Baby Universal - Ahhhh yeah. Here's some Bowie for ya. Great energy, some nice pop hooks, and the sidemen aren't going completely off the rails. Does a fantastic job of immediately distinguishing this from the first TM album. 4/5
Baby Universal It has echoes of 70s Bowie, which will of course up the ratings. But also probably some Pixies inspiration, the quiet/loud thing. The chorus really explodes. In any case it's a surprisingly vital blast of rock music, and a poised and relatively restrained arrangement, for those who didn't like the more freewheeling TN songs. Coulda/shoulda been a hit. 4/5
"Baby Universal" Awesome! Love all the throwbacks to David's glam rock phase. This is a killer open and to date in our thread, maybe(?) TM's best song. I can't decide if it edges out "I Can't Read" but I'm giving this song a healthy score. 4.5/5
"Baby Universal" As a song this is much much better than a lot of the first album, there's melody, a catchy chorus and Bowie's writing is on the up, this really should have been a big hit. Stuff like the "hallo humans.." section is lyrically more attuned to Bowie the solo artist and an echo of the emotionally detached material he'd produce later in the decade - the '97 version an example of what could have been. The drums, screeching guitars, etc are all toned down thankfully and for the first time in a while I forget about the band. 4/5
BABy UNIVERSAL A melody! Lyrics that are both interesting and makes sense! Mystery! Good drumming! Good guitar playing! Great sound and intelligent production! A minor miracle! 3.75 out of 5
baby universal a great pick for an album opener 3/5 I was delighted that he chose to resurrect this live post tin machin
If you like the band concept, it's hard not to find something to like about "Baby Universe" - and while I think "Baby Can Dance" had a decent melody on the debut this is far more engaging song -Bowie even sounds like himself which is always a plus. Seems like the '90s have begun in earnest at least for those not yet following the Pixies, Nirvana, et. al.
Baby Universal Nice statement of intent. Think maybe I'm in a funny mood, but it doesn't quite do it for me - something off about the song structure. 3/5
Gunman Not liking those drums.....or that guitar from halfway through, christ. I like (most of) the vocals.....I don't need to hear this again though. 1/5 (it was 2 but Jesus that guitar is irritating)
Baby Universal This is more like it, actually feels like a Bowie track. Works great as an opener too imo. I'd rather it was an actual Bowie track, but still, we're dealing with 1991 Bowie, let's be happy for what we're getting here. A solid 3.5/5
Baby Universal Brilliant start to the second album and it’s immediately clear this is neither hindered by pounding drums nor drowned in guitar squall or histrionic solos. Interesting lyrics. And great vocals. This is just a great song. And I love it! 5/5
Hallo humans… freaky spaceman Bowie is back and it’s about bloody time. What a blast of energy to open the second TM album. Lots going on, loads of vocals overlapping, Reeves going nuts, but in a better way than before. His guitar playing fits the song more appropriately. And production wise, it’s clear from the start that a lot more thought has gone into the overall sound compared with TM1’s turn it up to 11 and press record mentality. The whizzy effects and carefully layered vocals are terrific. As noted above, just shouting the title isn’t a good replacement for a proper chorus, so this lets the song down a tad but otherwise it’s a cracking start. 3/5
Baby Universal While waiting for my copy of TMII to show up in the post, I do plan to follow along here and just listen online. I actually remember this one anyway, and yes, it is actually a bonafide decent tune. 4/5
BU Yeah, it's a refreshing start and sounds exciting. Good track. I coulda put money that YBInRockNRoll was the lead off single though. Coulda sworn. Anyway, I was rocking out to this big time back in those heady early days of the 90s. 3.5/5 ...in context to other releases by him, but higher as a Tin Machine composition!
