Amazon.com essential recording
Some would argue that this is the last great Bowie album, and certainly his only great album of the '80s. While it lacked the bite of its punk brethren at the time, it appealed to some fans of that genre and to middle-of-the-road rockers as well. Muscular playing met with no-frills production, and the product as a whole was infused with a gloriously arty style. "It's No Game (Part I)" opens the album, and is sung in Japanese, and "It's No Game (Part II)" closes, in English. New York punker Tom Verlaine even contributed a track ("Kingdom Come"), and "Scream Like a Baby" tells a dark and violent story with a howl. The drug-oriented "Ashes to Ashes" confesses that Major Tom was a junky while sounding all sleek and alluring, and the dance floor hit "Fashion" took aim at its very subject. The crowning jewel is the title track, with Robert Fripp's guitar ripping the place up at a relentless pace. It's been a long time since Bowie sounded this inspired.
--Lorry Fleming
From Amazon.co.uk
The last of David Bowie's long run of classic albums is best remembered for its superb electropop-ish hit singles "Ashes To Ashes" and "Fashion". But while these may be representative of the record's quality, they're very different in sound to the rest of the album.
Scary Monsters is fiercely and unforgivingly a rock album, reflecting strongly the influences of both British and American post-punk artists, particularly
Television's Tom Verlaine, one of whose songs, "Kingdom Come", appears here. The uncompromising Robert Fripp plays a significant role, which he accurately described as "spraying burning guitar all over" the songs.
Scary Monsters is Bowie's most abrasive and ferocious piece of work, and its power to needle and astonish has remained undimmed over the years.
--David Bennun
