Speed of Life (David Bowie song)

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"Speed of Life"
Speed of Life y David Bowie UK vinyl pressing.png
B-side label of the UK vinyl pressing of the
"Be My Wife" single release
Instrumental by David Bowie
from the album Low
A-side "Be My Wife"
Released14 January 1977
RecordedSeptember–November 1976
Genre Art rock
Length2:46
Label RCA
Songwriter(s) David Bowie
Producer(s) David Bowie and Tony Visconti

"Speed of Life" is the first instrumental by David Bowie. It is the opening track on his album Low from 1977.

Contents

"Speed of Life" introduces the Low album, and, coupled with the instrumental "A New Career in a New Town", provides a front bookend for the A-side of the album. The track opens with its heavy use of synthesizers as both effects and instruments, with the presence of Dennis Davis' drums and the overlaid harmonizer creating a distinctly different mix than any previous Bowie album.

The song includes the refrain from Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again. [1]

Lyrics were originally planned for this song, but Bowie abandoned the idea after several attempts, deciding that the piece stood better on its own.

Live versions

Other releases

Production credits

Cover versions

Sources

References

  1. O'Leary, Chris (2019). Ashes to ashes. London: Repeater Books. p. 33. ISBN   9781912248360.
  2. "Sound + Vision: David Bowie plays 'Low' in concert, 2002". DangerousMinds. 16 May 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  3. Dorris, Jesse (23 October 2018). "A Surprising Tribute to David Bowie's Berlin Trilogy, Played in a Manhattan Mall". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 26 November 2022.