behindthegrooves:

On this day in music history: January 23, 1976 - “Station To Station” (or “StationToStation”), the tenth studio album by David Bowie is released. Produced by David Bowie and Harry Maslin, it is recorded at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles, CA from October - November 1975. Following the major critical and commercial success of the album “Young Americans”, David Bowie plays the lead role in the film “The Man Who Fell To Earth”, directed by Nicolas Roeg (“Performance”). After filming wraps, Bowie returns to the studio to begin work on a new album. Having explored soul music on “Young Americans”, Bowie continues his “Thin White Duke” phase, but also having become intrigued by German electronic bands such as Kraftwerk and Neu!, he also incorporates those musical stylings into the work in progress. The musical shift foreshadows the singers’ exodus from the US later in 1976 for Switzerland and Berlin, Germany. Bowie is also at the apex of his cocaine dependency at the time, and later is not able recall much of the work done during the ten days it takes to record the album. In spite of this, the sessions produce one of his most accessible and successful works, and marks another important transition in the chameleon like musicians’ career. It spins off two singles including “Golden Years” (#10 Pop) and “TVC 15” (#64 Pop). The album is remastered  and reissued on CD and as a 180 gram vinyl LP as part of the box set “David Bowie: Who Can I Be Now? (1974 - 1976)”. “Station To Station” peaks at number three on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.