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"Heroes" is the twelfth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on RCA Records on 14 October 1977. The second instalment of his "Berlin Trilogy" recorded with Brian Eno and Tony Visconti, "Heroes" continued the ambient experiments of Bowie's previous album Low (released earlier that year) and featured the contributions of guitarist Robert Fripp. Of the three albums, it was the only one wholly recorded in Berlin.

Upon its release, it was met with positive critical reception and was named NME Album of the Year. The title track remains one of Bowie's best known and acclaimed songs. The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Production and style

Recorded at Hansa Tonstudio in what was then West Berlin, "Heroes" reflected the zeitgeist of the Cold War, symbolised by the divided city. Co-producer Tony Visconti considered it "one of my last great adventures in making albums. The studio was about 500 yards from the Berlin Wall. Red Guards would look into our control-room window with powerful binoculars." Earlier in 1977, Kraftwerk had name-checked Bowie on the title track of Trans-Europe Express, and he again paid tribute to his Krautrock influences: the title is a nod to the track "Hero" on the album Neu! '75 by the German band Neu! – whose guitarist Michael Rother had originally been approached to play on the album – while "V-2 Schneider" is inspired by and named after Kraftwerk's Florian Schneider. The cover photo by Masayoshi Sukita was inspired by German artist Erich Heckel's Roquairol.

Brian Eno instigated Robert Fripp's involvement by telephoning him in New York and inviting him to play guitar on the album. Fripp had considered himself retired from music but said, "Well, I don't know because I haven't played for three years, but if you're prepared to take a risk, then so am I." Upon arriving at the studio from New York, and suffering from jet lag, Fripp recorded a guitar part for the track "Beauty and the Beast": this first take was used in the song's final mix.

Although "Heroes" continued Bowie's work in electronic and ambient music styles and included a number of dark and atmospheric instrumentals such as "Sense of Doubt" and "Neuköln", it was regarded as a highly passionate and positive artistic statement, particularly after the often melancholy Low. The lyrics for "Joe the Lion", written and recorded at the microphone "in less than an hour" according to Visconti, typified the improvisational nature of the recording.

Release and impact

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Blender
Chicago Tribune
Christgau's Record Guide	B+
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Entertainment Weekly	A−
NME	8/10
Pitchfork Media	10/10
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
Select	5/5

RCA Records marketed "Heroes" with the slogan "There's Old Wave. There's New Wave. And there's David Bowie ..." It enjoyed a positive critical reception on release in late 1977, Melody Maker and NME both naming it "Album of the Year". It reached No. 3 in the UK and stayed in the charts for 26 weeks, but was less successful in the US where it peaked at No. 35. The album was released in Germany with the title track renamed ""Heroes"/"Helden"" and partly in German. An early instance of the album's enduring influence is John Lennon's comment in 1980 that, when making his album Double Fantasy, his ambition was to "do something as good as "Heroes"." Rolling Stone highlighted Eno's contribution, contending that after Bowie's "auteurist exploitation" of the former on Low, "Heroes" "prompts a much more enthusiastic reading of the collaboration, which here takes the form of a union of Bowie's dramatic instincts and Eno's unshakable sonic serenity".

Several songs from the album were played live on Bowie's Low and Heroes World Tour of 1978, and released on the live album Stage in the same year. Philip Glass adapted a classical suite, "Heroes" Symphony, from this album as a companion to his earlier Low Symphony. The title track has been covered by numerous artists, for example as an encore by subsequent incarnations of King Crimson, and Billy Mackenzie sang "The Secret Life of Arabia" in 1982 for the British Electric Foundation LP Music of Quality and Distinction. Several tracks were used in the film Christiane F. Bowie performed as himself in the film.

The cover of Bowie's 2013 album, The Next Day, is an altered and obscured version of the "Heroes" cover. This version has "Heroes" crossed out and Bowie's face obscured by an opaque white box reading "The Next Day".

Track listing

Original release

All tracks are written by David Bowie except where noted

Reissues

"Heroes" has been rereleased on CD four times. The first CD issue was by RCA in 1984. It was reissued in 1991 by Rykodisc with two bonus tracks. In the late 1990s Ryko released it on a numbered 20-bit SBM Gold edition. A further release in 1999 by EMI/Virgin featured 24-bit digitally remastered sound and no bonus tracks.

Personnel

• David Bowie – vocals, keyboards, guitars, Chamberlin, tambourine saxophone, koto, backing vocals, producer
• Carlos Alomar – rhythm guitar
• Dennis Davis – drums, percussion
• George Murray – bass guitar
• Brian Eno – synthesisers, keyboards, guitar treatments
• Robert Fripp – lead guitar
• Tony Visconti – percussion, backing vocals, producer
• Antonia Maass – backing vocals
• Colin Thurston – engineer

Charts and certifications

Notes

1. "Ranking: Every David Bowie Album From Worst to Best". Consequence of Sound. 8 January 2016.
2. BLACKARD, CAP, WREN GRAVES AND ERIN MANNING. "A Beginner's Guide to David Bowie". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 29 March 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
3. ^ Bloechl, Olivia et. al. Rethinking Difference in Music Scholarship. Cambridge University Press, 2015. p. 307
4. ^ Mastropolo, Frank. "The History of David Bowie's Berlin Trilogy: 'Low,' 'Heroes,' and 'Lodger'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
5. Shaar Murray, Charles (1977). "NME interview". Bowie Golden Years. Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2007. I'd felt that the use of quotes indicate a dimension of irony about the word 'heroes' or about the whole concept of heroism. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
6. Pegg, Nicholas (2006). The Complete David Bowie (4th ed.). London: Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. p. 312. ISBN 1-905287-15-1.
7. ^ Pegg, Nicholas (2000). The Complete David Bowie. pp. 307–309.
8. Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (7 February 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
9. ^ Buckley, David (1999). Strange Fascination – David Bowie: The Definitive Story. pp. 320–325.
10. Snow, Mat (2007). MOJO 60 Years of Bowie, "Making Heroes". p. 69.
11. ^ Carr, Roy; Murray, Charles Shaar (1981). Bowie: An Illustrated Record. pp. 91–92.
12. "UNCUT interview". Bowie Golden Years. 1999. Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
13. ^ Preston, Andrew. "David Bowie's biggest fans reveal all". Daily Mail. London. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
14. Visconti stated that the title of Low was partly inspired by Bowie's depression during the album's recording.BowieGoldenYears. Retrieved 12 June 2007.
15. Pegg, Nicholas (2000). The Complete David Bowie. p. 112.
16. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Heroes – David Bowie". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
17. "David Bowie Part 1: The 1960s and '70s". Blender (47). May 2006.
18. Kot, Greg (10 June 1990). "Bowie's Many Faces Are Profiled On Compact Disc". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
19. Christgau, Robert (1981). "David Bowie: "Heroes"". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the '70s. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
20. Larkin, Colin (2011). "David Bowie". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
21. Robbins, Ira (1 November 1991). "Heroes". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
22. Fadele, Dele (11 September 1998). "David Bowie – Station To Station/Low/Heroes/Stage". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 14 July 2016. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
23. Dombal, Ryan (22 January 2015). "David Bowie: "Heroes"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
24. Sheffield, Rob (2004). "David Bowie". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. pp. 97–99. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
25. Griffiths, Nick (September 1991). "David Bowie: Low / Heroes / Lodger". Select (15): 80.
26. ^ Sandford, Christopher (1997). Bowie: Loving the Alien. Time Warner. pp. 182–193. ISBN 0-306-80854-4.
27. Gittens, Ian (2007). "Art Decade", MOJO 60 Years of Bowie. pp. 70–73.
28. Testa, Bart (12 January 1978). "Heroes". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
29. ^ "Breaking down David Bowie's 'Heroes' - Track-by-track". BBC Arts. BBC. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
30. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
31. "David Bowie – "Heroes" – austriancharts.at" (ASP). Retrieved 31 January 2014.
32. "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 28, No. 14" (PHP). RPM. 31 December 1977. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
33. "dutchcharts.nl David Bowie – "Heroes"" (ASP). dutchcharts.nl. MegaCharts. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
34. "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste". infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on 7 November 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help) Note: user must select 'David BOWIE' from drop-down.
35. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
36. "charts.org.nz David Bowie – "Heroes"" (ASP). Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
37. "norwegiancharts.com David Bowie – "Heroes"" (ASP). Retrieved 31 January 2014.
38. "swedishcharts.com David Bowie – "Heroes"" (ASP). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
39. "David Bowie > Artists > Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
40. "allmusic ((( "Heroes" > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
41. "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1977" (ASP) (in Dutch). Retrieved 2 April 2014.
42. "Les Albums (CD) de 1977 par InfoDisc" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
43. "Canadian album certifications – David Bowie – Heroes". Music Canada. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
44. id MUST BE PROVIDED for UK CERTIFICATION.

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