What I am Listening to : TOY

To badly paraphrase a certain former Secretary of Defense, you are born with the artists you have, not the ones you wish you had. For me, the 80s were a nadir for some great artists- The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and David Bowie. While also mining the treasure of his previous records, I do follow on all of his new material. I actually am an advocate for his 90s work. Flawed sure, but it’s not as bad as it seems Tin Machine has become a punchline, but the album is fine. I do think Black Tie White Noise is not good, but I love the ambition. Outside is ambitious and flawed, though certainly it would be a highlight in anyone else’s career. I know not everyone loves Earthling, and it’s got a 90s production vibe, but it’s a great beginning to end listen. Hours similarly misses some hopeful artistic heights, but has more good than bad. For some “off” decades, I’d still take Bowie over the decades of most any other artist. Admittedly, time brings perspective but there’s some great moments in there. Which brings us to “Toy” - an interesting idea of an album of older Bowie songs getting new life. Famously, it was shelved and eventually Heathen was the next release. Heathen is as good or better than anything 20 years before it. While it got some plaudits, I feel it was probably deserving of more. I’m not sure Toy would have moved the needle of the listening public. It seems the risk outweighs the reward. We will never know of course, but Heathen seems like the more acceptable product. Ironically perhaps, as much as I dutifully bought every Bowie product hitting the market, I didn’t chase down the bootlegs that seemed to get shared heavily on the internet. 20 or so years later, listening to Toy doesn’t particularly strike me like his other releases. I find it a very average album and I can only imagine that would have been my reaction back then. One unfavorable Big Media Outlet review says Toy's flaw is it that it has 60s melodys and 90s production. It is an interesting discussion of course. As a Bowie fan, I don’t prefer Toy over many of the albums I already mentioned, but I am glad we have it. I don’t know the right answer, but outside of releases that seem purely exploitative, I hope artists can understand the reverence that comes with this posthumous product. In death, it likely gets received the way Bowie intended it- a product for the fans, not to be reviewed by the critics. So hopefully you will see my jabs at Toy are not meant to insult. It is “extra” product. Bowie (or whoever made the decision) - much like Tin Machine- was torn by commercial pressures and sharing material with his fans. Lastly, there’s some great moments on Toy. Much as previous generations might dig through B-sides- there are unearthed treasure here. Additionally, from an artistic point of review, it makes me wonder if it helped Bowie transition to Heathen- with its well selected covers and the approaching return to creative peaks. On the extended box, one of my favorite early Bowie songs is “In the Heat of the Morning” which I hadn't heard until the Beeb sessions discs were released.