Ranking 10 Greatest Albums Made Out Of Contractual Obligation
1. David Bowie - Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)
"Ashes to Ashes". That's all you have to say to anyone who questions whether this contractually obligated album from David Bowie is really integral to his discography. The song that ushered Bowie into the 80s on a sequins-trimmed magic carpet, it's also the strongest thread that ties together his Space Oddity and New Romantic eras.
Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) leans away from the avant garde arrangements of his two previous albums, opting for a more conventional rock and roll style. Well, as "conventional" as Bowie could be, anyhow.
The album reached #1 in the UK on the back of songs that sound, perhaps intentionally, like spiritual successors to some of his biggest hits. The aforementioned "Ashes to Ashes" catches up with Major Tom, while "Fashion" and "Teenage Wildlife" make melodic callbacks to "Golden Age" and "Heroes", respectively. It's clear Bowie was aiming for an album that would stick in your head, and he cleverly used some of his more famous musical cues to make that happen.
Many consider Scary Monsters to be Bowie's last truly exceptional album. Whether anything that came after it lives up to this gold standard is a debate for another time, but there's no arguing that Scary Monsters is an astounding work of challenging -- yet oddly relatable -- music that only Bowie could produce.