A mid-'70s West German film about a 14 year old's descent into drug abuse, prostitution, and general sleaze led to this 1981
soundtrack
, comprised entirely of previously released songs from
David Bowie
's "Thin White Duke" period. The bleak music of
Bowie
's collaborations with
Brian Eno
provides a fitting backdrop to the film, as his icy soul killer pose perfectly reflected the frozen and fragmented lives of Christiane and her gang: an "alternative family" taking respite in discos and underground train stations. Removed from that context, the album is still enjoyable for the sheer quality of the songs. Its primary appeal, of course, is to
completists, who will gush over the relative rarities
"Heroes/Helden"
(
shifting from English to German in mid-song) and a live version of
"Station to Station,"
as well as some magnificently extensive liner notes recapping both the film and the songs. More casual yet devoted fans will be disappointed by the truncated
"TVC-15"
and
"Stay"
(the latter excising nearly all of
Earl Slick
's searing guitar pyrotechnics), but will gain some much-needed exposure to
Eno
's brand of atmospheric orchestration. Despite the melancholia of
's wordless contributions and the film's dark theme, there are moments of levity to be found in
"Boys Keep Swinging"
; that mix of darks and lights makes the
to
Christiane F.
-- which, tragically, did not see CD release until 2001 -- an intriguing listen for anyone who appreciates
's artistic output from the mid- to late '70s. ~ Joseph McCombs