Tin Machine (album)
Encyclopedia
Tin Machine is the debut album of Tin Machine
originally released by EMI
in 1989. The group was the latest venture of David Bowie
, inspired by sessions with guitarist Reeves Gabrels
. drummer Hunt Sales
and bassist Tony Sales
formed the rest of the band, with "fifth member" Kevin Armstrong providing rhythm guitar.
The project was intended as a back-to-basics album by Bowie, with a hard rock
sound and simple production, as opposed to his past two solo albums. Unlike previous Bowie bands (such as The Spiders from Mars
), Tin Machine acted as a democratic unit.
The first song the band wrote and recorded was "Heaven's in Here," which they wrote from scratch and recorded in their first 30 hours together. They followed up by recording a cover of John Lennon
's "Working Class Hero
" and Roxy Music
's "If There Is Something
," though the latter wouldn't appear until the 2nd Tin Machine album in 1992.
The tracks on the album were recorded raw and live with no overdubs to capture the energy of the band. Bowie elaborated, "We wanted to come out of the box with energy, the energy we felt when we were writing and playing. There's very, very little over-dubbing on [the album]. For us [it] is our live sound." There were no demos made for the album; Gabrels said "Basically the album is the demo."
Tony Sales, bassist for the band, described the band's approach to the music they created:
Spin magazine called the album "noise rock without the noise. Aggressive, direct, brutal and stylishly plain, it combines the energy of the rock avant-garde with traditional R&B rhythmic punch", summing up the album by calling it "incendiary fun" and noting that "the buoyant Sales brothers and Gabrels certainly equal and frequently surpass Bowie." Rolling Stone magazine praised the album's "cynical, indignant and acidic" approach to music as an "all-too-welcome feast of aggro-guitar flamboyance and bass-drum body checking", noting that at times it sounds like Sonic Youth
meets Station to Station
. A review by the McClatchy News Service called the band "a lean, mean rock 'n' roll machine", that showed that "Bowie's back", going on to say that this is his most invigorating album since 1980's Scary Monsters
.
" in mid-1989.
The 1995 Virgin Records
reissue of the album included a live, country
-styled version of "Bus Stop" recorded in Paris on the band's 1989 world tour.
Later reissues have been in line with the rest of Bowie's back catalogue, and the spine and disc of the 1999 reissue gives the artist as David Bowie, with Tin Machine as the album name.
Tin Machine
Tin Machine was a hard rock band formed in 1988, famous for being fronted by singer David Bowie. The group recorded two studio albums before dissolving in 1992, when Bowie returned to his solo career...
originally released by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
in 1989. The group was the latest venture of David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, inspired by sessions with guitarist Reeves Gabrels
Reeves Gabrels
Reeves Gabrels is an American guitarist, known for virtuosity, versatility, and originality. His compositions and improvisations defy genre and "explore sonic extremes with a great, adaptive intuition for what each song needs most."...
. drummer Hunt Sales
Hunt Sales
Hunt Sales is an American rock and roll drummer who has played with Todd Rundgren, his brother Tony Sales, Iggy Pop and Tin Machine.- Personal life : Hunt Sales is the son of 1950s/60s television comedian Soupy Sales...
and bassist Tony Sales
Tony Sales
|Tony Fox Sales is an American rock musician. A bass guitarist, Sales and his brother, Hunt Sales, played with Todd Rundgren, Iggy Pop and Tin Machine with David Bowie.-Early life and career:...
formed the rest of the band, with "fifth member" Kevin Armstrong providing rhythm guitar.
The project was intended as a back-to-basics album by Bowie, with a hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
sound and simple production, as opposed to his past two solo albums. Unlike previous Bowie bands (such as The Spiders from Mars
The Spiders from Mars
The Spiders from Mars were rock singer David Bowie 's backing band in the early 1970s, and consisted of Mick Ronson on guitars, Trevor Bolder on bass guitar, and Mick Woodmansey on drums....
), Tin Machine acted as a democratic unit.
Album and song development
The band prepared some demos in LA before moving to Mountain Studios in Switzerland and then on to Montreal and then finally to Nassau. The band did not have much luck recording in Nassau, finding it hard to record in the midst of the "coke and povery and crack," which inspired the album track "Crack City." The songs on the album tend to stick to topics such as drugs and urban decay. All songs were a group effort, and the band recorded 35 songs in just six weeksThe first song the band wrote and recorded was "Heaven's in Here," which they wrote from scratch and recorded in their first 30 hours together. They followed up by recording a cover of John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's "Working Class Hero
Working Class Hero
"Working Class Hero" is a song from John Lennon's first post-Beatles solo album, 1970's John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.-Theme:The song is a take on the class split of the 1940s and 1950s, and of the 1960s in which he was famous. The song appears to tell the story of someone growing up in the working...
" and Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
's "If There Is Something
If There Is Something
"If There Is Something" is a song by Bryan Ferry, recorded by his band Roxy Music for their eponymous debut album. A live version can be found on their Viva! live-album....
," though the latter wouldn't appear until the 2nd Tin Machine album in 1992.
The tracks on the album were recorded raw and live with no overdubs to capture the energy of the band. Bowie elaborated, "We wanted to come out of the box with energy, the energy we felt when we were writing and playing. There's very, very little over-dubbing on [the album]. For us [it] is our live sound." There were no demos made for the album; Gabrels said "Basically the album is the demo."
Tony Sales, bassist for the band, described the band's approach to the music they created:
Album reviews
At the time of release, Tin Machine met with some success, winning generally positive reviews and reaching #3 in the UK album charts. However, long-term sales were not as good.Spin magazine called the album "noise rock without the noise. Aggressive, direct, brutal and stylishly plain, it combines the energy of the rock avant-garde with traditional R&B rhythmic punch", summing up the album by calling it "incendiary fun" and noting that "the buoyant Sales brothers and Gabrels certainly equal and frequently surpass Bowie." Rolling Stone magazine praised the album's "cynical, indignant and acidic" approach to music as an "all-too-welcome feast of aggro-guitar flamboyance and bass-drum body checking", noting that at times it sounds like Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
meets Station to Station
Station to Station
Station to Station is the tenth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released by RCA Records in 1976. Commonly regarded as one of his most significant works, Station to Station is also notable as the vehicle for Bowie's last great 'character', The Thin White Duke...
. A review by the McClatchy News Service called the band "a lean, mean rock 'n' roll machine", that showed that "Bowie's back", going on to say that this is his most invigorating album since 1980's Scary Monsters
Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
Scary Monsters is an album by David Bowie, released in September 1980 by RCA Records. It was Bowie's final studio album for the label and his first following the so-called Berlin Trilogy of Low, "Heroes" and Lodger . Though considered significant in artistic terms, the trilogy had proved less...
.
Album covers
The original release had a photo of the band members on the front cover in different positions depending on the format of the album. The order of the LP cover was, from left to right, Hunt Sales, Gabrels, Bowie, and Tony Sales. The cassette order was Tony Sales, Gabrels, Hunt Sales, and Bowie. The CD order was Bowie, Tony Sales, Hunt Sales, and Gabrels. The remastered CD reverted back to the LP cover.Live performances
The band played a handful of shows in support of the album, informally called the "Tin Machine TourTin Machine Tour
The Tin Machine Tour of David Bowie's band Tin Machine commenced on 14 June 1989, following a performance of Heaven's In Here at the International Music Awards in New York City on 31 May 1989. The tour comprised 12 performances in six countries in venues with a capacity of 2,000 or less...
" in mid-1989.
Track listing
- "Heaven's in Here" (Bowie) – 6:01
- "Tin MachineTin Machine (song)"Tin Machine" is the song from which the band Tin Machine took their name, a track from their debut album, also of the same name. It was released as a single in September 1989, as a double A-side with a live cover of Bob Dylan’s “Maggie's Farm”....
" (Bowie, Gabrels, Sales, Sales) – 3:34 - "Prisoner of LovePrisoner of Love (1989 song)"Prisoner of Love" is a song by Tin Machine taken from their eponymous debut album. It was issued as their third single in October 1989.Bowie claimed at the time he wrote the song for his then-partner Melissa Hurley...
" (Bowie, Gabrels, Sales, Sales) – 4:50 - "Crack City" (Bowie) – 4:36
- "I Can't ReadI Can't Read"I Can't Read" is a song written by David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels for Tin Machine on their debut album in 1989.Bowie recorded a new version of the song in 1997 for the film The Ice Storm. This version was released as a single in Germany and Scandinavia by Velvel Records in December 1997...
" (Bowie, Gabrels) – 4:54 - "Under the GodUnder the God"Under the God" was the first single released by Tin Machine, taken from their eponymous debut album in June 1989.The track, a straightforward rock song, established Tin Machine’s manifesto for back-to-basics rock and roll....
" (Bowie) – 4:06 - "Amazing" (Bowie, Gabrels) – 3:06
- "Working Class HeroWorking Class Hero"Working Class Hero" is a song from John Lennon's first post-Beatles solo album, 1970's John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.-Theme:The song is a take on the class split of the 1940s and 1950s, and of the 1960s in which he was famous. The song appears to tell the story of someone growing up in the working...
" (LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
) – 4:38 - "Bus Stop" (Bowie, Gabrels) – 1:41
- "Pretty Thing" (Bowie) – 4:39
- "Video Crime" (Bowie, Sales, Sales) – 3:52
- "Run" (Armstrong, Bowie) – 3:20 (Not on vinyl version)
- "Sacrifice Yourself" (Bowie, Sales, Sales) – 2:08 (Not on vinyl version)
- "Baby Can Dance" (Bowie) – 4:57
The 1995 Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
reissue of the album included a live, country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
-styled version of "Bus Stop" recorded in Paris on the band's 1989 world tour.
Later reissues have been in line with the rest of Bowie's back catalogue, and the spine and disc of the 1999 reissue gives the artist as David Bowie, with Tin Machine as the album name.
Musicians
- David BowieDavid BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
: vocals, Guitar - Reeves GabrelsReeves GabrelsReeves Gabrels is an American guitarist, known for virtuosity, versatility, and originality. His compositions and improvisations defy genre and "explore sonic extremes with a great, adaptive intuition for what each song needs most."...
: Lead Guitar - Hunt SalesHunt SalesHunt Sales is an American rock and roll drummer who has played with Todd Rundgren, his brother Tony Sales, Iggy Pop and Tin Machine.- Personal life : Hunt Sales is the son of 1950s/60s television comedian Soupy Sales...
: Drums, vocals - Tony SalesTony Sales|Tony Fox Sales is an American rock musician. A bass guitarist, Sales and his brother, Hunt Sales, played with Todd Rundgren, Iggy Pop and Tin Machine with David Bowie.-Early life and career:...
: Bass, vocals - Kevin Armstrong: Rhythm Guitar, HammondHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Norway's album charts | 9 |
| 1989 | Rolling Stone magazine album charts | 20 |
| 1989 | Rolling Stone magazine college album charts | 10 |