Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)
by David Bowie
- Type: Album
- Released: 12聽September聽1980
- Label: RCA
- Country: United Kingdom
- Length: 45:43
- Community rating: 4.22/5 from 18 ratings
Album Notes & Community Reviews
Released after the experimental 'Berlin Trilogy', David Bowie's 'Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)' achieved a balance of artistic innovation and commercial accessibility. [2, 4] The album's sound is a meticulously crafted blend of post-punk, new wave, and art rock, with co-producer Tony Visconti creating a dense, polished soundscape punctuated by the aggressive, textural guitar work of Robert Fripp. [1, 2, 5, 15] Bowie's songwriting became more structured, moving away from the improvisation of his past work to directly confront themes of alienation, madness, and a self-aware reflection on his own mythology, most notably by revisiting the character of Major Tom in the lead single, 'Ashes to Ashes'. [2, 3, 5, 10]
Genres
Descriptors: experimental, theatrical, tense, guitar-driven, dystopian, guitars, dissonant, synthesizers, melodic
Tracklist
- It's No Game (Pt. 1) (04:17)
- Up the Hill Backwards (03:15)
- Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) (05:13)
- Ashes to Ashes (04:26)
- Fashion (04:50)
- Teenage Wildlife (06:58)
- Scream Like a Baby (03:36)
- Kingdom Come (03:47)
- Because You're Young (04:55)
- It's No Game (Pt. 2) (04:26)
Credits
- David Bowie - vocals, synthesisers, mellotron, electric piano, piano, synth-bass, sound effects, backing vocals, saxophone, producer
- Tony Visconti - backing vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion, producer
- Chuck Hammer - guitar synthesiser
- Robert Fripp - guitar
- Pete Townshend - guitar
- Dennis Davis - drums, percussion
- Carlos Alomar - lead and rhythm guitars
- George Murray - bass
- Roy Bittan - piano
- Andy Clark - synthesizer
- Michi Hirota - voice, spoken word
- Lynn Maitland - backing vocals
- Chris Porter - backing vocals, engineer
- Tom Verlaine - writer
- Hisahi Miura - japanese translation
- Larry Alexander - engineer
- Jeff Hendrickson - engineer
- Natasha Kornilof - clown costume design
- Richard Sharah - make-up design
- Edward Bell - artwork
- Brian Duffy - photography