The Fantastic David Bowie Thread

[Dean Winchester]

who else here likes him? what's your fave albums/era of him?

I think he's one of the greatest acts ever, he's definately up there with the Stones, Beatles, Hendrix, Who and the sort IMO. And most astonishingly, he's still putting out great material to this day. Reality is almost as good as his 70's output.

This will be the Bowie thread

[Dean Winchester]

I went with three, Station To Station, Scary Monsters and Reality

[Dean Winchester]

Scary Monsters era pic of Bowie

[dandelion wine]

Not only can the man sing, but he has sex appeal coming out of his ears.

I chose:

"Space Oddity"

"Ziggy Stardust"

"Young Americans"

"Let's Dance"

"Labyrinth"

[Janice]

In the early 70s, my two older sisters had Bowie's Ziggy Stardust album. I was young, but I loved it. I bought the cd years ago, and I still love it. I know every note and lyric by heart.

Other than that, I'm only familiar with his chart-toppers. Rebel Rebel, Changes, etc. I love his sound.

[Lady T]

Ashes to Ashes

It is one of my favorite songs and David Bowie is a stunningly beautiful man as well...

[Dean Winchester]

David's first album (although he released many one-off singles between 1964-1966) came out on June 1, 1967... a day in music that will live in infamy because of Sgt. Pepper. This torch-esque album didn't make much of an impact in either the UK or America

1. Uncle Arthur
2. Sell Me a Coat
3. Rubber Band
4. Love You till Tuesday
5. There Is a Happy Land
6. We Are Hungry Men
7. When I Live My Dream
8. Little Bombardier
9. Silly Boy Blue
10. Come and Buy My Toys
11. Join the Gang
12. She's Got Medals
13. Maid of Bond Street
14. Please Mr. Gravedigger

>>AMG REVIEW: The Decca family of labels never forgot that they'd once held David Bowie under contract, nor that the vault was crammed with material recorded during his two year stay. A multitude of compilations followed Bowie's 1972 breakthrough, of which just two - the vinyl double Images and the CD Decca Anthology 1966-68 are truly worthwhile. The remainder, of which this is one, simply wrap up a random selection of cuts, to no intent or purpose whatsoever.The emphasis here is on the most singalong songs - the impishly compulsive "Uncle Arthur", the proto-androgyny of "She's Got Medals", the sad reflections of "Rubber Band". The bulk of the content is drawn from Bowie's eponymous 1967 debut album, bolstered by the earlier 45 London Boys", and the later "Karma Man", "Let Me Sleep Beside You" and "In The Heat Of My Morning". The absence of any real annotation renders such distinctions immaterial, however - as with so many of these collections, Bowie's period growth is ignored, and the casual listener would never guess what was coming next - the sensual folk of Feathers, the Dylan-ish drama of Man Of Words, Man Of Music, the cold metal of the Hype. Just another dodgy comp of the same-old same-old. — Dave Thompson<<

[Dean Winchester]

After the dismal failure of Bowie's Decca debut album, he was dropped and signed to Mercury, where he recorded his sophomore effort, Man Of Words... Man Of Music in 1969. In the UK, the single "Space Oddity" went to #5, becoming Bowie's first hit single. The album was very folky and came and went in no time in the US. He had no other hit single off the album in the UK either. Flash-forward to late 1972, Bowie was conquering the rock world as Ziggy Stardust, RCA bought the rights to his two Mercury albums (the second one will be looked at shortly) and issued a new Ziggy-ish cover and changed the title to Space Oddity, both to capitalize on the hit single as well as to cash in on Ziggy Stardust, and the album and single (his first US top 40) quickly made the US top 20.


SPACE ODDITY
by David Bowie

Ground Control to Major Tom
Ground Control to Major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on

Ground Control to Major Tom
Commencing countdown, engines on
Check ignition and may God's love be with you

(spoken)
Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One, Liftoff

This is Ground Control to Major Tom
You've really made the grade
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear
Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare

"This is Major Tom to Ground Control
I'm stepping through the door
And I'm floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today

For here
Am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do

Though I'm past one hundred thousand miles
I'm feeling very still
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go
Tell my wife I love her very much she knows"

Ground Control to Major Tom
Your circuit's dead, there's something wrong
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you....

"Here am I floating round my tin can
Far above the Moon
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do."


When EMI bought the right to Bowie's back catalog in 1999, they reissued Space Oddity, retaining the classic title, but reverting back to the ORIGINAL cover, here it is


Bowie performing in 1969, check out the fro!

[vashti1999]

I like David Bowie though I don't own any of his albums. I do own the Best of Bowie dvd music video collection though. I figured I'd hear all my favorite songs from him that way. When I was little I remember shows like Midnight Special or Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, when they'd show videos like "DJ" or "Boys Keep Swinging" he made an impression on me back then. The songs "Little Wonder" and "I'm Afraid of Americans" are the most recent stuff I like from him.

[Dean Winchester]

1. Space Oddity (5:14)
2. Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed (6:10)
3. Don't Sit Down (0:39) * deleted from the album when it was rereleased as Space Oddity but placed back when released on cd in the 90's
4. Letter To Hermione (2:30)
5. Cygnet Committee (9:30)
6. Janine (3:19)
7. An Occasional Dream (2:56)
8. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (4:47)
9. God Knows I'm Good (3:16)
10. Memory Of A Free Festival (7:07)
Bonus tracks on RykoDisc release
11. Conversation Piece (3:05) 1970 B-side of Prettiest Star
12. Memory Of A Free Festival Part 1 (3:59)
13. Memory Of A Free Festival Part 2 (3:31) 1970 single version

>>Originally released as Man of Words/Man of Music, Space Oddity was David Bowie's first successful reinvention of himself. Abandoning both the mod and Anthony Newley fascinations that marked his earlier recordings, Bowie delves into a lightly psychedelic folk-rock, exemplified by the album's soaring title track. Bowie actually attempts a variety of styles on Space Oddity, as if he were trying to find the ones that suited him best. As such, the record isn't very cohesive, but it is charming, especially in light of his later records. Nevertheless, only "Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud" and "Memory of a Free Festival" rank as Bowie classics, and even those lack the hooks or purpose of "Space Oddity." — Stephen Thomas Erlewine<<

Yet another "fro" picture of Bowie circa 1969


this is the cover that RCA released in 1972 for Space Oddity, this remained the cover until the Rykodisc cd's went out of print in 1998.

[Hollow]

i like "new killer star".. the video is quite amusing. i liked him in "labrinth" too.