“Lodger” Songs Ranked

Probably my least favourite album from the “Berlin Trilogy”, but that doesn’t mean it lacks in quality – in fact, on a good day this is probably a top 10 album of Bowie’s. How would I rank all of the tracks?

You can check out some of my other Bowie lists below:

Meh

10 – Move On

One of the most boring and inconsequential songs in Bowie’s 70s catalogue. This isn’t bad necessarily, but I’ll be skipping it more often than not.

9 – African Night Flight

Quite possibly the strangest song on the entire Berlin Trilogy, and there are a few weird ones. Usually I don’t mind some weird experimenting, but this track just doesn’t do it for me.

Good

8 – Fantastic Voyage

I love the piano part in this, as well as Bowie’s amazing vocals (as usual). This is a lovely song, but to be fair I almost forgot that it existed when making this list.

7 – D.J.

Fun fact – there was a fairly long period of time where this was one of my favourite Bowie songs, I just loved how he was imitating David Byrne of Talking Heads. Over time this love waned, but I still like the song enough to put it in “Good”.

6 – Red Sails

I would understand if the average music listener was turned off by this one, but for some reason it just comes together for me. I think it’s the catchy, sing-out-loud vocal part that keeps me coming back for more.

Great

5 – Boys Keep Swinging

Probably the biggest hit on the album, and this is unabashedly catchy and fun. This song has a lot more swing than the others (the title does it justice), and I love me a bit of swing.

4 – Yassassin

“Lodger” has quite a few underrated gems that I would highly recommend, and this is one of them. The Eastern vibe fits the lyrics perfectly, and Bowie’s ever-erratic vocals are the highlight of this Turkish delight.

3 – Repetition

By nature, this song should have been a repetitive, bland filler track, but instead we got a gem (and apparently one of Bowie’s personal favourites). The lyrics are provocative but eye-opening, catchy but downbeat – this is Bowie flexing his creative skills to the max.

2 – Look Back in Anger

The other “hit” from the album that didn’t stand the test of time as much as other Bowie classics, but this track is still a banger. Boasting more energy and infectious enthusiasm than any other song from “Lodger”, I’m not surprised Bowie kept it in his live set for decades.

Amazing

1 – Red Money

The final track on “Lodger”, and in my opinion one of Bowie’s best ever closings numbers.

For starters, the bassline is great, definitely the best on the album. Bowie’s vocals / lyrics are also fantastic, and I would probably also label them as the best on “Lodger”. To cap it off, the outro is electric – it all comes together phenomenally, and I can’t think of a better track to wrap off the album so concisely.

Aaaand that’s my list. Somehow we’ve made it through all of Bowie’s 70s work, so now it’s time to move on to the 80s. Until then, you can check out some of my latest blog posts below: