for his work with David Bowie from the mid-1970s to the early 2000s, having played on more Bowie albums than any musician other than pianist Mike Garso ...
, pianist
Mike Garson Michael David Garson (born July 29, 1945) is an American pianist, who has worked with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, St. Vincent, Duran Duran, Free Flight and The Smashing Pumpkins. Early career Garson went to Lafayette High School in Broo ...
, drummer
Zack Alford Zachary "Zack" Alford is a professional drummer, known for his work with the B-52's, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and Tomoyasu Hotei. Alford was brought in by Danny Kortchmar to drum on Billy Joel's ''River of Dreams'' album. Alford contribut ...
and bassist
Gail Ann Dorsey Gail Ann Dorsey (born November 20, 1962) is an American musician. With a long career as a session musician mainly on bass guitar, she is perhaps best known for her lengthy residency in David Bowie's band, from 1995 to Bowie's death in 2016. Asid ...
. Bowie's positive relationship with the new band was the springboard for his next studio record. He told
Alan Yentob Alan Yentob (born 11 March 1947) is a BBC presenter and retired British television executive. He stepped down as Creative Director in December 2015, and was chairman of the board of trustees of the charity Kids Company from 2003 until its collap ...
in 1996: "They're probably the most enjoyable set of musicians I've worked with. It's the greatest fun and satisfaction I've had with a band since the Spiders." A few months after the tour's conclusion, Bowie and the band—minus Alomar, who departed due to dissatisfaction—played a series of festivals during the summer from June to July 1996. Gabrels later told biographer
Paul Trynka Paul Trynka is a British rock journalist and author. He was the editor of the music magazine ''Mojo'' from 1999 to 2003, and has also worked as editorial director of '' Q'' and editor of ''International Musician''. In 2004, he edited publisher D ...
: In April 1996, Bowie began recording a new track, " Telling Lies", alone at
Mountain Studios Mountain Studios was a commercial recording studio founded by American singer and composer Anita Kerr and husband Alex Grob in 1975 within the Montreux Casino in Montreux, Switzerland. The studio was under the ownership of Queen and then long ...
in
Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approximat ...
, Switzerland; it was the last time he worked at Mountain. The song, which expanded on the
jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅ ...
and
drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...
rhythms found on the ''Outside'' tracks "I'm Deranged" and "We Prick You", made its debut at the summer shows. Speaking with ''
Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...
'' magazine in March 1997, Bowie stated: " used it as a blueprint of where I wanted the ''Earthling'' album to go... We just kept re-moulding it throughout the tour." Also recorded around May was an untitled piece containing the lyric "dead men don't talk" that, like "Telling Lies", pre-dated the ''Earthling'' material.


Initial sessions

Recording for ''Earthling'' began in August 1996 shortly after the conclusion of the festival dates. For the location, Bowie chose composer
Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
's Looking Glass Studios in New York City. Joining the lineup was engineer
Mark Plati Mark Plati is a New York–based musician, record producer, and songwriter, best known for his work in the 1990s with David Bowie. Plati also has worked with Spookey Ruben, The Cure, Duncan Sheik, Hooverphonic, Robbie Williams, Joe McIntyre, D ...
, a New York native who had extensive experience at Looking Glass. Bowie himself mostly self-produced, making it his first self-produced record since ''
Diamond Dogs ''Diamond Dogs'' is the eighth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 24 May 1974 through RCA Records. Bowie produced the album and recorded it in early 1974 at Olympic and Island Studios in London and Ludolph Studios i ...
'' (1974). He explained: "I knew exactly what I wanted. We didn't have any time to pull in a co-producer... so I just sort of went for it." Plati and Gabrels were both credited as co-producers, while the former co-wrote several tracks. Bowie and Gabrels commenced work on ''Earthling'' with Plati using
demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * plural for Demo (computer programming) ...
the two had made on the road. The album was recorded entirely on
hard disk A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with magnet ...
, allowing instruments and vocals to be cut and pasted at random. While Bowie focused on crafting the lyrics, using an improved version of the cut-up computer program used for ''Outside'', Gabrels and Plati focused on the music. Plati recalled: "We were cranking ongsout one per day. Reeves would be coming up with guitar parts and sounds, I'd be at the computer recording him or working on the arrangement, and David would be on the couch, writing the lyric. At day's end, he'd do a vocal." According to Bowie, the trio did not focus on crafting melodies, instead tinkering with the recordings to see which combinations worked and which did not: "Once we developed a kind of mattress, then I would go into the studio and just free-associate against that." Plati was impressed with Bowie's work ethic and recalled that most of his vocal tracks were done in one take. While the sessions were still underway, the band performed four shows on the
US East Coast The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...
in September 1996, where they premiered " Little Wonder" and "
Seven Years in Tibet ''Seven Years in Tibet: My Life Before, During and After'' (1952; german: Sieben Jahre in Tibet. Mein Leben am Hofe des Dalai Lama; 1954 in English) is an autobiographical travel book written by Austrian mountaineer and Nazi SS sergeant Heinrich ...
".


Overdubs

The latter half of the sessions focused on
overdubs Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...
by Garson, Dorsey and Alford. Their contributions were manipulated through various studio effects, such as sampling, looping and distorting; according to biographer Chris O'Leary, Alford is heard more through sped-up loops rather than live tracks. Gabrels also utilised a
Roland Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...
processor on his guitar which allowed for digital manipulation and alteration. He and Bowie used a technique they previously utilised for ''Outside'': transferring bits of guitar to a sampling keyboard and constructing riffs from those pieces. Bowie stated: "It's real guitar, but constructed in a synthetic way. But
Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
got in the way – in the nicest possible way – so we didn't get to that until this album." Garson was not a fan of the material initially, as he was forced to work with set structures compared to his mostly improvisational role on ''Outside''. For the drum tracks, Alford began by working on his own
snare SNARE proteins – " SNAP REceptor" – are a large protein family consisting of at least 24 members in yeasts, more than 60 members in mammalian cells, and some numbers in plants. The primary role of SNARE proteins is to mediate vesicle fu ...
patterns at 120
beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...
(bpm) which were then sped up to 160 bpm, and afterwards improvised on a real kit against the sampled patterns. Bowie's primary goal during the sessions was to combine elements of the "technological" and "organic": "That's very much how we treat the album. We kept all sampling in-house and created our own soundscape in a way." In comparison to ''Outside'', the majority of the tracks were written and recorded quickly, with the entire album recorded in about two and a half weeks; Bowie at one point stated it was recorded in eight days. However, according to biographer
Nicholas Pegg Nicholas Pegg is a British actor, writer and director. Educated at Nottingham High School and graduating with a Master of Arts in English Literature from the University of Exeter, Pegg subsequently trained at the Guildford School of Acting. Acti ...
, recording lasted through October. In addition to revamped versions of "Telling Lies" and the ''Outside'' outtake "
I'm Afraid of Americans "I'm Afraid of Americans" is a song by English musician David Bowie, released as a single from his album '' Earthling'' on 14 October 1997 through Virgin Records. The song was co-written by Bowie and Brian Eno and originally recorded during the ...
", seven new tracks appeared on the final album. Outtakes from the sessions included remakes of the
Tin Machine Tin Machine were a British–American rock band formed in 1988, and fronted by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. The band consisted of Bowie on lead vocals, saxophone and guitar; Reeves Gabrels on guitar and vocals; Tony Fox Sales on bass ...
tracks " Baby Universal", which was played on stage earlier in the year, and "
I Can't Read "I Can't Read" is a song written by David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels for Tin Machine on their debut album in 1989. The song was subsequently re-recorded by Bowie and Gabrels together in 1997, and performed live during Bowie's concerts in the lat ...
", which was replaced by "The Last Thing You Should Do". According to O'Leary, ''Earthling'' was initially envisioned as an EP of new tracks sequenced with the remakes and covers, but by the end of the sessions, there was enough material for a full-length album of new content.


Music and lyrics

Compared to the 19 pieces found on ''Outside'', ''Earthling'' contains only nine tracks. Additionally, Bowie stated that he found ''Earthling'' "primitive" in contrast to the complexity of its predecessor. Musically, the album showcases an
electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...
-influenced sound partly inspired by the
industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...
and drum and bass culture of the 1990s. Bowie had previously explored these styles on ''Outside'', but fully embraced them for ''Earthling''. While reviewers generally consider ''Earthling'' Bowie's "drum and bass album", biographer
Marc Spitz Marc Spitz (October 2, 1969 – February 4, 2017) was an American music journalist, author and playwright. Spitz's writings on rock and roll and popular culture appeared in ''Spin'' (where he was a Senior Writer) as well as ''The New York Times' ...
argues that "it's simply case of a veteran artist pursuing a sound with which he or she has fallen in love." Buckley agrees, further noting that only three or four tracks contain a drum and bass element. Plati later contested: Characterised by "rapid-fire bass, hailstorm percussion, flashes of distorted guitar, sampling ndsudden dramatic pauses", drum and bass rhythms dominate "Little Wonder", "Battle for Britain (The Letter)", "Telling Lies" and " Dead Man Walking". Other reviewers have noted the presence of
industrial rock Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Cromagnon, Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten a ...
, electronica,
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
and
alternative dance Alternative dance (also known as indie dance or underground dance in the U.S.) is a musical genre that mixes alternative rock with electronic dance music. Although largely confined to the British Isles, it has gained American and worldwide expos ...
. Author James E. Perone found an emphasis on
techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...
and jungle and deems ''Earthling'' more musically accessible than its predecessor, partially aided by "strong melodic hooks" throughout. Bowie initially compared the album's aggressive sound to 1980's '' Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)''. Lyrically, Perone describes the album's overall theme as alienation, while Pegg says that the lyrics revisit the spiritual themes previously found on ''
Station to Station ''Station to Station'' is the tenth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 23 January 1976 through RCA Records. Regarded as one of his most significant works, the album was the vehicle for Bowie's performance person ...
'' (1976), a claim supported by Bowie himself.


Songs

"Little Wonder" was one of the first tracks Bowie and Gabrels wrote for the album. Bowie called writing the track a "ridiculous" exercise in pure stream of consciousness: "I just picked '' Snow White and the Seven Dwarves'' and made a line for each of the dwarves' names. And that's the song aughs And then I ran out of dwarves' names, so there's new dwarves in it like 'Stinky'." Originally set to be a "nine-minute jungle electronic epic", the song was trimmed to six minutes for the album. Described by O'Leary as a combination of
arena rock Arena rock (also known as AOR, melodic rock, stadium rock, anthem rock, pomp rock, corporate rock and dad rock; ; ) is a style of rock music that originated in the mid-1970s. As hard rock bands and those playing a softer yet strident kind of po ...
and electronica, it utilises percussion and power chords from the Prodigy's " Firestarter", a 1996 UK number one that assisted in bringing drum and bass rhythms to the mainstream. "Looking for Satellites" was the second track recorded for the album. In an interview with ''Mojo'', Bowie described the track as "A straight, rational piece about where we find ourselves at this particular point in this era: somewhere between religion and technology, and not quite sure where to go next. It's kind of a poignant feeling, standing alone on a beach at night looking for a satellite... but what you're really looking for is an answer." It features various cut-up lyrics that were influenced by the then-recent discovery of the possibility of
life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no proof of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that during the ...
. Bowie considered the lyrics "measuring the distance between the crucifixion and flying saucers". The atmosphere is said by Pegg to contain "wistful uncertainty". Gabrels' guitar solo, pieced together from multiple takes, was added in the last minute at Bowie's insistence. According to Plati, "Battle for Britain (The Letter)" was an "attempt to do a
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
-tinged jungle track". He believed the song brought focus to the album, wherein the structures would resemble "actual songs nstead ofintense atmospheres". Characterised by various loops and distortion, the lyrics discuss Bowie's uncertainty about his own British identity, as he had not lived in the UK for two decades. The music combines techno and the
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
of Tin Machine, with vocal melodies and harmonies reminiscent of, in Perone's words, "a 1966 or 1967 British rock band". For the piano solo, Bowie challenged Garson to play a part based on an
Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...
piece, which he interpreted after hearing it played on a CD. Inspired by
Heinrich Harrer Heinrich Harrer (; 6 July 1912 – 7 January 2006) was an Austrian mountaineer, sportsman, geographer, ''Oberscharführer'' in the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS), and author. He was a member of the four-man climbing team that made the first ascent of th ...
's autobiography of the same name, the lyrics of "Seven Years in Tibet" reflect the Chinese takeover of Tibet. It began as a Gabrels' composition titled "Brussels" and was almost scrapped by Bowie before Gabrels intervened; Bowie later described it as his favourite track on the album. Musically, the song presents a mix of genres such as new wave,
grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...
and R&B. According to Pegg, it is characterised by saxophone riffs, shrieking guitars, various loops and treated vocals and synthesisers. Bowie described "Dead Man Walking" as his homage "to
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
that is still young while we are all growing old". As such, the lyrics reflect his thoughts on aging at this point in his career. It initially began as a tribute to actress
Susan Sarandon Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actorMcCabe, Bruce"Susan Sarandon, the 'actor'" ''Boston Globe''. April 17, 1981. Retrieved January 21, 2021. and activist. She is the recipient of various accolades, ...
, but took additional influences from songwriter
Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
after Bowie, Gabrels and Dorsey performed at a pair of benefit concerts for the artist in October 1996. The music is, in Perone's words, "largely conventional dance", featuring atonal piano, sequenced keyboards and electric guitar and containing elements of Latin dance music and jazz; Pegg describes the song as "modern rock". According to Plati, the song took five days to mix: "It
egan Egan may refer to: People * Egan (surname) * Egan (given name) Places in the United States * Egan, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Egan, Louisiana, an unincorporated community and census-designated place * Egan, South Dakota, a city * Eg ...
completely programmed and by the time it's finished it's completely live." "Telling Lies" originated during the ''Outside'' sessions. While Bowie recorded most of the track alone in April, he polished the lyrics during the actual sessions, while the band added overdubs. Both the music and lyrics represent a hybridisation of the ''Outside'' and ''Earthling'' styles, with Pegg describing the final arrangement as a blend of "a very aggressive rock sound with drum and bass". Perone, meanwhile, finds a mix of dance and alternative rock styles that is less successful than other ''Earthling'' tracks. The lyrics also feature more rhyme than other tracks, delving into topics such as gossip, exaggerations and lying. On 11 September 1996, Plati's "Feelgood Mix" of the song was released on the
internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
, reportedly receiving 250,000 downloads. With this release, Bowie became the first artist to release a downloadable track through the internet. Additional
remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
es by
A Guy Called Gerald Gerald Rydel Simpson (born 16 February 1967), better known as A Guy Called Gerald, is a British record producer and musician. He was an early member of the electronic group 808 State, contributing to their debut LP '' Newbuild'' (1988) and hit ...
(the "Paradox Mix") and
Adam F Adam Fenton (born 8 February 1972) is an English record producer and DJ who has worked across various genres. He is also the co-founder of the drum and bass label Breakbeat Kaos along with DJ Fresh. He found initial success with the 1990s dru ...
were released the same month. "The Last Thing You Should Do" was one of the final tracks recorded for the album, primarily built using, in O'Leary's words, "discarded overdub bits". Gabrels insisted on including it on the album over the Tin Machine remakes, explaining: "Because I co-wrote both of those T.M. songs, that meant I could stand on the higher moral ground, as I was fighting against my own offspring." He argued that the track turned ''Earthling'' "from a ten-song album pastiche... to a nine-song cohesive statement". The music is primarily jungle with bits of techno, while the lyrics discuss the lack of humour and self-love in the late 20th-century. Bowie himself compared the song's music to "
Sound and Vision "Sound and Vision" is a song by English musician David Bowie. It was released in January 1977 by RCA Records on side one of his 11th studio album '' Low''. RCA later chose it as the first single from the album. Co-produced by Bowie and Tony ...
" from his 1977 album '' Low''. O'Leary considers it a "miniature" version of the remaining tracks and, in the context of the entire album, Perone argues the song is more successful as a standalone track. "I'm Afraid of Americans" was originally recorded during the ''Outside'' sessions as "Dummy", featuring different lyrics; this version was released on the
soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
for the 1995 film ''
Showgirls ''Showgirls'' is a 1995 erotic drama pulp noir film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas. The film stars Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, Gina Gershon, Glenn Plummer, Robert Davi, Alan Rachins, and Gina Ravera. Produced ...
''. Bowie stated: "That was something that Eno and I put together, and I just didn't feel it fit ''Outside'', so it didn't go on it. It just got left behind. So then we took just the embryo of it, and restructured it with this band." Described by Bowie as "one of those stereotypical 'Johnny' songs: Johnny does this, Johnny does that", the ''Earthling'' version contains revised lyrics, additional overdubs from the band and transposed verses. Plati explained: "We pulled things off several different reels to make this new composite. It as quite a clean-up job, not the most enjoyable." Musically, the song mixes techno styles of the 1980s and 1990s while lyrically, it presents a critique of America, in line with Bowie's 1975 track "
Young Americans ''Young Americans'' is the ninth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 7March 1975 through RCA Records. The album marked a departure from the glam rock style of Bowie's previous albums, showcasing his interest in soul and ...
". "Law (Earthlings on Fire)" was the first track recorded during the sessions. Musically, the song is unlike jungle and more, in O'Leary's words, "industrial trash-pop". Pegg describes it as a club track reminiscent of the ''Black Tie White Noise'' track "Pallas Athena" (1993), featuring various synthesiser effects with a dance-style bassline; Plati compared it to a
sound collage In music, montage (literally "putting together") or sound collage ("gluing together") is a technique where newly branded sound objects or compositions, including songs, are created from collage, also known as montage. This is often done throug ...
. The lyrics convey existential concerns, using obscure references such as a quote from
polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...
Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...
. Pegg considers it the album's weakest track, while Perone believes it works best as commentary on the "end-of-the-millenium sense of malaise" rather than as a standalone Bowie track.


Title and packaging

The album title was chosen by fans at a performance in Roseland, New York during the September 1996 tour; Bowie asked the audience if the upcoming album should be titled 'Earthling' or 'Earthlings'. Discussing the title, Bowie stated that "it was supposed to describe the Earth; man and his pure habitat on Earth. And I suppose the irony isn't lost on me that it's sort of me in maybe my most worldly kind of human guise to date." The artwork was first conceptualised during the sessions. Plati told Buckley: "Every new idea or concept would be put up on the wall. By the end of recording, the walls of the studio were filled with the artwork that would become the album." The cover portrays Bowie, back-facing the camera, wearing a tattered
Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
coat with his hands behind his back, looking out towards the green plains of England. The photograph was taken by Frank Ockenfels in New York, then was sent to computer designer Dave De Angelis in England, who created the final cover. The idea for the coat originated from
Gavin Turk Gavin Turk (born 1967) is a British artist from Guildford in Surrey, and is considered to be one of the Young British Artists.Tate Modern. (2009)'Pop Life: Art in a Material World' Retrieved 14 August 2012. Turk's oeuvre deals with issues of aut ...
's 1995 exhibit ''Indoor Flag''. Bowie co-designed the coat with
Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen CBE (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen label in 1992, and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His achievements in fashion ...
, which he wore for the summer festivals, the ''Earthling'' cover and later the VH1 Fashion Awards in 1997. He explained: " t'sthe ultimate anti-icon. A retelling of the British flag joke, again torn and stained... the tatty remains of a metaphysical empire." Pegg compares Bowie's
Colossus of Rhodes The Colossus of Rhodes ( grc, ὁ Κολοσσὸς Ῥόδιος, ho Kolossòs Rhódios gr, Κολοσσός της Ρόδου, Kolossós tes Rhódou) was a statue of the Greek sun-god Helios, erected in the city of Rhodes (city), Rhodes, on ...
-like stance in the cover to a "proud eighteenth-century landowner in a Gainsborough portrait" and, simultaneously, an alien-like visitor in an effect similar to the sleeve for '' Ziggy Stardust'' (1972). According to Gabrels, Bowie's intention for the cover was to realign himself with England. Buckley writes that over the past thirty years in Britain, the Union Jack had gone from being symbols of confidence in the 1960s, oppression in the 1970s through the punk rock movement, and "rightist" through
Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...
's controversial use of it at
Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in the London neighbourhood of Harringay. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey. It was one of the first of the great London parks ...
in the early 1990s. Pegg also notes that the 1990s
Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...
era frequently saw the use of the Union Jack in advertisements, while numerous bands at the time posed with the flag for both ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...
'' and ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
''. Nevertheless, following ''Earthling''s release, the Union Jack became fashionable, being worn by artists from
Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio album, '' In the Garden'', in 1981 to little succ ...
to the
Spice Girls The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Vict ...
. The ''Earthling'' CD package was presented with an elaborate, electronically manipulated photo collage of Bowie and the band members. Additional images included with the sleeve dated back to Bowie's
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
period in the mid-1970s, such as a blurred flying saucer and a Kirlian photograph of his fingertip and crucifix, which also appeared on the "Little Wonder" CD single. Pegg attributes Bowie's desire for the photographs to his then-
cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
addiction.


Release and promotion

''Earthling'' was preceded by the release of two
singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...
. The first, "Telling Lies" backed by three remixes, was released on 4November 1996. It peaked at number 76 and 79 in Britain and Scotland, respectively, although its distribution was limited to 3,500 copies. The second, "Little Wonder" backed by three remixes, was issued on 27January 1997. The single was a success, peaking at number 14 in the UK and topping the chart in Japan. The accompanying
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
was directed by
Floria Sigismondi Floria Sigismondi (, born 1965) is an Italian-Canadian film director, screenwriter, music video director, artist, and photographer. She is best known for writing and directing '' The Runaways'', for directing music videos for performers includi ...
and depicts Bowie at three different ages. Buckley considers it a dance-oriented video rather than a rock one, reminiscent of Orbital's " The Box" (1996). ''Earthling'' was released on 3February 1997 on CD and LP formats through
RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
in the UK,
Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...
in the US, and
Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...
and its parent distributor BMG elsewhere. The Japanese CD included the 'Adam F Mix' of "Telling Lies" as a bonus track. RCA stressed the album's accessibility in their marketing campaign. The album sold modestly, but performed better than its predecessor, reaching number six on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
and number 39 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. It also reached number five in Belgian
Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...
and Sweden, and the top ten in France and Scotland. It was nominated for
Best Alternative Music Performance The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Ho ...
at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards in 1998, losing to
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
's '' OK Computer'' (1997). Bowie promoted ''Earthling'' with a string of television appearances from February to April 1997, including on ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'' and ''
The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...
''. Following the album's release, three more singles followed suit. "Dead Man Walking" appeared in April 1997 on various single formats, some backed by remixes of the track and others featuring remixes of ''Outside'' tracks. One remix was done by musician
Moby Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...
, which marked the beginning of Bowie's association with the artist. Its music video, again directed by Sigismondi, expanded on the themes of the "Little Wonder" video, featuring appearances from Bowie and Dorsey and, in Pegg's words, "flailing choreography". The band mimed the song on ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...
'' on 25April. The single was nominated for the Grammy Award for
Best Male Rock Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to male recording artists for works (songs or albums) containin ...
, losing to
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
's " Cold Irons Bound" (1997). A Mandarin version of "Seven Years in Tibet", with lyrics translated by
Lin Xi Albert Leung (born 7 December 1961, ) is a lyricist and writer based in Hong Kong. Education Leung attended all-boy secondary schools at Chan Sui Ki (La Salle) College and La Salle College. He received a bachelor of arts in translation from th ...
, topped the
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
chart in June, around the time of the Chinese takeover of Hong Kong. It marked Bowie as the first non-Asian artist to reach number one in that territory. Bowie later stated: "I thought what a perfect time to release a single in Hong Kong, just as the Chinese take over. It got super-popular but I'm not sure we'll be able to tour there now of course." The Mandarin version backed the album version upon release in August, which failed to reach the UK top 50. "I'm Afraid of Americans" was issued in the US only on 14October 1997 as a
maxi-single A maxi single or maxi-single (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. The first maxi singles Mungo Jerry's first single, "In the Summertime" was the ...
, where it was backed by six remixes, some of which featured
Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...
and
Photek Rupert Parkes (born 6 September 1971), known as Photek, is a Los Angeles-based British electronic music DJ/record producer, and TV and film score composer. Photek was born and raised in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. Photek has contributed music ...
. The project was instigated by
Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...
frontman
Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, wh ...
, continuing his and Bowie's association following the Outside Tour. Reznor, who said he "tried to make it a bit darker", stripped the production to its roots to create what Buckley calls "an eerie, psychotic track". Reznor also starred as the titular 'Johnny' in the
Dom and Nic dom&nic is the working name of directors Nic Goffey and Dominic Hawley. They have been directing music videos and commercials since 1994. They have won numerous awards for their work, including the Gold Lion at the 1999 Cannes International Adv ...
-directed music video, which reflected the song's theme of a frightened European in an American city and gave Bowie a nomination for
Best Male Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video was one of four original general awards that have been handed out every year since the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, though, the award was briefly renamed Male Artist of the Year, and ...
at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards. The single reached number 66 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and remained on the chart for 16 weeks, becoming Bowie's biggest hit in the country since "
Day-In Day-Out "Day-In Day-Out" is a song recorded by English singer David Bowie, serving as the opening track for his seventeenth studio album, '' Never Let Me Down'' (1987). It was issued as a single on 23 March 1987 ahead of the record's release. The reco ...
" ten years earlier. It also stayed in the Canadian top 50 for six months.


Critical reception

''Earthling'' received largely positive reviews from music critics on release. Some considered it an improvement over its predecessor. Linda Laban of ''
The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington (s ...
'' found it a "richly textured return to excellence", while, in the words of ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
''s
Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...
, it represented "some of owie'sfinest music in a decade".
Mark Kemp Mark Kemp (born April 10, 1960) is an American music journalist and author. A graduate of East Carolina University, he has served as music editor for ''Rolling Stone'' and vice president of music editorial for MTV Networks. In 1997 he received ...
of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' considered the album Bowie's best since ''Scary Monsters'', although he felt the music lacked innovation. Steve Malins of '' Q'' magazine similarly found ''Earthling'' "shot through with a gnarly atmospheric chill not encountered since ''Scary Monsters''". Multiple reviewers praised the musical experimentation. A writer for ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' called ''Earthling'' Bowie's "most inspired, most cutting-edge, and most promising effort since '' Let's Dance''
983 Year 983 ( CMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Diet of Verona: Emperor Otto II (the Red) declares war against the Byza ...
. They predicted it would have great chart and Internet success and ultimately considered it "a work of infinite possibilities". Peter Aspden of the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' positively compared ''Earthling'' to the Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers' concurrent releases ''
The Fat of the Land ''The Fat of the Land'' is the third studio album by English electronic music group the Prodigy, released on 30 June 1997 through XL Recordings. The album received critical acclaim and topped the UK Albums Chart and the US ''Billboard'' 200. I ...
'' and ''
Dig Your Own Hole ''Dig Your Own Hole'' is the second studio album by the English electronic music duo the Chemical Brothers. It was released on 7 April 1997 in the United Kingdom by Freestyle Dust and Virgin Records and in the United States by Astralwerks. It w ...
'', respectively, stating that they "were strong on aggression and aural attack, but lacked the variety and subtlety to last beyond twenty-odd interesting minutes". Several commented on the music. Andy Gill of ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' praised it as innovative compared to other jungle and drum and bass acts of the time, stating: "What comes through most strongly on ''Earthling'' is the way Bowie retains an obsessional interest in the sheer variety and extremity of sound." He further highlighted Gabrels' and Garson's contributions on "Looking for Satellites" and "Battle for Britain", respectively. Furthermore, Gill commended Bowie for "offering refined mainstream applications of cutting-edge experimentation" in ''Mojo''. In ''
People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
'' magazine, Peter Castro credited Bowie with striking an "accessible" balance between the "jungle" and rock style akin to '' Lodger'' (1979) and ''Scary Monsters''. Dan Deluca of ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
'' similarly wrote that the record succeeded in blending the electronic beats and rhythms with live instrumentation. He ultimately considered it "nervy and energetic" and Bowie's finest album "in a diamond dog's age". Nevertheless, he felt that Bowie was "jumping on the electronica bandwagon". Other reviewers expressed more mixed assessments. Writing for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', Caroline Sullivan concluded that the majority of the tracks lacked cohesiveness to elevate the album as one of Bowie's classics. In ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'', Jazz Mulvey found ''Earthling'' more rushed than ''Outside'' and found the project clumsy and pretentious overall, and felt that Bowie, once at the cutting edge of musical innovation, was now trying to keep up. Although he welcomed it as another addition to Bowie's catalogue, he concluded: "It's not the future, but it's pretty fine." In a more negative evaluation, Carol Clerk and Andre Paine, writers of ''Melody Maker'', included ''Earthling'' on their list of Bowie albums "best to avoid". In a particularly scathing review, '' Select'' magazine's Ian Harrison gave the album one star out of five, writing: "''Earthling'' is splendidly coiffured and presented...but the selling point – Bowie goes original junglist nutty – is so negligible as to be non-existent. And what remains is not good."


Tour

Rehearsals for the
Earthling Tour The Earthling Tour was a concert tour by British musician David Bowie, in promotion of his album '' Earthling'', released in 1997, The tour started on 7 June 1997 at Flughafen Blankensee in Lübeck, Germany, continuing through Europe, North Am ...
began in mid-April 1997. The band was composed of Bowie, Gabrels, Dorsey, Alford and Garson. When asked by ''Q'' about his thoughts regarding touring, Bowie stated: "Honestly, it would be a sin not playing live when I've got a band like this. They're the best group I've had in twenty years, right up there with the Spiders in terms of cohesive musicianship and attitude." After performing two shows at the Hanover Grand in London in early June, the tour commenced on 7 June and concluded on 7 November 1997. Pegg says the shows were "less stagey" than the Outside Tour, although elaborate light shows, costume designs and visual aids were present. The setlist throughout the tour included more well-known hits than its predecessor, while all tracks from ''Earthling'' except "Law (Earthlings on Fire)" were performed. Initially, the tracks were split into conventional "rock" and "drum and bass" sets. Later on, they were interspersed throughout the setlists. British reviewers, such as ''Melody Maker'' and ''NME'', praised the shows in general but were initially critical of the ''Earthling'' material, although the latter reversed its opinion by July. Chris Roberts of ''
Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
'' magazine praised Bowie's presence on stage, although he criticised the show's second half. In July, the band appeared at the
Phoenix Festival The Phoenix Festival was set up by John Vincent Power of the Mean Fiddler Music Group in 1993 as an alternative to the established Glastonbury and Reading Festivals. It was held at Long Marston Airfield near Stratford-upon-Avon and was one of the ...
where they played as " Tao Jones Index" in the Radio 1 Dance tent. They later released remixed versions of "Pallas Athena" and the '' "Heroes"'' track "
V-2 Schneider "V-2 Schneider" is a largely instrumental song written by David Bowie in 1977 for the album '' "Heroes"''. It was a tribute to Florian Schneider, Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray (1981). ''Bowie: An Illustrated Record'': p.92 co-founder of the ba ...
" (1977) as a single under the name in August. At the festival, Bowie approached electronic duo Orbital for a possible collaboration, although this never came to fruition; member Phil Hartnoll later considered it "the biggest disappointment of iscareer". The Phoenix Festival performance was later released as a
live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
in 2021 titled ''Look at the Moon! (Live Phoenix Festival 97)'', as part of the series ''
Brilliant Live Adventures ''Brilliant Live Adventures 995–1999' is a box set by English musician David Bowie, released incrementally throughout late 2020 and early 2021 as a series of six live albums taken from various concerts performed in support of '' Outside'' (1 ...
'' (2020–2021). Changes were made to the setlist for the tour's American leg, which began in August. The band primarily played at small clubs rather than large venues for commercial reasons, according to Buckley. Performances during the leg were broadcast on various television stations throughout the rest of the year. Additionally, live performances from the entire year and other tracks were compiled for ''
Earthling in the City ''Earthling in the City'' is a 6-track promotional CD by David Bowie that was distributed by '' GQ'' magazine with their November 1997 issue. The disc is largely made up of live performances and remixes of songs drawn from Bowie's albums ''Black ...
'' (1997), a six-track promotional CD that was included with the November 1997 American issue of '' GQ'' magazine. While Bowie planned to release a live album from the tour, the idea was vetoed by Virgin. Tracks from the project were later released in 1999 to BowieNet subscribers as '' LiveAndWell.com'', which was officially issued in 2021 as part of the ''Brilliant Live Adventures'' series.


Aftermath and legacy

Throughout 1997, Bowie garnered attention when he earned substantial wealth through the sale of "Bowie Bonds", a
celebrity bond A celebrity bond is commercial debt security issued by a holder of fame-based intellectual property rights to receive money upfront from investors on behalf of the bond issuer and their celebrity clients in exchange for assigning investors the rig ...
that was issued against Bowie's future royalties from his back catalogue over the next ten years. Bowie was the first rock musician to engage in such a deal, predating future endeavors by artists such as
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
, and it earned him $55 million. He also earned an additional $28.5 million upon selling his back catalogue to
EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
, who subsequently began a ''Best of...'' reissue campaign. In November 1997, Bowie performed on the BBC's Children in Need charity single "
Perfect Day 97 "Perfect Day" is a song written by American musician Lou Reed in 1972. It was originally featured on ''Transformer'', Reed's second post–Velvet Underground solo album, and as a double A-side with his major hit, " Walk on the Wild Side". Its fa ...
", which became a UK number-one single. In 1998, Bowie retreated from the spotlight, but nevertheless continued recording and making film appearances. He also reconciled with his former collaborator
Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...
. In late 1998, Bowie and Gabrels spent time in Bermuda, composing tracks for his next album '' Hours'' (1999). In 2018, Gabrels considered ''Earthling'' his favourite collaboration with Bowie, telling ''
Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...
'' magazine: "We did have a sense while we were doing it that we were making something we hadn't heard." Other artists have spoken positively of the record. Robert Smith later stated: "I really liked ''Earthling''. I thought it was a really good album. The songs are great songs. They really stand up to be listened to AS songs and the fact that he worked in a particular genre and tried to capture a certain sound is neither here nor there. The songs are really well put together."
Mark Guiliana Mark Guiliana (born September 2, 1980) is a Grammy-nominated American drummer, composer and leader of the band Beat Music. He is known for his playing with Avishai Cohen, Brad Mehldau, David Bowie, Meshell Ndegeocello, Gretchen Parlato, Jason ...
cited Alford's drum work on ''Earthling'' as the primary inspiration for his drum patterns on Bowie's final album ''
Blackstar ''Blackstar'' is an American animated science fantasy television series, produced in 1981 by Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott for Filmation. The series was Filmation's second fantasy epic, the first being '' The Freedom Force'', a segment of '' ...
'' (2016).


Retrospective appraisal

Retrospective reviews of ''Earthling'' have been mixed.
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
editor
Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...
criticised the album's sound as "awkward", writing that "the record frequently sounds as if the beats were simply grafted on top of pre-existing songs". He further called the songs formulaic and the album itself as ultimately underwhelming. John Davidson of ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' wrote that ''Earthling'' was the result of Bowie trying to "play catch-up" with the drum and bass explosion of the late 1980s. He called the lyrics Bowie's "most obtuse" and, like Erlewine, believed that the drum beats were built around the songs instead of for them. Davidson ultimately states: "''Earthling'' is essentially a conventional Bowie rock album (if such a thing be), dressed in baggy dance garb." ''The Independent''s Ed Power considered the album a part of the "most underrated phase" of Bowie's career and worth a reevaluation among fans. Jason Josephes of ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
'' considered it an artistic rebirth for the artist and a "classic". Another writer of ''Pitchfork'', Sean T. Collins, positively compared ''Earthling'' to ''
Young Americans ''Young Americans'' is the ninth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 7March 1975 through RCA Records. The album marked a departure from the glam rock style of Bowie's previous albums, showcasing his interest in soul and ...
'' (1975) and ''Let's Dance'', calling the record a "muscular collection" that "deserves a place in the pantheon alongside its predecessors." In lists ranking Bowie's studio albums from worst to best, ''Earthling'' has placed in the middle to low tier. ''
Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...
'' placed it at number 17 (out of 25 at the time) in 2013. Aaron Lariviere stated: "''Earthling'' is nowhere near Bowie's best, but it's a treat to see the old dog show his teeth after all these years." Three years later, Bryan Wawzenek of ''
Ultimate Classic Rock Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...
'' placed ''Earthling'' at number 18 out of 26, criticised its emphasis on "sounds over songs" and, like Davidson, found "Bowie being late to yet another sub-genre party". Nevertheless, he highlighted Bowie's energetic performance and the "great soundscapes" on "Seven Years in Tibet" and "I'm Afraid of Americans". The writers of ''
Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...
'' ranked ''Earthling'' number 22 in their 2018 list. Bowie's biographers have given ''Earthling'' mixed assessments. Pegg and Spitz argue that, despite being recorded in America and with American musicians, ''Earthling'' was Bowie's most "British" release in twenty years. While Buckley considers it a "hard-hitting and single-minded album" and
Christopher Sandford Christopher Sandford (1902–1983) of Eye Manor, Herefordshire, was a book designer, proprietor of the Golden Cockerel Press, a founding director of the Folio Society, and husband of the wood engraver and pioneer Corn dolly revivalist, Lettice Sa ...
says that there is a lack of innovation but states that "it was a creditable enough bid for relevance by any fifty-year-old." He also calls "Little Wonder" Bowie's "most exciting and upbeat single since ' Blue Jean'
984 Year 984 ( CMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – German boy-king Otto III (4-years old) is seized by the deposed Henry II ...
. Meanwhile, Perone finds confusing themes throughout and opinions that the fusion of different musical styles are not always successful. O'Leary primarily criticises the production, particularly on "Little Wonder", as sounding dated within a couple of years. On the other hand, Trynka praises "Little Wonder" but criticises the album's repetitive nature. He concludes: "The album as a whole is conservative and formulaic. ..Those faults would have been forgivable had the album been released two years earlier; its appearance just as the nineties drum and bass craze was subsiding suggested Bowie was content to surf on someone else's wave rather than make his own." Reviewing more positively, Pegg writes that its "furious broadside" makes ''Earthling'' a "very fine album". He calls it and its predecessor "essential purchases" of Bowie's "most underrated decade".


Reissues

In 2003,
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
reissued ''Earthling'' on CD, with another reissue following a year later that contained bonus tracks, including 13 remixes, B-sides, alternate takes and live performances from the Earthling Tour. In 2021, the album was remastered and included as part of the box set ''
Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001) ''Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001)'' is a box set by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on 26 November 2021. A follow-up to the compilations '' Five Years (1969–1973)'', '' Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976)'', '' A New Career in ...
''.


Track listing


Personnel

According to the liner notes and biographer
Nicholas Pegg Nicholas Pegg is a British actor, writer and director. Educated at Nottingham High School and graduating with a Master of Arts in English Literature from the University of Exeter, Pegg subsequently trained at the Guildford School of Acting. Acti ...
. *
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
 – vocals; guitar;
alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...
; samples;
keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...
*
Reeves Gabrels Reeves Gabrels (born June 4, 1956) is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. A member and guitarist of British band the Cure since 2012, Gabrels worked with David Bowie from 1987 to 1999, and was a member of the band Tin Machine. ...
 – programming;
synthesisers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
; real and sampled guitars; vocals *
Mark Plati Mark Plati is a New York–based musician, record producer, and songwriter, best known for his work in the 1990s with David Bowie. Plati also has worked with Spookey Ruben, The Cure, Duncan Sheik, Hooverphonic, Robbie Williams, Joe McIntyre, D ...
 – programming; loops; samples; keyboards *
Gail Ann Dorsey Gail Ann Dorsey (born November 20, 1962) is an American musician. With a long career as a session musician mainly on bass guitar, she is perhaps best known for her lengthy residency in David Bowie's band, from 1995 to Bowie's death in 2016. Asid ...
 – bass guitar; vocals *
Zack Alford Zachary "Zack" Alford is a professional drummer, known for his work with the B-52's, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and Tomoyasu Hotei. Alford was brought in by Danny Kortchmar to drum on Billy Joel's ''River of Dreams'' album. Alford contribut ...
 – drum loops; acoustic drums;
electronic percussion Electronic drums is a modern electronic musical instrument, primarily designed to serve as an alternative to an acoustic drum kit. Electronic drums consist of an electronic sound module which produces the synthesized or sampled percussion sound ...
*
Mike Garson Michael David Garson (born July 29, 1945) is an American pianist, who has worked with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, St. Vincent, Duran Duran, Free Flight and The Smashing Pumpkins. Early career Garson went to Lafayette High School in Broo ...
 – keyboards; piano Production *David Bowie – producer *Reeves Gabrels – producer *Mark Plati – producer;
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
; mixing


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications and sales


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Earthling (Album) 1997 albums Albums produced by David Bowie Albums produced by Mark Plati Albums produced by Reeves Gabrels Arista Records albums David Bowie albums Industrial rock albums RCA Records albums Virgin Records albums