Lodger (album)

Lodger is the 13th studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 25 May 1979 through RCA Records. Recorded in collaboration with musician Brian Eno and producer Tony Visconti, it was the final release of his Berlin Trilogy, following Low and "Heroes" (both 1977). Sessions took place in Switzerland in September 1978 during a break in the Isolar II world tour, and in New York City in March 1979 at the tour's end. Most of the same personnel from prior releases returned, and future King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew joined from the tour. The sessions saw the use of techniques inspired by Eno's Oblique Strategies cards, such as having the musicians swap instruments and play old songs backwards. The music on Lodger is based in art rock and experimental rock. It lacks the electronic and ambient styles and the song/instrumental split that defined its two predecessors, favouring more conventional song structures and explores styles such as avant-pop, world and new wave music. Lyrically, the album is divided into two major themes: travel (side one) and critiques of Western civilisation (side two). Pop artist Derek Boshier took the cover photo, portraying Bowie as an accident victim across the gatefold sleeve. Lodger was a modest commercial success, peaking at number 4 in the UK and number 20 in the US. It produced four singles, including the UK top 10 hit "Boys Keep Swinging". Innovative music videos directed by David Mallet accompanied three of the four singles. The album initially received mixed critical reviews, many calling it the weakest of the Berlin Trilogy. Reception has grown in subsequent decades and it is now widely considered to be among Bowie's most underrated albums. Its world elements have been highlighted as particularly influential. Bowie and Visconti were dissatisfied with the album's original mix and, in 2015, Visconti remixed the album with Bowie's approval for inclusion on the 2017 box set A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982), along with a remaster of the original.