Fasby Barnes & Fernando Perdomo 2026
FERNANDO PERDOMO –
Starmen:
A Tribute To David Bowie
An homage to Thin White Aladdin adds a few original spins to familiar and well-loved gems.
One decade since his untimely passing, both artists’ and listeners’ interest in David Bowie’s legacy doesn’t seem to be diminishing, with covers of his songs being issued a bit too frequently than proper interpretation of his cleverly crafted oeuvre should require. A master of reimagining, multi-instrumentalist Fernando Perdomo held off jumping on the bandwagon for a long time only to surrender to this trend when warbler by the name of Fasby Barnes – not Fern’s alter ego, one may presume – entered the frame, and “Starmen” emerged to focus primarily on their honoree’s peak period. There are no rarities on display, and alphabetical sequencing of the classics looks as good a way of creating context as any – unless, of course, somebody left the tracks in the order the files were stored on a hard drive – yet the results of such skimming of the surface feel engaging nevertheless.
Yes, the duo committed an almost unforgiveable sin of wrapping the album up with the irritatingly omnipresent “Heroes” – appended almost as a last thought, the number won’t break the record’s A-to-Z run – and a couple of F&F’s choices refuse to easily lend themselves to any sort of creative change. Turning “Young Americans” into a greasy slice of country can be a stroke of genius, though, and bringing a reggae groove into “Golden Years” must come across as quite effective too. There are new nuances, particularly tasty guitar flourishes, in the arrangements of “Moonage Daydream” and “Ashes To Ashes” which blow the dust off the cosmic adventures, while complicating the distinctive piano part of “Life On Mars” will hardly endear the audience to this version, however magnificent it still is. With “Space Oddity” upgraded to a prog piece, and “Starman” to a disco cut, delights are aplenty here – so why not enjoy the journey?
***4/5
