"Speed of Life" is the first instrumental by David Bowie. It is the opening track for his album Low from 1977. "Speed of Life" introduces the Low album, and, coupled with the instrumental "A New Career in a New Town", provides a front bookend for the A-side of the album. The track makes several immediate implications about the content of the album, with its heavy use of synthesizers as both effects and instruments, with the presence of Dennis Davis' drums and the overlaid harmonizer creating a distinctly different mix than any previous Bowie album.