Actors - "Heroes"

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	Actors - "Heroes"

"Heroes" (the quotation marks are part of the title) is an album by David Bowie, released in 1977. Serving as the second installment of Bowie and Eno's "Berlin Trilogy" (the other two being Low
and Lodger
) "Heroes" is similar in sound to Low but more robust and visceral. Of the three albums, it was the most befitting of the appellation "Berlin", being the only one wholly recorded and mixed there. The mood of the record reflected the zeitgeist of the Cold War, symbolised by the divided city.

The title track was popular around the world and remains one of Bowie's best known, a classic story of two lovers who meet at the Berlin Wall. The album is considered one of Bowie's best by critics, notably for the contributions of guitarist Robert Fripp (which he flew in from the U.S. to record in one day). It was marketed by RCA with the catch phrase "There’s Old Wave. There’s New Wave. And there’s David Bowie…"

With "Heroes", Bowie again paid tribute to his Krautrock influences: the title is a nod to the track "Hero" on the album NEU! '75 by the German band Neu! while "V-2 Schneider" is inspired by and named for Kraftwerk's Florian Schneider; earlier in 1977, Kraftwerk had name-checked Bowie on the title track of Trans-Europe Express.

Though "Heroes" included its share of dark and atmospheric instrumentals like "Sense Of Doubt" and "Neuköln", as well as the sprawling confessional "Blackout", after the melancholy and inward-looking Low it was regarded as a highly passionate and positive artistic statement. This was apparent not simply through "Heroes" the song but in the rocking opener "Beauty and the Beast" (released as the second single in January 1978), the raucous "Joe the Lion" and the light-hearted closer "The Secret Life of Arabia".

Philip Glass has adapted a classical suite, "Heroes" Symphony, based on this album. The title track has been covered by numerous artists, whilst "The Secret Life Of Arabia" was sung by Billy Mackenzie in 1982 on the British Electric Foundation LP Music of Quality and Distinction.

Track listing

All tracks written by David Bowie except ""Heroes"" lyrics by Bowie, music by Bowie and Brian Eno, "Moss Garden" and "Neuköln" music by Bowie and Eno, and "The Secret Life of Arabia" lyrics by Bowie, music by Bowie, Eno and Carlos Alomar.

# "Beauty and the Beast" - (3:32) # "Joe the Lion" - (3:05) # "Heroes" - (6:07) # "Sons of the Silent Age" - (3:15) # "Blackout" - (3:50) # "V-2 Schneider" - (3:10) # "Sense of Doubt" - (3:57) # "Moss Garden" - (5:03) # "Neuköln" - (4:34) # "The Secret Life of Arabia" - (3:46)

Reissues

The album has been rereleased twice to date on CD, the first being in 1991 by Rykodisc (containing three bonus tracks) and the second in 1999 by EMI (featuring 24-bit digitally remastered sound and no bonus tracks).

1991 reissue bonus tracks

# "Abdulmajid" - (3:40) Previously unreleased track recorded 1976-79 # "Joe the Lion" - (5:18) Remixed version 1991

Production credits

Producers:
* David Bowie
* Tony Visconti

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for "Heroes" ]

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