Ashes to Ashes – there is none like.

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Ashes to Ashes – there is none like.

Written by mpcorba (aka Catpeople)

The infectious pop funk sound. The delicious keyboard riff. That video. The clown outfit. The lyrical story line. Where do I begin?!

In this 2nd article on the theme of ‘the strangeness of Space Oddity’, we look at what is Bowie’s possible masterpiece, Ashes to Ashes, the lead single from the Scary Monsters 1980 album and one of only two no. 1 singles. Some might argue that ‘Heroes’ is Bowie’s masterpiece track, but I just don’t hear it that way. The latter song has cool, soaring guitar/keyboard sound effects, courtesy of Brian Eno and a universal, endearing theme which reaches out to many generations of fans, but it doesn’t have the mystery, originality and sheer Bowie otherness that Ashes to Ashes has, in abundance.

When I first heard it aged 9 – a sophisticated afficionado of nothing but chocolate – hell, I knew this was something different. That keyboard central riff was truly astonishing. It is also incredibly simple and catchy rising and falling melody – merely 8 notes. I nearly had the musical notation tattooed on my chest in my 20s, but chickened out before the ink gun got anywhere near! Not long afterwards, the strange video appeared on TOTP. Quite unlike anything else. What was going on?! Strange, sinister clown costumes, spacemen suspended in caves, trapped – padded cells, exploding kitchens, a pink sky and black sea, scary machinery following those strange beach-bound characters – this was not Duran Duran in Rio.  The song also explodes dynamically into life; there is no build up here, DB is making a big point, quickly. He has something to say, which is to reveal the secret of what happened to a lost astronaut, one that was ‘strung out in Heaven’s high’ – it is the return of Major Tom. After a decade missing, we are finally to know what happened to him after he lost contact with Earth. This lyric is a ‘reveal’ but somehow it manages to increase the suspense and mystery by throwing in more strange, ambiguous ideas, phrases and images.

The sound – what is the genre? Is it pop, funk, post-punk new wave, an amalgamation? Bowie had spent the last few years confounding his record company, fans and casual listeners, experimental part instrumental albums, so to expect something straightforward was naive. The ‘obvious’ material was to appear on the next album, a surprisingly disappointing excursion which shows that David was correct in stating that one should never try to please others, just stay true to their own artistic vision. But back to 1980…the parent album (Scary Monsters) was a straight ahead rock album. Sure it nods its head towards the contemporary punk movement and the growing new wave scene, but as with all great artists, DB concentrates on doing what he does best: finding the sound that fits with each of his ideas, but mostly, SM is a rock album with some moments of punk, new wave, funk and pop. It is clearly commercially driven but maintains its own integrity…we don’t get that same satisfying artistic balance again until the 1992 Black Tie White Noise or perhaps 1996 Outside albums, neither of which manage the same commercial success as having a no. 1 single. Like the ‘Space Oddity’ album and the song, Scary Monsters doesn’t have any tracks that match Ashes – in fact, there is none like it. It is truly an original piece of work. DB himself said it was the most satisfying and complete song he ever composed. For me, it is truly perfect. It is the standard that every other melodic song should be attaining to live up to. George Murray’s sublime funk bass stabs, Dennis Davis’ intricate and complicated drum timing (listen to his gorgeous, jazzy hi hat fills on the ‘all time low’ section, the man was clearly a drumming genius), the tightness and syncopation in Visconti’s production. The mysterious guest appearance of Chuck Hammer’s synth guitar (how does it fit  with Carlos Alomar’s work on the track?) David’s creative and engaging vocal line, such a high register but with enough variety in vocal movement and style to keep the listener very intrigued.

The lyric – Jap girls in synthesis – unclear exactly what they are doing in the song.  References to drugs: ‘I’ll stay clean tonight/strung out/junky’ as the singer switches from first person to third person later, no surprise that this was on his mind after his recent personal life experiences. The ‘little green wheels following me’ – paranoia setting in? The self doubt in ‘I’ve never done good/bad things’ – maybe a reference to Bowie’s gnostic, esoteric beliefs? The ‘better not mess with’ warning at the end, where the singer plays with being both the storyteller and the protagonist all at once. Is Major Tom a helpless victim, or a predator? I have always loved his strange yelping utterances in the middle of the track, which sound something like ‘a brrrrrrrrrr igigigigig urrrrrgh uh c’mon yeah’ – he even dares to lie ‘I never did anything out of the blue’ – yeah right. We do however find out how Major Tom feels: ‘Wanna come down right now’ and his current state of being merely ‘a junky…strung out.’

Different versions – the sharp single edit, the strange extended version, a 4minute 21 second slice of brilliance. There is a longer extended version but it appears to simply repeat sections of the track a few times. The live versions are altered greatly by his musicians at the time and this means quite different versions of the keyboard melodies and where Adrian Belew is involved, some very strange but interesting opening guitar screeches. His Milton Keynes and Tokyo versions are available, the former gig I was actually at! The luxurious and ‘complete’ Mike Garson version from the BBC Radio Theatre, London performance. If you haven’t heard that collection of tracks, try to. Yet no one has fully recreated that sublime synth outro accurately live, which is a mystery to me.

The imagery – on the 7″ single cover, a Pierrot costumed Dave is staring at his shoe, why? On the German Maxi-single 12″ he is listening to the shoe (this version has clearer sound than my RCA original single edit). As with most of what DB does, we don’t have an answer. He just does. The costume is beautiful, blue grey silver, a strange white hat and his immaculate white make up, with the upside down tick, why? We don’t know, it is just there. If you are going to dig DB, you’d better get used to such things. It’s like asking why he looks very pensive as he walks along the beach with the actress playing mother.

The ‘My mother said’… refrain and conclusion – when that keyboard run comes in, I still shiver. There is something profoundly emotive in the atmosphere that Bowie is communicating in that final sequence, which is still unclear – is it loss, longing, hopelessness that they synth motif captures? Why does mother say not to mess with Major Tom? Of course, we never get answers. Bowie rather pedantically would teach his fans that the final refrain is sang with two different melodies per line. How we miss him. As time moves further away from that cold January day when we lost him, it seems that his mystery and allure just gets stronger.

Addendum: is ‘Lazarus’ the single and video, the final part of the story? It features the corpse of an astronaut on a strange planet, found by a half alien, half human girl. As she opens the helmet we see it is bejewelled, as though the astronaut had become a worshipped deity.

This article is dedicated to David himself and ‘Ashes’ drummer Dennis Davis’ whom we very recently lost. May God’s love be with them both.