Heathen

1	Sunday 4:46
2	Cactus 2:55
3	Slip Away 6:05
4	Slow Burn 4:41
5	Afraid 3:28
6	I've Been Waiting for You 3:00
7	I Would Be Your Slave 5:14
8	I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spaceship 4:06
9	5.15 the Angels Have Gone 5:02
10	Everyone Says "Hi" 3:58
11	A Better Future 4:11
12	Heathen (The Rays) 4:18

Barnes & Noble

One of rock's most restless artists, David Bowie isn't usually prone to look back upon his past glories -- but when he does, he invariably manages to focus on the most artistically vivid (if not the most commercial). Heathen, which reunites him with Tony Visconti, the producer who helped shape Bowie's music in the early '70s, is just such a backward glance. Recalling such classic albums as Diamond Dogs and Aladdin Sane, the disc alternates between exuding a shimmering bleakness, as on the brooding opener "Sunday," and shooting out sonic sparks, exemplified by the wiry "Slow Burn," which features slashing guitar lines from Pete Townshend. Going back as far as Pin-Ups, Bowie has always shown a propensity for radically reinterpreting the songs of others, and Heathen is studded with such ditties. His take on the Pixies' "Cactus" is appropriately on edge, while a version of the Legendary Stardust Cowboy's utterly fried "I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spaceship" allows him to indulge a loopiness that will no doubt surprise diehard fans. For the most part, however, Heathen is fairly introspective, the sparse instrumentation acting as a foil for some of the singer's most fully realized lyric writing in quite a spell. That's true whether the subject is fairly simple, as on the lounge-ish love song "I Would Be Your Slave," or more obtuse, as on the folk-tinged "A Better Future." It's not the easiest of listens, but given some time to sink in, Heathen is likely to transform even skeptical listeners into Bowie believers. (Also available is a limited-edition version, housed in a special Digipak and packaged with a bonus disc comprising an Air remix of "A Better Time," a Moby remix of "Sunday," an alternate take of "Panic in Detroit," and "Conversation Piece" from the unreleased Toy album.) David Sprague

All Music Guide

Heathen marks a new beginning for David Bowie in some ways -- it's his first record since leaving Virgin, his first for Columbia Records, his first for his new label, ISO -- yet it's hardly a new musical direction. Like Hours, this finds Bowie sifting through the sounds of his past, completely at ease with his legacy, crafting a colorful, satisfying album that feels like a classic Bowie album. That's not to say that Heathen recalls any particular album or any era in specific, yet there's a deliberate attempt to recapture the atmosphere, the tone of his '70s work -- there's a reason that Bowie decided to reteam with Tony Visconti, the co-producer of some of his best records, for this album -- even if direct comparisons are hard to come by. Which is exactly what's so impressive about this album. Bowie and Visconti never shy away from electronic instrumentations or modern production -- if anything, they embrace it -- but it's woven into Bowie's sound subtly, never drawing attention to the drum loops, guitar synths, and washes of electronica. For that matter, guest spots by Dave Grohl and Pete Townshend (both on guitar) don't stand out either; they're merely added texture to this an album that's intricately layered, but always plays smoothly and alluringly. And, make no mistake, this is an alluring, welcoming, friendly album -- there are some moody moments, but Bowie takes Neil Young's eerie "I've Been Waiting for You" and Pixies' elusively brutal, creepy "Cactus" and turns them sweet, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, either. In the end, that's the key to Heathen -- the undercurrent of happiness, not in the lyrics, but in the making of music, a realization by Bowie and Visconti alike that they are perfect collaborators. Unlike their previous albums together, this doesn't boldly break new ground, but that's because, 22 years after their last collaboration, Scary Monsters, both Bowie and Visconti don't need to try as hard, so they just focus on the craft. The result is an understated, utterly satisfying record, his best since Scary Monsters, simply because he'd never sounded as assured and consistent since. Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Rolling Stone

His great concept roles -- Major Tom, Ziggy Stardust, the Thin White Duke -- were all lost souls.... The real story here is Heathen's perfect casting: Bowie playing Bowie, with class. David Fricke