David Bowie – Scary Monsters VG/G

David Bowie’s Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) is a studio album released on September 12, 1980. It was his 14th studio album and the first one after the Berlin Trilogy. The album was produced by David Bowie and Tony Visconti and recorded between February and April 1980 at the Power Station in New York City, and later Good Earth Studios in London. The album features 10 tracks and has a runtime of 45 minutes and 37 seconds. The album cover is a large-scale collage featuring Bowie donning a Pierrot costume, with references to his prior releases on the rear sleeve. The album’s lead single, “Ashes to Ashes”, revisited the character of Major Tom from “Space Oddity” and was promoted with an inventive music video. Scary Monsters garnered critical and commercial acclaim: it topped the UK Albums Chart and restored Bowie’s commercial standing in the US, reaching No. 12. Scary Monsters would later be referred to by commentators as Bowie’s “last great album” and a benchmark for subsequent releases. It was Bowie’s final studio album for RCA and the final collaboration between him and Visconti for over 20 years. Several publications have considered it one of the greatest albums of all time.