£11.99 – £25.00
The legacy of David Bowie is roughly 450 songs, which he recorded or performed over half a century. They range from cabaret to psychedelia to folk rock to glam rock to Philadelphia soul, from avant-garde instrumentals to stadium anthems. Cataloging Bowie’s songs from the dawn of his career in 1963 to his Hollywood stardom in 1976, examining them in the order of their composition and recording, and digging into what makes them work, Rebel Rebel and its sequel Ashes to Ashes have become standard references for Bowie fans.
The new edition of Rebel Rebel is a fully updated revision, taking into account Bowie demos and alternate takes released in the years after his death. It’s enhanced by a decade’s worth of new information about Bowie’s recording process, his influences, his contemporaries, and his live performances, all of which shed light onto the evolution of his songwriting.
Explore the stories behind the songs, the pioneering studio techniques, and the cultural landscape that shaped his artistry—his literary influences, his cinematic inspirations, and his musical contemporaries, from Marc Bolan to Bob Dylan and Lou Reed.
For Bowie enthusiasts, music historians, and anyone fascinated by the birth of Ziggy Stardust, Rebel Rebel is an essential companion.
The best writing on David Bowie bar none.
Must-have must-read must-devour for any Bowie fan. Or fan of music writing or creative criticism. Or being alive on earth. Really for everyone. Ever.
The level of scholarship, reporting and critique is both extraordinary and depressing. If paid culture journalists took as much care with their work as O’Leary does — insert your stock Death of Journalism oath here.
O’Leary’s weightless writing inflames rather than kills your interest in the music.
Rebel Rebel is the Lipstick Traces of Bowie studies, and Chris O’Leary its unchallenged dean.
For any self-respecting Bowie fan, it’s essential.
The detail is, at times, breathtaking, the cultural contextualizing mostly secure, and the analysis quirky and honest.
