Reality is the 24th studio album by the English musician David Bowie, originally released in Europe on 15September 2003, and the following day in America. His second release through his own ISO label, the album was recorded between January and May 2003 at Looking Glass Studios in New York City, with production by Bowie and longtime collaborator Tony Visconti. Most of the musicians consisted of his then-touring band. Bowie envisioned the album as a set of songs that could be played live.
A mostly straightforward rock album with a more direct sound compared to its predecessor Heathen (2002), Reality contains covers of the Modern Lovers' "Pablo Picasso" and George Harrison's "Try Some, Buy Some". One of the tracks, "Bring Me the Disco King", dated back to 1992. A primary theme throughout Reality concerns reflections on ageing, while other songs focus on despaired and diminished characters. The cover artwork depicts Bowie as an anime-style character that exhibited the idea that reality had become an abstract concept.
Released under a variety of CD formats, Reality charted in numerous countries and reached number three in the United Kingdom. It failed to outperform Heathen in the United States, reaching number 29. The album was not supported through conventional single releases, although "New Killer Star" and "Never Get Old" appeared in some countries. Reality received largely positive reviews from music critics on release, with many highlighting the music, lyrics, vocal performances and the growing maturity in Bowie's songwriting.
Bowie supported the album on the worldwide A Reality Tour throughout 2003 and 2004, his biggest and final concert tour. Ending prematurely after Bowie was hospitalised for a blocked artery, he largely retreated from public life and did not release another studio album until The Next Day in 2013, making Reality his last album of original material for ten years.
Recording and production
Writing
David Bowie began writing songs immediately after the Heathen Tour ended in October 2002. His new distribution deal with Columbia Records gave him the freedom to record at his own pace, so he was eager to return to the studio quickly. He elected to bring back Tony Visconti to co-produce the new album after the pair's successful renewed partnership with Heathen (2002). He stated:
Bowie and Visconti began initial ideas for the new album in November 2002. The success of the Heathen Tour rejuvenated Bowie's desire for touring, so the two fashioned the new album with the goal for the songs to be played live. One of the first songs tracked was "Reality", which became the title of the new album. The songwriting process itself was varied. Some tracks were written more conventionally, such as "She'll Drive the Big Car", while others were fashioned using a series of loops over a melody, such as "Looking for Water". The length of time to write the songs also varied. "Fall Dog Bombs the Moon" was written in only 30 minutes, while "Bring Me the Disco King" was written in 1992 and originally intended to appear on Black Tie White Noise (1993) before being slated for Earthling (1997) and finally completed for Reality.
Sessions
Recording for Reality began in early January 2003 at Looking Glass Studios in New York City, where Earthling and Hours (1999) were recorded. Bowie opted to use Looking Glass's smaller Studio B, which Visconti was renting on a semi-permanent basis, rather than the more spacious Studio A in order to have, in Visconti's words, a "real tight New York sound". The studio was within close distance to Bowie's New York apartment, and his familiarity with the studio corresponded to relatively easy-going eight-hour working days, five days a week. The urban landscape served as an influence on the new material, similar to how the mountainous Allaire Studios had influenced the recording of Heathen.
The musicians mostly consisted of Bowie's then-touring band: Earl Slick and Gerry Leonard on guitar, Mark Plati on guitar and bass, Mike Garson on piano, and Sterling Campbell on drums; live bassist Gail Ann Dorsey and multi-instrumentalist Catherine Russell only contributed backing vocals. Heathen guitarist David Torn provided "atmospheric" overdubs and lead guitar on "New Killer Star", while drummer Matt Chamberlain played on "Bring Me the Disco King" and "Fly". Longtime Bowie guitarist Carlos Alomar also contributed overdubs to "Fly" and was his final collaboration with Bowie.