10 Most Underrated David Bowie Songs
1. African Night Flight (1979)
The second track from the Lodger album, and an unexpected choice at number one. Bowie's penchant for pushing the envelope has always been an admirable trait for such a commercially successful artist, and African Night Flight is one of the most bizarre, disjointed and experimental efforts of his entire career.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Bowie's partnership with Brian Eno resulted in the twisted genius of The Berlin Trilogy of albums from the late seventies. This song, which also features backing vocals from Eno, should be a case study in how their partnership yielded some of the stranger offerings ever committed to a popular music record. However, African Night Flight is rarely discussed, and receives very little recognition even among Bowie connoisseurs.
Once the song begins, the audience is attacked with a cacophony of harsh, often contradictory sounds and effects. African chanting is interspersed between Bowie's verses which almost act as a precursor to the rise of rap music. This fascination with African influences would continue in Eno's future collaborations with Talking Heads and David Byrne respectively.
Due to the song's frantic and incessant nature, Bowie has never been performed it in a live setting.
African Night Flight is a weird and wonderful song that boasts the added potential of alienating a large percentage of people who listen to it. But in a strange way, the song represents classic Bowie. It is utterly unlike anything else, and that's what makes Bowie one of the all time greats.