10 Bands And Artists Who Pass The Five Album Test

There’s a strong argument to be made that no musician has had a finer decade than David Bowie in the ‘70s. The late pop icon released 11 albums (and produced a couple for Iggy Pop) while reinventing himself umpteen times, retiring, coming back, and starring in movies.

The consistency, though, wasn’t unimpeachable. There’s an argument to be made that his output 1970 - 1974 passes the test, though The Man Who Sold The World doesn’t quite cut the mustard.The real brilliant run goes from ‘76 (Station To Station) through ‘80 (Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)). This is Bowie at his world changing, weird and wonderful best. He begins the run with the arch funk of “TVC 15” and “Golden Years”, then through to the Berlin trilogy. Low and “Heroes” especially are a gorgeous and ambitious one-two punch, with songs like “V2 Schneider”, "Always Crashing in the Same Car", and the latter’s title track illustrating the man’s versatility.

Scary Monsters is less arch and more accessible than the others, but features some of the best big songs of Bowie’s mid period, while maintaining the wild sound of his Eno-influenced Berlin years. With music this good, the decline on the other side could only be sharp.