A missed opportunity

This is a good album. Not as good as Heathen from a couple of years ago, but very good nonetheless. I got someone to bring it back from the USA, as Dualdisc hasn't yet been officially released in the UK. Yes, as other reviewers have said, it's a good surround mix, and at least I can play it in my car and rip it to my iPod, unlike normal DVD-A. But what a missed opportunity to only have the surround side in Dolby Digital. There's plenty of capacity on a DVD to incorporate both a proper 96 KHZ 24 bit 5.1 DVD-A version of the surround mix, as well as a standard DD version. And good as it is, the surround mix doesn't sound as natural, vibrant or crystal clear as a good high-res audio version would have. I hope future Dualdisc releases incorporate proper DVD-Audio surround mixes.

A masterwork from a true genius

The Bowie detractors will be having a bad year. From the opening number New Killer Star to the haunting, timeless, Jazz Club in the Pressure Dome feel of Bring Me The Disco King, David once again stamps his authority on the floundering music industry.



While ever the Duke can still produce stunning albums like Reality and Heathen, the Bowie bashers will continue to look like the losers that they are.



This is a remarkable album and yet more evidence of the Man's inventive and unique songwriting skills. Years ago, during the Punk/New Wave era, the British Music press carried a David Bowie ad for albums like Low and Heroes, entitled 'There's New Wave, there's Old Wave, and there's Bowie'. Hype? I don't think so. He really is that good. A truly unique talent, who follows nobody.



David's seemingly endless ability to re-invent himself, whether it be in an Industrial, Retro or Dance context, is the key to his success. Just when you think you've figured out his next move, he throws in a creative curve ball.



An outstanding album and one that I have yet to stop playing. For my money, Reality and Heathen are two of the best albums since the many classics of his earlier years, up to the superb Let's Dance.



It just doesn't get any better.

Bowie not at his best

Being a huge fan of Bowie, I was looking so forward to his follow up to Heathen which was such a classic Bowie album. However, I was and continue to be disappointed by this album.
It starts off well with the track 'New Killer Star' but even that song wears thin with it's insipid "ready set go" and wimpy chorus. The songs are very ordinary (which Bowie can do well - see 'Hours') and boring but with some bright spots. Bowie's version of 'Pablo Picasso' is an artsy rocker in the vein of 'Heathen's' 'Cactus', 'Fall Dog Bombs the Moon' is good and the lounge lizard tune 'Bring Me The Disco King' is interesting but otherwise a bit of a blip in Bowie's catalogue as far as I am concerned. Still love ya' though God - oops I mean David.

David Bowie's Reality

I was a casual fan before, liked his hits and loved Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust but never got into more of his albums. Back to Reality. I Like the music and lyrics even though the meaning often eludes me. It's produced well with good performances and harmonies by the band (mostly the same people that are touring with Dave on his Reality tour). Great sound textures. Get the album.

good album on sacd, but sony bungled the release

If you found this review, you're probably specifically looking for the Reality SACD. It's fairly hard to find, because sony has done a poor job of issuing this release. First of all, its a CD/SACD hybrid, so why they decided they needed to issue a regular cd version, a special edition version and a hybrid SACD version of this release is beyond me. Secondly, the SACD release date was pushed back for so long that many people who might have bought the hybrid disc have already purchased one version or another. This might explain why stores don't seem to be stocking the SACD version--they probably have more than enough unsold special editions sitting on their shelves. Sorry for the rant, but sony's approach to sacd pisses me off: first they issue sacd only discs that won't play on a normal cd player, then when they finally realize how stupid that was and issue hybrid discs like this, they screw it up as well.

That said, this is a very good production from Bowie. Nothing jaw-dropping (though Pablo Picasso might come as a shock to Modern Lovers fans), but not boring either. Given that the album's music has more of a "live" sound, it's not surprising that the 5.1 mix is pretty straight forward. There's a few songs where the drums and effects are spread out to the surrounds, but Bowie's voice mostly stays center. Sounds good though.

Here We Go Again! Happily!

Bowie knows how to market himself. "Reality" is arguably his best album in over a decade. First he puts out "Reality" the CD, then the `Bonus Disc' "Reality" with three really great new songs, ("Fly", "Queen Of All The Tarts" and a new version of "Rebel Rebel"), "Reality SACD", "Reality" HYBRID, an inexpensive "Reality Tour" DVD, several singles and now, "Reality" DUALDISC! Being the fan and sucker that I am, I own them all except the SACD. The latest invention, DUALDISC, I predict will be the next replacement for SACD. 5.1 Surround Sound systems are cheaper than SACD systems and the sound is excellent. This DUALDISC is no exception. The sound has been dutifully remastered into 5.1 and the extras may not be something you watch more than a few times, but they are fun.



The film "Reality" is entertaining enough, but not spectacular. It is nice to see the videos for "Never Get Old", "The Loneliest Guy", "Bring Me The Disco King" and "New Killer Star". The Photo Gallery, Lyrics, Biography and Discography are more than most artists will ever offer. It is a steal, but then again, I'll buy just about anything by Bowie.

SUPERB

Bowie at its best. I'm amazed at his capability to reinvent himself, album after album after album.... never boring, always proposing something new. He's the quintessence of an artist. Buy this CD even if you're not a Bowie fan, you won't be disappointed.