Station to Station is the tenth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 23 January 1976 by RCA Records. Commonly regarded as one of his most significant works, Station to Station was the vehicle for his last great "character", the Thin White Duke. The album was recorded after he completed shooting Nicolas Roeg's The Man Who Fell to Earth, and the cover artwork featured a still from the film. During the sessions, Bowie was heavily dependent on drugs, particularly cocaine, and afterward, he claimed to recall almost nothing of the production.
Musically, Station to Station is a transitional album for Bowie, developing out of the funk and soul music of his previous release, Young Americans, and presenting a new direction towards synthesisers and motorik rhythms that was influenced by German electronic bands such as Neu! and Kraftwerk. This was demonstrated on some tracks like "Golden Years" and "TVC15". Partly due to its hybrid nature of music style, the album is generally classified as a work of both art rock and funk rock.
Though the album initially garnered mixed reviews upon its release, it has since been critically acclaimed and is widely regarded as one of Bowie's best works. Despite the positive feedback, the themes of the album, as well as the persona Bowie adopted during this period, came at a great personal cost and marked the beginning of a period where his health and personal life began to deteriorate.
The album peaked at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart and has been certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry. It additionally reached No. 3 on the US Billboard 200 and is certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Several of the songs have become staples of Bowie's live performances.
