ALADDIN SANE

LET YOURSELF GO!

"A Lad Insane" was written on the roads during the extensive "Ziggy" tour. But David was extremely busy in those days. Not only is he reaching the stardom he was looking for since the mid sixties as a band leader/solo artist.

He co-produced (with Ronson) another great album in 1972. "Transformer" form his mate Lou Reed. And as a fan (as I was), he wanted to help another one of his idol. The charismatic Ian Hunter, the front man of "Mott The Hoople".

In those days, the Hoople was in an all-time low (actually, they never lift off). Bowie proposed them "Suffragette City" but they didn't take it. Then came "All The Young Dudes". THE glam-rock anthem. And it will peak at the third spot of the UK charts. The Hoople were launched.For the best of us all.

The third and by far the most complex album is the one with Iggy & The Stooges. David is producing that one as well. As the name shows "Raw Power" won't be a great example of subtlety. But it will be a landmark of the rock history.

During the US leg of the Ziggy tour, the band is traveling by bus (David feared the plane in those times) and this long trip will inspire him for six of the songs form this album. One can follow their route while reading the titles of the songs on the sleeve. From New-York ("Watch That Man") to L.A. ("Cracked Actor").

"A Lad In Sane / Aladin Sane" is the most rocking album from Bowie. Seriously influenced by the Stones and the simple but so effective Richards riffs. It is actually a vibrant homage to rock (he will confirm this in his next album "Pin- Ups", but that's another story).

The most experimental track of the whole is definitely the title track. Decadent and chaotic, this song is totally different from the rest of the album. The piano play, the jazzy feeling is a huge contrast here. An excellent piece of music.

With "Drive-In Saturday" (originally written as a follow-up to "All The Young Dudes" for Hoople) David got back to the apocalyptical atmosphere which contrast with some doo-wop influence. A post-nuclear drive-in movie party during which the audience made up of mutants can watch how to make love. Because they forgot how to do it.. A kind of simulation before going home.to bed.A highlight.

The rocking mood goes on with "Panic In Detroit". It is depicting the wild environment of the city. With an excess of violent lyrics: "Found him slumped across the table. A gun and me alone, I ran to the window. Looked for a plane or two. Panic in Detroit"

Inevitably, L.A. will inspire "Cracked Actor". A harsh description of the showbiz: "You sold me illusions for a sack full of cheques. You've made a bad connection 'cause I just want your sex". Might well have happened.

The B-side opens on another great song. My fave (in conjunction with another Genie one). It is a complex one, cabaret-like oriented, decadent as well with the omni-presence of a fantastic piano play. The finale is truly bombastic and pompous. "Time" of course is another highlight.

The next song "The Prettiest Star" is an old one that David wrote in 1970 for Angie. On the original single version (which was a complete flop) Marc Bolan was playing the guitar. It is another one of the very good songs of this album, but a bit lost compared to so phenomenal other great ones.

How can you be more Stones oriented than covering one of their songs? And one of the most sulfurous ones, which is probably not chosen at random? Here you go with "Let's Spend The Night Together".

Now, "The Jean Genie".

This one hold a particular place in my heart. It is thanks to this song that I was put in contact with Bowie for the very first time in 1973. It was aired quite a lot on the Belgian radio ("Formule J"). I succumbed immediately and it was the start of a loooooong story. Infectious riff, hard-rocking beat, wild. Perfect.

It is Bowie's biggest hit single (peaking at the second spot in the UK, just after "Blockbuster" from Sweet which was using a similar type of riff). This album will reach the number one spot. In my heart as well.

Did I say masterpiece?

Another classic Bowie album, another metamorphosis and giant leap forward in new directions. David Bowie reinventing himself or repurposing for want of a better word on the Aladdin Sane release. Vibrant energetic sounds so influential to progressive sounds in the 70's and 80's. I often think of Bowie and the Beatles as similar in terms of creative output affecting music either subconcously or consciously respectively. Therefore Bowie being a much more subtle influence on his musical peers. Aladdin Sane carried so much clout that it carries the essential tag and IMO always will. The album kicks off with the Watch That Man immediately showing that this guy mean't business and the album gets better and better. Check out Drive In - Saturday and Prettiest Star. It also goes without saying that the Jean Genie is probably the next most famous song alongside Space Oddity and dare I say - China Girl. As I said this is essential listening.

I have a different approach than the preceding two collab reviews, both rating Aladdin Sane five stars. I'm not arguing if this is considered to be an Important Classic. I recognize elements of innovation on this album, and as the follower of the famous Ziggy Stardust album (which must have laid some pressure for the next release) it finds Bowie once again expanding his artistic expression. There are three standout tracks for me: 'Aladdin Sane' with its fiery, insane piano work is amazing piece of art rock. 'Time' is one of my favourite Bowie songs, very theatrical and quite progressive in structure. It's all too little-known gem in Bowie's discography. And the closing song 'Lady Grinning Soul' I also like a lot. These tracks represent the more artistic side of the album, with some sort of continental Cabaret feeling. Interesting, because this album was mainly written in the United States (during the Ziggy tour), as the city names following the titles reveal.

Personally I'm not very fond of the other material. 'Drive-in-Saturday' comes close to the better side but it has too sticky chorus repeated too much towards the end. 'The Prettiest Star' - written for Angie, best known as Mick Jagger's sweetheart - is otherwise a nice little song but I hate the way it repeats the phrase in the end. Which is followed by nothing else than a Rolling Stones cover 'Let's Spend the Night Together'. I couln't be less interested. (Well, I do like SOME of the Stones songs but definitely this one is not among them.) The remaining tracks are mostly rocking and not up to my taste. So please note that my rating is highly subjective. If the whole album was as great as the highlights, I even might consider five stars.

Bowie has all different periods ( in sense of music) during his long career. "Aladdin Sane" isn't his earlier sound ( as "Honky Dory"), but still far away from "Berlin Trilogy "with Eno influenced synth-dark-ambient spices. What we have here , is typical Bowie's glam-rock: in fact mix of hard-rock, rock'n'roll and proto-punk ( in early Iggy Pop style).

Is this album as good as many are thinking? I am not sure. I like Bowie's music , he is one of my music heroes, but is this theatrical rock'n'roll show important for prog listener? I think not too much.

Yes, Bowie put many interesting elements in his music there, even cabaret! OK, I agree, you can see ( and even hear) some rock-cirkus there. And? Iggy Pop in some his albums doing similar things even better ( and he is more innovative in fact transfering proto-punk to real punk-rock). He has some very strong albums. Do we have "Iggy Pop shelf" there in Progarchives?

Yse, in his own manner this Bowie album isn't bad. Decadance atmosphere, his voice, lyrics - all that makes album important, especially in historical sense. But musically the album is below average, sorry!

Recommended: to Bowie hot-fans, decadance music lovers ( but Tom Waits is far better!).

Not-recommended: to any, who will try to find even small tracks of prog there

An excellent follow up to the Ziggy and the Spiders album. This LP's harder, with more bass and is a bit more raw in sound - but none the worse for it. 'Aladdin Sane' zips from heavy Glam Rock to the very unusual in the form of the title track, which is clearly the best tune on the album, replete with some bonkers, in your face, frantic piano by Mick Ronson. I'll always remember this album for the superb and sleazy "Time" with its sexually explicit lyrics which caused great embarrassment to me in '85 when I was 15 when my mum overheard this coming from my bedroom... I've been scarred for life... The whole album sounds SO 70's and a world apart from the groundbreaking Berlin trilogy he'll record from '76 to '79. That's not to say it's bad... I love this album despite it's obvious shortcomings. It's so dated that it's almost back in fashion. Massive in the 70's, hated in the eighties, liked in the nineties, and now looked upon like a kind old uncle smoking a pipe in the 00's The best thing about 'Aladdin Sane' is the wonderful iconic cover. It's how Bowie will be remembered in history

This album is an interesting case in that my reaction to it is largely the opposite of how I end up reacting to a lot of Bowie albums. That is, instead of remembering the album fondly in my gut, only to feel inevitable disappointment when I go back and listen to the album, I end up enjoying this album while it's on but later find myself going, "Aladdin Sane, why the hell would I want to listen to that?" or thereabouts. Yet while this album is a little short on classics, and awfully long on Stones, um, "homages" (and that's not just with the cover of "Let's Spend the Night Together," which kinda mutilates the original but has a lot of charm, even with the orgasm guitar noises in the end), the songs work together well enough to ensure this a high rating.

Aside from the Stones cover, the three songs on here that tend to get the most attention are the title track, "Time" and "The Jean Genie." The title track (full title = "Aladdin Sane (1913- 1938-197?), where the first two years were right before the beginning of the World Wars, suggesting WW3 was imminent, I guess) is Bowie at his genre-smooshing best, as he manages to create a sort of psychedelic torch-jazz ballad that ends up featuring one of the most insane avant-garde jazz piano parts ever to make it into the realm of rock music. I'm the first to admit that I might not fully admire that piano solo on its own or in other contexts, but here, over the insistent beat (kinda reminding me of how, in the Roxy Music song "If There is Something," the music changes so dramatically over the course of the song while the beat never changes), it sounds amazing. "Time" is also an interesting inclusion, based more in early Broadway/Vaudeville (at least, towards my understanding of the early parts of those genres) than in rock music (even though Ronson's guitar work largely corrects the imbalance, and provides some of the most memorable parts of the song), and featuring great imagery in phrases like "Time - he flexes like a whore / falls wanking to the floor" and "... in quaaludes and red wine." I know that a lot of people like to trash the song for being overly melodramatic, and they probably have a point, but this is a case where I mostly lean in a more positive direction. And finally, "The Jean Genie," of course, was the album's big hit single, but truth be told I'd have never guessed that was the case without being told. Whatever, it's a good enough straight-ahead rock song with more naughty lyrics, and I can see why it's universally liked.

The rest of the songs aren't especially fantastic on their own, but they work pretty well in aggregate, even though I'm still not sure to what end. The opening "Watch That Man" is Bowie and Ronson practically jumping out of their shoes to make their own version of a typical Stones rocker, and while they don't really beat the masters at their own game (I feel like the song is a little too long for the material), it's a fun way to start the album. "Drive in Saturday" is basically a slightly tweaked doo-wop song, and while it definitely doesn't leave much of an impression once it's done, Bowie's delivery is goofy enough (and with interesting enough lyrics, I suppose) that I can enjoy it while it's on. "Panic in Detroit" is the kind of "social commentary" about American cities that could only be done by somebody who's only seen American cities on TV or in movies, but while it's sort of ridiculous, it's fun to hear an urgent quasi-post-apocalyptic rocker set to a Bo Diddley beat. "Cracked Actor" almost seems a little too pleased with itself in its critique of commercial popularity etc, but there is a strangely attractive sense of urgency in the combination of the chorus and the pounding beat. It's nowhere near a classic, but it's nice enough. Among the ballads, "The Prettiest Star" is a decent enough pop-ballad, but nowhere near the standard of beauty set by something like "Lady Stardust," but the closing "Lady Grinning Soul" has a lot of moody atmosphere that hooks me in, especially when David sings, "she will be your living end."

Ultimately, rating this one is kind of a major pain, though ultimately I feel somewhat comfortable about the **** rating. Is it clearly a good album? Yeah. Should any Bowie fan have this? Yeah. Should any general fan of rock music have this? ... ... Probably, yeah. Do I feel any impact from this album once I'm done with it, apart from a couple of songs? Not really. Do I have anything resembling an "Aladdin Sane mood?" I really doubt it.

This is an album that was suppose to prove to all the new David Bowie fans that Ziggy Stardust wasn't just a one time occurrence and, according to all the praise that Aladdin Sane has received over the years, it did exactly that. Unfortunately I just don't see it! To me this sounds like such an obvious stab at the same formula but, without the great arsenal of material to back it up, this album falls pretty much flat on its back from early on.

The album opener Watch That Man is just a brainless rocker when compared to Five Years and even though Lady Grinning Soul is pretty much the only worth a while number from the whole release, it still can't compare to the impact of Rock 'n' Roll Suicide! The rest of the tracks in between these two range from great to decent to not so much. I mean, there was a definite stab at the Rolling Stones sound on Ziggy Stardust but with Aladdin Sane Bowie and the Spiders from Mars have pretty much become their cover band. I'm not merely referring to the actual cover of Let's Spend The Night Together but also the upbeat rock numbers like Watch That Man, Cracked Actor and The Jean Genie. Together, they take up nearly half the album and the rest is then filled out mostly by ballads that don't exactly make Aladdin Sane sound like a step forward from its predecessor.

I'm clearly not a big fan of this album but I wouldn't exactly call it a disaster either. It's just that I don't get what the critics and fans see in this material that I so obviously happen to not gasp. My occasional revisits haven't exactly helped me get a better understanding for Aladdin Sane so I guess there isn't really much use in trying any more. There are so many great David Bowie albums that one should experience before taking a stab at this clone of the Ziggy Stardust concept that you might just as well skip it all together!

***** star songs: Lady Grinning Soul (3:52)

**** star songs: Watch That Man (4:30) Aladdin Sane (5:08) Drive-In Saturday (4:36) Panic In Detroit (4:28) Time (5:15) The Prettiest Star (3:31) The Jean Genie (4:07)

*** star songs: Cracked Actor (3:02) Let's Spend The Night Together (3:10)

Aladdin Sane is the perfect counterpart to Ziggy Stardust; to put it quite simply, whilst Ziggy Stardust was about the dream of being a futuristic rock star, Aladdin Sane was about the reality of it. Composed during a tour of America, Bowie infuses his glam rock model with a rich dose of Americana, in all flavours from doo-wop to proto-punk to soul, and in doing so adds a generous dose of hard rock to the mix. The result is an album which is a perfect counterpart to its predecessor, trashy where Ziggy was debonair, lewd where Ziggy was coy, and brash and aggressive where Ziggy was gentle and playful. A fine entry to Bowie's run of classic albums.

Bowie's best album is an absolute classic of rock history featuring his cynical rock god anti-hero Ziggy Stardust in all his glam glory. Of course the legendary album was a milestone for Bowie and he took up the persona on stage with both barrells loaded. The music is glam rock and proto-punk with futuristic psych all rolled into one.

The rock comes thick and fast from the outset with the catchy 'Watch That Man' and then into the high falsetto of 'Aladdin Sane (1913-1938-197?)'. 'Panic in Detroit' is a sensational rocker with loud vocals and brash guitar. Ronson is dynamic throughout on fuzz guitar especially on 'Cracked Actor'. I always liked the storyteller vocals of 'Time'. 'Let's Spend the Night Together' is a Rolling Stones cover that I never liked. However I adore the riff heavy guitar in 'The Jean Genie'. It is virtually the same riff as T-Rex's 'New York City' though I do not know which came first. The lyrics are compelling and I always loved the line; "keeps all your dead hair for making up underwear, poor little greenie" and "smiles like a reptile, sleeps in a capsule." The nonsense of the lyrics always appealed to a young teen who was sick to death of the lovey dovey sap on the radio at the time.

Thanks Bowie for putting music back into the hands of the listeners, and doing it in style.

David Bowie rocks with an immediately enjoyable, early '70's sound with this stylish, nuanced, and sometimes raucous album. Aladdin Sane is a crowd-pleasing experience which may not measure very high in the "prog" scale, but offers up classic rock gems that artfully show us why the early seventies are probably the best years in music. It will appeal to most listeners at a variety of levels: as energetic background music with a bottom-heavy feel, a cynical yet melodious indictment of pop-culture, or as darkly playful art rock. I fall in the third category.

While there are enjoyable musical moments throughout, the standouts for me include the hot and heavy "Watch That Man," which has layers and layers of sound with a pleasing bass guitar groove. The title song features wonderfully disjointed rhythms and soloing, courtesy pianist Mike Garson. This song sort if sets the tongue-in-cheek tone that I picked up on in many of the other songs. The combination of sax and piano, as well as numerous backing vocals, help make this more than just a straight-ahead rock album. Mike Ronson's guitar shines in his use of feedback, and especially in the solo on "Panic in Detroit." "Time" may be the most interesting track on the album; it's ambitious, lyrically creative, and uses a smart sense of pacing to build to a layered conclusion. This, and the textured ballad "Lady Grinning Soul," which concludes the album, make for a varied and highly enjoyable listening experience.

As for Bowie himself: he's actually quite incomparable. As someone who's never listened to his works, it's easy to hear why his career is discussed with such respect. He's a wonderful singer, with passionate phrasing, inflection, and use of tonal changes to create emotion. His lyrics in this record are thoughtful without pretense, and even when at their bawdiest, they retain a sharpness and wit.

A great combination of musical sounds that will appeal to rock fans of many stripes. Definitely not prog, but definitely not "normal" rock, either. A worthy addition to any classic rockers library, and perfect diversion from the prog-minded listener.

Songwriting: 4 - Instrumental Performances: 3 - Lyrics/Vocals: 4 - Style/Emotion/Replay: 4

Review Nº 584

"Aladdin Sane" is the sixth studio album of David Bowie and that was released in 1973. It was the follow up studio album to his breakthrough previous studio album "The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars". It was also the first David Bowie's album that he wrote and released as a real rock star. Despite many critics agree that it contains some of his best musical material, the general opinion about its overall quality, has often been a bit divided. However, it was one of the five Bowie's entries in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The others are: "The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars", "Hunky Dory", "Low" and "Station To Station".

The line up on "Aladdin Sane" is David Bowie (vocals, guitar, harmonica and saxophone), Mick Ronson (vocals, guitar and piano), Trevor Bolder (bass guitar) and Mick "Woody" Woodmansey (drums). The album had also the participation of Mike Garson (piano and synthesizers), Ken Fordham (saxophone and flutes), Brian "Bux" Wilshaw (saxophone and flutes), Juanita "Honey" Franklin, Linda Lewis and G. A. MacCormack (backing vocals), as guest artists.

"Aladdin Sane" has ten tracks. All songs were written by Bowie except "Let's Spend The Night Together" written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richard. The first track "Watch That Man" was very probably a real shock for those who were used to Bowie's music because it represents a real cut with his usual sound. This is a Bowie's version of a typical Stones' rock song. It isn't a bad song, but sincerely it isn't my cup of tea. This is one of my less favourite songs on the album. The second track is the title track "Aladdin Sane (1913-1938-197?)". It's without any doubt the most experimental track on the album. This is a completely different song. It's a chaotic and decadent track, and I specially love the avant-garde way of playing the piano. The final result is an amazing and excellent piece. The third track "Drive-In Saturday" was the second single of the album and was released a week before the album. It's a song strongly influenced by doo-wop style of music and it returned to the post apocalyptic Bowie's future world. This is a very futurist nostalgic nice song with some interesting and good lyrics. The fourth track "Panic In Detroit" is a very interesting and good song that is based probably on descriptions of revolutionary riots that occurred in 1967 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Musically, it's a typical glam rock song with an excellent percussion work and beautiful female backing vocals. The fifth Track "Cracked Actor" is a hard rock song clearly inspired in L.A. The song has various allusions to sex and drugs, and is about an encounter of a Hollywood star with a prostitute. It's an energetic song, very nice and pleasant enough to listen to. The sixth track "Time" was the third song of the album chosen to be a single. It's a song which was based in the Broadway Vaudeville cabaret music, in the style of Jacques Brel, Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill. This is an excellent and brilliant track with a very dark and decadent style, and once more we have an amazing piano work. The seventh track "The Prettiest Star" was the song chosen to be released as the B side of their single, "Time". It was also a song originally released as a single in 1970. Bowie wrote it for his first wife Angela Barnett. The version on the album is a track with a more glam rock influence. This is another good song on the album, a love song with very good quality. The eighth track "Let's Spend The Night Together" is also a song of the album released as a single. It's a cover of a Stones' song, originally released as a single by The Rolling Stones in 1967. Sincerely, and like "Watch That Man", it's another song that definitely isn't my cup of tea. This is undoubtedly my less favourite track on the album. The ninth track "The Jean Genie" was the first song chosen to be released as a single to promote the future release of the album. It became the big hit single of the album. It's a very good straight rock song with a killer riff and science fiction lyrics. This is without any doubt the most famous song on the album and it became also an essential classic Bowie's song. The tenth and last track "Lady Grinning Soul" was composed in the style of being a soundtrack of a James Bond movie. Once more we have another amazing piano work on this album. This is a song with a very warm musical atmosphere wonderfully sung by Bowie. Definitely, this is one of my favourite songs of the album and represents an excellent way to close the album.

Conclusion: "Aladdin Sane" was an album written when David Bowie released his "Ziggy Stardust" live tour. Most of the songs were composed on the road during his 1972 American tour. It was essentially a real development of "Ziggy Stardust" in its appearance but in an American style. Bowie himself described it as simply "Ziggy Goes To America". However, it seems to me that "Aladdin Sane" is a very different album from "The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars". Musically, we are in presence of a very different musical work and it has also, in my humble opinion, a little bit less quality than its predecessor. So, "Aladdin Sane" remains an excellent album and an essential Bowie's piece of music, as almost many other David Bowie's albums, but it isn't part of my favourite albums from him.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)