"Heroes" | ||||
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Studio album by David Bowie | ||||
Released | 14 October 1977 | |||
Recorded | July–August 1977 | |||
Studio |
Hansa Studio by the Wall (West Berlin, Germany) |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 40:19 | |||
Label | RCA Records | |||
Producer |
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David Bowie chronology | ||||
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Singles from "Heroes" | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Blender | |
Chicago Tribune | |
Christgau's Record Guide | B+ |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
Entertainment Weekly | A− |
NME | 8/10 |
Pitchfork Media | 10/10 |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
Select | 5/5 |
"Heroes" is the twelfth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on RCA Records on 14 October 1977. The second instalment of his "Berlin Trilogy" recorded with Brian Eno and Tony Visconti, "Heroes" continued the ambient experiments of Bowie's previous album Low (released earlier that year) and featured the contributions of guitarist Robert Fripp. Of the three albums, it was the only one wholly recorded in Berlin.
Upon its release, it was met with positive critical reception and was named NME Album of the Year. The title track remains one of Bowie's best known and acclaimed songs. The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Recorded at Hansa Tonstudio in what was then West Berlin, "Heroes" reflected the zeitgeist of the Cold War, symbolised by the divided city. Co-producer Tony Visconti considered it "one of my last great adventures in making albums. The studio was about 500 yards [460 metres] from the Berlin Wall. Red Guards would look into our control-room window with powerful binoculars." Earlier in 1977, Kraftwerk had name-checked Bowie on the title track of Trans-Europe Express, and he again paid tribute to his Krautrock influences: the title is a nod to the track "Hero" on the album Neu! '75 by the German band Neu! – whose guitarist Michael Rother had originally been approached to play on the album – while "V-2 Schneider" is inspired by and named after Kraftwerk's Florian Schneider. The cover photo by Masayoshi Sukita was inspired by German artist Erich Heckel's Roquairol.