SIMON GODDARD – Bowie Odyssey 71

The follow-up to the widely acclaimed "Bowie Odyssey 70" by author Simon Goddard was something that yours truly had been looking forward to for quite some time and I am thrilled to report that what we have here is nothing short of a flawless masterpiece. In short, Goddard’s latest excursion into David Bowie’s early years, appropriately titled "Bowie Odyssey 71", manages to achieve something unique in 163 glorious pages than most other literary tomes thrice the size can only dream of doing.

You do not simply devour Goddard’s book in a couple of hours and go "That’s it, pretty decent stuff". This one is something else entirely and special; a literary delight that is as eloquently and elegantly written as it is hauntingly intimate and strangely poetic. Evoking scenes of Britain and New York in the early 70s and painting vibrant pictures of Bowie’s first encounters with the Velvet Underground, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, and the Pop Art guru Andy Warhol, we are expertly guided through David’s trials and tribulations on the oftentimes distressing path to achieving his goals. You absorb every syllable, every phrase, and every single word. It is not only rare thing of beauty and an earthshattering gem as far as music-related books go; it also offers a fresh perspective on Bowie and the approach is totally different to everything else out there. If you want details, facts, and trivia, you need to look elsewhere as "Bowie Odyssey 71" paints a portrait that differs from all other known accounts of David’s rise to fame and success and the occasionally tortuous road that he went down in order to bring his creative visions to life. The predecessor, "Bowie Odyssey 70", was superbly executed and a riveting reading experience yet it was not as concise and efficient as it could have been, but the sequel leaves nothing to be desired and there is not an ounce of fat here. Although it reads like fiction in some ways, it conjures up a unique aura that somehow embodies the very essence of who, what, and where David Bowie was in 1971 and how the mechanisms of his inner sanctum sanctorum worked.

If you only buy one book this year, make it this one as it lends itself perfectly to careful reading. An engrossing tale of artistic greatness and nothing short of an all-out immersive experience.

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