David Bowie Young Americans album released

Young Americans David Bowie

Released: March 7, 1975 Peak: 9 US, 2 UK, 17 CN, 9 AU Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.1 UK, 3.5 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Young Americans [5:11] (3/1/75, 28 US, 20 CB, 27 HR, 32 RR, 3 CL, 2 CO, 18 UK, 27 AU) Win [4:44] Fascination (Bowie/Vandross) [5:45] (16 CL, 36 CO) Right [4:15] Somebody Up There Likes Me [6:30] Across the Universe (Lennon/McCartney) [4:29] Can You Hear Me [5:03] Fame (Alomar/Bowie/Lennon) [4:16] (2/21/75, 1 US, 1 CB, 1 HR, 1 RR, 17 UK, 21 RB, 1 CL, 1 CO, sales: 1 million airplay: 1 million) Songs written by David Bowie unless indicated otherwise. Total Running Time: 40:13 The Players: David Bowie (vocals, guitar, keyboards) Carlos Alomar, Earl Slick (guitar) Mike Garson (piano) David Sanborn (saxophone) Willie Weeks, Emir Ksasan (bass) Andy Newmark, Dennis Davis (drums) Ava Cherry, Robin Clark, Jean Fineberg, Jean Millington, Luther Vandross (backing vocals) Ralph MacDonald, Pablo Rosario (percussion) John Lennon (vocals, guitar, and backing vocals on “Across the Universe” and “Fame”)

Rating: 3.677 out of 5.00 (average of 23 ratings) Quotable: -- Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: For Young Amerians, David Bowie’s ninth studio album, he abandoned the glam rock of previous releases in favor of R&B. Bowie biographers have considered the album one of his most influential, noting he was one of the first white musicians from the time to “overtly engage with black musical styles.” WK “Rock ‘n’ Roll with Me” and “1984” from previous album Diamond Dogs exhibited “elements of funk and soul” WK and the subsequent tour dropped hints as well, “but the full-blown blue-eyed soul of Young Americans came as a shock.” AMG He enlisted “first-rate sessionmen” AMG including then-unknown singer Luther Vandross as a backup singer and funk guitarist Carlos Alomar, who had played with James Brown, Chuck Berry, and Wilson Pickett. Alomar had never heard of Bowie, but they made an immediate connection and worked together for nearly fifteen years hence. WK Bowie also hired drummer Andy Newmark, who’d worked with Sly & the Family Stone, and bassist Willie Weeks from the Isley Brothers. WK The result was “a set of songs that approximate the sound of Philly soul and disco, yet remain detached from their inspirations; even at his most passionate, Bowie sounds like a commentator, as if the entire album was a genre exercise.” AMG Bowie himself labeled the new direction “plastic soul.” In January 1975, David Bowie and John Lennon met at Electric Lady Studios in New York to record a cover of the Beatles’ song Across the Universe and new song Fame. WK The latter, which “had a beat funky enough that James Brown ripped it off,” AMG hit #1 in the United States. Bowie was surprised by how successful it was, saying it “was really out of left-field for me.” WK The “plastic, robotic soul helped inform generations of synthetic British soul. What does hurt the record is a lack of strong songwriting. Young Americans is a masterpiece…[as is ‘Fame’] but only a handful of cuts (Win, Fascination, Somebody up There Likes Me) comes close to matching their quality. As a result, Young Americans is more enjoyable as a stylistic adventure than as a substantive record.” AMG Other critics echoed similar sentiments. Pitchfork’s Douglas Wolk said it “comes off as an artist trying very hard to demonstrate how unpredictable he is.” WK He called it “distinctly a transitional record,” WK an observation seconded by NME’s Ian MacDonald, who considered the record a result of Bowie “not knowing where to take his career next.” WK However, author David Buckley says the record “brought fans of both glam rock and soul together in the wake of the disco era.” WK Biographer Nicholas Pegg said “Bowie had undertaken the first significant excursion into Black Soul by a mainstream white artist,” paving the way for others to engage in similar styles. WK Notes: The 1990 Rykodisc reissue adds previously unreleased tracks “Who Can I Be Now?” and “It’s Gonna Be Me” as well as the 1974 A-side single of “John, I’m Only Dancing Again.”

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for David Bowie AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine WK Wikipedia First posted 2/20/2008; last updated 7/31/2021.

 

David Bowie Diamond Dogs album released

Diamond Dogs David Bowie

Released: May 24, 1974 Peak: 5 US, 14 UK, 12 CN, 3 AU Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.1 UK, 4.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: glam rock/classic rock

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Future Thing [1:07] Diamond Dogs [5:56] (6/14/76, 15 CL, 8 CO, 21 UK, 55 AU) Sweet Thing [3:38] Candidate [2:40] Sweet Thing (Reprise) [2:32] Rebel Rebel [4:30] (2/15/74, 64 US, 53 CB, 72 HR, 2 CL, 5 CO, 5 UK, 28 AU) Rock ‘N’ Roll with Me [4:02] (9/74, 44 CL, 33 CO) We Are the Dead [4:54] 1984 [3:27] (8/31/74, 96 CB, CL 40, CO 24) Big Brother [3:20] Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family [2:04] All songs written by David Bowie. Total Running Time: 46:10 The Players: David Bowie (vocals, guitars, saxophone, Moog synthesizer, Mellotron) Mike Garson (keyboards) Herbie Flowers (bass) Aynsley Dunbar, Tony Newman (drums) Alan Parker (guitar on “1984”)

Rating: 3.895 out of 5.00 (average of 30 ratings) Quotable: Bowie would “never make an album that was obviously his own again.” – C.M. Crockford, punknews.org Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Bowie’s previous album, Pin-Ups, was a collection of covers which served as sort of a stopgap. For Diamond Dogs, Bowie fully separated himself from the classic Ziggy Stardust era of 1971-73 by dismissing guitarist Mick Ronson, bassist Trevor Bolder, and drummer Mick Woodmansey. He did keep pianist Mike Garson and session drummer Aynsley Dunbar who first emerged on Pin-Ups. He also brought back Tony Visconti, who’d played bass and produced on The Man Who Sold the World, to provide string arrangements and help mix the album. Bowie took on lead guitar duties himself. Diamond Dogs would be Bowie’s last album in the glam rock genre and has even been considered proto-punk. WK Music journalist C.M. Crockford described it as “the goofy, abrasive place where punk and art-rock meet, dance a little, and depart.” WK However, Bowie “didn’t completely leave the Ziggy Stardust persona behind. Diamond Dogs suffers precisely because of this — he doesn't know how to move forward.” AMG “Throughout the album, there are hints that he’s tired with the Ziggy formula, particularly in the disco underpinning of Candidate and his cut-and-paste lyrics. However, it’s not enough to make Diamond Dogs a step forward, and without Mick Ronson to lead the band, the rockers are too stiff to make an impact.” AMG Bowie originally intended to create a concept album based on George Orwell’s novel 1984. However, he was denied the rights by Orwell’s widow Sonia. He had developed the song 1984 in January 1973 during the sessions for Aladdin Sane and it survived for Diamond Dogs despite having to abandon the initial concept. We Are the Dead also reflects on the novel, specifically the characters of Winston and Julia and their love for each other. WK He opted instead to create “an urban apocalyptic scenario based on the writings of William S. Burroughs” resulting in songs such as Future Legend and the title cut. WK The former presented the idea of an apocalypse that could happen at any time. The latter introduces Bowie’s newest persona – Halloween Jack – as the ruler of the “diamond dogs,” which are, in the words of biographer Chris O’Leary, “packs of feral kids camped on high-rise roofs, tearing around on roller skates, terrorizing the corpse-strew streets they live above.” WK The album was preceded by “the tight, sexy Rebel Rebel,” AMG which “is based around a distinctive guitar riff reminiscent of the Rolling Stones.” WK It has been called Bowie’s “farewell to the glam era.” WK The single “doesn’t have much to do with the theme, and the ones he does throw in to further the story usually fall flat.” AMG Biographer Nicholas Pegg says “Rebel Rebel” is Bowie’s most-covered track. WK That song and Rock ‘n’ Roll with Me were originally written for a potential Ziggy Stardust musical. WK This power ballad “explores the relationship between the audience and an actor.” WK Biographer David Buckley says the song foreshadowed the plastic soul of his next album, Young Americans. WK The suite of Sweet Thing / Candidate / Sweet Thing (Reprise) has been described as the album’s highlight. Pegg says “Sweet Thing” paints pictures of decay with sex being a “drug-like commodity” while “Candidate” shows Bowie “consumed by the fakery of his own stage creations.” WK As far as the overall status of the album, Rolling Stone’s Ken Emerson called it “Bowie’s worst album in six years.” WK All Music Guide’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine says “Diamond Dogs isn’t a total waste…but it is the first record since Space Oddity where Bowie's reach exceeds his grasp.” AMG Rock Magazine called it “a strong and effective album.” WK Sounds’ Martin Kirkup said the album “has the provoking quality of a thought-out painting that draws on all the deeper colors.” WK Punknews.org’s C.M. Crockford said Bowie would “never make an album that was obviously his own again.” WK Notes: The 1990 Rykodisc reissue adds the previously unreleased “Dodo” and a demo version of “Candidate.”

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for David Bowie AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine WK Wikipedia First posted 2/20/2008; last updated 7/30/2021.