MicShazam

I don't think my rating of 1 is too harsh. When we're finally all the way through his discography, I strongly expect this album to be among my few least favorite albums of his.

Anteater

Gonna hand this one a perfect score. Love the overall aesthetic and jazzy atmosphere. So good and laidback. You can tell Bowie was paying attention to the good stuff coming from Steely Dan and their ilk, and Sanborn does great on sax throughout as well. Favs are probably 'Win' and, of course, 'Fame'.

That being said, I think Bowie would have benefitted a bit from taking a lead from Gino Vannelli's book and bringing in some crazy synhwork or something to add to the atmosphere + overall excitement level. The only real mark I have against Young Americans is it might be a tad too dedicated to maintaining a certain mood.

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MicShazam

I really hate Steely Dan, so maybe I was meant to dislike Young Americans.

"Laid back" really seems to be your thing, Ant.

Anteater

It's one of my things. If you hate the Dan though you just haven't lived long enough.

Or to put it another way: if Bowie liked something musically, it stands to reason that there's some value there.

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MicShazam

"Hate" is far too strongly put anyway. I owned a copy of Aja a long time ago because I really liked one of the guitar riffs. The rest of the album disappointed me and I felt like it was too carefully measured and robotic. Sometimes maybe a bit too sugary.

I'll try again if I live to be 80.

Anteater

Aja is pretty damn close to being a perfect record. Some of the best musicians on the planet playing out a twisted version of the American dream. The Royal Scam might be more to your liking though: it has a bit less polish and a bit more snark.

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MicShazam

I might like that one better. It's not like I'm expecting them to morph into a punk band or anything, but Aja just didn't click with me.

rubber soul

Well, I hate to say it but I kind of agree with Mic. I voted 2 but I could have easily voted a one. I hated the album when the album first came out and I'm not crazy about it now. Favorite tracks are Fame and.... hey, that's it. Everything else sucks. I guess it is listenable but Bowie should be more than listenable. Well, at least he had some help from John Lennon (which probably explains the abysmal cover).

3/10 (The Word has gotten sick)

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Keigh

Young Americans was my introduction to David Bowie. The title track and "Fame" became hits on AM radio and during that era, tha's all I listened to so I was lucky to discover him at that time.