Let us recall, that Roxy Music had a massive hit with 'Jealous Guy' following the death of John Lennon.


 


The song became a number 1 hit as Lennon's own sales went through the roof - something the music world is experiencing again now for the recently deceased Michael Jackson (according to reports, his sales have increased 80 fold in the last few days).


Another Lennon tribute was the song 'All Those Years Ago' by George Harrison. This song was also a massive hit (reaching US #2) and perhaps considering who it featured and that it was an original song, it was deemed more appropriate than Roxy's blatant cover.





Over the course of many years, other original songs created as Lennon tributes have appeared - some of them I can immediately think of include Neil Young (Peace and Love), Queen (Life is Real - Song for Lennon) and The Cranberries (I Just Shot John Lennon).


So now we come to the Bowie song 'Wood Jackson', a song seemingly written with no market place in mind and a song that may or may not be about Michael Jackson. Different to 'Jealous Guy', this is Bowie's original words and music and here we have his own feelings as they appeared some 7 years ago. It is also considered to be one of Bowie's most gorgeous songs of the last two decades and as we know too well, it was criminally relegated to bside obscurity.


 


The somber, organ intro seems even more fitting following the death of Jackson. Of course, it may not be about him at all but some lyrics fit very well including the title that evokes the changed physical appearance of Jackson, the references to critics and haters and a chorus that may reference the children he was fond of but ultimately caused his demise. All this with a subtlety and lack of finger pointing that only Bowie can really muster. Finally, Bowie says "Jackson took the beating every day .... given out .... passed away .... another way".


A video for the song could simply be a montage of Michael Jackson images. At the same time, it would also be fantastic to see some images of the current Bowie, stepping out from behind the curtain of a self imposed retirement folowing his own heart attack 5 years ago. 'Wood Jackson' has the capacity to be one of the most brilliant comebacks and tributes ever released.


So go ahead Bowie/EMI/Columbia/ISO ... finally give this song the proper release it deserves!

With his third critically acclaimed album on the trot, Bob Dylan last month notched up his first US No. 1 album in 30 years - also his fastest selling album since Desire in 1976.

Dylan's number 1 placing comes after the acclaimed Time Out of Mind (US No. 10) and Love and Theft (US No. 5).

In comparison, David Bowie has simarly lifted his game in his recent years. Even if Bowie's critical and commericial 'comeback' has not been quite as swift as Dylan, it has been there all the same. So far, he has two acclaimed albums in sucession and those albums have charted at UK No. 5 (Heathen) and UK No. 3 (Reality) respectively.

The longer than average wait for Bowie's third installment, however, may prove a determining factor in securing the UK top spot again. The last time fans had to wait this long for a solo release also happened to be the last time he scored a new UK No. 1 album. That album - Black Tie White Noise - hit the top spot after a six year hiatus during which time Bowie performed under the guise of Tin Machine. Such longer waits are more typical for Dylan fans (he releases new albums about half as frequently as Bowie).

Finally, it will be interesting to see if Bowie produces a rock video in support of the next installment as Dylan has for his latest one.

A Chart Comparison:
David Bowie VS Bob Dylan: Last Three Albums

Dylan - Time Out Of Mind (1997) - US 10

Bowie - Hours (1999) - US 47 - UK 5

Dylan - Love and Theft (2001) - US 5 - UK 3

Bowie - Heathen (2002) - US 14 - UK 5

Bowie - Reality (2003) - US 29 - UK 3

Dylan - Modern Times (2006) - US 1 - UK 3

At an astounding 7 minutes, 11 seconds, The Beatles "Hey Jude" was the longest duration song to ever reach number 1 in Britain.

Engineered by Ken Scott (Bowie's future producer) and recorded at Trident Studios (Bowie's future realm), there were initial concerns that radio stations would not play the song due to it's length.

It is interesting to note that within two years of this landmark single, David Bowie set out to break the 7 minute barrier three times on his own albums. These songs were "Memory of a Free Festival" (7:13), "The Width of a Circle" (8:10) and the enormous "Cygnet Committee" (9:34). In fact, during one of the demos for Bowie's Space Oddity album, we can even hear him quote the chorusline of "Hey Jude".

"Revolution 9" aside, The Beatles only made one track longer than "Hey Jude" and that was "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" which came in at 7:47.

By the time of Hunky Dory, Bowie had teamed up with Ken Scott but incidently, he returned to more typical length songs. Although tracks like "The Bewlay Brothers" and "Aladdin Sane" were more than satisfactory in length and musical diversion, Bowie's quest for the super epic was largely left aside until Scott was out of the picture.

On Diamond Dogs, Bowie used his own intuition both as a producer and musician. This perhaps allowed him the freedom to create long instrumental passages at his own whim and it is there we find the title track of Diamond Dogs (6:04) but more importantly the suite of 'sweet' songs that added up to 8 minutes 49 seconds.

Bowie, however, was not finished with the creation of a giant epic. When he discovered Kraftwerk, Neu! and German synthesised music, it perhaps opened up more possibilities. The crowning achievement therefore occurred in 1976 when the title opening track of Station to Station broke 10 minutes - also becoming the longest song he has ever released.

Subsequently, Bowie has produced other long tracks but these have been sporadic. Several instrumentals such as 'Warszawa' pushed over the 6 minute barrier whilst the massive lyrical cadence known as Teenage Wildlife comes in at 6:55 - the 10th longest album track that he's made.

Finally, Bowie perhaps had the chance to beat The Beatles record. In 1983, the title track of Let's Dance topped both the UK and US charts. It's album length of 7:36, however, was cut back to just over 4 minutes in achieving this feat. Likewise in 1985, the single edit of Absolute Beginners (granted, a UK No. 2 single) was cut back from it's original duration of over 8:02. Today, the longest duration British number 1 is depressingly an Oasis single (over 9 minutes).

Bowie's Longest Tracks (as quoted by their album length, irrespective of remixes, live versions and single edits)

1. Station to Station (10:13)

2. Cygnet Committe (9:34)

3. The Width of a Circle (8:10)

4. Absolute Beginners (8:02)

5. Bring Me The Disco King (7:45)

6. Let's Dance (7:36)

7. Memory of a Free Festival (7:13)

8. Loving The Alien (7:11)

9. The Mysteries (7:11)

10. If I'm Dreaming All My Life (7:04)

11. Teenage Wildlife (6:55)

12. The Motel (6:50)

13. Dead Man Walking (6:50)

14. Cat People (6:43) - (the Aus b-side came in at 9:20 but for argument sake, I'm avoiding what may be designated as 'remixes')

15. A Small Plot of Land (6:34)

16. Somebody Up There Likes Me (6:34)

17. It's Gonna Be Me (6:29)

18. Ian Fish, UK Heir (6:29)

19. Warszawa (6:23)

20. Sex and The Church (6:23)

21. Seven Years in Tibet (6:21)

22. Stay (6:15)

23. Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed (6:12)

24. "Heroes" (6:09)

25. Heavens in Here (6:06)

26. Word on a Wing (6:05)

27. Slip Away (6:04)

28. Wild Is The Wind (6:04)

29. Diamond Dogs (6:04)

30. Little Wonder (6:02)