Paulo Hewitt, 2013
Ok, ok. I admit it. I have a Bowie obsession and this blog has been intermittently taken over by my reading interests in the the alien performance artist that is Bowie. It started with Peter Dogget’s The Man Who Sold the World, an examination of every song written by Bowie in the 1970’s, progressed to Simon Critchley’s, Bowie, a personal memoir of the author’s relationship with Bowie, and even an entry that was not book related about my visit to the Bowie Is exhibit.
So why another Bowie book entry? Paulo Hewitt’s Bowie: Album by Album is a beautiful coffee table sized book that provides a portraiture of Bowie’s entire career up until the the 2013 release of his latest album, The Next Day. I’ve been slowly reading, or rather, browsing through this book for the past year and a half, savoring the fantastic collection of photos from his concerts, recording sessions, and album shoot sessions. The text within the book is just enough for a coffee table book, providing a brief synopsis of the unique styles, experimentation, and personal backstory surrounding the production of each of Bowie’s 26 studio albums as well as the the 3 soundtrack albums he has put together throughout his extensive career. The collection is deeply satisfying to take off my shelf and simply browse while listening to any one of his fantastic albums. For a Bowie fan, this book simply is worth the purchase.
HardlyWritten 