MB Bowie Classics: "David Bowie" (1969)
 

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Also known as Space Oddity and Man of Words/Man of Music. Bowie's second album, from which came not only the "official" title as a hit single, but a very noticeable change in direction for the Thin White Duke, a pointer to the way his career was about to move, taking him to megastar status within (excuse the reference) five years.

Now we start to get a glimpse of Bowie's great potential as a songwriter. Overall, still not quite up to the level he would reach in a few short years with Ziggy Stardust but a huge improvement over his debut both lyrically and musically. "Space Oddity" is the standout track (one of his best ever) and more than any other song on the album, hints at what was to come.

This is a good listen and I've given it a 3.

Much better than his debut and a shift away in sound. Space Oddity is a classic but there are a few good tracks on this. Feels a bit rough/messy but it's decent enough. Definite improvement on the previous album.

I have to listen to it again, as I was finishing Ori's superb story while listening, so I kind of wasn't paying the sort of attention I should have been. However, apart from the obvious, the closer and "Cygnet Committee" (especially the latter) stand out here as examples of the kind of direction Bowie was going to go in. There are still tinges of the folk rock very prevalent on the debut, but it's less pronounced and he's moving away from that towards a more art-rock direction. I won't vote till I've listened to it again, properly this time.

Aw, shucks... :o:

Okay, listening again now. I find the second track pretty good but a little too long, bit of a jam. Harmonica is always welcome, but it's kind of more in the folk rock area. In contrast, and even though it's three minutes longer, as already mentioned, "Cygnet Committee" is the real standout here, giving me future echoes from Diamond Dogs and parts of Ziggy, and surely others I'm not aware of. A real classic track which really shows Bowie's emerging talent, his power as a wordsmith, his knack for creating images and stories with his songs.

"Janine" is kind of straight-forward rock and roll, while "An Occasional Dream" looks back to the soft folk of his debut (even includes some flutes, it would appear) so the next real song of any significance or interest is "Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud". For me, this foreshadows the likes of "Life on Mars?" in ways; the orchestral backing is nice and there's a certain sense of The Beatles in it, the likes of Sgt Peppers, and while "God Knows I'm Good" is ok I could do without it. The album ends really well then on "Memories of a Free Festival". Again it's extended a little too much, but more or less fades out in a "Hey Jude" way so it's not annoying at all.

A big leap forward for Bowie, leading to one of his heaviest albums up to that point. I'll vote this one a 4.

A mix of pretty good (Space Oddity, Letter to Hermione, An Occasional Dream), merely passable (Janine, Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud, Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed) and almost bad songs (Cygnet Committee, God Knows I'm Good, Memory of a Free Festival).

Starts out with a classic tune, but what follows is kind of messy and not always memorable.
I wouldn't even say that Bowie's singing is on point all the way through either. Even the debut album was more consistent in that department. The final track on the album, Memory of a Free Festival, has Bowie's voice sounding oddly thin and weak. He fares much better elsewhere on the album, but overall, this album feels like a messy follow up to a more carefully planned debut. Perhaps Bowie didn't quite know what he wanted to do yet.

A lot of the music also doesn't sound great. I feel like the guitar tones and drums don't always come through in a very flattering manner. Not a lot of the guitar playing is very interesting either.

I expect to like a lot of his later stuff much better.

2/5

Okay, bump number two. I'll bump some more Bowie tomorrow.

This was one of the first Bowie albums I bought (It was repackaged as Space Oddity in the US). I fell in love with this album. It was perfect space music, or at least that's how i felt about it at the time. My favorite cuts are the title track (naturally), Cygnet Committee, and God Knows I'm Good, which is kind of a trippy folk song, imo. Probably not one of my favorite Bowie's anymore but still a solid album.

7/10 (The Word has spoken :D )