David Bowie‘s version to Wild Is The Wind is one of the most convincing examples of how a performer should interpret a song. Listening to Bowie you can imagine the wind getting wilder and stronger with Bowie’s crescendo. Bowie is the wind and you can hear it howling through his voice. The desperate need for touch and the feeling that love is the source of life for the lyricist explode at the end with the cry: “Don’t you know you’re life itself?”
There are many versions to Wild Is the Wind. It was composed by Dimitri Tiomkin and lyrics are by Ned Washington . The track was originally recorded by Johnny Mathis for the 1957 film Wild Is the Wind.
From Bowie’s performances on YouTube I like the official 1982 version the most. A live performance at the Beeb demonstrates the magic Bowie and the song have over the audience. The addition of the piano provides more “drama” but its redundant in my opinion.
Official 1982:
Live at the Beeb:
ListenToGoodMusic 