Aladdin Sane

I'm in awe of Bowie and can't think of many artists, before or since, that can reinvente themselves so frequently with such high quality results. He really is magic.

Somewhat weirder and less focused than other Bowie's work of those years but still great. I kind of remembered Garson's piano parts to be more annoying than they actually are. (Plus, without it, Time wouldn't be the awesome song it is. ) Besides the music, one of the most iconic cover arts of all time would deserve 5 stars alone.

Yeah this is easily a top 5 Bowie album for me! The production is phenomenal, possibly the best I've heard on a Bowie album minus Blackstar! Stellar album! This is a high 4!

Вот и подвернулся случай переслушать всю дискографию с самого начала. А написано много, и даже длинной многочасовой прогулки хватило только на первые четыре альбома. Но это волшебство. Пять! 2-1-(3)

Ziggy Stardust 2: Electric Boogaloo

Track By Track Watch That Man - Lots of fun. Great song. Like it’s taken the best elements from Rock n’ Roll and glammed it up, given it a makeover and had a party. Great piano and guitar. Gospel backing vocals are also an excellent touch. Aladdin Sane - Very atmospheric. Great piano creating the mysterious vibes. It’s also a clever pun/double meaning, for sure. It devolves into a quirky chorus and eventual breakdown that’s almost free jazz or experimental in its style. It’s like a drug trip perhaps or a head wheeling in crazy avenues of fame. Drive-In Saturday - This sounds like a classic, that could be included in Grease or something like that. Gotta love that sax in the chorus. Panic In Detroit - Not a stand out for me but still good driving energy. It’s both ordered and chaotic, this one. Cracked Actor - I was first introduced to this by my friend from school and I remember really enjoying it as a teen. So raw and druggy. It’s a great stonking riff. Sounds very classic rock and liking the harmonica as well. Time - There are a lot of piano based, almost Liberace-esque tunes like this on the album. Very epic, theatrical stuff that Bowie does very well. Very much a world unto their own. Can imagine swaying to it by the end! Swaying with buddies! Lighters/electric torches out! The Prettiest Star - Had heard this before and it’s a great number. Reminds me of doing a Bowie musical. This wasn’t in it I don’t think but loads of fun! Let’s Spend The Night Together - This sounds very loose and jam-session-y. Spontaneous even. Great stuff. I do prefer the original but was enjoyable enough. Makes sense that him, The Stones and maybe The Beatles were all hanging out in the ‘60s and ‘70s. The Jean Genie - Oh yeah. Really great one. Pounding rock n’ roll riffs. Brilliant. Can imagine rock musician clad in denim, rocking out. And there’s magic involved too. Glitter, star lights in multi colour. Red, blue bit of green maybe. Rockin’. Vibin. Lady Grinning Soul - Feel about this one similarly to the final track of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, ‘Gold Dust Woman’ - I have to be in the mood. But actually, listening to this loud, it is great. The piano/arrangement lends it its mystery and almost airy, jazz-bar like feel. Overall Review: Bold, solid, stonking, strong riffs pretty much throughout. Really liked the theatrical concept (continued on from Ziggy Stardust) of it. I read that he said it was like Ziggy going ‘to America’. It’s quite general sounding in terms of theme. Perhaps commenting on fame and its ups and downs. Not my favourite Bowie album but I was very impressed with the writing and the musicianship. Brilliant, theatrical performances. Loved them! Also good length, 10 tracks, in & out. Great. 3.9/5 Favourite Songs: Watch That Man, Drive-In Saturday, The Prettiest Star, The Jean Genie

Cacophony of sound (especially the track Aladdin Sane). Discordant noise that's repetitive and doesn't end. Gutted Bowie went this direction. 2/5

I really don’t get the Bowie hype. This album was almost entirely two things I hate in music: whiny and repetitive. No thanks. (2)

Not a huge Bowie fan. The cover is great and it's got a few good songs, but doesn't excite me

Ace.

First listen in about 25 years - What a beginning to end kick butt album. Love it !!!!!!!

L’album était genre super bien pour le coup, à l’exception de quelques musique que j’ai trouvé moyenne! Je pense que cet album m’a un peu plus encouragé à écouter plus de David bowie et enfin écouter ces album au lieu de juste quelques musiques par ci par là

Classic Bowie, forget to listen to the albums as I only knew a couple. Not keen on the weird outro on the title track though.

Not a big fan of this album.

Fairly average glam rock from Mr. Bowie, with only a few tracks standing out. It's still reliant on the same instrumentation and dry production as his prior few albums, so it doesn't represent much of a leap forward (unlike *Station To Station*, only a few years away).

wonderful

Ok, this is probably sacrilegious, but leaning a 2 on this... Just not big on Bowie. I mean I like it but it's making sense that I haven't really digested a full album of his before... His voice for me is best in small doses. Yeah just isn't doing it for me :/

Experimental but not amazing.

This is a terrific album, but I can't give every Bowie album a 5, and it's not as good as Ziggy..., so a harsh 4 it is

Девіда я люблю)))

Not my cup of tea.

First Bowie album on the list for me! I guess there are two ways to consider this album. One is as the work of art concept album exploring Aladdin Sane as "Ziggy Stardust in America" - something that would require an intimate knowledge of ZSATSFM. The other is as an exemplary work of glam rock and Brit pop by the emergent musical genius of David Bowie. It's experimental and avant garde at times and I love all of the risks taken. I also really appreciate the snapshot of early 1970s America through Bowie's unique vision. The fragmentation of rock was in full swing at this point and bits and pieces of many major players show up here. "The Jean Genie" is a clear stand-out on this album, and perhaps in more tolerant times "Cracked Actor" could have been a lead single as well - it's got that Rolling Stones groove and grit. But overall, as with most of Bowie's albums, Aladdin Sane is best experienced start to finish. Mike Garson's piano work throughout is inspired. Fun Fact learned during this listening: Mick Ronson (no relation to Mark) on guitar here was raised in the Mormon church and eulogized in a Mormon chapel in London after his death - his biography , however, does not read like a typical Latter Day Saint. 4 Stars.

I like David Bowie

Like the last few tracks on this album. I can see why this would have been so influential at the time. Just not my thing for a lot of the album.

Its okay

2nd David Bowie album so far. and i still have not been convinced to become a fan :( better luck next time i guess. this album was fine idk

Panic in Detroit is the highlight here. Otherwise the album artwork is probably the most iconic thing about this. Glam rock in general just doesn’t hit the spot for me though.

Listening to old albums is odd; I've heard so many things that have iterated on this. May need to give it a re listen, was walking when I listened to it.

8.5 / 10

This was much more mainstream then the other Bowie albums and I kind of dug it. I didn't have to think too much and I could just enjoy and dance along. Listening to this project has shown me Bowie is kind of all over the place with his music but somehow keeps it all very him.

Have we had Bowie's entire catalog at this point? This is a pretty great album. He has so many creative angles at approaching song compositions and instrumentation. The heavy piano in Aladdin Sane was pretty epic and then you have this fun bop of The Prettiest Star and then he gets all rockin' ala Elton John in Let's Spend the Night Together...just to name a few. Not my favorite Bowie album in the project, but it's pretty darn solid.

Good but not peak. A little bit formulaic.

Excellent album! Had never listened to it, one hit but a lot of bangers.

This is fine.

Another day another mediocre Bowie album.

fine not my fav from him

Not bad but not my favorite of his

David Bowie is just Tom Petty for theater kids

All the songs pretty much sound the same, until I heard, "The Prettiest Star", so that is the best song. The song I recognized because it was played on the radio was "Let's Send The Night Together".

An interesting follow up to probaly his most popular album, this one is pretty good still. Some neat shit going on here like with the piano in the title track just feeling very loose and chaotic or the high energy punch of Let's Spend the Night Together. Not my favorite Bowie but still solid.

Ar Dave knows how to put on a show for real. Watch that Man, Time, and Let's Spend the Night Together were my highlights.

Whopper album. Side 1 far better than 2 imo, my least favorite songs close out the album but so many strong songs that it's a 5

Not his best Gene Genie and Drive in Saturday both strong songs but the album as a hole felt a little dialled in and not your usual Bowie masterpiece. I switched off a little it didnt grab me. Perhaps needs a few listens for it to hit

Didn't love it, didn't hate it. Didn't hit me.

The weakest Bowie album I've heard so far. Really not impressed and was ready to move on by "Panic in Detroit". Forced myself to finish the album and really found no redeeming factors. Just a weak album in general. Bowie just doesn't do well with hard rock. 3/10.

Good album

A weird album, but that is Bowie. More good than weird yoko ono inspired sounds I don’t understand. 3.75/5

*Wee Woo Wee Woo* The Aladdin Sane defender has logged on!!! Guys I swear after the 10th listen through the piano solo in Aladdin Sane isn't that bad. I do love this album. While Ziggy is objectively the better album, this is prime glam rock bowie imo. The songs have so much energy and it's always fun to go back and listen to this one. The Jean Genie and Panic in Detroit do low key blow though, may be perma skips mood depending

day 14 of not rolling Aja by Steely Dan ziggy goes to America and tries cocaine in the motor city with a bunch of Steelers fans. this experience turns Bowie (and his character) into proper Americans

Not my favorite Bowie, but I love its ambition and experimentation. The guitar riff on the title song towards the end is so dope.

Almost five stars for the audacity to write Drive-In Saturday, the most absurd concept for a song I can remember. Harry styles, if you’re reading this, and I know you are, once you have done enough coke to write this album, you will assume the mantle of modern Bowie that you’ve been gunning for the last 5 years.

I enjoyed some songs but some of the songs were not my vibe it was like 50/50 I’d give it a 6/10

Not too bad, but didn't have the same energy as his other albums. I really liked Lady Grinning Soul, but I found some tracks to be very grating and repetitive. Overall, it wasn't bad; just isn't his best.

Another extremely good entry in the Bowie catalog. Favorite track: The Jean Genie

love it

Great album. I could write a paragraph but I’m sure it’s all been said before. 5/5

Did not like this album. two stars

First bowie album i bought as a youngin

Masterpiece

I knew this album back in the day, very impressed by some of the songs, hadn't remembered them all. Didn't use to have any idea of where it fit in to Bowie's history. I'm still awed by the raunchy rock from the top, the piano solo in Aladdin Sane, the over-the-top breakdown in Let's Spend The Night Together. I still don't love every song, but the album is Pretty Wonderful, 9/10.

Incredible to hear the depths

I gave Ziggy Stardust a 4 but I’m afraid this one is not in the same league!

Titelspåret är ren misshandel av den mentala hälsan. I övrigt är det en ganska medioker pop/rockplata som är helt ok med ett par bottennapp. Hur det kan räknas som ett mästerverk har jag svårt att se.

A fine album, but I don't think there's any song here that would warrant me giving it a 5. There's nothing mind-blowing that really pushes it over the edge.

I listened to this twice. What an iconic album cover for a very solid Bowie album. I enjoyed it but it didn't stick with me in the same way that Low or Ziggy Stardust did. 6/10

This is the first of what I can only assume is several Bowie albums that I've listened to for this project. He definitely has better albums than this but this one is still fantastic in its own right and contains a few of his best songs ever.

Not my favorite collection of Bowie tunes. Some good stuff, but didn't stand out and there's some experimental moments that I didn't resonate with. Overall, it's Bowie and it's still decent stuff.

As someone who’s never been the biggest Bowie fan, I now start to get it. This is another great album with some ridiculously classic singles and some album tracks which are okay.

Decent Bowie.

⭐⭐⭐⭐- Ett av världens coolaste skivomslag och omslaget är bättre än albumet men ändå ett bra album. Aladdin Sane är är spretigt, här finns en del jazz-inslag, lite blues men framförallt glam. Det känns som här finns inspiration hämtat från många av det för tiden stora, Elton John (mycket piano), Stones (det bluesiga) och T.Rex (det glammiga). En del mindre tillgängliga delar som till en början gör det svårare att ta till sig men det växer om man ger albumet tid och det blir aldrig tråkigt. Tycker inte det tillhör Bowies allra bästa men det är fortfarande bra, det blir en svag 4a. Bäst är Watch that man, Panic in Detroit, Let's spend the night together (Stones cover), The Jean genie, Lady grinning soul

hmm d Stimm isch nöd so mis und dä Beat isch "okay-isch"

Had a few good songs, but wasnt a big fan of the genre. Personal opinion i guess.

Rating: 4.7/5 Short Review: Bowie sounds glamorous, sleazy, theatrical, and slightly unhinged here. The piano gives the whole thing this strange cabaret-jazz energy while the guitars keep it nasty. Less immediately lovable than Ziggy Stardust, but weirder and more interesting in places. Favorite Track: Lady Grinning Soul

I'm sorry Dave, this one isn't blowing me away

Not my favorite of David Bowie honestly

I knew almost none of these and loved almost all of these

Not my favourite Bowie album. I was disappointingly lukewarm on the album as a whole but did like the final track, 'Lady Grinning Soul'.

2,5

Better than Low at least

Not my favorite of Bowie’s tbh

Not good, not bad, just the perfect playlist for grocery shopping

Phew! Another Bowie album for the 1001 Albums Challenge! And yet another from his glam rock era, with that boring boogie rock and lyrics reflecting Bowie’s stardom. At this time, Bowie’s sound was probably never more similar to that of the Stones. As I've said in my reviews before, I only like parts of Bowie's work, and I have real problems with his cult albums. "Aladdin Sane definitely falls into the category of Bowie" albums that I just can’t get to grips with. In particular, I struggle with the up-tempo tracks and their ostentatious rock ’n’ roll attitude. I prefer the more introspective tracks, such as the title track. I much prefer its quirky, almost jazzy harmonies. But that song is more of an exception. Most of the album just washes over me, though it doesn't bother me as much as the opening track, "Watch That Man", or the hit single "Jean Genie", which I find unbearable even in its original version. The album ends with the best track, “Lady Grinning Soul”. Verdict: some highlights, some low points and a few filler tracks. Not a cult classic (for me), but not a complete flop either. At least that’s something.

Shortly after making literally the greatest Glam Rock album ever, Bowie immersed himself in America and decided to make the second greatest Glam Rock album ever, but with more American Glam influences. Look, pretty much all but 3 Bowie albums on this list are gonna be five stars. It is what it is.

yeah so with this one i’m fully familiar with bowie’s discography and nothing beats ziggy stardust, diamond dogs and blackstar for me

One of the three Bowie albums I hammered back in the day. Brilliant

Fuck, I thought I’d done all the Bowie … It’s a Bowie album - one, maybe two good songs, a few good moments in songs, and a whole load of mediocre that the cultists suckle from the teat of their not-quite-as-immortal-as-they-thought nonce-god. Meh.

I felt like a 5 was too strong here, but a 3 wasn't doing enough. It's a good album, but if I'm listening to Bowie it's still Ziggy Stardust for me. There are some great grooves and hooks here...I can see the Stones influences here, the cover of Let's Spend the Night Together being the most obvious one.

Alright music. Bit strange and creepy for me though. 2 stars. David Bowie, you can do better!

Prime era Bowie gets 5, I don’t care where it ranks

not my fave of his

Enjoyed it more than I thought I would, better than the 80's album!

The best David Bowie album will always be ziggy stardust, but this is a good album as well. it is a little but more folky than his other work, and it does feature one song I am familiar with, plus a cover of a Rolling Stones song that he does a good job of. not much else to say but I did like the album.

It’s worth noting I did not have time to completely listen to this album top to bottom, however from what I did listen I quite liked. I did a bit of a U-turn somehow, where at first I thought it was boring but then at the end of the day I changed my mind and I like it, funny how that works isn’t it? Something as little as the time of day can change your enjoyment completely. Just a solid rock album throughout, with some solid instrumental performances. Second half of the album absolutely outshines the first and it’s not even close which is annoying because it makes the album very hard to rate. The highlighted songs do a lot to bump it up tho, they go hard Highlights: Time Let’s spend the night together Jean Genie

Good music, however I’ve never been 100% sure on Bowie’s singing voice. Although it is an enjoyable album to listen to, and there are a lot of good songs on it. While others I may skip if I’m not in the mood.

El cover de let’s spend the night together dice todo sobre este álbum: teatral

Generational album cover. Genuinely terrible album. As my first David Bowie album, I was extremely dissapointed. I have heard about him all my life, but this album is straight nothing for me. Not a single song really stood out for me, Aladdin Sane (the song) has some of the WORST piano I have ever heard. Put a 5 year old on the piano and I bet they could play better with their feet. This is only rated a 2 because of the incredible album cover. Best Song: Drive-In Saturday. Worst Song: Aladdin Sane.

I can’t. I know this is Bowie, but I’m a hard pass. I would rather jump out of a speeding car than listen to that album again.

Hmm... human music. I like it. The David Bowie world is bizarre and obscure, morphing classic rock into strange, extraterrestrial glam-rock. Winding piano work breaks every rule of music, and jazzy saxophone flares fit their way into an artistic, eclectic soundscape Bowie has manufactured on this album. With typical rock songs such as "Watch That Man" and "The Jean Genie," and distinctive, glamorous songs such as "Aladdin Sane" and "Lady Grinning Soul," Aladdin Sane eludes definition with its heterogeneity. This distinctively experimental sound, enchanting or unfriendly, generates interest at every opportunity. Bowie's spin on The Rolling Stones' "Let's Spend the Night Together" is a prime example of his transformative skill and alien style. More exotic is "Aladdin Sane," the title track, which features an unorganized, atonal piano solo — a rather unpleasing stylistic choice. What gives this record its appeal may also be a setback in this way. Experimental music inevitably falls to unfortunate missteps without extreme caution. It seems Bowie deftly navigates this danger in "Time," a high, and errs in "Aladdin Sane," with the aforementioned piano. His talent is undeniable, but not unparalleled. In conclusion, this album is identified by both impressive demonstrations of genius artistry and occasional, disastrous blunders.

Yeahhhhhh

Solid Bowie album