Music
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2009
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000
Upcoming &
Recent Releases
70
AFI
65
Air
71
Alice In Chains
77
Amerie
70
Anjulie
85
The Antlers
75
Arctic Monkeys
68
As Tall As Lions
82
Atlas Sound
75
The Avett Brothers
67
Backstreet Boys
56
Bad Lieutenant
68
Devendra Banhart
72
Lou Barlow
88
Baroness
69
Basement Jaxx
81
David Bazan
72
Brendan Benson
72
The Big Pink
96
Big Star
46
Billy Talent
75
The Black Crowes
51
Black Mold
59
Amanda Blank
68
Blitzen Trapper
75
BLK JKS
77
A.A. Bondy
73
The Bottle Rockets
63
Box Elders
65
Boys Like Girls
76
Brand New
73
Tyondai Braxton
87
Brother Ali
70
Ian Brown
75
Michael Buble
78
Built To Spill
61
Colbie Caillat
79
Califone
68
Mariah Carey
84
Brandi Carlile
73
Julian Casablancas
83
Rosanne Cash
69
Castanets
65
The Cave Singers
84
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
79
Vic Chesnutt
75
Choir Of Young Believers
81
Circulatory System
68
The Clean
84
The Clientele
71
Cobra Starship
85
Converge
71
Eric Copeland
80
Cymbals Eat Guitars
71
Datarock
59
Dead By Sunrise
76
Dead Man's Bones
64
Desolation Wilderness
88
Destroyer
63
The Dodos
77
Drive-By Truckers
74
The Duke & The King
66
Bob Dylan
44
The Entrance Band
67
Esser
69
Fanfarlo
63
Felix Da Housecat
68
Fink
78
The Flaming Lips
66
Flight Of The Conchords
79
Florence And The Machine
67
John Fogerty
77
Fruit Bats
83
Fuck Buttons
71
Nelly Furtado
47
Gary Go
68
Ghostface Killah
79
Girls
59
Gloriana
69
Gossip
62
David Gray
66
David Guetta
79
Richard Hawley
74
Mayer Hawthorne
66
Headlights
79
HEALTH
77
Joe Henry
66
Hockey
69
Whitney Houston
68
Imogen Heap
59
Jack Ingram
79
Islands
73
Jessie James
74
Jamie T
83
Japandroids
65
Jay-Z
51
Jet
69
Daniel Johnston
76
Karen O And The Kids
72
Toby Keith
69
Kid Cudi
65
Kings Of Convenience
62
Sean Kingston
64
KISS
76
Kris Kristofferson
68
KRS-One & Buckshot
76
La Roux
84
Miranda Lambert
72
Ledisi
75
Sondre Lerche
56
Juliette Lewis
82
Lightning Bolt
76
Lightning Dust
73
Little Dragon
44
Pixie Lott
73
Lyle Lovett
66
Lovvers
75
Baaba Maal
77
Madness
84
Madonna
85
Manic Street Preachers
62
Maps
55
Massive Attack
57
Matisyahu
67
Reba McEntire
66
Tim McGraw
65
Brian McKnight
79
Mew
77
Malcolm Middleton
77
Mika
68
Amy Millan
76
Mission Of Burma
73
Modest Mouse
76
Molina And Johnson
80
Monsters Of Folk
62
Morrissey
85
Mount Eerie
78
The Mountain Goats
62
Múm
72
Muse
66
Willie Nelson
78
Nirvana
97
Nirvana
72
Nisennenmondai
80
No Age
71
Noah And The Whale
75
Noisettes
79
Nudge
68
Nurses
47
Dolores O'Riordan
74
Os Mutantes
73
Osso
81
Owen
76
Paramore
76
Pastels And Tenniscoats
51
Sean Paul
80
Pearl Jam
66
Jemina Pearl
72
Jack Penate
65
Phish
82
Pissed Jeans
61
Pitbull
79
A Place To Bury Strangers
63
Julian Plenti
66
Robert Pollard
79
Polvo
72
Porcupine Tree
80
Q-Tip
80
R.E.M.
89
Raekwon
69
Rain Machine
70
Ramona Falls
75
Dizzee Rascal
75
The Raveonettes
76
Jay Reatard
82
Reigning Sound
81
Rodrigo Y Gabriela
79
Russian Circles
69
Buffy Sainte-Marie
73
Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions
61
Sally Shapiro
78
Shudder To Think
75
Sian Alice Group
70
Simian Mobile Disco
58
Simple Minds
72
Six Organs Of Admittance
69
Slaughterhouse
80
Slayer
61
The Slits
62
Mindy Smith
83
Solillaquists Of Sound
78
Soulsavers
77
Speech Debelle
58
Spiral Stairs
58
Squarepusher
55
Steel Panther
73
Sufjan Stevens
52
Rod Stewart
65
Joss Stone
75
George Strait
83
Barbra Streisand
76
A Sunny Day In Glasgow
74
Susanna And The Magical Orchestra
78
The Swell Season
76
David Sylvian
83
Taken By Trees
78
Tegan And Sara
68
The Temper Trap
72
Themselves
82
They Might Be Giants
67
Third Eye Blind
68
Throw Me The Statue
66
J Tillman
69
Times New Viking
57
Tokio Hotel
67
Trey Songz
71
The Twilight Sad
58
Carrie Underwood
56
The Used
68
Various Artists
70
Various Artists
74
Various Artists
77
The Very Best
71
Kurt Vile
67
Vivian Girls
71
Volcano Choir
76
Rufus Wainwright
59
Weezer
80
White Denim
76
Why?
83
Wild Beasts
80
Wildbirds & Peacedrums
59
Andrew W.K.
71
Patrick Wolf
67
Wolfmother
84
The xx
70
YACHT
75
Yim Yames
79
Yo La Tengo
83
Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band
51
Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson
59
Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Heathen
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 20 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 24 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Columbia / ISO
Release Date: 11 June 2002
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Alternative, Rock
Summary
Bowie's first studio album in three years (and first for his new label ISO Records, distributed by Columbia) finds the older white duke working with producer Tony Visconti for the first time since 1980's 'Scary Monsters.' Pete Townsend and Dave Grohl guest on guitar on a track apiece.
Also By This Artist: Bowie At The Beeb Reality
Also On The Web: Official Album Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Entertainment Weekly
For all its appeal, there's something a little off about the album.
Read Full Review >Playlouder
Whatever you're going to make of 'Heathen', you'll probably agree it's Bowie's most eclectic effort for some time - and a damn enjoyable, rockahula listening pleasure.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express
Even at his most self-referential, Bowie is still a zillion times more inventive, brave and rocket-to-Mars brilliant than anyone who's been prodded by the ubiquitous genius stick, like, ever.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
A graceful marriage of synthesizers, guitars, and post-modern croon, Heathen summons the same air of romantic unease found on albums like Station To Station and Bowie's late-'70s collaborations with Brian Eno.
Read Full Review >Billboard
A soul-searching set that recalls such pre-"Let's Dance" collections as Heroes and Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps).
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
A return to form. Definitely. [June 2002, p.108]
Mojo
Heathen is a fine restatement of classic Bowie elements with contemporary twists. [July 2002, p.110]
Austin Chronicle
Heathen's swirling production, courtesy of Heroes/Low/Scary Monsters producer Tony Visconti, is so much more of a piece that it hangs together like a Thin White Spider concept album instead of an old dog/new tricks effort.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone
Heathen is the sound of Bowie essentially covering himself -- to splendid, often moving effect.
Read Full Review >Blender
A sound that is almost vintage Bowie.... Even so, many of these 12 perfectly harmless songs plod where instead they should spring. [#8, p.115]
Dot Music
Only lunatics would rank 'Heathen' alongside Bowie's '70s masterpieces. But for a 55-year-old who's spent such a surreally long time floundering, desperately searching for a) the zeitgeist and b) a tune, it's actually rather respectable.
Read Full Review >CDNow
While the soul-searching is utterly sincere, the music is only intermittently successful.
Read Full Review >Village Voice (Consumer Guide)
While the songwriting ain't bad, it also ain't that good.
Read Full Review >Uncut
None of the 12 tracks on Heathen displays anything memorable in the way of melody or chorus, their phrasing short-breathed and tired, their sequences energyless. [Jul 2002, p.108]
Mixer
Unfortunately, Heathen is as much Tin Machine as Outsider. [Aug 2002, p.79]
New York Magazine
For anyone with a critical reading of his long career, the album is a drowsy downer unconvincingly cloaked in interplanetary piffle.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 8.4 (out of 10) based on 24 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
T Mahoney gave it a9:
This album is simply amazing. After repeated listens, I am left with the understanding that Bowie is indeed GOD and we must kneel before him. Like the rest of his work, the music herein has a timeless quality and depth of complexity absent in most music made nowadays. 'Sunday' and '5.15' both rise over percolating percussion loops and bleeps. Indeed, these songs, along with 'Afraid' and 'Slip Away' show Bowie's imaginative chord progressions and make perfection look easy. This KILLS!!!!
Alexander S gave it a9:
Overall a very good album, none of my alltime favourite Bowie songs come from this album, but there´s not a single bad song on it.... Bowie is and will always be the single greatest musician ever!
KiwiClay gave it an8:
Despite the flaws, Heathen has got to be the best Bowie in years - far superior to the following Reality. At times the music is transcendent. This CD must be listened to with headphones on, eyes closed, and no interruptions. There aren't very many CDs or artists who warrant that level of listening commitment.
Jesse S gave it a 10:
This a masterpiece. Not Bowie's masterpiece, but nevertheless a masterpiece. Best of the year.
Doug B gave it a 9:
From the burbling opening seconds of Sunday, the unlikely lead-off song, to the industrial sobriety of the title track that closes this CD, I found a Bowie very much in tune with his muse - namely producer Tony Visconti. A cursory listening of the first 30 seconds of each track reveals a sense of openness and willingness to experiment which has marked all Bowie's landmark moments. I flat out loved this CD: Sunday is the most honest song he has put out since Through This Architect's Eyes from "outside" and I couldn't stop listening to it; A Better Future puts forth a committed and very jaunty swing; Gemini Spacecraft shimmers with electro-style and fuzz guitar. I keep thinking "When is this guy going to run out of creative energy?" Why compare it to his previous efforts. He is a man who just keeps plowing forward and no longer has contemporaries. Bravo.
Teresa C. gave it a 9:
Many critics say that this is his best album since Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps), and I agree. Heathen is filled with great songs (both originals and covers) that open the album and flow smoothly until the end. Reuniting with Tony Visconti was a smart move--the production on this album is nicely layered and contributes to the album's cohesiveness. When asked to say whether I prefer the regular or 2-CD special edition, I'd have to say the regular jewel-case version: the linear notes keep falling out of the special edition's cover, and the extras aren't really anything to die for. Still, these are minor quibbles and don't detract from my overall enjoyment of the album.
Michael S gave it a 2:
I really wanted to like this album, but it is one of the most boring albums Bowie has released. He sounds like he is covering his old tunes without adding anything new to the mix. While his last albums have been poorly review, they all possessed one to three gems. This album does not have a memorable song on it.
