David Bowie - Space Oddity (1969) Plus Bonus 24-bit/96kHz
Folk-Rock, Psychedelia, Progressive Rock | Late 70s UK repress of 1972 reissue | RCA LSP 4813
David Bowie is the second studio album by English musician David Bowie, released under that title by Philips in the UK, and by Mercury in the US as Man of Words/Man of Music. It was later rereleased by RCA as Space Oddity but reverted to the original, eponymous, title for a 2009 reissue. Regarding its mix of folk, balladry and prog rock, NME editors Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray have said, "Some of it belonged in '67 and some of it in '72, but in 1969 it all seemed vastly incongruous. Basically, David Bowie can be viewed in retrospect as all that Bowie had been and a little of what he would become, all jumbled up and fighting for control..."
Still one of David Bowie's best-known songs, "Space Oddity" was a largely acoustic number augmented by the eerie tones of the composer's Stylophone, a pocket electronic organ. The title and subject matter were inspired by Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and introduced the character of Major Tom. Some commentators have also seen the song as a metaphor for heroin use, citing the opening countdown as analogous to the drug's passage down the needle prior to the euphoric 'hit', and noting Bowie's admission of a "silly flirtation with smack" in 1968. His 1980 hit "Ashes to Ashes" declared "We know Major Tom's a junkie".
"Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed" reflected a strong Bob Dylan influence, with its harmonica, edgy guitar sound and snarling vocal. "Letter to Hermione" was a farewell ballad to Bowie's former girlfriend, Hermione Farthingale, who was also the object of "An Occasional Dream", a gentle folk tune reminiscent of the singer's 1967 debut album. "God Knows I'm Good", Bowie's observational tale of a shoplifter's plight, also recalled his earlier style.
"Cygnet Committee" has been called Bowie's "first true masterpiece". Commonly regarded as the album track most indicative of the composer's future direction, its lead character is a messianic figure "who breaks down barriers for his younger followers, but finds that he has only provided them with the means to reject and destroy him". Bowie himself described it at the time as a put down of hippies who seemed ready to follow any charismatic leader. Another track cited as foreshadowing themes to which Bowie would return in 1970s, in this case the fracturing of personality, was "Janine", which featured the words "But if you took an axe to me, you'd kill another man not me at all".
The Buddhism-influenced "Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud" was presented in a heavily expanded form compared to the original guitar-and-cello version on the B-side of the "Space Oddity" single; the album cut featured a 50-piece orchestra and was also notable for Mick Ronson's debut on a Bowie record, playing uncredited guitar and handclaps midway through the song. "Memory of a Free Festival" was Bowie's reminiscence of an arts festival he had organised in August 1969. Its drawn-out fade/chorus ("The Sun Machine is coming down / And we're gonna have a party") was compared to The Beatles' "Hey Jude"; the song has also been interpreted as a derisive comment on the counterculture it was ostensibly celebrating. The background vocals for the crowd finale featured Bob Harris, his wife Sue, Tony Woollcott and Marc Bolan among other people.
Held to be "the first Bowie album proper", and his first deemed worthy by record companies of regular reissue, David Bowie featured a notable list of collaborators, including session players Herbie Flowers, Tim Renwick, Terry Cox, and Rick Wakeman, as well as cellist Paul Buckmaster, multi-instrumentalist and producer Tony Visconti, and bassist John Lodge (not to be confused with The Moody Blues' bassist of the same name). Before recording for the album commenced at Trident Studios, the song "Space Oddity" had been selected as the lead single based on an earlier demo. Tim Renwick, John 'Honk' Lodge, Mick Wayne and John Cambridge – all from the band 'Junior's Eyes' – featured on the album sessions and briefly served as Bowie's backing band for live appearances and on an October 1969 BBC Radio session. Visconti saw it as a "novelty record" and passed the production responsibility on to Gus Dudgeon. He thus produced all the songs on the album bar what would become, from its 1972 reissue onwards, the title track.
Although the opening song had given Bowie a #5 hit in the UK earlier in the year, the remainder of the material bore little resemblance to it and the album was a commercial failure on its initial release, despite some decent reviews. However the November 1972 reissue, released in the wake of Bowie's breakthrough The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and featuring a contemporary Ziggy photo on the cover, made #17 in the UK charts and #16 in the United States.
"The Prettiest Star" is a song by David Bowie, originally released as a single in 1970.
Bowie had recently re-recorded an old Deram track, "London Bye Ta Ta", intended as a follow-up single to "Space Oddity" in early 1970. However, the same sessions had also spawned a new composition named "The Prettiest Star". Bowie wrote it for Angela Barnett, reputedly playing it down the telephone as part of his proposal to her. He also chose it as his next single, to the displeasure of manager Kenneth Pitt, who favoured "London Bye Ta Ta".
The track featured Marc Bolan on guitar, with whom Bowie would spend the next few years as a rival for the crown of the king of glam rock. Producer Tony Visconti, who brought the two aspiring pop stars together in the studio, recalled that the session went well until the end when Bolan's wife June remarked to Bowie, "Marc is too good for you, to be playing on this record!"
Despite receiving good notices, the single reportedly sold fewer than 800 copies, a major disappointment on the back of the success of "Space Oddity". Wikipedia
Track listing:
01. Space Oddity
02. Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed
03. Letter to Hermione
04. Cygnet Committee
05. Janine
06. An Occasional Dream
07. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud
08. God Knows I'm Good
09. Memory of a Free Festival
Bonus:
10. The Prettiest Star
11. Conversation Piece
Mercury single MF 1135 (1970)
12. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud
13. Space Oddity
Philips single BF 1801 (1969)
Personnel:
David Bowie – vocals, 12-string guitar, acoustic guitar, Stylophone, Kalimba
Rick Wakeman – mellotron, electric harpsichord, keyboards
Terry Cox – drums
Tim Renwick – electric guitar
Keith Christmas – acoustic guitar
Mick Wayne – guitar
Tony Visconti – bass guitar, flute, recorder
Herbie Flowers – bass guitar
Benny Marshall and friends – harmonica
Paul Buckmaster – cello
Recorded at Trident Studios, London
Produced by Tony Visconti, except 1, 12, 13 produced by Gus Dudgeon
Technicals:
Knosti RCM.
Michell GyroDec full version.
Funk Firm FXR II Tonearm.
Audio Technica AT33PTG/II MC Cartridge.
Harman Kardon HK990 Integrated Amplifier.
Gold Interconnects. E-MU 0204 Audio Interface.
Recording, split and manual de-click with Adobe Audition 3.0.1
Click Repair 3.9.1
Vinyl transfer by son-of-albion, December 2013