David Bowie: "Lodger" Album (1979)

David Bowie’s Lodger was released as an LP album in the UK by RCA Records (catalog number PL 13254) on May 25, 1979. It was recorded in collaboration with musician Brian Eno and producer Tony Visconti and served as the final installment of his Berlin Trilogy, following "Low" and "Heroes" (both 1977). Recording sessions took place in Switzerland in September 1978 during a break in the Isolar II world tour, and later in New York City in March 1979 at the tour's conclusion. Most of the same crew from the previous albums returned, joined by future King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew from the tour. The sessions incorporated techniques inspired by Eno's Oblique Strategies cards, like swapping instruments and playing old songs backward.

The music on Lodger is based in art rock and experimental rock. It lacks the electronic and ambient styles and the song/instrumental split of its two predecessors, favouring more conventional song structures and exploring styles such as avant-pop, world and new wave music. Lyrically, the album is divided into two major themes: travel (side one) and critiques of Western civilisation (side two). The pop artist Derek Boshier took the cover photo, portraying Bowie as an accident victim across the gatefold sleeve.

Lodger was a modest commercial success, peaking at number 4 in the UK and number 20 in the US. It produced four singles, including the UK top 10 hit "Boys Keep Swinging". Music videos directed by David Mallet accompanied three of the four singles. The album initially received mixed critical reviews, with many calling it the weakest of the Berlin Trilogy. Reception has grown in subsequent decades and it is now widely considered to be among Bowie's most underrated albums. Its world elements have been highlighted as particularly influential. Bowie and Visconti were dissatisfied with the album's original mix and, in 2015, Visconti remixed the album with Bowie's approval for inclusion on the 2017 box set A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982), along with a remaster of the original.

courtesy Wikipedia