Young Americans

I can't really blame Bowie for being inspired by late 60s and early 70s soul music, but Young Americans is soul the way that the Bee Gee's Main Course is soul or 3 Dog Night is soul, that is, not so much. Only Fame is genuinely funky. I remember feeling a bit queasy when the other hit on the album, Young Americans, used to come on the radio. I was uncomfortable with how much fuss people made about it when much better real soul music came and went in a matter of weeks. But ain't that always the way it is? And come to think about it, part of what bothers me so much about the 1001 list is how colonialist it is, how small-minded, how parochial, giving an inordinate amount of space to anything white, male or anglophile and when they do include music which isn't, more often than not, it's a compromised, bastardized token example. Anyway, enough of my bitching. The rest of the album, with the exception of Fame, is just as inconsequential as the title cut. I will say that the session players acquit themselves quite well, and the album is beautifully recorded. I mean, the album isn't actively unpleasant to listen to, but this is a pretty shallow take on soul. Still, the only outright stinker is the out-of-place Beatles cover Across the Universe. I know it's fashionable to venerate Bowie these days, but not everything he did was wonderful, e.g. the Thin White Puke years. I'm just glad Bowie got Young Americans out of his system and went on to make the Berlin trilogy.

IS it me or is Bowie just overrated?

Genius, Become successful doing glam rock. Then completely change the style and genre. And knock it out the park again. Album flows magnificently. Songs are all on point. Bowie did this in 1975 influenced by funk. Everyone else followed in the 80s. Peerless 5/5

It’s David Bowie

Not my favorite from him but it’s hard to go wrong with Bowie

Wow. Not even a full year in and I've gotten all of Bowie's albums that are on the list. I understand some people's complaints that people shouldn't need more than 3 or so albums on the list. But honestly I think Bowie really is the GOAT and I'm happy he has as many albums on the list as he does. He's my favourite of all time. I'd be fine if he had more. He had an incredible range. Experimented a lot. He's totally deserving. As for this album, it's kind of underrated and overlooked. Some of the best vocals in his career. Just great stuff. Love this album. Love Bowie.

I've never listened much to David Bowie outside of his major hits, but I was captivated by the very first song; excited to hear the rest of it! Win - Absolutely loved. Great song. Fascination - was aight. Would listen to again Right - was groovy! Loved it. Somebody up There Likes Me, the chords used here are really great. Head bopper for sure. Can You Hear Me Across The Universe cover?! Featuring John Lennon on guitar and back-up vocals? A solid take! Enjoyed. ^^Reflecting on his contribution, Lennon later said: "I thought, great, because I'd never done a good version of that song myself. It's one of my favourite songs, but I didn't like my version of it." Bowie concurred, calling the Beatles' original version "very watery" and wanting to "hammer the hell out of it." - Wikipedia Can You Hear Me - Reminded me of Jimi Hendrix. Good track. Fame - Classic Bowie track I've listened to before, sounds a bit different from the rest of the album tonally, but a fine addition to end the album on. This album just made me a David Bowie fan. Great listening experience all around. Definitely coming back to this.

[Editorial Note: For this installment, I have enlisted ChatGPT to write the review. Primarily because I have love for much of Bowie’s music, but I’ve always been kind of indifferent to this record. It just doesn’t work for me in the same way that most of his other 70’s work does, even if there are few fantastic songs - like Young Americans, Fascination and Fame. So, I figured if anyone would find humor in a light-hearted, shit-talking review crafted by AI, David Bowie would probably be near the top of the list. I provided ChatGPT with a simple prompt: “write a funny review of David Bowie’s Young Americans album”. The first take wasn’t very humorous, so I provided a second prompt: “make it funnier and less reverent”. What you’ll read below is its response] Alright, buckle up, because this review is gonna be more sarcastic and less reverent than a cult meeting for David Bowie fans. So, "Young Americans." It's like David Bowie decided to go on a soul-searching trip to America, and came back with an album full of soul music. It's like the guy couldn't make up his mind whether he wanted to be Ziggy Stardust or James Brown, so he decided to be both. And let's talk about the album cover for a second. Bowie looks like he's trying to seduce you with his soulful gaze, while also wearing a shirt that looks like it was made out of an old couch from the '70s. But hey, at least he's got that perfectly coiffed hair going for him. But seriously, the sax solos on this album are off the charts. It's like Bowie decided to hire a whole band of saxophonists and just let them loose on the album. And the lyrics? Well, let's just say that if you're looking for deep, meaningful poetry, you might want to look somewhere else. But if you're looking for lines like "Do you remember your President Nixon?" and "Ain't there one damn song that can make me break down and cry?", then this album has got you covered. Overall, "Young Americans" is like a weird mix of Bowie's classic sound and a bunch of soul and funk music thrown in for good measure. It's like he was trying to reinvent himself yet again, but ended up sounding like a confused alien trying to fit in with the cool kids. But hey, at least he's got that sexy saxophone to fall back on.

👨🏻‍🎤🤩🎸⭐️

Wow. David Bowie really was decades ahead of his time. And several years behind. The title track - Young Americans - starts off sounding exactly like the opening theme of a mid-90s sitcom. The rest of the album is, as Bowie described it himself - a facsimile of soul. He does well for a white boy, but I can't help but think that he's making a gesture at the genre rather than actually contributing to it or bringing the music foward. I suspect this album is considered influential because it is a change of direction from an established artist, shining a light on music that hadn't reached white suburbanites before - at least not in a way that could have been considered acceptable at the time. Knowing Bowie and his understanding and love of music, I think this is very much a case of cultural appreciation rather that appropriation, but that being said, Bowie cannot make (and he's admitted this himself with the definition of "plastic soul") this music his own. A famous white boy putting his money and influence into expanding the listenership of the genre is commendable. I think this - today - might not fly the way it did 45 years ago. It is a good album, and a paradigm shift for Bowie, giving a shot in the arm to soul, but ultimately being derivative in a direction that wasn't mastered.

From Young Americans to The Worst version of Across the Universe ever. How can such a great talent be so extremely hot or cold?

Bowie does it again. A masterpiece and an ESSENTIAL soul reinvention in his discography. "Fame" is a PERFECT song.

An album not talked too much about, though I believe it was his best. Love this album and wish even more people would listen to it.

The Thin White Duke at his best, post Heroin, pre Berlin and cleaning up his act this is a special album. His experiment with white boy soul and with the backing of Carlos Alomar on guitar and the wonderful Luther Vandross on backing vocals, highlights here The Eponymous "Young Americans" and of course his Lost Weekend output "Fame" co written by John Lennon. You can hear the influence of Gamble & Huff and TSOP throughout the album, the rock chameleon doing what he did the best. Love the whole thing and deservedly on the list in my opinion.

“It remains a beloved bright spot in a discography with more than its share."

Some of his classics and a very Bowie Beatles cover is on this album. He’s a legend for a reason

What a blast! From the iconic opening track all the way through to the equally iconic closer, this album is just such a treat. You get jazzy funky fun Bowie, crooning emotional weirdo Bowie, smouldering intensity soul Bowie, and boldly venturing into R&B Bowie too! It's an ever shifting sonic kaleidoscope of tones, moods, and styles that blend together with effortless cool. It's about as buttery as Bowie ever gets; we need a biscuit to sop him up! The perfect album for a night owl summer cruise on a hot sticky night with the windows down and nobody else on the road.

:)

I wish the rest of the songs on this album lived up to Fame, which is an unbelievably amazing song. I felt like Bowie was trying a style that didn't really fit as well with his voice...I liked it but didn't love it.

A serious contender for my favourite Bowie album. The only blemish being the inclusion of the lacklustre Across the Universe cover (Bowie loves doing a cover of a 60s band and making it shit - see Let's Spend the Night Together and God Only Knows) and worse, the exclusion of the earth-shatteringly great Who Can I Be Now, one of his greatest ever songs. The backers are the stars here. What an album. What a band. Bowie is the best at almost always having the right people around him. I guess if you don't like sax you won't like this, but I don't know what to say to you. Right is so low key brilliant. Somebody Up There Likes Me is high key brilliant. So is Win.

First and last songs outstanding. Album is very consistent but seems kind of dated.

Fantastic album. Listened to as a whole, you can hear the influence from 70's funk and r&b. When I think of 80's multiculturalism, I think of this album.

Bowie was an alien, sent to earth to make records like this. Only he could make a soul album, have it sound nothing like soul, but instead create something this unique and generally awesome. I’ve read a lot of the criticisms of this, which are basically that it’s not soul? Who the fuck cares! We have plenty of soul - we need more Bowie! The Beatles liked Elvis, but as great as Elvis was I’m glad their music didn’t sound like his. Personally this album has grown on me over the years. I wrote off the title track as “too poppy” and on the day I got married heard it in a convenience store in VT and was overcome with gratitude and joy. Since then I’ve been borderline obsessed. Last night I was listening to it with my 4yo daughter. Pretty cool!! This time through Win, Fascination and Right stood out. Certain songs you “need to listen to with headphones” and that is exactly how I’d describe “Somebody up There Likes Me”. Hearing it today I was shocked by the number of layered tracks. The hand clap at 4 mins in, Bowie doing 3 or 4 different backing vocals to close the song, the guitar fills. Sick sick sick. Also sick, having John Lennon feature on your album. This does make me feel guilty for being critical of The Next Day. This man can do no wrong and it’s surely my dumb ears that couldn’t handle The Next Day. Bravo!

David Bowie slaps

Probably one of the few instances where Bowie’s voice made something worse. The instrumentals were all so good but the timbre of his voice is so nasal and thin that it just doesn’t fit over the funky/soulful beats. Still great though. 9

I've not listened to much of this bit of Bowie and it’s long overdue. This is brilliant.

Loved this. Really did. Was better than expected, and I expected good things. Bowie, at his peak, was a musical genius. This, from start to finish, was fantastic

Superb. I'd rate it six stars if that was an option.

Really enjoyed how free and emotional everything felt. All the songs were pretty long which I don’t always like, but the music was given a lot of time to breathe in between the lyrics which really just fit the feel of everything really well. Great album ❤️

Is it enough that the title track is possibly the greatest album opener in the history of music? It might be but it doesn't have to be because this album also contains "Fascination" perhaps the grooviest song of all time (or at least the grooviest Bowie tune.) Also, "Fame" features an actual Beatle, so there's that. I know this isn't as beloved as the Berlin trilogy or as iconic as the Ziggy Stardust stuff or as popular as the "Let's Dance" album (I absolutely love all that stuff too by the way) but if I had to pick one favorite Bowie album, it would be this one and maybe that's weird but I don't care, "Young Americans" is my favorite David Bowie album.

Holy shit, what an amazing album. This was one of the few Bowie albums I wasn't familiar with; in my mind I think I'd dismissed it as a 'lesser' album between two great periods, and it was definitely under-represented on my 3-disc Greatest Hits collection I had growing up. Bowie is soulful and in fine form. The band is on point, the saxophone is borderline poronographic. 'Young Americans' is a bonafide banger and amazing way to open. 'Fame', 'Fascination', and 'Somebody...' are all funk masterpieces. The rest of the album is very, very strong and 'Across the Universe', for all its 70s excess, absolutely works for me. There's nothing artificial here, it still might not be my favourite Bowie album, but on its own merits, an easy 5/5 and one of the funnest ways to spend 40 minutes.

Wow. This album is awesome. Again I found myself completely unfamiliar with the work of the artist, and I seriously dug this album.

One of the great weirdo masterpieces. Normally a white dude playing funk would come off inauthentic or kitschy, but w/ Bowie the artificiality is part of the appeal, and he embraces it so hard that it somehow loops back around to feel authentic again. That plus every single song is a jam in its own right. I fucking love David Bowie.

If I could give this album more stars, I would. Truly one of the greatest artists to ever live and this album exemplifies his musical versatility and willingness experiment with new sounds. Obviously, Young Americans and Fame are the standout tracks, but this album has no misses.

Fascinating move by Bowie into an American soul sound whilst retaining an outsider’s sceptical eye. And no imitation here, but influence, making a fresh new sound. The constant reinvention Bowie had over his career whilst remaining a captivating artist is extraordinary. I suspect there’s an extra star here buy what can you do? It’s Bowie.

Amazing is the only word that does this album justice. The versatility of Bowie is just remarkabe and this album is like many of his pure masterpieces

David Bowie sure had an ability to sense trends in music and remake himself on the turn of a dime. I appreciate this album and its more soulful feel, but I'm more of a Ziggy Stardust kind of guy where the music felt a little more experimental and less derivative.

4/5

A solid Bowie album, meaning it’s really good and better than the best record from most artists. For Bowie I’d rank it somewhere in the middle of his discography: it’s a good album start to end, but he certainly has several albums with higher highs. I highly doubt he was sober for the making of this record, this is David Bowie in 1975, but it is the most sober sounding of his albums from the 70’s in my opinion. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it also subdues this from standing out from others like Ziggy Stardust, Station to Station, or Low. The opening title track is great, as is Fame of course. In between are solid songs, none of which are particular highlights.

Was a huge fan of this "Plastic Soul" album during my Bowie phase (I spent the lion's share of my graduation gift money on his albums). This one made him something of a favored son in Philly which made it kind of special when I saw him twice there on his "farewell" tour. "They've cleaned up the Italian Market!" he shouted from the stage. Favorite is Win. Cassette flip side was tvc15 I believe.

Young Americans Probably the album from his imperial phase I’ve listened to the least and probably the album I think about listening to the least, despite loving the title track and Fame, so I’m not as familiar with it as I probably should be, so it’s nice giving it a considered listen now. Win and Fascination are great, fascination in particular really stuck with me on this listen. Love the clavinet on Right and the harmonies/backing vocals are great. Somebody Up There Likes Me and Across the Universe are an undoubted dip, the latter particularly seems an odd choice and an odd arrangement. Can You Hear Me is great and of course Fame is superb too. You can really hear elements foreshadowing Station to Station, but without that album's darker and more complicated atmosphere Young Americans’ take on soul music has an air of detachment, of arms length aloofness that doesn't quite land fully. Still great though and a solid 4 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 Playlist submission: Fame

Good album

mäh, i dont care for bowie

Thought I liked Bowie. Oh yeah, I do, but not this album. Falls into that category of over-produced 70s popular music, that I truly do not enjoy. Not really even any highlights in it for me. Bowie is a bit of a chameleon. He released the album Earthling in 1997, which I bought and really liked of course, but it had a real 90s sound.

Really liked it

10/10 David Bowie’s GOATED my man straight up slays every album lol

One my favs since I was a kid.

All time classic

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This is quite an album. It showcases songs that have become absolute cultural icons - Young American, Fame - and others I am not as familiar with but are very good. Did not realize John Lennon was on this album, and I was not familiar with the Across the Universe cover.

Soul/Funk/R&B Bowie style. Great album, from start to finish. Fascination and Fame funky favourites.

This is great, not sure how I hadn't heard it before. Reminded me of George Michael in a lot of places.

I have yet to listen to a bad David Bowie album; I don't know if one exists. This one is certainly up there with some of the best. I'd heard the eponymous song 'Young Americans' and 'Fame' before and they're just pretty much perfect songs, but the entirety of the album is fantastic R&B/soul from a guy who wasn't, at the time, known for it. Bowie just has the talent to take in a new genre and roll with it, making some of the best music ever. Geez, what I would do to have that kind of talent.

dm me @pizzaupmynose on ig you are loved. you are worthy. sorry for hijacking your album generator :)

Into it

Classic Also forgot he did a cover of ‘across the universe’ by the beatles - noice

I have not listened to the full album yet because I am too busy listening to the title track and replaying it but it is a BANGER! Def top 5 David Bowie albums Gotta love Fame, sad John Lennon is on it though

One of his greatest.

David Bowie rated 5 stars. Such a great album!

4.5 | Después de una etapa en la que explotó todo el glam a lo más que dio retira por completo a Ziggy y lanza antes de la era de Berlin 3 discos - Diamond Dogs, Station to Station y Young Americans, en los que ahora el personaje principal es frio y distante, siempre vestido impecable y acicalado, sin emociones y modelado al mero fascismo. De los tres discos este es el que a mi parecer menos me agrada, sin embargo sigue siendo un disco excelente, se siente el Soul a todo lo que da y uno pensaría que es un artista que lleva trabajando el género toda su vida, no que fuera su primer experimentación en el mismo. Abrir con la que a mi parecer es la mejor canción del disco puede ser algo difícil de seguir pero hay suficiente material para defenderse muy bien, Fascination le mete un sonido "torcido" al funk que no se escucha en ningún otro lado, Across the Universe es en mi opinión el mejor cover de la canción y cambia por completo el sentido y emoción de la misma y Fame es simplemente genial, sea cual fuera el grado de la colaboración de Lennon lo que es cierto es que es totalmente mordaz y la manera de cantarla, ese sonido de una voz engreída y detestable no podría quedar mejor con la letra y lo vacia que hace ver a la fama como tal, al escuchar la canción no puedes mas que querer darle un madrazo en la boca al que la canta y creo es justamente el punto de la misma. Otro disco de Bowie, otro disco genial y, aun sin llegar a ser de los mejores materiales que hizo, demuestra la calidad de artista y versatilidad que tuvo.

Brilliant. Love Bowie

Yet another classical David Bowie album, perfect in every sense.

One of the greatest albums by David Bowie.

DB is the best

Starts off with one of my favorite Bowie songs in "Young Americans" but follows up with other great hits in "Fame" and "Across the Universe". Great album and strong from start to finish. 9/10.

10 Stars.

Great album. Fame is my jam

10/10. There wasn't a miss on here. Young Americans is a classic, and the rest ranged from solid to excellent. I'm skeptical that there needed to be 9 Bowie albums in this list, but so far so good

Not quite Ziggy Stardust levels of good, but good. 9/10

Classic Bowie potentially his best work

August 6, 2021 (Aug 16) Love some Bowie!

Bowie is amazing. Have never listened to all the albums and this one is great

Spotify only had the 2016 remaster Didn't know Bowie sang Young Americans.

10/10 love dadvidd bowie

Groovy, especially 'Fame'. Did not know that John Lennon helped write/record that.

the level of creativity flowing from this man for his entire career spanning decades is phenomenal

5.0 + Blue-eyed soul doesn’t sound like it could be cool but every song on here is awesome. Yet another genre bending triumph in David Bowie’s catalog and one of his best.

Fuckinnnnn quality mate.

Quite a jump from Diamond Dogs. Soulful, great arrangements especially for the backing vocals.

Bowie's foray into soul is amazing. Top 5 Bowie album for me. Brilliant. 9-10/10

Incredible synth funk

5 of course

I just love how he is able to just mash everything together and play it off like it is his life and how he always was and always will be.

Bowie is brilliant

Genuine contender for his best album.

I cannot believe it, but I'm going to give this David Bowie album a 5. Despite the roasting this album gets in the beginning of Parliament's Mothership Connection David Bowie, with the help of a Beatle, put together a great rock/funk fusion on this album. These songs are catchy, and very well produced. I already knew ("Young Americans" is a great opener and "Fame" is a lot of fun") and liked the hits but had never heard "Fascination" before and thought it was a great track. As an aside I think its pretty interesting that John Lennon personally appeared on two covers of his own songs (Across the Universe here and Elton John's "Lucy in the Sky"). I'd listen to this again.

Very good stuff this.

Such a great album as nearly all David Bowie's are. The title track and fame being stand out singles in Bowie's long career. You can however hear the exhaustion taking hold and sense of unrest within the music. The massive amounts of cocaine taking their toll as well. You can tell listening to this that Bowie was ready for another change which he did in the form of his partnering with Iggy Pop and then the Berlin Trilogy.

It's a Bowie album isn't it! Was well excited for this and it was excellent - especially the little Beatles nod. The only problem was I wanted to dance and fully enjoy the tunes and not sit at a desk working...

It’s Bowie, you can’t go wrong really

Great album!

Classic. Bowie’s a god

Really like this album

This is an excellent David Bowie albums, one of my favorites. This is also possibly the most accessible album he ever made, one I would recommend to someone looking to get into Bowie's music (after Ziggy, of course). Bowie really embraces the soulful aspects of his style that were always there, and just goes for full tilt funk and soul on this album. The result is a collection of sexy, groove-filled songs with warm, rich arrangements. The album also performs the neat/difficult trick of being very much of its time, but only in the best ways, in large part because it never loses Bowie’s own avant-garde sensibility. It's mid-70s hip, but entirely unique and a harbinger of what other singers would be doing for years after this. Vocally, Bowie sounds looser and more relaxed than usual. He is supported by a strong group of musicians and singers, including the exceptional David Sanborn on sax and a then unknown Luther Vandross. All of this this adds up to some incredibly engaging music and two of the very best singles of Bowie’s career in “Young Americans” and “Fame.” “Fascination” is my favorite deep track, a personal favorite. Bowie would move on rather quickly from this style, but this was a delightful detour. Fave Songs (All songs, ranked from most to least favorite): Young Americans, Fame, Fascination, Win, Right, Across the Universe, Somebody Up There Likes Me, Can You Hear Me

Боуи великий

What is there to say. Every song is a classic and Bowie was already a master at his craft by this point.

Classics that you can listen to all the time.

Really Great, super influential I'm sure.

Heard this before, great album

This album is a masterpiece. I will be returning to this one over and over again.