Look Back in Anger (song)
Encyclopedia
"Look Back in Anger" is a song written by David Bowie
and Brian Eno
for the album Lodger
(1979). It concerns "a tatty 'Angel Of Death'", and features a guitar solo
by Carlos Alomar
.
RCA Records
was unsure if America was ready for the sexual androgyny of "Boys Keep Swinging
", the lead-off single from Lodger in most territories, and "Look Back in Anger" was issued instead. The B-side was another track from Lodger called "Repetition
", a story of domestic violence. The single failed to chart.
"Look Back in Anger" has a mixed reputation among Bowie commentators. NME
critics Roy Carr
and Charles Shaar Murray
have described it as "probably the low point" of the album, while Nicholas Pegg
considers it "one of Lodger's dramatic highlights".
Beyond the shared title, the song has nothing to do with the John Osborne
play Look Back in Anger
.
The song has been performed on the 1983/84 "Serious Moonlight" Tour and was reworked in the mid-90s as a heavy rock song for the "Outside" and "Earthling" tours.
directed a music video
for the song, featuring Bowie in an artist's studio. The scenario was based on the conclusion of Oscar Wilde
's The Picture of Dorian Gray
, as a self-portrait of the protagonist grows more handsome while he himself physically decays.
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
and Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
for the album Lodger
Lodger (album)
Lodger is an album by British singer-songwriter David Bowie, released in 1979. The last of the 'Berlin Trilogy' recorded in collaboration with Brian Eno , it was more accessible than its immediate predecessors Low and "Heroes", having no instrumentals and being somewhat lighter and more pop-oriented...
(1979). It concerns "a tatty 'Angel Of Death'", and features a guitar solo
Guitar solo
In popular music, a guitar solo is a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, jazz, rock and metal styles such...
by Carlos Alomar
Carlos Alomar
Carlos Alomar is an American guitarist, composer and arranger best known for his work with David Bowie, having played on more Bowie albums than any other musician...
.
RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
was unsure if America was ready for the sexual androgyny of "Boys Keep Swinging
Boys Keep Swinging
"Boys Keep Swinging" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was released as a single from the album Lodger on 27 April 1979.-Recording and release:...
", the lead-off single from Lodger in most territories, and "Look Back in Anger" was issued instead. The B-side was another track from Lodger called "Repetition
Repetition (song)
"Repetition" is a song written by David Bowie in 1979 for the album Lodger. In the song Bowie explores domestic violence from the abuser's point of view, sung in a deliberately unemotional tone that served to highlight the lyric and the unnatural slur of the bass guitar.Musicians on this song:*...
", a story of domestic violence. The single failed to chart.
"Look Back in Anger" has a mixed reputation among Bowie commentators. NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
critics Roy Carr
Roy Carr
Roy Carr is an English music journalist. He joined the New Musical Express in the late 1960s and has edited NME, VOX and Melody Maker magazines...
and Charles Shaar Murray
Charles Shaar Murray
Charles Shaar Murray is an English music journalist. His first experience in journalism came 1970 when he was asked to contribute to the satirical magazine Oz...
have described it as "probably the low point" of the album, while Nicholas Pegg
Nicholas Pegg
Nicholas Pegg is a British actor, director and writer.A graduate of the University of Exeter, Pegg trained at the Guildford School of Acting. His acting work in the theatre includes productions for Nottingham Playhouse, Scottish Opera, Birmingham Repertory Theatre and the Theatre Royal, Plymouth...
considers it "one of Lodger's dramatic highlights".
Beyond the shared title, the song has nothing to do with the John Osborne
John Osborne
John James Osborne was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor and critic of the Establishment. The success of his 1956 play Look Back in Anger transformed English theatre....
play Look Back in Anger
Look Back in Anger
Look Back in Anger is a John Osborne play—made into films in 1959, 1980, and 1989 -- about a love triangle involving an intelligent but disaffected young man , his upper-middle-class, impassive wife , and her haughty best friend . Cliff, an amiable Welsh lodger, attempts to keep the peace...
.
The song has been performed on the 1983/84 "Serious Moonlight" Tour and was reworked in the mid-90s as a heavy rock song for the "Outside" and "Earthling" tours.
Track listing
- "Look Back in Anger" (David BowieDavid BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
) – 3:08 - "RepetitionRepetition (song)"Repetition" is a song written by David Bowie in 1979 for the album Lodger. In the song Bowie explores domestic violence from the abuser's point of view, sung in a deliberately unemotional tone that served to highlight the lyric and the unnatural slur of the bass guitar.Musicians on this song:*...
" (Bowie) – 2:59
Production credits
- Producers:
- Tony ViscontiTony ViscontiAnthony Edward Visconti is an American record producer and sometimes a musician or singer.Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers; his lengthiest involvement with any artist is with David Bowie: intermittently from Bowie's 1969 album Space Oddity to 2003's Reality, Visconti...
- David BowieDavid BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
- Tony Visconti
- Musicians:
- David Bowie: Vocals, GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, Backing vocals - Dennis DavisDennis DavisDennis Davis is an American drummer and session musician best known for his work with David Bowie.He was born and raised in Manhattan, New York City and studied with the late drummers Max Roach and Elvin Jones. He met guitarist Carlos Alomar when they were both playing with Roy Ayers...
: PercussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - George MurrayGeorge Murray (musician)George Murray is an American bass guitarist best known for his work with David Bowie as a part of his regular ensemble , on a number of Bowie's albums released in the 1970s.-Selective Discography:Weldon Irvine...
: BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Carlos AlomarCarlos AlomarCarlos Alomar is an American guitarist, composer and arranger best known for his work with David Bowie, having played on more Bowie albums than any other musician...
: Guitar - Sean Mayes: PianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
- Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
: SynthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, Horse trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, Eroica hornHorn (instrument)The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player .... - Tony ViscontiTony ViscontiAnthony Edward Visconti is an American record producer and sometimes a musician or singer.Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers; his lengthiest involvement with any artist is with David Bowie: intermittently from Bowie's 1969 album Space Oddity to 2003's Reality, Visconti...
: Backing vocals
- David Bowie: Vocals, Guitar
Music video
David MalletDavid Mallet (director)
David Mallet is a British director particularly noted for his work on music videos, including David Bowie's innovative "Ashes to Ashes", Rush's "Distant Early Warning, and Queen's "Radio Ga Ga" and "I Want to Break Free" videos. He has also served as a producer on television programmes including...
directed a music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the song, featuring Bowie in an artist's studio. The scenario was based on the conclusion of Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
's The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only published novel by Oscar Wilde, appearing as the lead story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine on 20 June 1890, printed as the July 1890 issue of this magazine...
, as a self-portrait of the protagonist grows more handsome while he himself physically decays.
Other releases
- It appeared on the following compilations:
- Chameleon (Australia/New Zealand 1979)
- Christiane F.Christiane F. (album)Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo is a soundtrack album by David Bowie, released on LP in 1981 by RCA Victor , for the movie about Christiane F...
soundtrack (1981) - Golden YearsGolden Years (album)Golden Years is a 1983 compilation album by David Bowie.-Side one:#"Fashion" – 4:51#"Red Sails" – 3:47#"Look Back in Anger" – 3:07#"I Can't Explain" – 2:14#"Ashes to Ashes" – 4:26-Side two:...
(1983) - Sound and Vision (1989)
- The Singles CollectionThe Singles Collection (David Bowie album)The Singles Collection is a compilation album by David Bowie, released in 1993 in the UK and as The Singles 1969 to 1993 in the United States...
(1993) - The Best of 1974/1979The Best of 1974/1979The Best of David Bowie 1974/1979 is a compilation album by David Bowie released in 1998 . This album was also included as the second disc of the compilation The Platinum Collection .-Track listing:...
(1998)
- In 1988 Bowie recorded a "new, brutal version of the song" with Reeves GabrelsReeves GabrelsReeves Gabrels is an American guitarist, known for virtuosity, versatility, and originality. His compositions and improvisations defy genre and "explore sonic extremes with a great, adaptive intuition for what each song needs most."...
on guitar and Erdal KizilcayErdal KizilcayErdal Kizilcay is a multi-instrumental musician of Turkish birth who has worked with, among others, David Bowie. He lives in Aegerten, Switzerland.-With David Bowie:*Never Let Me Down...
on bass and drums; it was the first arrangement Bowie and Gabrels collaborated on, taking place shortly before the formation of the band Tin MachineTin MachineTin Machine was a hard rock band formed in 1988, famous for being fronted by singer David Bowie. The group recorded two studio albums before dissolving in 1992, when Bowie returned to his solo career...
. The recording was issued as a bonus track on the RykodiscRykodiscRykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...
CD release of Lodger in 1991.
Cover versions
- Kaligare - .2 Contamination: A Tribute to David Bowie (2006)
- Swans of Avon - The Dark Side of David Bowie: A Tribute to David Bowie (1997)
- Tender Fury - Thoughts of Yesterday (1992)