Reviews (page 3 of 14)
Title track was good, but was a bit bored by the end of the album
Some good songs. Title track and Fame are very good, the rest pretty average.
You know what, this Bowie chap is alright
This was an underwhelming album from Bowie.
ok
Fame and last song are great, rest of album is listenable but feels like many albums do similar
Oh yeah, this is hitting today.
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21488-young-americans/
3 star A proper 3 star Bowie album. Good enough that I own it on vinyl but mid enough that I probably haven’t played the record in the decade since I bought it. This is an album I wouldn’t say anything if it wasn’t on this list, but it’s not bad. The singles are good and the rest of the album is passable as “blue eyed soul.” Except the cover of “Across the Universe” is not great. Can’t believe he got John Lennon to play on that cover.
4/5
Not as good as expected
"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."
This reminds me how much I don't really enjoy David Bowie's voice. I do like the switch from his usual glam rock to the more soulful rock sound. I do like most songs with horns. I do not like the "Across the Universe" cover. That's one of my favorite Beatles songs, and nothing is done to really differentiate the song or improve it from the original. Bowie's voice isn't so bad that I dislike this album, but it does curb my enjoyment of the album. There's a couple of fun songs, but in terms of listening there really isn't a whole lot going on here. The style of the album is really the important thing here, and in terms of music history there's some importance to it, but it doesn't sound all that impressive. Favorite Song(s): Fascination, Fame
That’s a great one!
Great, great album. Still not my favourite work of his though.
This cool. a little too poppy for me but it's still great.
Hard to give this one more than a 3. Bowie is great but this one didn't need to make the cut. Love Fame though.
groovy
David Bowie is really great at doing blue eyed soul. Not his strongest or most challenging work of songwriting, but it's really groovy and enjoyable to listen to. The funky side of this album is noticable in his follow up, Station to Station as well. It's a good thing he didn't go in this direction for the rest of his career, like a proto Robin Palmer. For a one album sidestep it's amazing though.
Is this wasn't by Bowie it would just be another forgotten mid 70s album
Bowie no es para mí, lo intenté y no se me dio
It's commonly called his "blue-eyed soul" or "plastic soul" period. I think it's closer to disco-tinged... either way, it's quite a departure from the glam and glitter rock that he made it with. I'm not a huge fan of his experimental side but I enjoyed this just fine.
oki was not big emotions
Rating: 4.7/5 Short Review: Bowie dives headfirst into American soul, R&B, and funk and somehow makes it sound completely natural. This is one of his warmest records. Less alien prophet, more fascinated observer wandering through mid-70s America. Favorite Track: “Young Americans.” That saxophone, that groove, that chorus. One of Bowie’s greatest singles.
had er meer van verwacht. prima maar niet heel leuk.
It was quite a relaxing album. It encouraged me to clean my room.
Smooth and enjoyable but not fully holding my attention. 7.5/10
Goated
Ziggy goes funky soul.
Bowie does soul. Pretty good and an example of his extraordinary versatility.
Fantastic jazzy rnb from Bowie crazy how he changed styles
Young Americans impressed me with how naturally David Bowie could move into soul and funk while still sounding unmistakably like himself. At times, the album barely felt British at all, which made Bowie’s ability to constantly reinvent his sound even more remarkable. Fame was easily my favorite track for its sharp, stylish funk groove and restless energy.
There was a young American i guess
Album was pretty good. 80's hotel lobby vibes (in a good way), would listen to again. Leah - 6/7 Leprechauns - Favourite - Fascination Austin - 6/7 Leprechauns - Favourite - Young Americans
It's a fun Bowie album, but I think it's inaccurate to call it a "soul" album.
No me gusta como vamos Bowie. No me gusta su voz. Tuve que pasar la versión de Across the Universe
I love David Bowie so much. I never listen the hole album before. My favourite album from David Bowie is ‘Diamond Dogs’ but I feel like this suits me better.
Not quite 5*, my favourite Bowie albums are probably the previous glam rock ones, but this is still very enjoyable and marks a turn towards more genre diversity in his music. There are some good tunes here but I thought others were a little forgettable
Переслушай
Ok. Glad I listened, but not likely to listen ag6
so far rly cool, v dif from bowie's more well known sound. track 1 good, wanna listen in the car on a roadtrip w windows down. win was so fire to listen to high w the sun coming thru the window, lyrically rly interesting i gotta relisten. NEED to have sex listening to fascination omg this song is so hot. right was just okay tbh. somebody up there likes me was shockingly christian. across the universe kept going from really interesting to boring over n over idk it was weird. can ypu hear me was a rly cool song i liked it. i wanna see fame in a movie. idk what the context would be but it'd b fire in a movie.
Ahhhh, my 6th Bowie album so far. C'mon. I'm not going to listen to this but I will give it a middle of the road 3
Ich wusste nicht das Bowie auch soul kann. Megaalbum. das besorg ich mir auf Platte.
After the massive success of Hunky, Ziggy and Aladdin, Bowie had the confidence to keep trying his Chameleon act, and it always produced something on interest. Young Americans was one of the lesser reinventions - There's still good stuff, but it doesn't reach the heights of previous LPs. 3.5 stars
I'm struck by how some of Bowie's songs sound out-of-time. While much of this album has a cool soul feel, like "Right", which I really liked, "Win" is almost easy listening. Unlike Station to Station, which I listened to recently, there are songs that I've never heard before, including an over-the-top cover of the Beatles' Across the Universe. Each song is interesting in its own right, but there's a reason why I didn't hear them regularly growing up. The title track, and the last track, "Fame" are spectacular, but besides "Right", I don't think I'd return to other songs on this album. 3 stars?
★★★½
Excellent blend of funk, R&B and glam rock. Some of the most infectious bass lines I've heard, and Bowie is at his most electric. Lot of hidden gems on the album as well, no real weak spots or low points. Top tracks: Win, Fascination, Fame
It’s a good album. It doesn’t really come anywhere close to some of the other albums Bowie was dishing out during this decade, like the Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Station to Station and Low, though. I can see why they would put this album on the list but at the same time I feel like there could have been more exclusivity to Bowie’s absolute, irrefutable best albums. Bowie is a great artist but I can’t really say there’d be much of a loss of leaving out this Bowie album to free up space for other artists (who might not even have a singular album on the list). Also, some tracks were pretty filler (namely ‘Right’ and Somebody Up There Likes Me’) in comparison to other Bowie albums where the tracklists are solid throughout (especially the Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars). However, with all the bad stuff out of the way, this is still a great album. ‘Young Americans’ is one of Bowie’s most lighthearted, fun songs; I absolutely love it. Bowie’s cover of ‘Across the Universe,’ whilst not being better than the original in my opinion, was very charming and unique and did justice to the original. ‘Fame’ is also just an amazing song, definitely amongst Bowie’s most underrated songs and the history of that song originating from a jam with John Lennon simply makes it even cooler. Also, Bowie being the first white artist on the show ‘Soul Train’ in which he performed ‘Fame’ one of the countless examples of Bowie being a pioneer, and ahead of his time, and simply iconic. Great album.
There's been a lot written about David Bowie - and justifiably so - but I feel like some people don't realize that for a white British bisexual, the man could get FUNKY. This album is a prime example of that. "Fame" is the most obvious example, but there are others scattered across the album. This is the first appearance of what would become his "DAM trio" rhythm section, consisting of drummer Dennis Davis, guitarist Carlos Alomar, and bassist George Murray, who recorded together on seven of Bowie's classic albums in the '70s. "Can You Hear Me" feels almost shockingly modern, like a contemporary gospel track. All in all, this is a great album by a master musician in his prime.
7/10
It was good. Nothing special and writing this review a few days later, I don’t remember what I listened to, but the beat and music was fun
This is the coke album. Young Americans and Fame are great tracks but too many tracks drag on too long. Also, not a good Beatles cover on here.
i didn't make much of it. Some groovy tunes.
Dark and funky -
After so many glam rock Bowie albums, this was a refreshing change of pace. I really enjoy the funk influences throughout the album, and honestly, this style suits him better than a lot of his earlier work. The songs feel looser, warmer, and more natural than some of the characters and concepts he was leaning on during the glam years. That said, his cover of “Across the Universe” is absolute garbage. I have no idea why it made the album other than the fact that John Lennon was around the studio at the time. It sticks out for all the wrong reasons and feels completely unnecessary on an otherwise enjoyable record. Thankfully, the rest of the album is strong enough that one bad decision doesn’t sink it.
2nd David Bowie out of 9. I understand he was ahead of his time, but not my favorite. 6/10 Top song Fame
It’s Bowie but not my type of Bowie.
So, so, although Fame and Young Americans comfortably take this into 3 star territory
Hard to believe that this was 1975 given how modern the sound is.
So here we go again. 3 Bowie albums in (none of them Ziggy era) and I'm generally unmoved. Fame is the standout track. The title track and Somebody Up There Likes Me are ok. But what the hell is he doing with Across The Universe? Beck's Debra shows how much the musical ideas in Win (and maybe the entire album?) could have been improved. Another disappointment from the legend that is Bowie. And without Fame it would have been worse.3*
It's great because it's Bowie. Less of the groundbreaking energy that his glam stuff had, but his range and enthusiasm for new approaches was amazing.
Nice groove
Mostly great, opener track is a little tacky. But there’s some damn jams in this album and the band can play. Who’s on the rhythm section? There great. I do love how Bowie went with a soul-influenced theme, most of the sax could go though…
Not the greatest Bowie album.
Really cool soul album! You could really tell Bowie didn’t hold back with this album and was really himself. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I thought his voice in certain songs was very Hendrix. The beginning of the album was pretty weak, minus the title track. That might have put some people off but atleast it actually got really good by the end! I think this is definitely a big landmark for soul, as this acted like Elvis for soul music; not that he was the greatest soul performer of all time, even though he was great. It’s more that it acted as a door for white people to soul music like Elvis was to rock ‘n’ roll music. Although the black community that started it off is definitely better. I’d recommend Young Americans, Right, Somebody up there likes me, Across the universe, Fame and Who can I be now?
Bowie taking a stab at soul- but couldn't quite make up his mind whether he wanted to be Ziggy Stardust or James Brown. Still quintessentially Bowie but with some good stabs at soul It’s funny if this was done by Clapton I’d hate it but Bowie pulls it off with out feeling like a safari in the ghetto
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
David Arquilo lo hace nuevamente. Groovy, sabroso. Por momentos me pierde
Funky and still pretty mellow.
Great album. Sounds like the precursor to New Wave.
I enjoyed this
One of the best!!!
This is a really nicely executed genre-album. Two of the hit songs, Young Americans and Fame, are five-star songs.
Not my favourite Bowie. Not sonically or lyrically interesting to me. But even the worst Bowie is kind of good, no?
Really outstanding from beginning to end. Each song is a journey. The attention to detail and amount of layering is phenomenal. Bowie was in a league of his own.
Great record. Not my favorite Bowie record, but the hits absolute rip on this record.
another first timer for me. this album is like one long comedown. on other Bowie records I've listened to, you get at least a track or two that's fiery and maybe uplifting. Young Americans gives me the feeling of that emotional drain after the fun has worn off. lots of soul here. lots of saxophone to push the music forward. the only part of this that I could do without is the "Across the Universe" cover, but it was fine -- just felt inessential. also, I didn't realize how Beck seemingly lifted "Win" for his song "Debra"
I love the general sound Bowie works with on this album. The title track is especially exciting. “Fame” is a song I’ve heard enough and I find kinda annoying, but in the context of the album it really works.
cool ig
hallucinant à quel point il voulait les nachos des beatles oh fraudvid bowie
I felt like an American teen from the 70s. Cool.
Not my favorite Bowie album but his butterlike voice is always a privilige to listen to. Although, it might not be the best match for this particular music. The songs are great tho!
What I like about this album has more to do with the non-Bowie contributions. I love the backup singers. I don't love Bowie's voice. Also I just generally love funk and groove. Thanks to the Black artists who made funk and groove possible!
meh
This album has an amazing sound. The saxofone is brillant. It gets better in the second part. Some songs are monotonous but has one of the best 70s song "Somebody up Theres like me"
Funky Bowie with gospel backup singers? Yes please. Favorite track: Fame
Decent album, though not as high on the pantheon for me. High 2s. Opening track is a banger
Love it but not a Everyday listen so probably a 4 or 5
There are 2-3 excellent songs, and the genre experiment of “Plastic Soul” is an interesting premise, but the album overall is Bowie’s most uneven since the early folk/ hippie records (prob at least partially due to the miles of coke lines the glittered one was doing at this time, according to the legends).
This is probably my favorite Bowie that I've heard on this. He was clearly a talented guy and able to work in different genres. I think this is pretty decent soul, but it sounds like someone pretending to be a soul artist. I think it works pretty well for what it is.
Fascination - I really like the intro groove here Somebody Up There Likes Me - Nice Sax Can you Here Me - Amazing Fame - Very Funky
Love this album, but whoever said this is blue eyed soul is the whitest person ever.
FAAAAAMEe! 7/10
Love Bowie 100/10
Classic Bowie, great mix of songs, incredible voice, young Americans is a great way to open an album with a few lovely ballad types thrown in.
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.
Very nice, suprised by the funk sonority.
Eines der schlechtesten bowie alben
Really solid, quite different to anything else he's done. Fame is such a good closer. The version of Across the Universe is interesting, not bad
Pretty decent but not his best
funky!
Need to revisit this album more fully, but every song so far has been a banger
this is a relatively middling bowie album, which by basically all known standards still means it's like an 8/10. carlos alomar is on it, which, like... you know, say no more. there's a lot of fun trivia about this album that i think is more interesting than the record itself. for example: a then-unknown luther vandross is on this, and you could argue that it's the session/album that got him his big break! also: john lennon plays guitar on this record's cover of "across the universe", which unfortunately does not redeem it from being a total embarrassment, the worst song on the album, and a complete mood-killer coming off of "somebody up there likes me". the hits on this one are SERIOUS hits, though, to a degree that almost overwhelms the sense of self-consciousness in bowie's blue-eyed soul. "can you hear me", "fascination", and especially "fame", which is such a masterpiece that george clinton and james brown ripped it off basically wholesale for two of their own singles. i like to think that bowie was woke enough back then to feel kind of weird about being a white guy taking up all that airtime on soul train, but maybe i'm writing fanfiction there.
As a huge fan of Bowie, one who would give many of his other albums a full five stars, I feel I have both the freedom and an obligation to be a little harsher on this record. I don't think the soul thing he's attempting to do here really works all that well. Bowie's strength is in driving, catchy hits, I think, and this album feels like a whole lot of him noodling without getting anywhere. Somebody Up There Likes Me is very good, certainly (and also one of my Grand Theft Auto childhood songs, I now realize) but it feels more like a happy accident in the surrounding context. Still, it's Bowie... his sound /is/ still in there. And it does seem like whatever he was doing here did have a positive influence on his later works. I'm certainly not going to go as low as two stars. Favorite tracks: Win, Somebody Up There Likes Me
pretty good innit
bastante normalitas todas, fame la unica que lo salva 2/5
Great album!
bangin
Creo la primera canción es la peor y siempre me había alejado de escucharlo por eso, solo conociendo 1 o 2, pero la mayoría del disco fue muy bueno. Sinceramente es otro mood para ponerlo, se nota la época mucho, lo cual no es malo pero si muy notorio
Сара 4 Марко 4
Sounds like it got a three on it though, to me. I heard some funk like David Bowie. It was cool, but can you imagine Bowie in your funk? Ho! W-E-F-U-N-K
Pretty damn great
It seemed to me like this was easily the weakest Bowie included on the list, but it turns out... I really love this one too, even if it IS probably the weakest one on here.
Its goooddddd
Meh
Ehhhhhh. After 2-3 albums I still don't quite understand Bowie's genre.
Not my favorite Bowie album (Diamond Dogs): but even so, it's still a pretty great album. Of his late 70s albums, I prefer Low. 4 "disco-balled" stars.
Like Bowie still only a 3 starer for me.
The Beatles' cover sucks, the rest is pretty fantastic.
Really really good. Gospel Bowie was unexpected but really great. Bookends of iconic Bowie singles but everything in the middle was great too.
embarrassing asf i havent got into bowie up until this point. yeah i get it.
Nice blast from the past listen, enjoyed it.
love an artist that's versatile. some incredible stuff but also weak boring stuff. cool album but like you're better off checking out bowies other stuff
the first and last tracks? impeccable. maybe some of my favorite "Bowie in America" songs. the title track, with its irresistible soul pocket and that Beatles interpolation, is an especially high point in this transitional phase of Bowie's career between the glam years and the Berlin era. as far as the rest, it's unfortunately kind of a flatline. most of these songs just make me want to run "Young Americans" back again. Bowie and his "plastic soul" band make their way through the whole middle of the LP with just enough energy to not sound completely dead. that is, except for David Sanborn going absolutely apeshit on alto saxophone in the right stereo channel. it's a juxtaposition that's hilarious in a way I don't think was intentional. proving my personal maxim that Bowie's covers are either impeccable or disastrous is the rocky rendition of the Beatles' "Across the Universe". it's somewhat made up for by the John Lennon collaboration "Fame", a modal funk jam stacked with vocal and instrumental earworms. decent 5/10.
Never had an Bowie ecxperience. It's wildly different.
Meh
Jazzy sax but nothing too inspiring in the album
It's fine
Godd but not my style
4.5 Didn't quite enjoy it as much as the first two Bowie albums I got but it's still really good
Sure, there are two outstanding tracks here, but this is not one of Bowie’s best albums.
Good listen overall, but it’s really a two‑or‑three‑song album, and they were smart enough to save the best track for the finish..
Good music, not my type of music.
el álbum perfecto para una banda sonora de una BUENA película. Sin duda la primera mi favorita, te hace sentir el main character sin duda
It's a good album, I'm not gonna give it a relisten tho, maybe Fame. great overall sounds, there's up and down but still
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.
A wonderful transition album where Bowie learned a new idiom. The funk and RnB jams are super satisfying, even if they sometimes feel that they are missing a little songwriting at their core. The backing vocals are rich and voluptuous (shout out Luther Vandross) and the band is on fire throughout. Bowie more than holds his own vocally despite not completely meshing with the musicians (the ‘plastic’ in ‘plastic soul). The additions of the tracks with Lennon somehow give the album an unfinished feel, but this record was a necessary piece of education for Bowie that paved the way to Station To Station, where he would make the sounds, rhythms and feels more his own, integrating them with his personal coke-fueled weirdness.
Bit surprised to see this Bowie album on the list as it's probably his worst of the 70's. Still, it's Bowie and got some really good songs on it!
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
mais um caso de uma faixa de abertura e uma de encerramento sensacionais com músicas razoáveis entre elas, com exceção de somebody up there likes me. ps: que cover horroroso esse de across the universe pqp
Good album!
Really liked
Not always a Bowie fan but this has a jazz meets country style that really works.
Another average Bowie album with a couple of great tracks and some very competent (but less thrilling) others. He certainly churned them out.....
Really funky. Young Americans and Fame are the highlights here, fame might actually be my favourite Bowie song. Great
Brilliant
Bowie ends his glam era with a pivot to soul. It almost feels like a pastiche at time, with a plastic sound, tacky saxophones, and tons of background vocals. But calling it a pastiche ignores the fact that it often sounds very good. The title track and "Fascination" are lively, flowing jams with great vocals. "Fame" is irresistibly funky even if it feels a bit skeletal. Most of the other tracks feel inessential though, without enough going on. The Beatles cover is too similar to the original while also being just different enough to sound off. On his next album Bowie expanded on these sounds and turned them into something new. For an artist of Bowie's caliber, this one sounds a little tame.
Bu adamın yaptığı işleri beğenmemek elde değil
Obviously there are really big hits on this album and I love David Bowie, but this record just grated on me idk??? I feel like the songs were endless and his voice was more abrasive and the cover of Across the Universe wasn't good? Idk am I on something? Wouldn't listen again no offence, there's better Bowie.
Not like my faaaavourite Bowie but listening in the context of this as a lead in to the pure genius of what came a year later makes it kinda fun. And the title track and Fame are some big old bangers
My late father was a big big David Bowie fan. So big he named me after him. So my name is David. If I wasn't named after him, my name would be Jens. That was my mother her chose. Before you think Jens? You must be German. No i'm Belgian. Anyway enough talk about my little little little self. I really enjoyed this album. For me personally it doesn't have a bad track on it. And no I don't say this because I was named after him. 4/5
Good album, but maybe not DB’s best
Great album….Bowie changing his style yet again . A couple standouts ..really enjoyed it
Funky sounds . Enjoyed listening to this.
It’s ok actually. Nice music.
Not at all a bad album, but also not what I expected of David Bowie. Won't come back to this.
Fine, don't care much for Bowie
And lo, I have completed the David albums upon the Project. From the only quite highs of Heroes to the insurmountable highs of Hunky Dory, this falls...about in the middle. It's a tiny weeny bit pastiche-y, and not as powerful as his early 70s pomp, but it's still absolutely tremendous in places. Lennon's lovely little fingers are in David's pies across the board here - most notably in Fame, but also with the really glorious bit towards the end of the title track when the opening line of A Day In The Life is belted out by the backing singers.
2/5 Pretty short album but not my vibe, didn't really mesh with any song. Favorite Song: Fame
The Best
Glad I listened to it for the bangers
I dont like him
Young Americans is one of my fave songs ever but this album isn’t really doing it for me. Still enjoyed, still a classic
Starts and ends strong but this is at it's best when Bowie's to the side and the backing vocalists are doing their thing
Not bad, actually kind of fun. Pretty solid.
Good album.
Really enjoyed. Very laid back and soulful.
I get why this is here -- it's Bowie. But the whole thing just feels undercooked somehow. He sounds great and there are some forever bangers on here. But he was still trying to find what would eventually become the wonders of the Berlin trilogy and it just...doesn't...quite...click. But if you want to know the origins of all that sax in popular music through the early 80's, this is probably the place to start.
A nice listen, bit funky. Good stuff. Didn't finish it yet but got the gist
Songs were mostly good, some vocal performances were stronger than others, but mostly good!
I think the instrumentation on this album is very fun. I see the appeal and I was grooving a little but I think I am not a fan of his voice too much. No shade to David Bowie or his fans, just not my personal style. 6/10
8/10 - The more I listen to Bowie, the more I am impressed by his ability to be influenced by other styles and meld them into his own sound. Big fan of this album and its Funk/Soul underpinning.
An under appreciated album in his discography, I only knew Young Americans and Fame (and Across the Universe via The Beatles). This is a super solid album, but at 8 songs, I would want a little more. 8/10
prima
I love David Bowie, a masterpiece of course
No idea I could be elevated via a music album.
First very good album
muy bueno, me acompañó en mi mañana yendo a la facu, y no decepcionó. fue una linda sorpresa encontrar la inspiración de love me de the 1975 en fame (y de no ser así, es un choreo cósmico de los muchachos). tengo que escuchar más bowie.
Sadly, this is one of Bowie's albums that's fallen off a bit for me, especially considering how great the albums surrounding it are. That said, it still has some all-time bangers on it, like the title track, Fascination, and ESPECIALLY Fame.
Once again, I don’t understand how Bowie attained the godlike status needed to have 9 albums on this list
Bowie gets….. soulful & funky??? what! I’m truly predisposed to like it off the genre influences alone; if there’s any white dude who can be creatively trusted to pull off a genre switch like this, it’s him. Could see this becoming a 4 if it stays in the rotation! Standouts: Young Americans • Fascination • Right • Fame
Mildly disappointing but perfectly acceptable Bowie album. It definitely starts to sag a little at the end. I was completely buying what he was laying down but a little more variety would have helped a LOT, in my opinion.
trying a bit too hard to be wacky
Very good album, the musicality is off the charts, soulful songs and great rythm all the way through, and a Beatles cover to complete. No notes, very good.
One of my favorite Bowie albums!
Good stuff
This album was so ahead of its' time. Namely: the overuse of saxamaphones that occurred in the 80s. :-).... Honestly pretty low on the Bowie list to my ears.
Ufattelig tamt til å bli blåst opp så voldsomt av så mange. Er nok ikke gammel nok.
Too much bloody saxophone for my liking, but Fame is funky. Not sure why we should celebrate the descent of something amazing into something trying to be soul and funk but mostly failing apart from one interesting edgy song
The middle period of a fairly incredible 10 album or so run in the 70s for Bowie. Probably one of my less played ones, I prefer the Ziggy era or the Berlin era, but this is still fairly excellent. Shit hot session musicians, lots of backing vocals and sax make it more slick than anything that came before it, which was intentional, but also puts me off it a tad.
Por ahora el más flojo del David. Me gusta Fame nomas. Nota: 3.2
Bowie was a curious shapeshifter, always reinventing himself and creating a solid body of work in the process. When you change the formula of your success you'll eventually create something lesser. But creating the lesser work is often a step in creating much better work. This record does not reach the heights of Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, Low, or his final gift Black Star. There are some good songs on here: the title track and "Fame." The cover of "Accross the Universe" is ill-considered and Bowie's voice is not up to turning that song into overwrought soul.
This was great, it felt combative almost though i couldn’t tell you why. Just feels a bit like he’s in on something you’re not and you have to keep listening to try and get in on the bit.
For those of you who can remember anything of the Miss Peaches trivia night, the title track featured in the music round (theme: song titles with America/n in the title). At the time it was my first exposure to the song and these days it’s one of my all-time fave Bowie tracks, so I was very happy to listen to it (over and over, if I’m really honest). The Across the Universe cover was a nice touch too, there’s just not a whole lot else that grabbed me here.
Saw the title and foolishly thought Afraid of Americans would be on here. Then I read the little wikipedia intro and didn’t think that really sounded like my interests. I think I probably liked this less than the last Bowie album we did because I didn’t feel like it was as adventurous, but I really liked the title track!
This isn’t Bowie at his strongest. It’s fine and has moments of brilliance (Young Americans is incredible) but it is a trial run for the excellent Station to Station and doesn’t quite hold the same weight.
I was never a big fan of Bowie, even if there are certain songs that I just love by him (e.g., Let's Dance, China Girl, Suffragette City). And when I had his first record from this list, Low, I didn't think it was all that special, only reaffirming my position. Since then, surprisingly, I've really changed my tune. It started with the Ziggy Stardust album, which had incredible songwriting. Earlier this week, I had Blackstar, a fascinating album with heavy electronic and jazz bents. That he was able to recreate himself that late in his career was astounding to me. This album is only further entrenching my new position and that recreation theme could really apply to this album as well, as he moved away from glam rock and towards more of a R&B / soul inspired rock sound. The title track has a great sound to it, including from some of the support players (Luther and David Sanborn, most notably). I liked the way his vocals offset vs. the soaring background singers. Nice toss to A Day In The Life by The Beatles too. Win answers the question, what if George Michael was around in the 70s. The breathy points of this make it for me. A cool, sultry track. Fascination is a great song. This starts with a strange combination of early 70s funk and some early disco types of sounds. It's bass heavy approach reminds me of Shaft a bit. You can just picture him getting into singing this. This song is the best find I've had in the last week on this countdown. 3 for 3 and an amazing start to this record. Right wasn't quite as good for me, but it was a solid track with continued good base work and more David Sanborn, neither of which are ever bad things. Somebody Up There Likes Me had some of Bowie's best impassioned vocals on it, along with a series of gorgeous harmonies throughout. Totally dug this tune. Listening to Across the Universe, I can't believe a song like this wasn't part of any of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, as it would have fit perfectly. Cool, sweeping track. I was wondering why it sounded like a Beatles song and then I read that it was a Lennon-McCartney tune, which made total sense. I'm just ignorant to many things Beatles, as I am not a big fan of them. Can You Hear Me was a somewhat subdued track compared to some of the rest of the album. Liked the soul bent to this and I have mentioned that I am fan of the David Sanborn work on this record yet? Yeah, more of that is a good thing. Also, the a cappella ending of this was great. The closer, Fame, is a track that we have all heard a bunch before, but admittedly I've generally just let it sit there when it's on the radio, not really paying too much attention to it. Upon actually listening, the funk, the syncopation, the movement between various vocal parts, all of it is great. A really well constructed track. Blown away by how excellent this album ended up being. Even the couple that I didn't think were excellent songs are still good listens. Basically a complete album. 5-stars.
A first listen for me and besides the opener and closer, it's all new to me. Bowie's first sojourn into soul music is a positive one. His chameleon like tendencies allow him to switch quite dramatically at times and still it sounds like a Bowie album. Not my personal fave but there's a level of quality you tend to get with Bowie and this falls well within that range.
It’s funky, groovie Bowie - complete with a warm 70s production, saxophone, and soulful background vocals. The record starts strong with the stellar “Young Americans”, but for the most part the album works more on vibe than on the strength of its songs, which simply don’t meet the bar set by the preceding and subsequent albums of the period. But, it’s still Bowie. And its still fun and worth listening to.
In terms of genres bowie has worked in, this is the one thats most up my street. Title track is a banger. Fascination is so good Maybe this is his best album, certainly feels top 3. Im gonna go 5 because its great
One of the Bowie albums that gets lost in the catalogue
Goodbye Horses er verdens beste pop-låt. Fascination er ikke langt unna. Er jeg Liberty Rock Radio pilled, eller er jeg bare samme archetype som den/de som kurerte den kanalen...? Det får vi aldri vite. Det er noen duds på skiva. Jeg elsker Across the Universe, men dette coveret hopper jeg med glede over. Can You Hear Me er helt ok, men er ikke låta skiva trenger på dette punktet. Om det ikke var for dudsa, hadde dette vært Bowie's sterkeste verk bar none. Jeg liker vel når hvite rocke-musikere bestemmer seg for å lage sitt Motown album. Skal det få fem? Young Americans, Fascination, Right, og Fame veier tungt nok til at jeg lander på ja, men det er på hengende håret.
Mitt første møte med David Bowie var "Somebody Up There Likes Me" på K-DST i GTA San Andreas. Det er nok fortsatt en av mine favoritter av Bowie. Ellers låter plata like glossy som coveret ser ut. Smooth sax og discogitar for alle penga. De låtene som er bra er veldig bra, mens feks coverversjonen av "Across the Universe" låter uinspirert. "Can You Hear Me" låter som en Marvin Gaye-pastisj, men funker særs dårlig for Bowie. Men plata starter med en sterk låt og slutter med en sterk låt. Det er kanskje derfor det etterlatte inntrykket er så bra?
Pop rock un peu jazzy par moment, difficile de mettre moins à Bowie
Franchement, je le connaissais pas celui là (juste des sons par ci par là)et un des meilleurs de l’artiste ! Je l’ai vraiment trouvé bien
J'aime bien David Bowie!
really nice
väldigt lugnt och sansat för att vara mr. bowbow
I dont remember it
I enjoyed it it was pretty good
Nearly made it through the album without hearing a Beatles song (it was a good cover tho)
I feel like this has historical significance that I don’t understand
No surprise but pretty great all the way through - another one I need to listen to more.
Solid Bowie album; never heard the “Across the Universe” cover before.
I can see why he called it "Plastic Funk" it does feel more commercial than other funk music I've listened to. I still thought it was a lot of fun. I like the backup singers and the saxophone. Would probably listen again. Fav song: Fascination Least fav: Across the Universe
Have gone after him for some of his other albums, and I still think that 7 is too many for one person, but there are some absolute bangers on here. First and last are top tier. Didn’t rate the Beatles cover. Specific rating - 4.3 Fav song - Young Americans Least fav - across the universe
Young Americans and Fame are really great songs, but the rest of the album doesn't reach the same heights. Never knew that Lennon helped write Fame, puts the Beatles cover into context (although it's still not great). Favourite song: Young Americans Least: Across The Universe
This is a really cool album. Enjoyed it. Bowie has proved me wrong with some of his albums. He was great. Stand out songs - Young Americans and Fame. Leave out the beatles cover. Unneeded. I'll give a 4
You know what! Enjoyed.
Enjoyed this one! It was my background music for Saturday morning chores and it kept my energy up
Not totally successful for me as an album, but what if you switched the order for Young Americans and Fame? Somehow that feels like a better arc.
One of my goals with this project is to find my way into Bowie. It’s not for lack of trying. Everything here was pretty good, but nothing grabbed me and said “genius!”
I’d never heard this cover of Across the Universe.
I wuld smoke david browies sigret bro
thoroughly enjoyed, wonderful. very different from the last album i got from him, ‘heroes’. a great time
I'd always thought Young Americans was one of Bowie's lesser 1970s albums. Now I’m wondering what I was basing that on because I loved this.
First time listening to a David Bowie album. I'm very impressed, not only because the music was good but because I figured Ziggy to be more of a metal head - that was the generally preconception I had of him. This album was very different than what I had anticipated and it's very nice.
Man this was so good. From the Beatles cover, to the two major hits, it's a great R&B album from one of the most prolific artists in the 70s. I don't think I'd ever listened front to back, but it was a great listen with no bad ones in there.
David goes soul, sometimes great, sometimes not so great.
A funky and heartfelt album from an absolute icon of music
Not my fave Bowie album, but still great. 4.2/5.
very good but the across the universe cover is criminal
It's hard to be objective about Bowie
Am getting slack with these notes. Too busy recently. Anyway i dont know this album well. I know a few tracks but never listened to whole album. I think i like r&b soul Bowie more than regular Bowie and i like regular Bowie a lot. This album hangs together really well. Some great backing support to his non-r&b type vocals which are remarkably suited to r&b soul. Extremely well rounded for a dip into the different from him.
Similarly to 'The Next Day', this is a great Bowie album but I'm not sure why it necessarily deserves a place on the list. It's a softer, more easy listening album. A really chilled listen, but there's just so many Bowie albums that are better and more interesting! Not to take away from this. Favourites: Young Americans Fascination Fame
не мое но не прям плохо
7/10 suena bien pero medio lento no me entretuve mucho
If you ever catch me giving Bowie fewer than 5 stars on here, assume that I've been bodysnatched.
Bookended by some classics and its an ok listen throughout but not my favourite Bowie era.
Bowie has never been a consistent album artist for me. He has frequent moments of genius and you have to appreciate the breath of styles he covered in his career but this album has always just been fine for me. Nothing terrible on here but maybe a bit boring. Young Americans, Fascination and Fame are the best tracks. Overall perfectly pleasant with some good grooves but not very exciting. 3.4
Great album. Some absolutely ironic tracks. 3.7/5.
It's ok and fair play to any artist who's brave enough to go in a new direction like this. But I think that there are far more interesting and memorable albums in Bowie's discography.
Beatles reference feel good amazing!!!
Loving this album
Some obviously classic bangers--Young Americans, Fame--but also some tracks that sound a bit unfocused (although I still like them). I can see why reviews were mixed at the time of release, but I think this album has probably aged better than people expected.
I only knew the radio songs (Young Americans and Fame) before listening. The rest was good too. There was an unexpected Beatles cover (Across the Universe), which was fun.
Its good but It isn't my personal favorite
This one didn't click for me. This is the second David Bowie album that I've listened to, and I'm starting to realize that he might not be for me. I liked some of the instrumentals, but nothing really stood out to me. I'm also not of fan of his vocals. It's a little weird and I just don't vibe with it.
grande album, n ouviria normalmente mas se estivesse tocando em algum lugar eu ouviria feliz, FAAAAAAAME 💃💃
primeira vez realmente escutando david bowie e to vendo q demorei até demais
Fame is the only redeeming song for me on this album. Not a fan of the Philly solo on this album.
I have been WAITING for my first Bowie album I love this one The Beatles' cover is so important to me, although I like it slightly less than the original The saxes throughout!!!!!!!!! Fame is just a banger
5/10 Overrated Bowie, isn't it? Naff, if we're honest.
side A and the closer are pretty killer but most of side B drags it down. kinda makes me wanna listen to a normal philly soul record instead.
I like Bowie generally, but this album isn’t great. Couple of good tracks and the best one is a Beatles cover. Preferred Hunky Dory, although, like the Beatles, I’m finding Bowie a bit overrated so far. Good but not great.
Highlights: Young Americans, Fascination and Fame. 3.75
A couple big hits and a pretty good album overall. 4 stars or B+.
Bookended by a couple of classic songs, the middle isn’t as strong. Not as good as his other albums on the list. Maybe I’m not a fan of soul.
легенда, но не мой вкус
es que arrancaste muy bien
Deze zou ik wellicht nog een keer luisteren. Maar niet heel bijzonder.
nice jazz influences and harmonies. typical david bowie, who maybe isn't as bad as I thought.
It's David Bowie
A few really known classics here, and the others are also cool. I like Bowie a lot.
Love Bowie RIP
This is album #241 for me and already my 5th Bowie. I enjoyed the saxophone, the elements of funk and the soul accentuated by the backup singers. I understood that it wasn't true soul but a Brit superstar ("plastic soul," he called it), but it was a worthwhile experiment. The title track has always been solid, as is Fame, and I liked his remake of Across the Universe.
Not a Bowie fan but I liked this more than I thought I would. The first track had a “little kid music but for adults” vibe but opened into more interesting territories afterwards. The song Fascination is a scorcher.
Good, but isn't something I would put to listen to voluntarily.
Just David Bowie being annoying, as per. I don't really get why people love this guy so much
Heard a lot of Arctic Monkeys Tranquility Base source content! Very different from other Bowie stuff.
Out of the three Bowie albums on this list that I’ve listened to so far, this one has been my favorite. I don’t think Bowie’s voice will ever be my cup of tea, but I dug the funk/soul influence on this one.
Si le doy una chance
I've never listened to a Bowie album before. This was very cool.
The saxophone solos are always hits. This album is definitely with soul. And there's a lot of headbobbers (songs that make your head bob). However i think when it comes to soul there are many artist I would rather listen to. While this album was good overall I prefer his other albums I got to listen to. Fame however really stood out to me, definitely a fav on this album
Not my favorite Bowie album and he honestly sounds uncomfortable at some parts, imo, but it has a couple of solid songs: "Fame" and a cover of "Across the Universe".
Groovy, record full of energy that makes you want to move. For some reason though, on a close listen I noticed something that never really registered before. Bowie’s vocals hop from breathy exasperation to warbling vibrato, and it started to bug the hell out of me. “Is David Bowie a bad singer?”, I wondered. Charisma- 9.5/10 Vocals - 5.5/10 Instrumental arrangement/ production - 10/10 The man and whatever musician team and producers he worked with created an undeniably brilliant rock and roll album
No tan bowie como los posteriores, pero con tremendo flow, aunque más homogéneo que los demás también
Not much of anything in between the first and last track
YESSSSSSS
i love u david bowie u never disappoint <3
True confession...I can give or take Bowie. I never really feel one way or another about his music. But I can honestly say this if the first album of his in this project that's completely listenable from front to back. Sure, his lyrics remain pretty nonsensical to me, but damn does this album jam. And Luther Vandross on backing vocals?! Who would've known?
No wonder he did the Berlin trilogy after this. It's not that this is bad, but it's definitely unsatisfying. It's not as good as the music it's borrowing from and it feels kind of...off? Like Bowie doesn't belong here. He's not bad, but he's misplaced, like it's a mashup. I can't get past that. Fame is rightly the most popular song off this because it's the one that feels like Bowie actually belongs on. Cocaine is a hell of a drug.
I loved young Americans and Across the Universe. The jazz elements were fun and soulful 10/10 good flow between it all and god I would live for this one
love
deep cuts are enjoyable. lot of saxophone. bangers beginning middle and end
David Bowie's album is a soul, what's better than that? Like the instruments of Luther Vandres and John Lennon, this plastic soul, as Bowie would say, is sensational with lyrics on often romantic and political themes, so come on
Another Bowie, another classic. Surprisingly (?) I like Fame the least of this bunch.
Genius, great saxophone
Cocaine era Bowie could get pretty aimless but sometimes he hit. This is a definite hit. It's so corny, it's hard not to love
Nice album, I remember hearing several of these songs on the radio in my youth
I can't help but feel like I'm bound by some unspoken queer oath to love all David Bowie... but this album isn't it for me. This feels like he's throwing musical textures at the wall to see what sticks. His voice is nimble, the guitars are funky, but it's kind of a mess - and not even a hot one. Best song: Fame.
Shall we have a bash at Philly soul then? Yeah, why not, even if it’s just passing through. Handful of absolute belters here, but not a full album worth.
Bowie has sort of a funny voice. It isn't really pretty in a conventional sense, but that isn't to say he isn't a technically sound singer. Do half the stuff he does, singing the lines he sings, and making them sound good is an accomplishment. Bowie also just oozes charisma on this. It probably helps that huge portions of this are built out of recorded jam sessions. Bowie always had good taste in collaborators and this album sees him picking up a good portion of the major figures he could with for like a decade. It leaves on an absolute banger of a note with Fame, but the whole thing is strong.
This definitely sounded different than I expected, and came out a little earlier. I can hear the glam influence of the Ziggy Stardust years, but I wasn’t anticipating hearing some R&B and gospel mixed in as well. There were a lot of parts that reminded me of some of the art-rock-soul that infiltrated Peter Gabriel’s debut solo album, so much so that I had to see if Bob Ezrin produced this album first before ol’ PG (note: Bob Ezrin is not involved in this album). I think the first half had more life than the second half, as I found the second half to drag a bit before we reached “Fame” (and tell me this song wasn’t a precursor to PG’s “Big Time” eleven years later). I did enjoy this, but I was ready for it to be done by the time it ended. Would listen again though.
Great album to have just playing in the backround. Favourite song: Fascination Some great feel-good tunes in there and is a perfect example of David Bowie’s style
Si es bueno me gustó mucho, tiene un ritmo muy bueno
Young Americans is one of my least favorite songs ever so that has prevented me from ever fully enjoying this album. Sorry Bowie.
Shame about Bowie as a person but… come on man. It’s good. You know it’s good, I know it’s good, hell yeah. The horns…. The HORNS! The production, mixing, mastering!