David Bowie-Diamond Dogs (1974)

David Bowie's eighth album is undoubtedly the third classic work of his glam period, if we consider the previous one, "Pin-Ups", as a transitional record. Therefore, we could consider "Diamond Dogs" as the natural conclusion of the emotional spectrum that runs from "Ziggy Stardust" to "Aladdin Sane". While "Ziggy Stardust" came from space with a message of hope and descended into the degeneration of rock and roll, and "Aladdin Sane" reveled in the resulting collapse, "Diamond Dogs", for its part, presented a post-glam vision of a post-apocalyptic future inhabited by punk bands of starving youths, in which a horrific totalitarian society emerges. This latter work is often linked to Bowie's own aborted project, "1984", due to its cannibalistic and savage treatment of the songs. For the recording of this new album, Bowie made several changes to his regular band, replacing longtime members Mick Ronson and Trevor Bolder with Alan Parker (guitar) and Herbie Flowers (bass), respectively. He also brought in a second drummer, Tony Newman, while keyboardist Mike Gerson and percussionist Aynsley Dunbar returned. Bowie himself handled lead guitar, Mellotron, and Moog synthesizers. “Diamond Dogs” features deceptively conventional glam rock songs, such as the title track “Diamond Dogs” and “Rebel Rebel”, which alternate with irresistibly captivating tracks like the sweeping and majestic trilogy of “Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (Reprise)” and the mournful lament of “We Are the Dead”. On the other hand, the inclusion of the funky influences of "1984" foreshadows Bowie's transformation into a modern, electronic soul robot, a transformation we would see on his next album, "Young Americans". In conclusion, "Diamond Dogs" captured Bowie freeing himself from the chameleon-like glam rock model he had championed up to that point, incorporating a wider range of musical influences into his eclectic style.