Aladdin Sane

guitar riff on "Panic in Detroit", third-best air-guitar riff of the 1970s

So good that Blue Oyster Cult stole it for "Astronomy"!

But capital-C Classic, Bowie's best LP, Garson is perfect, etc. One of the first LPs I bought and I still have that 30-year old slab of wax.

BUT

isn't it like really REALLY badly produced in places?

outrageous ! as a teenager that piano solo converted me to a seeker out of what turned out to be avant-garde piano (classical, jazz and rock if i could find any)

i'd never heard anything like it in a rock song, and the closest i think i've heard since in rock would be keith tippett with king crimson (it's been hard to find rock music like that, and i didn't become a rick wakeman fan)

however it made me a fan of cecil taylor and his followers before i knew it, although it was easier to find stuff in the library like xenakis and stefan wolpe

what was a bit disappointing for me was that the album of the same name was so patchy, and wasn't full of similarly wacky piano, so "watch that man" and "cracked actor" got _musically_ obvious and boring pretty quickly ("watch that man" was good for the first couple of listens though, doing some sort of rhythmic odd-drop-in trick that "fooled me" i suppose)

the trick to this whole album for me though was that side two just didn't bear repeated listening, while side ones "drive in saturday" and "panic in detroit" became _more_ interesting, yet i eventually wore out the title track i knew the solo so well, so the whole thing is an annoying mix (for people like me who like to put on records and enjoy a whole side of music)

that title track piano keeps changing it's musical logic as though it was constantly unfolding or falling apart, crazy politics logic, the theme of the song itself, self-condemned decadence before the fall, which was what the song was about, right ? was that the place bowie was mentally he'd have us believe ? so as to place the album with all it's mock-auto-biographical artistry as so o.t.m. ? as to be right on the edge ? (with a title pun that's so knowingly dumb as to be outstanding and annoying and provocative, in a "watch _this_ man, what the _hell_ is he up to ?" way)

well maybe the album delivers as artistic statement because of all that swerve-iness, doubt, nostalgia, paranoia, acting cracked, z/iggy on the edge of (no-one knew what would happen next after all, nixon still president, bowie still "the great rock music saviour"), it's certainly a good place-holder for that elusive bowie substance that he managed to hold together to while wiggling about all over the map in the '70s -- maybe it's a bit like the beatles' "help !"

i like the cover too, noisy-rock-sci-fi self-created artist camping it up as the sound of a mutant marcel marceau from space

"D.J" -- i'm just a crowd pleaser/entertainer -- i have to deliver for the fans sake -- my fans believe in my songs because they believe that the songs have an autobiographical element
"Boys Keep Swinging" -- i keep on ch-ch-changing
"Red Sails" -- i gotta get outta this place (i live in switzerland)
"Red Money" -- i pay tax in switzerland, good thing the whole world doesn't
"Fantastic Voyage" -- this has been a good ride for me, but my fans insist i deal with the issues that worry them, issues like the results of drug abuse and weapons of mass destruction
"Look back in Anger" -- yes, how did i get away with making so much money out of my songs from the '70s ? i wish i'd just joined a Kraut-rock band

.. with some "filler" location shoots and one-night-stands along the way, and maybe some accidental/subconscious w.s. burroughs "fold-ins"(references)

But the record's a stunner from start to finish, with Garson's thrilling runs a reflection of the chaos inherent in the "Ziggy-in-America" conceit. However, the "bonus" disc that Capitol just released is superfluous to say the least, but I suppose that it works, considering I bought it again.

And did anyone see the pic of Homer Simpson with the thunderbolt from "Rolling Stone" a few months back? Classic.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid67/pb22bb58218d45b6d224d647ae829525b/fbd819e3.jpg

My dream Bowie album would be "Ziggy" with "Alladin Sane" production...imagine if "Suffragette City" had sounded like "Let's Spend the Night Together," or "Soul Love" like "Panic in Detroit."

PS I wish he'd included "Pin-Ups" as the bonus CD in the remaster, as I always thought of it as the veddy British antidote to the "Porn in the USA" vibes of the mothership.

The cover certainly inspired the 16 year old me when it first came out, sparking my brief going out in make up period, although I didn't have the bottle for the full on lightning flash.

P F I hope you got full value out of all your birthday presents!

Naively,

As a youngster I used to try and imagine what it would sound like if Mike Garson swapped places with Mike Barson (of Madness). Slight contrast in styles.

(I have no connection with CD-WOW!, other internet music retailers are available, blah blah)

RIP Brian Duffy, the photographer of that cover image:

http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2010/06/photographer_brian_duffy_dies.html

^shithouse.

supreeeemely dope album tho : )

One day though it might as well be someday
You and I will rise up all the way
All because of what you are
The Prettiest Star

...and then that beautiful Ronson solo

is this his "masterpiece"?

The way such a brilliant album ends with such a strange but florid headscratcher as "Lady Grinning Soul."
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, June 24, 2003 11:46 AM (11 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

^ worst post in ilx history (sorry ned).

lady grinning soul is my favorite song on this album. the best thing is that you have songs like that and aladdin sane alongside rockers like panic in detroit (which, can we say, has the grooviest percussion it's just so good.) somehow these songs all sounded very cohesive to me this week.

don't like the lyrics to cracked actor or time. the other songs have lyrics that range from unobtrusive to amazing, typical of bowie.
.
this album, full disclosure, used to be the one i didn't "get". i was so stoked to get it in 9th or 10th grade bc i new it followed ziggy which was the one i loved but it just didn't click then.

:)

what's wrong with those lyrics?

first Bowie album I bought, definitely my favorite… to me it’s a quantum leap from Ziggy harmonically, and atmospherically… also his persona and performance is more fluid and it just exudes pure adrenaline whereas Ziggy kind sounds more rehearsed and wooden. It’s looser and sexier. Don’t get me wrong I love Ziggy, the songs on AS just sound more sophisticated, more meaty to me. And one of the great closing tracks for sure. Just like, Aw yeah this is a total classic 70s album <3

is this his "masterpiece"?

I feel bad for sorta dissing Ziggy, because I understand how much that record meant to so many people. how it represented possibilities.. I would have been one of those people if I was around then.

Hunky Dory and Ziggy have a lot of great songs, but I find both the singing and production thin and fussy. This record is more lived-in, spontaneous.
I hate this version of "Let's Spend the Night Together", though, I should replace that with the studio version of "All the Young Dudes" or maybe "John I'm Only Dancing".

I hate this version of "Let's Spend the Night Together"

aw yeah, I have always found it horrible which is weird since I love the Stones' version and love this Bowie period, including most of the covers he made around that time !

This album is a distinct step down for me from and Hunky Dory and Ziggy. It's highs are as the high (Panic, Jean Genie, Lady Grinning Soul, but it seems tired and off-kilter to me and has at least one completely forgettable song (The Prettiest Star) and one that I wish I could forget (Let's Spend the Night Together). I still like it a lot, of course.

I wouldn't say I hate the "Let's Spend the Night Together" cover, but both "All the Young Dudes" and "John I'm Only Dancing" are so far superior to it that either one could replace it and vastly improve the album.

I'd also replace "The Prettiest Star" with the original, slower version, but I guess it would've been weird to stick a single from 1970 onto a 1973 album.

I vastly prefer it to Ziggy. AS just sounds fabulous. I love Ronson turning up the raunch.

I may like this more than Ziggy, but I love Ziggy. Of his glam-era albums, Hunky Dory is possibly my favorite, but I don't see the need to put one down to elevate the other. Those three albums are masterpieces, just flat out great in their own way.

― birdistheword,

You gotta include Diamond Dogs, the best of the bunch after Hunky Dory.

I'm actually not a fan of Diamond Dogs, at least not a huge fan. Some great stuff, but also some stuff I don't particularly like and the whole thing never comes together for me. (The "1984/Dodo" outtake is a favorite though, with Ronson still in the band and applying some nice Shaft-like licks all over the place. In a way it feels like a stronger bridge between the glam rock records and Young Americans.)

On the contrary, it hangs together quite well thanks to the richness of the production. It took me a few years.

Covers are a real blind spot for Bowie in the 70s. I mean pinups is his worst 70s album and every other cover he did (with the exception of wild is the wind maybe) is the worst song on the album

Exception: "It's Hard to Be a Saint...," largely b/c he's having a good time.

The cover of “The Electrician” is fine

Title track and “Drive-In Saturday” are spectacular but I am ambivalent about the rest of this album, especially compared to the sky scraping heights of the previous two

I’m of the opinion that Pin-Ups is fine tho

xxxp I didn't really mean the production or the overall sound, more the songs and the concept which never really sustained itself for me - maybe there's too many things that are too familiar (I'm not sure it would've helped had he been able to license 1984 either) but whenever I've sat through the whole thing as an active listener, it feels like a slog. The stuff I like I most I enjoy out of context.

As for the covers, I kind of enjoy Pin Ups but yeah, they're really hit-or-miss. I think they've always have been - one can probably program a double LP compilation of non-Pin Ups covers where one disc is pretty awesome and the other the pits.

I'll keep trying with Diamond Dogs. It feels like something I should like more just because that whole era of Bowie music means a lot to me, but I always feel a bit disappointed every time I've put it on.

Sweet Thing/Candidate is one of the grandest things he ever accomplished. The mix has so much going on, so rich.

and of course his gloriously terrible, appropriate guitar solos and sax bleats

in the 70s every other cover he did is the worst song on the album

I'd rank "Across the Universe" over "Fascination" or "Right".

The cover of “The Electrician” is fine

"Nite Flights"? I made a post elsewhere describing how Bowie changed one chord in his version and completely modified the balance between the song's verse and chorus.

Diamond Dogs is a crazy attempt to touch all the bases at once; he's trying to uphold his rock 'n' roll and glam "roots", but also do cabaret, soul, prog, funk, sci-fi, apocalypse, Krautrock, etc.

His version "Across the Universe" is the worst cover of any song by anybody, let alone by David Bowie.

otm

IIRC he had Visconti cut out two good songs to make room for "Across the Universe" and "Fame" too. (I think "Fame" by itself could have been shoehorned in without sacrificing any songs - wish they had done that.)

my favorite one on here is the title track, what a performance by mike garson. i do laugh to myself a little during the part of his solo where he interpolates "tequila" by the champs.

His version "Across the Universe" is the worst cover of any song by anybody, let alone by David Bowie.

― Doodles Diamond (Tom D.), Thursday, June 23, 2022 4:07 PM (twenty-six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

otm

― in places all over the world, real stuff be happening (voodoo chili)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xnu61JbAVvQ

i.e. both of you are wrong

"wild is the wind" excepted, its funny how bowie was so good but seemed to have almost a uniquely difficult time recording a half-decent version of anyone else's song. he could only be bowie.

His version "Across the Universe" is the worst cover of any song by anybody, let alone by David Bowie.

― Doodles Diamond (Tom D.)

this to the power of ...

The first couple of minutes of the title track are my favourite Bowie stuff ever.

I agree "God Only Knows" is his worst cover. I also know I'm alone in enjoying his "Across the Universe".

No!

The guitars sound fab.

xxxp yes yes I meant “Nite Flights” ugh

If it counts, I’d argue “Tonight” is his worst cover

what i'd like to know is how we feel about "fill your heart"

Maybe it would be easier to list the good covers? Not necessarily better but ones we enjoy.

"Sorrow," "Kingdom Come," the Velvets stuff done live, "I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday," "China Girl" (if that counts), "Cactus," "I've Been Waiting for You," "Pablo Picasso"...

I actually quite like Fill Your Heart but it's still probably the worst song on the album, or second tier at least. It's also pretty much the same as the Biff Rose original.

For me, Sorrow and Wild is the Wind are the only standout Bowie covers. The rest don't add much, or anything at all, to the Bowie oeuvre.

I love Lets Spend the Night Together! I didn’t realize most aren’t that fond of it. It sounds unhinged in just the right way, overloaded and horny.

I think it works in the context of the album, plus I love the “DO IT” part with mick ronson’s motorcycle revving

god, "wild is the wind" is SUCH a slog. the three-minute single edit is plenty

I love Lets Spend the Night Together! I didn’t realize most aren’t that fond of it. It sounds unhinged in just the right way, overloaded and horny.

I agree. I’d argue that there’s a worse Stones cover on Diamond Dogs (I have no love for “Rebel Rebel” except that it’s on the radio often and I like to be reminded of Bowie)

I always forget that “The Jean Genie” is on this. I love that song

otm re "Rebel Rebel"

I must have missed this, Bowie covered 'The Electrician'? Where can I find that?

It's corrected, they meant "Nite Flights."

But Bowie wrote a song so similar to Scott Walker that the estate might've sued:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02BXbobS_mY

I love "Rebel Rebel," one of the first Bowie singles I instantly fell in love with before I really knew who he was. But it also feels wedged into Diamond Dogs rather than something organically conceived with the rest of the album. It's probably more appropriate for Aladdin Sane but it was recorded (or written?) too late for that to happen.

"Diamond Dogs" the song seems much more of a Stones pastiche than "Rebel Rebel".

I slag on Diamond Dogs a lot but isn't it the first album since early days that Bowie made without Ronson? If so, I gotta cut it some more slack

Bowie wrote a song so similar to Scott Walker

afaic, one of Scott Walker's greatest achievements was proxy-teaching Bowie his latter-day technique. Bowie from Buddha onward is like... my favourite singer. I prefer Bowie-doing-Walker to Walker-doing-Walker, oftentimes; Walker tends to get a little too Phantom Of The Opera at times

xp I believe so. That's one reason I mentioned "1984/Dodo" which was early enough to be recorded with Ronson. You get rid of "Dodo" and it's more or less the same song and arrangement as what's on the album, but Ronson's guitar part was also my favorite and that's completely gone.

One of my favourite things is Scott Walker wishing Bowie a happy 50th birthday and Bowie starts crying

I mean, it's famous, but here it is in case anybody missed it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V01oQ_BsX00