Album of the Day

David Bowie's first album of the 1980s, SCARY MONSTERS (AND SUPER CREEPS), offers both a backward glance and a look forward. It was the performer's final RCA album, co-produced by longtime collaborator Tony Visconti, and fans will hear echoes of “Heroes” and “Space Oddity” in “Teenage Wildlife” and hit single “Ashes to Ashes.” But as the Japanese vocals on opener “It's No Game (No. 1)” make clear, Bowie is out to challenge listeners as well. The end result is unusual but accessible art rock, pairing the singer with such top instrumentalists as guitarists Carlos Alomar & Robert Fripp and E Street Band keyboardist Roy Bittan. As successful as it was acclaimed, SCARY MONSTERS topped the U.K. chart and nearly made the Top 10 in the U.S.