Young Americans

Enjoyed. But not my favorite Bowie album

sadness

Well produced and good performance, but kinda boring and forgettable. Fame slaps though

This is straightforward David Bowie. No swerves, no experimentation. Mellow sounds, beautiful voice. High 3

really good. makes me feel very young america

Voelt gedateerd. Was het niet helemaal m.i. Wel cool om de across the universe cover te horen die ik niet kende.

Voelt gedateerd. Was het niet helemaal m.i. Wel cool om de across the universe cover te horen die ik niet kende.

“Young Americans”- Clear Beatles influence, reminds me of some cuts off Abbey Road (Maxwells Silver Hammer) and reference to ‘A Day in the Life’ (“I saw the news today”), highlights cultural and political problems couples in America faced at the time (Nixon, end of the Vietnam war) “Win”-Soul/RnB influences mixed with UK psych rock . Backing vocals very soul inspired (Luther Vandross!) “Fascination”- Funk inspired groove with punchy kicks and snares. Call and response in chorus is reminiscent of gospel/early rnb which builds with a crescendo of guitar solo, varying organ riffs and the consistently tight bass grooves and drum fills that drive the track. “Right”- Much more laid back take on funk/soul with a saxophone that sounds like it’s supposed to mimic Bowies voice. Reminds me of Bill Withers/Stevie wonder with guitar and clarinet panned hard left and right playing off each other. Has a similarly hopeful/triumphant feel. “Somebody up there likes me”- “Across the Universe”- Beatles cover with Bowie twist. End of the song is a lot more epic and rebellious (fitting with the theme of the album) and also reinforces Beatles influences seen across the album. “Can You Hear Me”- Bowies take on a romantic soul ballad. Sexy sax riffs throughout. “Fame”- Slick, funky and catchy whilst still being a poignant commentary on the double edged sword of the entertainment industry. Clearly directed mainly at Hollywood. Final thoughts- Bowie’s attempt to capture the American audience by outlining the daily struggles they would face and recreating the styles at the time whilst still being innovative, with some techniques feeling modern nearly 50 years later. “Fame” is definitely the standout track and it’s clear to see why it was popular at the time, meaning Bowie’s main attempt with the album was a success. There are some low point however with the album becoming a little bit stale in the mid section

Really like the Across the Universe cover. Never heard David Bowie's soul/R&B stuff. Overall pretty nice album.

First song is good Fascination is good Feel like the songs are a bit overlong and meander without much purpose

There’s no denying his voice is pure joy to listen to, but this album slightly lost my interest mid way through. I wanted to love it but it wasn’t so.

Classic 70s Bowie

A brave album, very different from what I would expect from Bowie

Aladdin Sane - 3/5 The Next Day - 3/5 ---------------------- Third Bowie album for this list. This one is more funk/pop/disco sounding, and I think I liked it better than the other two, but still not something I'd normally choose to listen to.

Fame is a tune, the rest are fine.

Not any of the David Bowie songs I've heard before but enjoyable nonetheless. I particularly liked Somebody up There Likes Me.

Not my favourite Bowie but still really good. I don't think anyone can doubt his ability to surround himself with brilliant collaborators and I really enjoyed the sax parts on this especially

It's not Bowie's best by a long shot, that would be the 3 albums coming directly after this one, but it's still an enjoyable listen. It's just a bit, in one ear and out the other really. Nothing sticks around too long, but it's a fun listen while it's on.

Meh, was alright

Easy listen - a few strong tracks but otherwise not overly memorable.

Was alright, I ain't going back for second breakfast.

Nothing really stood out except Fame.

Strong start and great finish, Fame is an absolute bop.

Something distant happening here.

Love Bowie and love the title track, not my favorite album from him. I know he wanted to make something commercially successful and prove people wrong. It's still damn good.

David Bowie doing his version of Soul. There were a couple of good songs but it was just okay if I'm being honest.

I like David Bowie, this album is not his best. Outside of Young Americans, it's mostly bland.

Not bad, not great. Couple of great tunes, but not stellar tunes with endless listenability

It's incredibly funny watching the boomers just cling to any given Bowie album, even one that arguably doesn't deserve to be on here. Like, really-- it's Bowie trying funk. It's aggressively good-- even great sometimes. But can you really say with a straight face that it belongs in the same conversation as the other *SEVEN* albums that Bowie already has on here? A 3.5/5 passing over.

Some good songs

A fun change of pace for Bowie, but definitely not his best or most impactful. 3.5/5

What I imagined

Glamorous and funky. Not my favourite of Bowie’s records, prefer the more grounded rock sound. Highlight was Across the Universe.

Not Bowie’s greatest works in my opinion

Not a Bowie album I listened to before, enjoyed this more than expected. Deserves its place on the list, but if I’m listening to Bowie I’m probably less likely to come back to this album.

Good stuff

Still not a Bowie fan but this is a pleasant background listen.

Plastig r&b är väl ok, men låtarna håller för sällan Bowiekvalitet.

One of the better Bowie albums. Some soul inspired tracks, fueled by the usual Bowie weirdness. 3/5

I think there are better David Bowie albums but this one was okay. "Fame" does a lot of the heavy lifting for this one.

pretty easygoing album, but didn't find stuff that interesting

This is not Bowie's best

Honkey funk

may be for me it is too relaxed, but in the end I even started to enjoy it)

Fame, the closing track of Bowie’s ninth studio album is a masterpiece. One of the finest pop songs ever. The album is bookended by this and the opening title track. Both towering above everything also on the record. I liked the cover of Across the Universe which was a surprise. For me this is a transitional album, moving between the glam rock period and his Thin White Duke body of work.

Love DB but I'm not a big fan of this "Plastic Soul" (DBs words) The two singles are great but Inbetween its a bit of a miss for me especially the Beatles cover.

Bowie delves into the worlds of funk and soul music. And it sort of functions, too? This album was fun to listen to, and I like the variety of styles it employs. I appreciate where Bowie is heading in this new approach, and I can see it developing into something amazing.

Has a smooth jammy quality that I'm not into. Many songs are too long, overloaded with decoration, meandering loops. Others are interesting, intense. Sounds horny and whiny at the same time - vocals often duetting with the sax.

It was alright. I didn’t get to listen to it very deeply for meaning, but sonically it was somewhat pleasing. Fav tracks: win, right, can you hear me

Not big on Bowie. Still am not. Beatles cover was cool.

Good! I'd round it to a 3.5 if i could.

I get what Bowie is to fans, but I'm missing something. Young Americans is one of Bowie's forays into a musical form that he is not familiar with. He knocks it out of the park. 3.5/5.

There's some decent singles here but it's one of Bowie's weakest 70s albums.

The 6th Bowie album I've had now and it's okay. I wouldn't say anything really blew my mind and most of it is quite forgettable. I don't think he really needed 9 albums on this list.

Favorite Song: Fame The sound was super cool, but the lyrics were so (so so so so) repetitive (tive tive tive tive). Also slightly offputting that he was on coke while he wrote the whole thing.

Good

fame bop, de rest voel ik niet zo

YA and Fame great. the rest is just experimenting with the sound. bowie’s voice is rough but sort of interesting with the slick production.

”Young Americans” marked a significant departure from Bowie's previous works, which had a more experimental and avant-garde sound. Instead, Young Americans saw Bowie exploring soul, funk, and R&B, which made for a more mainstream listening experience. The title track, "Young Americans," is a standout song that captures the essence of the album's sound. With its infectious groove and catchy chorus, it's one that was stuck in my head for quite a while. "Fame," another hit from the album, features the distinctive guitar work of Carlos Alomar and a memorable hook. The album also features collaborations with some of the biggest names in soul music, including Luther Vandross, who provided backing vocals on several tracks, and John Lennon, who contributed to the song "Fame." Their contributions add depth and richness to the album. What's particularly impressive about Young Americans is how effortlessly Bowie was able to incorporate different genres into his sound. From the soulful "Win" to the disco-inspired "Somebody Up There Likes Me," Bowie proves that he was a master of musical reinvention. This album, despite having a less unique soundscape in comparison to many of his other works, provide a fresh take on Bowie as a superstar artist and it definitely deserves it’s spot on the list. Close to a 4.

Bit mediocre

My thoughts on this basically go: title track is amazing. Solid 5. The next few tracks are great but get slightly worse. At this point it would probably be a 4. I'm enjoying it. I'll replay it. Then we reach the cover of Across the Universe. I don't know how to explain my reaction to hearing this. It could be the worst thing ever created. It starts off a bad, but acceptable cover of what is an amazing song. The whole way through it manages to get worse. It's so bad it's funny. I was literally laughing out loud for the last two minutes. I never want to hear it again. It's made worse by the fact that Lennon actually sings backing vocals on it; harming not only my memory of one of my favourite songs but also one (two?) of my favourite artists. I was actually tempted to downgrade my score to 2 based solely on this one track - it's that bad - but Fame just about saves it.

Well, I can definitively say now that whiteboy soul Bowie is not my favorite Bowie (getting off cocaine in Berlin Bowie is actually my favorite Bowie). This album isn't bad, but it feels pretty samey for a lot of it, and there are several albums of his that I like much better. I like that he goes for stuff like this, even though I don't always love the results 3/5

Es para volver a escuchar.

Pretty retro-sounding. Not bad, definitely not my style, though. I wonder if I don't like David Bowie?

Really good! I think Fame was the only song I knew from this album until this listen. Really poppy and catchy. Dig!

För allan del.

Least favorite from Bowies records so far but it has its moments definitely

What if I told you this was better than Ziggy? Better than Hunky Dory? Better than Blackstar? Well, I’d be lying. This is a Bowie album for fans. Starts off really well with the title track. After that it’s just *shrugs* As an aside, his cover of Across the Universe is an affront to music in general. Bang bloody average again.

Genre: Rock Review: Never been a big fan of David Bowie, and I don't think this album did much to change that. Rating: 6/10

Inte dålig!

Weird and awesome

A couple of great tracks on here such as the title track and Across the Universe. It works as a whole album but wouldn’t listen to too many of the tracks on their own. I prefer this sound to the earlier glam rock Bowie

I'm about done with David Bowie by now. We've already had a bunch of albums, and even though I tend to enjoy them all to some degree, my esteem for him is not growing. This album is a lot of forgettable tracks, bookended by two Bowie tracks that I do already know and love. But yeah, I don't need any more albums from him. Favorite tracks: Fame, Young Americans. Album art: David Bowie in cool guy mode, smoking a cigarette. It's decent. 3/5

Listened to this on the way to the ski trip. Kevin read to us about how Bowie wouldn't work in the studio without coke. Definitely a crazy dude. Overall great album and I need to listen again on my own.

Listened in the car. Sounded P good though

Part Beatles in a cocktail shaker, part 70s funk. All with unmistakably unique Bowie voice.

Funky great production value. Solid album all the way through but nothing special

Strong opening track but lost traction towards the end—surprisingly political album.

Fame is an all time song. The rest just lack something

Not my favourite Bowie album, a bit meh!

Not bad, but not my fav Bowie album. Def some hits (Fame & Young Americans) and some other songs I liked. Still not certain what I think about his cover of Across the Universe, which is one of my all-time fav Beatles songs. Nonetheless, Bowie is a rare talent. I'd give 3.5, if I could, but 4 seems a bit too high.

Not an outstanding album, not a bad album.

Side 1 of this album is fantastic. But - possibly controversially - side 2 slips into Elvis Vegas territory. The Beatles homage particularly. The playing on here is excellent, and 'Fame' salvages the second side somewhat, but it doesn't live up to the delights of side 1 and the opening track. Five stars for side 1, but plastic soul is apt for the flip.

I’ve been enjoying the Bowie on the list in general but this is a bit of a dud. Not bad and has some good moments but by the end it felt a little one-note.

‘Fame’ and ‘Young Americans’ are solid songs. The rest is a vibe, but not a must listen album.

David and the soul music are predictably good, but they never multiply one another. The result is minor Bowie, but it stays creative if it sounds less than fresh now.

Van alle zuigende Bowie platen was dit misschien nog wel de leukste.

Ik vind deze periode van Bowie zeer interessant. Titelnummer en Fame springen er voor mij uit. En hier had hij echt een fascinatie voor Lennon volgens mij.

Bowie is really good. And the production is good. And fame and YA are brilliant as far as I'm concerned. But the rest is... Mostly filler

When I finally got to "Fame" it made sense that this "blue-eyed soul" album was the context of that glorious song. It was, however, the only song I really loved. I really disliked his version of "Across the Universe" and wasn't too fond of many of the others, even when I appreciated what Bowie was doing with it. This won't be my favorite, but I appreciate its vision and distinctiveness from Bowie's other work.

This flavor of Bowie didn’t really hit my palate right. It definitely was a departure from the glam rock style, but it felt more like trying for the soul, R&B than hitting it. It sure was saxy…and for me, this was not it a good way.

Hmmmmm. To me, this is the least appealing of Bowie's records so far. I can tell he's going for a bit of a soulful R&B sound and I can appreciate that but for the most part these songs don't particularly grab me. (And I disliked outright the cover of Across the Universe.)

Both the title track and "Fame" are fantastic (they're definitely in my Bowie top 10, and maybe even top 5), but once again I find myself underwhelmed by a Bowie album. As I've said before, I appreciate the artistry involved, but I'm not in a hurry to give this another listen (the aforementioned two tracks aside, of course). I feel like a philistine. I shall now retire to my closet, don my hair shirt, and begin the ritual mortification of the flesh as penance for this blasphemy.

Encore un mauvais album d'androgyne pop offert par la fraude Bowie, on en a mare Robert.

Lovely

This is okay. I didn’t need a soul album from David Bowie but it’s not bad. If it helped him develop as an artist then that’s great. A few albums that follow this are outstanding. To me the best songs are the ones I wasn’t familiar with. Win, Fascination, Right…all great songs. Better than Young Americans and Fame.

Very solid album Not one of the best of Bowie Not one of the best in the genre Pretty groovy though

I like Bowie's hits but his early work non hits just bore me. I hope Black Star is on this list. Buuut that's not this album.

Obviously, a few of these are classics. Not my favorite era of Bowie, but I appreciate what he’s doing here with the Philly soul thing

LP

Boring

Good but not great

One of Bowie's less interesting albums. It can be that this phase of his production is one that resonates least with me, and that others find it much more relevant to them, but somehow it is too ordinary to be good Bowie.

It's a pleasant sounding album but I don't really care for the lyrics and none of the songs individually (except maybe Fame) are anything I would want to listen to as a standalone song. There are much better soul albums out there.

De funky versie van Bowie. Tof album

Is this the album that gets me into Bowie? I didn't love most of it, but Fame was really good.

Mi aspettavo di meglio sinceramente. "Fame" carina, ma non risolleva di molto.

I do like some of the soul sounds Bowie is going for here, but this is kind of an uneven album. The title track and Fame are both classics, and there are some cool album tracks like Fascination and Right. I don't like the Across the Universe cover that much, and I'd definitely call this lesser Bowie, but maybe that's because it's a transitional album between Ziggy Stardust and the Thin White Duke.

Really not one of my favourite DB albums. It’s got a couple of his absolute best songs on it. I love that he was always reinventing himself and this sounds like his foray into jazz/funk/soul. It’s not a success though. Between the two iconic tracks, it just wasn’t standout for me. Controversially, I liked the ‘across the universe’ cover. It could be a 3.5 but it doesn’t deserve a 4. The beginning and end tracks are off the scale and deserve five all the way but I’m not sure I ever need to listen to the album all the way through again.

Don't know why but I've never really been able to get into Bowie too much. Songs are ok but only a couple of standouts. Overall not a very exciting album.

I cannot deny its musical quality but it’s not my thing. The musics are too repetitive for me. Always the same thing…

An album that really sounds good on paper! David Bowie and Philly Soul, recorded with some current and future Philly greats. I should like this album! I ultimately wasn't very attached to it. A lot of the songs seem very jamm-y, and were no doubt fun for the musicians to play, but seem to just go on for longer than they should. The Philly Soul-inspired sound can often be much too busy for my taste... a lot going on, but not a lot of dynamics or things that are too interesting. I prefer the more stripped-down, motown-esque tracks, like "Right. And Bowie isn't his most spirited in his delivery... he seems a bit detached from the energy of the rest of the track (the backup singers are trying their hardest!) Still, there are a couple solid classics. This album really should be a a high two stars, but I put it to three stars because of Fame and Young Americans, both excellent tracks.

a good one of his albums, not best

Not hit best album IMO. 3,5.

Eh, it's ok. David Bowie has never really been my favorite.

Pop/disco/saxophone Bowie. Aside from the hits (Young Americans, Fame), this was forgettable and the cover of Across the Universe was mediocre.

Young Americans and Fame are absolute bangers still - I kind of dug the Beatles cover, but a lot of the other tracks were so so for me.

Overall a decent album. Fame is a great song, but that's all that really stood out.

Highlights: Fame

Not his best. Best track: Fame

Almost touching 4 stars for me as there are a few classic tracks on here, but I'm gonna round it down to 3 for the unnecessary Beatles cover.

I know people absolutely love Bowie but he doesn’t resonate with me at all. I like Young Americans but I think the rest of this album is just ok

Young Americans: very cool very funky and indeed danceable. My cup of tea of a song. 3/5 Win: Picked up and had a very cool guitar. Sounds like that the arctic monkeys want to be. 2/5 Fascination: knew straight away Itll be cool. Funky guitar! Funky everything! Upbeat. Best song on the album so far. Sax solo!! 3/5 Right: Initial thoughts suggest R&B influence but like soul as well. Just cool and chill. With a relaxing guitar solo. Just a good song. 2/5 Somebody up there likes me:it’s a good song. I don’t think it’s anything special but it’s good. I can’t describe like why it’s good. Just floats but not something I can have on repeat. 1/5 Across the universe: feels more Bowie. Cool guitar. It’s a cool good song. Probably slightly worse than the previous but nothing drastic. 1/5 Can you hear me: feels beatleish and I idk why and I know that’s wrong.Acc know if I close my eyes I hear TBH but better. Sax solo knocks it up one rating 2/5 Fake: it feels like utter perfection.it’s making me feel like dancing. Maybe I will. The riff could just loop for the entire song and it’d still be good.so cool. Best till last 3/5 Total: 3.5/5

I really like the funky soul sound, but I feel only a three or so of the tracks really jumped out at me.

Best Song: Fame. This track feels like it does the best at portraying Bowie's grandiose, larger-than-life persona. Super recognizable, super funky backing instrumentals too. Worst Song: Across the Universe. This cover makes no improvements (or really any significant deviations) from the original. Overall: Apart from the two big hits, it feels like relatively standard 70s fare, which means it's not much for me. I'm really starting to think that a lot of Bowie's music has a "you had to be there" quality, as it doesn't elicit much so far after the fact.

Fame is a jam

I really don't like the first part of the album, but the last part is good.

Album is bookended with hits. Lots of horns on this album – which I didn't hate. Still haven't totally latched onto all things Bowie.

Dimery's list is heavy on Bowie albums, and generally speaking, I'm perfectly fine with this idea. Yet to be honest, I wish he had swapped *The Man Who Sold The World* (not included in his book) with *Young Americans*. Bowie himself has had mixed feelings about that particular blue-eyed soul transitional phase, depending on when you asked him about it. There are indeed two or three nice tracks on this record, especially groovy closer "Fame", co-penned with John Lennon. But as a whole statement, this album is probably a little too shallow and/or artificial to really be convincing to most of his fans out there... Number of albums left to review or just listen to:  more than 800, I've temporarily lost count here Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens:  approximately a half so far  Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: a quarter Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): the last quarter (including this one)

Gives the feel of a sunny Sunday afternoon, with a little more funk influence than I was ready for from Bowie.

3/5 Good funk album. Kindve repetitive at times. Overall I enjoyed it.

As a serious David Bowie fan, it pains me to go with a 3 on this album, but there it is. There's a lot I like about this record. I love that Bowie is a pop music artist but there's not a song under four-minutes long on this album. There's also something so strange to this production, and I mean that in a positive way. For all the emotive singing, wailing sax, and perfunctory soul-laden background singing, Bowie sets an eerie, detached vibe to the entire album that's just so unique to him. The problem is, the material isn't awesome. "Fame" is one of my favorite songs in Bowie's repertoire, and "Young Americans" is just a great tune (what it's about, I couldn't tell you), but the rest of the material sounds like Bowie feeling his way through the Ziggy-to-Thin White Duke transition, trying to find his voice in this new musical experiment. It's part of what made him such an amazing artist — his willingness (compulsion?) to go to entirely new places. This record is just a curious choice for this endeavor, as I think Station To Station (the release that came after this) is just a flat-out better album. I will say, I think Bowie's coif on this album cover may be the look Donald Trump has been chasing after.

I like Ziggy better but this was good

Unique voice, quite funky on a few different songs. Very easy listening.

muy 80. tiene 2 temazos mal. tema fav. across the universe

Title track is an instant winner, heard it before but never really listened to it. Appreciate the Lennon influence on “Fame”.

Better than I remembered.

Not amazing, too slow

Good but can see why it's not as popular as his other 70s albums. The title track was great and there was a fair bit of Beatles influence through the album but a few songs that were pretty weak by Bowie standards. 6/10

Young Americans, and Fame good. Cover of Accross the Universe was interesting, Beatles version is better

Fame

Enjoyed the songs, found the music more enjoyable than other Bowie albums

Det er ikke Bowie på sitt beste. De to singlene er sterke, dog

Álbum muy Bowie con una muy buena voz e instrumentalmente poderoso. Para escuchar relajadamente

Not sure there's a musician who's had more lives than Bowie ... Track 10 "Who Can I Be Now?" signifies that he puts a lot of thought into identity progression. This album is pretty tame and got me wondering if the 1975 iteration of Bowie was this the birth of the Adult Contemporary genre? The cover of the Beatles Across the Universe was very unexpected but I really enjoyed it. Young Americans will always be timeless and Win made me think of the Midnight Vultures album by Beck. (Bowie and Beck would've been a great collab). At the end of the day, this album is mediocre by today's standards. Still love this guy but albums like this make me wonder exactly why...

The overuse of the saxophone on this album makes this feel dated but I like the funk undertones, particularly on Fascination. I still don't like Bowie's voice so its looking like Bowie albums have a ceiling of around 3 stars.

Good album for my bike commute

Of the Bowie albums we’ve had so far (this plus Station to Station, Alladin Sane, and Low), this is my favorite one. Bowie’s turn towards soul was a good one. I really enjoy the call and response in Fascination. Win is a miss for me. It was a big miss the first go round, but not quite as bad upon a second listen. Can You Here Me is just OK. The Beatles cover seems to have turned a bunch of critics off, but it works for me. Fame is the stand out track for me while Young Americans is close behind. These two tracks are strong, but not strong enough to carry the album higher.

favorite track: right

Tätä bowien levyy ei oo kauheesti tullu kuunneltuu jos yksittäisii sinkkuja ei lasketa. Kiinnostavalta tuntuu toi Lennonin läsnäolo. En ehkä osaa arvioida tätä vielä tällä kuuntelulla kunnolla. Vaatii siis ehdottomasti lisää tutustumista. Näin alkuun siis positiiviset vibat mutta ei ihan riitä sinne lempparilevyihin — ainakaan vielä. 3/5

Vähän ehkä hidas ja jotenkin jammailun olonen mun makuun, vaikka bowie on ihan jees.

No johan on kun Bowien joku 10. paraskin levy mahtuu listalle. No kelpaahan tämä, hitit tässä etenkin skulaa.

After waiting this long for a Bowie album I expected a little bit more tbh. It's a fun album, and Fame is a bop and a half, but some of the songs are a bit crap and his voice can be a little annoying at times (sorry Chloe). I do think the rest of his albums on this list will only get better tho

Over 100 albums in and we've got our first Bowie, fancy seeing you here The opening and closing tracks are both great, and I like the overall stylistic shift of the album, but everything in the middle is kind of... well, mid.

Great musicianship as always with Bowie, but with a somewhat conventional direction here. Influenced by classic soul to some degree, and with famous hits like Fame and the title track. However, lacking a lot of the alternative experimental elements that make the greatest Bowie albums… great. So quite average in this respect.

Han har verkligen gjort så många hits?? Men inte hans bästa platta

I say I'm a Bowie fan but in reality I only listen to 4 of his albums and this isn't one of them. It's good but If I'm in the mood for blue-eyed soul I'm going for Hall and Oates. Wish we could give 1/2 ratings, this would be a 3.5 for me.

This is not my favorite Bowie album, not by a long shot. The singles are great, the rest is forgettable or maybe even bad.

Love Bowie. The mega-hits, Young Americans and Fame, from this album are hits for a reason. Most of this album leaned way in on the saxophone and just didn't really really grab me. This feels like a transition period away from the early 70s glam phase to something more inspired by disco maybe? Not as good as the previous handful of albums.

David Bowie's exploration of the soul genre is a pretty fun journey. It has the glam, but not mainly because of the production and Bowie's charisma, but because of the soul and R&B elements, happily driving the beats and melodies. Unfortunately, it felt dry and overproduced at some point. I guess Bowie himself wouldn't have called it "plastic soul" for no reason. In particular, the last acts of the tracks often felt monotonous, Bowie is usually repeating the same phrase here, while the background is repeating the same grooves. Again, it's a pretty fun journey. But not something worth revisiting tbh. PS. Perhaps the reason he got away with that terrible "Across the Universe" cover is because he was a friend of John Lennon during those times. The former Beatle even helped him make the album's most popular track, "Fame". Still, it's pretty amusing, how Bowie uses Beatles influences. Take note for example the "A Day in the Life" lyric sample bit in the title track.

Not my favourite Bowie album at all. Probably only a 3 because it's Bowie, i preferred the periods before and after

Not Bowie's best. Side 1 has some interminable neo-soul meanderings alongside the title track, which is a right jam. Then side 2 takes the storytelling folk style of what Bowie did near the start of his career, and applies this modern, for the mid-70s, sheen to it, before finishing with another jam in Fame.

It's got some really good bits at the start, some really good bits at the end and the middle bits are also there.

White boy tries funk, ...mostly gets the gist. Story at 8.

Enjoyed overall. If I found the LP for like 5 bucks, I’d pick it it!

*she said she said *good day sunshine

Bowie! Such a great record, coming out of the glam era into something different.

Cool bass on John, I'm only dancing. Fame is an absolute belter. Across the Universe is just sad though, and there wasn't enough gold in the rest of the album.

Not as good as some of Bowie's other albums, but Young Americans, Somebody Up There Likes Me and Fame are classics.

David Bowie does saxy soul. He really commits to it, but it still feels like a bit of a pastiche. 3/5

I like the funk/soul sound of the record, but found that most of the songs did not hit too hard on any sort of emotion. Feels like decent beats with some sort of vague, generic lyrics sung over and repeated. 5/10

easy listening, easily forgotten though too I reckon

Good album

ehhhh nothing was entirely wrong with this album but i didn’t love it. his voice got a tad obnoxious at some points but it was overall meh.

Fun listen! Look forward to other Bowie albums.

It's Bowie, it's fun enough. It's not a masterpiece, but it doesn't suck. Listened to the whole thing without groaning once. 3/5.

not good not bad, would give a 2.5 if i could

Faaaaaame. How was that the closer to the album? Huh.

Another day, another Bowie album. Like most I can take it or leave it. It's a nice album to listen to but nothing that really makes me want to come back to it.

Far from his best, but a decent record with a few of the tracks doing most of the heavy lifting. Quality and timbre of Bowie's voice does alternately grate against and work well with the music, but the overall production and composition is solid

aight

Not my favorite Bowie album, but not a bad one either, and even mid-tier Bowie is better than most of the albums on this list.

Bowie moving away from glam rock towards a more soul/r 'n' b sound and giving us Fame & Young Americans. It's not perfect, hell, as an album it's not even that great. But I get it's inclusion.

a nice disco pop album from the mid 70s. very in tune with the times it feels like.

I enjoyed this album much more than the previous Bowie album. Young Americans and Fame were both great listens and overall I enjoyed the entire album.

I thought this album was really solid. Young Americans is an excellent opening to this album and I would add Somebody Up There Loves Me to playlists of mine to listen to every now and then.

Someone should parody "Fascination" with "Vaccination"

Ever since I was a kid I never got the whole Bowie thing. Growing up I started to appreciate his talent as a musican and songwriter, and I can jam with a lot of the instrumentation on this album; the soul and r&b influences are cool, the tracks are good. But I still don't like his vocals. It leads to this juxtaposition, with this strained white guy voice crooning over these groovy tracks, making them less groovy, and makes the whole thing sound like a poor imitation. Only Fame kind of gets it. Probably because his vocals are sparse.

Never been my kind of music

Not my favorite from Bowie but an enjoyable listen.

Very interesting sound. Clearly, he was very talented, but I did find this album a little repetitive. The only song that I enjoy fully on the album is Fame.

Young Americans by David Bowie (1975) It’s probably just a matter of taste, but I personally prefer this funky R&B sound over David Bowie’s earlier sci/fi ‘space persona’ material. On Young Americans, Bowie takes up more mature themes and shows greater compositional depth and more solid collaborative arrangements and production. These features are evident chiefly in the two very nice hits from this album, “Young Americans” and “Fame”. With stylish backing vocals designed by then-unknown Luther Vandross, the opening track “Young Americans” cooks without boiling over. And teaming up with John Lennon (during his blessed 18-month hiatus from Yoko Ono), Bowie exposes the downside of rock stardom in “Fame” with groove and more than a little panache. This collaboration, however, is not as successful on their joint cover of “Across the Universe”. Yuck. As for the rest of the album, there are lush and elaborate settings (“Win”, “Fascination”, “Can You Hear Me”) for some seriously reflective lyrical motifs. The backing vocals on “Can You Hear Me” are angelic. Bowie’s voice on this album is simply entertaining—not as self absorbed as his previous work. “Somebody Up There Loves Me” at least gets me thinking about the mystery of the Incarnation, even if that almost certainly wasn’t the intent. This blast from the past is suitable background music for cleaning up after a party. Or driving through the car wash. Or packing away your summer clothes for the winter. Or paying bills. But not for riding in an elevator. People would think you’re weird. 3/5

White boy tries funk, mostly gets the gist. Story at 8.

I think I prefer older glam rock period David Bowie more than his soul-inspired era. Lots of good saxophone parts though. I think I prefer the back half of the album to the front. Favorites: Somebody Up There Likes Me, Can You Hear Me, Fame

Not my favorite style for Bowie. It's still pretty good though. The opening and closing track were hits for a reason. Absolute ear worms. Overall it's worth a listen once in a while I suppose. I'd rather go with glam Bowie or Berlin trilogy Bowie in most instances.

Fame is one of my favourite Bowie songs ever - but the rest of the album is a little ho-hum

Classic Bowie

Meh, I know that Bowie = change, but this one is rather boring.

Not a fan of his singing, but the songs are reasonably well written

This is not my style but I'm glad I listened to it. I've never stopped to listen to David Bowie.

great title track, hard to maintain the enthusiasm after that

3.5

-"Young Americans" is good and catchy -I like the funky groove in "Fascination" -The cover of "Across The Universe" was cool -"Fame" is quite catchy, but not mind blowing. I like the low voice bit at the end -Idk just not the most interesting stuff from David Bowie here

Qué bueno que no había nacido todavía porque todavía no le entendía del todo al Davidbowismo.

Está bueno, aunque no es uno de mis favoritos.

I’m sure a lot of deep Bowie fans are going to spit and want to slap me, but Young Americans is not a complete must hear. “Fame” is the only gem, and the title track is embarrassing. There also other good songs, in this album. (5/10) FT: Fame, Across the Universe, Young Americans

Surprised to find I didn’t enjoy this as much as I thought I would. Not a bad album, but not the endless great tracks i was expecting I suppose

I liked the funky vibes of this one more than the other Bowie albums I've heard, but he's still just not my thing.

Some gems, some filler. Ahead of the curve as ever and slightly odd for the Thin White Duke to predict the urban sould of the early 80's.

ну норм, но по музыке если честно не понимаю чо его так все боготворят. Вроде с муз точки зрения все обычно по звуку, наверно скорее за образ, стиль и вот это вот всё

Pop rock. No está mal

This isn't my favourite Bowie album but I still enjoyed it. Didn't much care for the cover of Across the Universe but other than that a solid listen.

Again slightly underwhelmed by Bowie. The hits are good though.

First and last songs are probably the best, but this isn't quite the best Bowie era for me. It has those glimmers of greatness but isn't quite there yet for me. 3.5 down to 3.

Not for me. Kudo's for bowie sound/style

I enjoyed this more this time than when it came up previously in my personal list. High 3 star but not quite 4.

Not one of his best, but still a few classics on here

The two singles are classics, but the rest is quite forgettable. Not a fan of his Lennon cover either.

good album, love david bowie, like the jazzy and soul influences. the songs are very long though

Fame

Bowie's a god, but it really felt like every song consistently went on 2 minutes too long.

A nice album. I was reading that Bowie catalogued this as a phase after having done extensive touring across the US and getting more into soul music. As far as I know there are not any other albums from him that take on this style of music as much as this one. And he does it quite nicely for having come from such different styles over his previous albums.

Not the best David Bowie Album

It was alright, but not fantastic. I've probably only heard a few songs from this album before but I probably wouldn't remember them if I had heard them at some point. The majority of the album was quite forgettable. Except the Beatles cover. I'll try in vain to forget that one!

Unusual style, interesting lyrics. I may liaten again.

More saxophone than I expected

Not Bowie's best.

David Bowie og masser af saxofon, what's not to like? Måske at det er David Bowie og lidt for meget saxofon. 3 stjerner, måske 4 på en god dag.

Some great hits but the others weren’t that impressive

Great sound quality, i didn't know this album. It wasn't riveting.

Okay. Young Americans fantastic track

Gutes Album, aber mir zu einförmig, bleibt weniger hängen!

Schon gut aber nicht ganz unverwechselbar groß

Perhaps it’s a grower

Not a big Bowie fan, and don't think this is his best, shocking beatles cover.

Good Bowie album. Love that Fame is the closer song

fine. meh. it played 80s music for the rest of the day. i want to like bowie more.

It sure is Bowie. Lukewarm on this one

was cool, but i dont feel like it was bowie's best

I can't believe I'm giving  Bowie a rating I would give to mere mortals. The hits never really rocked my boat which resulted in my not listening to the album much. It's a good listen but, for me, I can't give a higher rating. 

I mostly enjoyed this, I've discovered the closer Bowie gets to his "Fame" vibe the more I enjoy him. Big tune.

Good Bowie album, not my favourite. Would be 3.5 if that existed

I didn't think I liked Bowie albums, just his good songs. But this was good. Enjoyable all the way through. Interesting.

Bowie's first "funk" foray. "Fame" is a groovin' classic!

_Young Americans_ - hmm! Apparently this album was the first non-glam record for Bowie, and the record itself has an interesting history. _Young Americans_ and _Fame_ are the songs that stand out, the rest...don’t.

pretty good

Hmmm, couple of tracks saved this from being a 2/5

Across the Universe. Funk, sax..

This is my least favorite Bowie album of the 70s. There are some great songs, especially Right, and not too many artists can say that James Brown “sampled” one of their songs, but the softer soulful numbers don’t do it for me and I never liked the title track. I would give it a 4 but the cover of Across the Universe is SO out of place, unlike the Stones cover on Aladdin Sane.

5

Some interesting tunes that never were appreciated.

it has few of his most famous hits.

Feels like unknown or early (though not really at all) bowie. I never listened to him much honestly outside of his hits. I liked it enough to play it again. Album had some pleasant songs, maybe one or two I recognized. I liked it fine, but I feel pretty neutral about it over all.

Very 70's sounding. Reminded me of porn in some places. I rarely listen to these Bowie tunes so it was surprising to hear them again. This isn't my favorite stuff from him.

Gotta love fashion and style maven Bowie for his chameleon-like changes every few albums. The only other musician that I can think of that does it as well is Neil Young and he's a bloody legend also. However, in this "Soul" phase apart from the wonderful single Young Americans and the lovely song Right, this album has quite a few misses, especially the execrable Fame. Gawd I hate that song. So some great, some bad, some ok means this is 3 stars from me.

Fair to good Bowie. Fame is the highlight. Liked that he covered a Lennon song while having him guest on a different tune.

This was an eclectic sounding record I have to say, from the music to the lyrics. First time ever hearing it. Top 3 Win, Fame, and Can you Hear Me. 3 of 5

Bueno

This isn't my favorite Bowie period. That being said, I still enjoy the album.

I like this album... I want to love it and be cool and call myself a huge Bowie fan. But besides the singles not much else got me too amped... I like the Across the Universe cover. Someone Up There Likes Me is fun. If I gave this higher than a 3 I think I'd be faking the funk to try and look cool.

i don’t think i’ve ever actually listened to bowie other than “heroes” and the other, obvious singles. definitely a different vibe than i figured. after some incredibly brief research, i found out that this was a change from bowie’s previous glam rock style and leaned more towards an r&b and soul vibe.

not my favorite bowie but still pretty cool. catchy but not as consistent. It's cool to see him switch his style up, but it's clear it's not as honed as it could be. Maybe his later projects in this style will have catchier songwriting and more polished instrumentation. favorite songs: young americans across the universe fame

Bowie provides some funk but not quite enough to label it as such, also the Beatles cover throws me off.

Ok, le daré un 3 a este disco. Me gustó que es un poco más 'Funk', y no se siente tan pesado de escuchar. Tengo sentimientos mezclados sobre la versión Across the Universe. El arreglo de la canción está padre, pero no me gusta que en algunas partes usa su "voz espacial" toda pretenciosa. Definitivamente volvería a escuchar el disco, por eso lo califico con tres.

Very 70s. Cover of Across the Universe is godawful.

Decent. Better than the other Bowie album this site offered.

Bra stuff, fin plass å starte med båvvie

7/10 . Solid Album

Great record, though it kind of sounds like the soundtrack to Saturday Night Live sometimes; Fame is one of the greatest Bowie songs of all time

Definitely not one of Bowie's stronger efforts. The album has its charms, including his inspired cover of 'Across the Universe', but overall, this isn't up to his usual level.

Fantastic

bad

Not one off david bowie's best works

Another album chosen because of one single. But I guess that's how your average dumbass listens to music anyway.

why does every song have a fade out like LET ME HEAR THE END OF THE SONG

Mid. Very American I guess...I like the tunes though.

Didn’t like, amateur karaoke music

I liked the radio songs, Young Americans and Fame, but the rest of the songs just fell short for me.

I love rock'n'roll Bowie. Jazz/funk Bowie, not so much. There are some good moments but honestly not one song that I feel compelled to take with me on my way. I also found his cover of Across The Universe both pointless and painfully bad, so there's also that.

David Borie

This was an underwhelming album from Bowie.

"Ultimately just terribly boring to me. The ""plastic"" part of plastic soul really shines through. It feels very disingenuous. Love Bowie, love his voice, style, etc., hate this. The butchering of Across the Universe feels like the defining moment. Just flippant, a sorta cocaine fueled shrug. Fame is the best song for me, and I've got really big issues with it. Terrible ending, some studio tricks that feel heartless to me. David Bowie plays best when he's got an edge. I think the edge he's going for here is that he's friends with black people, which I know in 1975 means something more but to me right now it feels just very shallow. I would much rather listen to the music he's pulling from. I will say I appreciate that it's a collaboration, especially with relatively unknown musicians, given the history of white artists showing up and wholesale stealing black music. It still does very very little for me."

Is this wasn't by Bowie it would just be another forgotten mid 70s album

had er meer van verwacht. prima maar niet heel leuk.

Bowie und Funky – das ist wie zwei Planeten, die sich höflich zunicken, aber nie wirklich in dieselbe Umlaufbahn finden. Die Grooves wollen tanzen, Bowies Stimme will erzählen, und am Ende bleibt ein seltsamer Schwebezustand: interessant gedacht, aber ohne echten Funkenflug.

Mystic singer... but an overall boring album for me. Slow and uninteresting despite the cover looks. 4/10

hallucinant à quel point il voulait les nachos des beatles oh fraudvid bowie

Decent album, though not as high on the pantheon for me. High 2s. Opening track is a banger

This was fine. It was definitely not my favorite David Bowie album. I knew Young Americans and Fame. I didn’t like his cover of Across the Universe.

bastante normalitas todas, fame la unica que lo salva 2/5

Meh

Ehhhhhh. After 2-3 albums I still don't quite understand Bowie's genre.

Meh

Jazzy sax but nothing too inspiring in the album

Good music, not my type of music.

Mildly groovy though not my favorite sound for Bowie. I like title track and the "Nothing's Gonna Change My World" outro of the Across the Universe cover and Fame.

Weak album compared to many Bowie albums and rather mediocre performance overall.

#393 / 1089 Heard before? ✅ Revisit? ❌ Not the biggest fan of Mr. Bowies music, while I appreciate his skill, the music doesn't do much for me. I wouldn't change the radio station or leave the room if this played, but if this whole album is the main event, I'd get quite bored real soon. Weak 3, strong 2/5

Funky sounds . Enjoyed listening to this.

Not at all a bad album, but also not what I expected of David Bowie. Won't come back to this.