The Loneliest Guy
Encyclopedia
"The Loneliest Guy" is a song written by David Bowie
in 2003
for his album Reality. It's a slow-tempo minimalistic piece in which, according to James E. Perone, "Bowie's character also lives in denial: in spite of the chards of glass that he finds near his windows, the solitary life he lives, and 'all the pages that have turned,' he expresses the belief that he is not 'the loneliest guy' in the world, but, rather, 'the luckiest guy'." The biographer also writes: "The slow, solemn pace of the piece, the long phrases sung with a slowly pulsing vibrato suggest a profound sadness."
The piano is played by Bowie long time pianist Mike Garson
in a sombre form that led David Buckley to make an analogy with the "psychotic menage" of Bowie's Outside (1995), although the biographer concludes: "Bowie's vocal, quivering and unstable, is just too much. As music writer Alex Petridis correctly put it, the song was sadly 'overcooked'."
Lou Reed
praised the song, writing for Rolling Stone
: "He's always changing, so you never get tired of what he's doing. And I mean all the way up to his later records: 'The Loneliest Guy' on his album Reality is a great song. Yet another one." Margaret Cho
also wrote in her compilation of essays and prose I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight (2005) that she likes many Bowie songs, "and the new songs from the Reality album, a new favorite being 'The Loneliest Guy.' It's almost too much to ask for, the ageless, timeless, faultless, flawless Bowie in a vocal storm of versatility [...]"
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
in 2003
2003 in music
-January:* January – following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in England and the Netherlands recover nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It Be sessions. Five people are arrested...
for his album Reality. It's a slow-tempo minimalistic piece in which, according to James E. Perone, "Bowie's character also lives in denial: in spite of the chards of glass that he finds near his windows, the solitary life he lives, and 'all the pages that have turned,' he expresses the belief that he is not 'the loneliest guy' in the world, but, rather, 'the luckiest guy'." The biographer also writes: "The slow, solemn pace of the piece, the long phrases sung with a slowly pulsing vibrato suggest a profound sadness."
The piano is played by Bowie long time pianist Mike Garson
Mike Garson
Mike Garson is an American pianist, most notable for his work with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, Billy Corgan, Free Flight, and The Smashing Pumpkins.- Early career :...
in a sombre form that led David Buckley to make an analogy with the "psychotic menage" of Bowie's Outside (1995), although the biographer concludes: "Bowie's vocal, quivering and unstable, is just too much. As music writer Alex Petridis correctly put it, the song was sadly 'overcooked'."
Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
praised the song, writing for Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
: "He's always changing, so you never get tired of what he's doing. And I mean all the way up to his later records: 'The Loneliest Guy' on his album Reality is a great song. Yet another one." Margaret Cho
Margaret Cho
Margaret Cho is an American comedian, fashion designer, actress, author, and recording artist. Cho is best known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially those pertaining to race and sexuality. She has also directed and appeared in music...
also wrote in her compilation of essays and prose I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight (2005) that she likes many Bowie songs, "and the new songs from the Reality album, a new favorite being 'The Loneliest Guy.' It's almost too much to ask for, the ageless, timeless, faultless, flawless Bowie in a vocal storm of versatility [...]"
Live versions
- It was played during A Reality TourA Reality TourA Reality Tour was a worldwide concert tour by David Bowie in support of the Reality album. The tour commenced on 7 October 2003 at the Forum, Copenhagen, Denmark continuing through Europe, North America, Asia, including a return to New Zealand and Australia for the first time since the 1987 Glass...
. - A live version recorded at the Riverside StudiosRiverside StudiosRiverside Studios is a production studio, theatre and independent cinema on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. It plays host to contemporary and international dramatic and dance performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production.-History:In 1933, the...
, HammersmithHammersmithHammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
, London, 8 September 2003 was released on the Tour Edition of Reality. - Another version recorded live at the The Point, Dublin, Ireland, 22 and 23 November 2003 was released on the live DVD A Reality TourA Reality Tour (film)A Reality Tour is a DVD released in 2004 of David Bowie's performance at Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland in 2003 during the Reality Tour.-Repertoire:...
.