8. I'd Rather Be High
Track eight again finds Bowie inhabiting the body of a youngster, this time a youthful battle-weary soldier who sings Id rather be dead, or out of my head, than training my gun on those men in the sand... Its a swirling psychedelic anti-war rock song ring-fenced by searing guitar riffs that, though it name-checks Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov, may well be destined to be become a staple song for squaddies the world over. Im seventeen my looks can prove it/ Im so afraid that I will lose it again shows Bowies penchant for lyrics detailing youth and the onset of age.
RATING: 4/5
9. Boss Of Me
The saxophone rears its sleazy head again on
Boss Of Me, which of all the tracks on
The Next Day gravitates most towards funk and soul. The song boasts a fantastic shifting bass line as Bowie gives a cheeky ironic nod to supermodel wife Iman when singing whod have ever dreamed that a small-town girl like you would be the boss of me..."
RATING:
4/5
10. Dancing Out In Space
The beat and tempo recall
Lets Dances 1983 single
Modern Love though this beat is coupled with a deliberately detached and dispassionate vocal from The Starman. The esoteric lyrics equate dancing with love as he sings Something like religion dancing face to face/ Something like a drowning dancing out in space
RATING: 3.75/5