Harman Patil (Editor)

The Secret Life of Arabia

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Released
  
14 October 1977

Length
  
3:46

Genre
  
Art rock, Krautrock

Label
  
RCA Records

Recorded
  
Hansa Studio by the Wall, West Berlin July–August 1977

Writer(s)
  
David Bowie, Brian Eno, Carlos Alomar

"The Secret Life of Arabia" is a song written by David Bowie, Brian Eno and Carlos Alomar in 1977 for the album "Heroes". It was the final track on the original vinyl album, following the instrumental "Neuköln".

Contents

NME editors Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray described the song as "like seeing 'The Sheik' on acid and laughing quietly to yourself. Bowie's vocal is genuinely humorous." Author Nicholas Pegg considered it an "unjustly overlooked" piece, remarking on Bowie's "outrageous extremes of bass and falsetto". However, for biographer David Buckley, "The Secret Life of Arabia" was "a great song, but its position on the album spoils the dramatic effect... the last note of 'Neuköln' really ought to have been the last sound on the album..."

Other releases

  • It appeared on the The Best of 1974/1979 compilation in 1998.
  • Cover versions

  • Nina Hagen – Live recording from the NunSexMonkRock tour.
  • Billy Mackenzie – On the British Electric Foundation album Music of Quality and Distinction Volume One (1982) and on David Bowie Songbook.
  • References

    The Secret Life of Arabia Wikipedia