Chris O'Leary

Rebel Rebel

The legacy of David Bowie is roughly 450songs, which he recorded or performed over half a century. They range fromcabaret to psychedelia to folk rock to glam rock to Philadelphia soul, fromavant-garde instrumentals to stadium anthems. Cataloging Bowie's songs from thedawn of his career in 1963 to his Hollywood stardom in 1976, examining them in theorder of their composition and recording, and digging into what makes them work,Rebel Rebel and its sequel Ashes to Ashes have become standardreferences for Bowie fans.The newedition of Rebel Rebel is a fully-updatedrevision, taking into account Bowie demos and alternate takes released in theyears after his death. It's enhanced by a decade's worth of new informationabout Bowie's recording process, his influences, his contemporaries, and hislive performances, all of which shed light onto the evolution of hissongwriting. It shows how Bowie exploited studio innovations, and delves intothe roles of his supporting musicians, particularly major collaborators likeMick Ronson and Tony Visconti.This book aligns Bowie's music with histimes, planting his work in the context of its era. You'll see what Bowie'swork owes to novelists like Keith Waterhouse, Jack Kerouac, George Orwell, RayBradbury, and William S. Burroughs. To films like Performance, 2001:A Space Odyssey, and A Clockwork Orange. To rival songwriters andperformers like Marc Bolan, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, ScottWalker, Elvis Presley, the Bee Gees, Isaac Hayes, James Brown, Pete Townshend,and John Lennon. With guest appearances by everyone from Frank Sinatra to Cher.