Young Americans

Désolé mais c'est très mid Bowie.

David Bowie’s Young Americans is the sound of an artist shapeshifting in real time — and somehow making it look effortless. Trading glam-rock glitter for satin‑smooth soul, Bowie dives headfirst into “plastic soul” and comes up with a record that’s surprisingly warm, slyly funky, and endlessly listenable. The title track struts in with swagger, “Fame” snaps with sharp-edged cool, and the whole album glows with that lush, mid‑70s studio sheen. It’s Bowie at his most playful and least alien, crooning and hustling his way through grooves that feel equal parts nightclub, street corner, and smoky after-hours jam. Not every experiment lands perfectly, but even the wobbles are interesting — and the highs are undeniable. Young Americans may not be Bowie’s most iconic persona, but it’s one of his most charming detours, a stylish pivot that still feels fresh. A confident 3 out of 5: bold, soulful, and just messy enough to be human.

Young Americans - 4/5 Win - 3/5 Fascination - 3.5/5 Right - 3/5 Somebody up There Likes Me - 3.5/5 Across the Universe - 3/5 Can You Hear Me - 3/5 Fame - 2.5/5 Who Can I Be Now - 2.5/5

As a big fan of David Bowie, I don’t think this is a very great album from him. It’s held down by the title track and Fame, but the middle is very forgettable, especially after Fascination. Across the Universe is definitely a Beatles cover. I don’t actually love that song that much and I don’t think his interpretation does anything too crazy with it. I want to like ‘Somebody Up There Likes Me’ but I just don’t, really. I could even say the same with ‘Win’. Even though it is pretty, it’s also unexciting and doesn’t feel meaningful lyrically.

I've Like other Bowie songs like Starman and Space Oddity, but have never a song from this ablum. Very familiar sounding of many songs from the 70's with some classic Bowie bits make this an pretty decent album. Favorite songs were Fascination, Across the Universe, and Who Can I Be Now? And least favorite was (Ironically) Young Americans.

Good driving music

Been a while since I’ve hit this one, did not relisten for this project.

Ziggy stardust>>

👁️👁️

Solid David Bowie album. Couple of classics tucked in there along with other enjoyable songs. Not my favorite album from him overall but I was happy to listen through it.

en mi opinión no es lo mejor de bowie, pero lo disfruté bastante

No strong feelings

While there are way too many Bowie albums on this list, I have a feeling this one will be the most enjoyable one. The bookends on this album are worth the price of admission and the meat in the middle isn't bad either. I'm having a hard time likening this to Soul or R&B as the critics tell me I should unless R&B stands for Rock & Bowie.

Another album with more historic significance than must listen. “Bowie biographers have considered it one of his most influential records, mainly noting him as among the first white musicians of the era to overtly engage with black musical styles.” It is still Bowie, but Fame and possibly Young Americans hit me today. 1.5 songs added to playlist.

I know this a very unpopular take but I’m really struggling with the Bowie albums on this list I’ve had so far. I don’t ever really feel drawn in and the wobbly vocal thing doesn’t work for me. I do appreciate the instrumentation on some of these tracks though.

Young Americans é um bom álbum. A música que dá nome ao álbum, Fascination, Fame e Right são as melhores. 3/5.

The title track and "Fame" are so good, transcending the cliches they are mining, but the rest is pretty much filler to these ears. I bet any of those songs in the right movie might sound brilliant, but on their own, not so much.

This might be the Bowie-Album I like the least. The switch to more Pop and Soul music and the omnipresent Sax...too much for me. And the cover version of "Across the universe" is unnecessary, IMO. Fav: Fame

Fun album!

Outside of the title track I was generally not over the moon for this album. Definitely interesting but not special for me.

3.5 or something

There are definitely better Bowie albums but i love ‘Fame’

I get the sincere feeling that I haven't gotten to David Bowie's best work yet, but I do really like the last 3 songs on this album. I've yet to pull Ziggy Stardust, so hopefully that's soon!

The more I listen to Bowie the more I think he’s a 3 star kinda guy I’ll start off with this: the dude does not make bad music. Every song on this one is pretty solid from a musical standpoint, well thought out and there’s enough variety where it doesn’t get boring. Across the Universe is pretty cool (even though Emily told me he stole it from the Beatles) I just don’t think his highs are particularly high. I know he has better songs on other albums but I never come away from his albums with a real standout or banger. Maybe it’s just a symptom of his music not being my thing since I really can’t highlight any major flaws It’s an enigma; I’m never upset when we get a Bowie album but 20 minutes into one I kinda wish it was over

Like Fascination Quite enjoy the Across the Universe cover Can you hear me sucks, but that's because I loathe 90% of ballads Pass on Fame I just think Bowie needs to be weirder. This is too commerical of a sound; if I didn't see the artist on this album I probably wouldn't have guessed it was him :~(

This album sounds pretty good, except it feels somewhat lacking to me. It could be that I listened to Low and Hunky Dory before this one and liked those a lot and so this one felt disappointing to listen to.

This album’s fine. Bowie’s attempt at R&B and soul was daring and was pulled off well, at least through the instrumentation. Where the album fall short for me is in the songwriting, which in my opinion gets tedious with several tracks on here. Don’t get me wrong, there are some sure standouts, a couple of which are some of my favorite tracks Bowie ever made, specifically the final track “Fame.” However, the cover of Across the Universe it… something. I don't know how to explain my reaction to hearing this. It starts off a bad, but acceptable cover of what is an amazing song, probably one of my favorite Beatle songs. 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. 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 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. Did I need to hear it before I die? For historical context only

Intresting outreacb of Bowie, but not my favourite from him

I enjoyed this one. Got a totally different round to what came before it. That's not news to anyone though. Somebody up there likes me is the standout on this for me.

Not sure I like Bowie's voice. Good vibes though.

Not my favorite Bowie album, but some really great songs none the less

I've always thought the song Young Americans was a bit of an odd Bowie tune, and this whole album is similar in that it seems like his attempt at doing a blue-eyed soul thing. It's not bad, and it has some really great sax moments, but definitely not going to be one of my go-to albums. 3/5

This is far from his best album... I love Bowie but this album should not be on this book. This Beatles cover is really rough... Theres atleast 2 good songs, the first and last one. The rest mostly decent-ish.

'Twas Alright, probably won't listen to it again.

Didn’t do much for me, but it was enjoyable. I’m realizing that part of the problem with this project is that some days I have more attention available than others. I wonder if, on the right day, this could have captured me as it did so many others in the reviews? 6/10 Pretty Good

Ratings: 5: I will happily play this album anytime 4: I may occasionally play this album of my own free will 3: I will happily listen to this if someone plays it in the background 2: I will tolerate this if it is playing in the background 1: I will leave the room if someone plays this in the background Good Bowie, but not my favorite Bowie.

Very ok.

A very solid offering by Bowie - seems he just can't miss, but not as strong as other records

I am not familiar with David Bowie's discography, so I was surprised how different this album sounds from his previous album I listened to. Favorite track : Fascination 3.5/5

After listening to Low, I haven’t got much faith in Bowie, let’s see if he can redeem himself. Young Americans: 7.5/10 High energy, catchy and great. Win: 7/10 Smooth and chill, has the qualities of a soft RnB song. Fascination: 6.5/10 Groovy. Right: 6/10 Somebody in there likes me: 5.5/10 Across the universe: 6/10 Beatles song. Sounds very Bowie even though it’s a cover. Can you hear me: 5.5/10 Fame: 7/10 What a tune. Great intro. Banging song. The definition of funk.

This is why I never listen to Bowie albums. You get 1-2 good songs and the rest is unremarkable.

Dancey fun. Sounds quintessential 80s. Some songs were captivating. Great production but not my typical flavor of music. Seems one you grow to love.

- 0 nummers toegevoegd aan MMMM - 0 nummers al toegevoegd aan MMMM

Deze een tijdje geleden geluisterd, maar daarna kwam My Bloody Valentine en daarna was ik zo klaar met deze lijst, dat ik zelfs niets meer opgeschreven heb. Dus wat is er blijven hangen? Een beetje een saai album van Bowie, iets minder eigen. Een toetertje, een beatje. Laten we het maar een standaard pop-album noemen voor de eind '70's / begin '80s. Maar als mijn hitster skills enigszins op orde zijn, is mijn idee dat het niets eigens heeft, niet terecht. Dan is meneer wel een trendsetter geweest. Want dit album is al een paar jaar ouder. Ik kijk eens terug. Bijna alles van Bowie krijgt 3 sterren van mij (Uitzondering: 4 sterren voor Station To Station). Uiteindelijk doet Bowie mij blijkbaar niet heel veel.

Nummer 8 van de 9 albums in dit boek. Mag het een onsje minder zijn? Graag. Al kan ik een goede portie Bowie prima hebben gelukkig, anders zou je er maar ongelukkig van worden. En Bowie weet altijd wel enigszins te vernieuwen of te veranderen, waardoor het geheel zeker wel tof is om te luisteren en elk album een iets ander geluid geeft. Maar om diezelfde reden zouden we ook Taylor Swift 9 keer kunnen opnemen in de snoblijst en dat doen de snobs ook niet. Dit album is van net voor zijn Berlijn-trilogie en de laatste in zijn glamrock-periode. Nou ja, verder kun je de wiki of hele boeken erover lezen, mocht je daarin geinteresseerd zijn. Of talloze podcasts luisteren, danwel met danwel zonder Don Leo Blokhuis, die deze muziek zoals gewoonlijk grijs heeft gedraaid als we de beste man mogen geloven. Zo, heb ik toch weer 2 alineatjes gevuld met lulkoek, zonder iets over de muziek te hoeven zeggen. Ik vind de titeltrack wel prima, Somebody up there prima, Fame is wel aardig. De rest is niks mis mee, maar of het nu tot het hoogtepunt van Bowies oeuvre behoort, waag ik te betwijfelen. Als je geinteresseerd bent in de handel en wandel van Bowie, dan is dit album zeker interessant om te luisteren, maar als ik 3 albums zou MOETEN kiezen, dan hoort deze er niet bij. Dan zou ik denk ik voor 1. Ziggy Stardust moeten gaan, 2. een vd platen vd Berlijn-trilogie, wellicht Heroes al vind ik persoonlijk Station to Station beter, en 3. een ander album naar eigen keuze. Mijn scores zouden dan zeggen Aladdin Sane. Qua luisterplezier zit het ergens tussen de 3 en de 4 in, ligt een beetje aan de mood en wat ik ervoor zou hebben moeten luisteren van de snobs. In dit geval kies ik voor de 3, vanwege de overdaad aan Bowie (en het gebrek aan Taylor).

Not one of the better Bowie albums IMO. It was ok but not as interesting as other albums of his.

Starts and ends well, but pretty lean around the middle. And I never need to hear that version of Across the Universe again.

Neblogas

Definitely a vibe… liked it more than I thought I would. Background singers are so good.

After multiple Bowie albums on here, I can officially say I am not a Bowie boy. His music isn’t bad it just doesn’t do anything for me.

The band is absolutely fire and the songwriting is honestly passionate about soul (Right is a freak exercise, true to form) I do enjoy more the Bowiesque detours (Somebody Up There Loves Me) than the pure soul attempts That said, hopefully people did go listen to proper soul and r&b after this

Not unpleasant - but I'm a Bowie fanatic and even I would never think this is in any way essential.

Interesting, kind of funk so not my favorite

Decent British bull shit. Nice to hear the sample for Beck’s Deborah song.

Bowie doing Bowie. Not his best, but still quite good.

Apart from the two famous songs this is my least favorite Bowie style I think.

Average Bowie is still good, but it's not his peak period.

This is the first Bowie album that ALMOST clicked for me.

4-5 songs in the middle are kinda weak. Or maybe Young Americans and Fame are so good they outshine the others?

average

No me voló la cabeza, pero es muy bueno. Mucha presencia "Beatle" en el álbum. En la primera canción, hay un guiño a "A day in the Life". Luego, el cover de Across the Universe. Y, por último, Fame. Canción en la que participó John Lennon. Por último, Right se lleva el álbum.

6/10

3rd Bowie album. It's decent. IMO so far Bowie seems to be an artist that has a lot of albums that have 2-3 great songs and the rest are fine or lacklustre. I don't think I'll be encountering a perfect 5/5 album from him but this list has given him 9 chances. 2.5/5. Raising to 3.

from someone as critically acclaimed as bowie, this left way too much to be desired for me.

Classic.

good album but dont save anyone, dont fit with me 100%

7/10 No recomendaría este disco a nadie. Tiene uno de los peores covers de Across the Universe. Única canción rescatable: Somebody up there likes me

Young Americans is an album that sounds different from Bowie's past work, and there are songs that are amazing, but there are also songs that feel too long and repetitive, nonetheless it is still a pretty decent album. 3.4/5

Opening track (Young Americans) - it's an all-timer. The best of sax with lyrics that make no sense to me. Fame - also amazing. The others - much less memorable and, despite repeated listenings, are not sticking with me.

no mi favorito, el sonido en particular que tiene este álbum no me termina de convencer :p

like it

Funky, trying to explore new music genres kinda like it but it doesn't really have a catchy beat.

yay another bowie i prefer his more rock-y eras though this is not bad however, just doesn't compare to me

nice sound, but not sure if its one id be listening to often. a lot of the songs kinda sound the same, but its still really good. songs from the album that id most likely listen to are Fascination and Right, with Right being my most favorite. great album!! will listen to more david bowie some day.

Decent album, best one i’ve had so far.

The title track is a banger, and "Fame" is interesting, but the rest is not Bowie at his best.

Eh. I wanted to like this more than I did. YA and Fame are great songs, and there are some nice textures and vibes, but nothing else really grabs me. For as talented a singer and songwriter as Bowie is, you just know he can do better than this, and it all feels a bit too much like the cocaine is talking. And worse, 'Around the Universe' is dull. How can Bowie covering the Beatles be dull! A high 3.

Great 👍

Good opener and closer. Not super good in the middle.

I prefer 70s Bowie

Fairly dull Bowie album. Not bad, just not as stand out as any of his other stuff. Listenable, some clear influences, but fairly boring.

Kind of boring

I could never get into Bowie, alas...

couple of really good songs but I just cannot get into Bowie somehow. 2.6

I like some of Bowie's stuff, but I just don't understand why people act like everything he's ever done is transcendent. This project does not need 9 Bowie records at the expense of some other very good records, and besides for Fame (which is a banger), this is an album that could easily be dropped.

Weird white guy funk that… works? Bowie’s awkward signing style is the complete opposite of a smooth, suave RnB vocalist, but somehow it’s complete oppositeness plays right into this album’s listenability.

Pretty alright, more chill than I was expecting. Fascination was my favorite and the rest of the album is pretty solid. Across The Universe is actually one of my favorite songs, so it was nice to see Bowie's cover. 5.7/10

Interesting sounds. Not amazed. But not bad.

well, it's been 5 David Bowie albums.. can we stop already? I mean I like the guy, but I would also like to listen to some other artists :) This one was good, but not as good as the previous two, so I won't add it to the replay list.

i love david bowie but i really don't care about blue-eyed soul at all. the only songs i trully enjoyed are 'fascination' and 'fame'. and it's probably because they are more funk than soul.

Faaaaaaame

Only heard Fame before

хороший альбик, подходит для игры в симс

David Bowie was one of the most important and influential artists of the 20th century. With that out of the way, this Bowie era is not my favorite. I’ve always loved the title track. After that it’s perfectly fine. Lennon should have done him a solid and talked him out of that Beatles cover.

Sounds alright but I’ve never been into Bowie as much as a lot of people seem to be

Title track is a classic but the rest of the album doesn't quite do it for me

Bowie again? I liked this one more than the Low. Fame is such a banger. Fun album, but pretty dated for it's time. Honestly, I'm not that into the Bowie hype. I'm not very educated on his influence. Musically, he's decent but that's about it. Maybe I should read his biography or something idk.

pretty good, didn't like as much as changes. not even close.

A couple of fun hits and a couple of interesting songs. Not too bad, but would rather be listening to T-Rex Zinc Alloy. Bolan did it better!

iiiiiiiisssss this a shit sandwich?

Had a few Bowie records now and they're always a decent listen. No complaints really. Still a mid rating - Hunky Dory is still better

One of the 5 million Bowie albums out there on the list. It's not bad but it's also not amazing. The across the universe cover was a nice discovery.

neutral

3.5

I have so much respect for Bowie as an artist who was always true to himself and constantly evolving. All the same, his music has rarely landed with me personally.

Encore du David Bowie ? J’ai commencé il y a moins de 2 mois et j’en ai déjà eu 3 ! Je veux bien qu’il soit important et influent, mais y’avait rien d’autre ? Tout le monde n’aime pas David Bowie ! Et en plus, cet album a l’air assez mineur dans sa discographie, ce qui en fait un drôle de choix (Low était bien plus intéressant). Ou alors, c’est que la moitié de sa discographie est dans la liste et que je suis pas rendu.

Bowie’s albums are usually better than his singles. This one deserves repeated listening.

Meh

🤷‍♂️

사실 안들었음

The vocals are reminiscent of Springsteen. I usually don't like David Bowie, but I do like blue eyed soul. Not bad.

Olin, että kiva kuulla vähän alkupään Bowieta mutta olikin herran yhdeksäs albumi. Ei parasta Bowieta. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

⭐⭐⭐

Great songs but not as good as changes

Bowie’s always hopping from genre to genre, taking them apart, putting them back together as “Bowie” in whatever guise he currently found himself in. But this is the most imitative of his wanderings and despite the hits, he sounds like a tourist. But a very charismatic one! Even minor Bowie is still worthwhile.

3.5

бля очень плохой альбик итак боуи не люблю, а он тут про битлс и диско пытается

Less exciting than the cigarette, bracelets and hair had me ready for.

A few good tracks particularly on the back end of the album. Not my favourite vocals.

I don't rlly understand the hype it got rlly repetitive rlly quick

Maybe my least favorite Bowie album. Not that I know his music well, this was my first time listening to this start to finish, but bit of a klunker on first listen. Lack the direction/vision that his albums usually have and the songs are just, overall, boring compared to his other work. Will come back to listen to it a couple more times, maybe I've been too hasty, but on first listen this feels like, by Bowie standards, b-sides that never should have been released.

Highs and lows. The opening and closing tracks are wonderful. The middle sags. His cover of Across the Universe is atrocious. Generally Bowie trying to dip into a dirty bassy soul croon is not a great look.

I’m already a fan of Bowie, but it was good to listen to another of his albums all the way through. Overall I liked it, not my favorite of his work, but it was interesting to hear more of his soul stuff. Young Americans is one of my favorite songs ever, so that was a great start. Win was great, I’ll definitely listen to that one again. Very similar vibe to Young Americans. Fascination and Right were both good as well, the sort of thing I’d play at a party. They didn’t stand out to me in any particular way but the groove is good on both. Somebody up there was sort of a miss on me. I don’t love the way Bowie uses his voice in it, and there’s a less funky and more repetitive nature to it. Across the universe was my least favorite on the album, it went on for too long with nothing particularly interesting. Can you hear me reminded me of one of the songs you hear at the end of a movie as the credits roll. Especially with the strings and the way the drum was. Not really a fan, but it might be a good slow dance song. Fame is a banger, my favorite along with Young Americans. I’m not sure how to describe it, it just has a certain groove in the duh-duh-duh part that’s perfect. Album rating: 6.5/10 Location: on the shuttle on the way to Crocker Park 1/11/26

Not his best, a few good track

Solid album but the not the top of the Bowie catalog. Two great singles, a cover, and some unremarkable middle.

A fun and goofy album, if not a bit dated.

David Brotha Bowie AOTY rating: 82

This is a record I can play end to end and enjoy, without being able to specifically remember most of the songs.

Another mid album from a mid artist. The good news is that only 191 albums in this is already Bowie album number 5 for me. Soooo...only 15 or so more? I want to to lend my voice to the chorus wingeing about some artists being over-represented. Unfortunately these complaints often include a lovely gentleman named Neil Young...and I love Neil Young.

I am a big fan of Bowie and have listened through all his albums in the past. I personally wouldn't say that this is his best by any means. There are some songs I like. The title track isn't bad, I quite like "Win" "Somebody Up There Likes Me" and "Fascination" and can applaud Bowie for trying different things. I'll stand by that no two albums by this man sound the same which is a feat in itself over such a long career. Negatives for me are "Fame" which I think is generally an awful track and wildly repetitive. There's something missing on his cover of "Across the Universe" too which I can't put my finger on, perhaps just the style he chose to do it in. Though I will say that's not an easy task to cover that song. Some songs don't quite land and feel like he didn't know where he was going with them. 3 stars as I still enjoy a few tracks here.

I felt this was a vaguely lackluster Bowie Album. Fame is great, but the second best track was the Across the Universe cover. Not bad, but I kind of expected more

Wow - yet another Bowie album, why so many on this list?!? It was fine - the best part was the backing vocals on all the songs! The two strongest songs were "Young Americans" and "Fame" but the rest was just meh for me. I really am ambivalent about much of Bowie's music overall.

3.5

6/10

I'm honestly not that big a fan of Bowie

like it a lot, could definitely be used for my café album may add fascination and young American hearts

bagus jir ak suka

Me gusto

Very groovy instruments as well as background vocals. Bowie much more jazzy than I had heard before. Overall a vibe I can appreciate more than the individual songs themselves.

Liked it well enough, though not sure it is my favorite Bowie

a bit boring, still good

Pretty dull and uninteresting despite the novel premise of a Bowie Soul album. Also he kinda looks like Michael Gira on the cover.

-Very sultry very nice -Soul influences are definitely heard -Bowie’s vocal delivery is fun -Background vocalists add to songs - Great instrumentation - Sort of becomes samesy half way through - Songs are good, but peaks don’t feel high enough

It's a good album overall, not really any standout songs though imo. Didn't realise there were so many different versions of across the universe, this one is probably my least favourite.

боуві бза і класика, але все ще, однотипно

Groovy with a strange take on blue-eyed soul. I like this record more now than when I first listened to it a few years ago. That said, its uneven and swings and misses in the backhalf. Bowie is undeniably talented but in my view his imitations of popular genres never quite live up to the real thing (glam rock excepted).

One of the better Bowie albums I’ve listened to from this website

יצא לי להקשיב פעם אחת, היו שירים שממש אהבתי, והיו שירים שפחות התייחסתי אליהם, אשמח להקשיב שוב, אלבום נחמד מאוד

nowhere near bowies best work, its an ok album.

Not up to the standard of some his later (or earlier work) but still an interesting listen. It only really makes an impact in the context of his other albums and with the back story behind it. It was still worth a listen and provided nice opportunities for some sax solos.

Bowie should be lauded for the reinvention of his style that he goes through on this album as this is a significant departure from his prior works. More soul influenced, and nods to funk on some of the tracks, it just ends up sounding a bit too middle of the road for my tastes - plastic soul indeed. This ends up playing it a little safe and doesn’t quite come up to the standard of his Berlin trilogy that came after which likely broke newer ground.

Día ???:

Really doesn't hold a candle to Ziggy Stardust even with the hits on here. 'Young Americans' and 'Fame'. This is supposed to be his take on Soul? It's funny there so much Beatles on here, between some of the lyrics and the 'Across the Universe' cover (which doesn't quite land for me), not sure I love it but Bowie is Bowie. Really solid album, just probably wouldn't see myself listening to this as much as Ziggy really.

3.5! Like more than station to station. Hated the across the universe cover but liked it by the end.

Fame and Young American have been Bowie favorites of mind for a long time. Unfortunately the rest of the album is very forgettable. This album feels important only in the context of Bowie’s career, not so much music as a whole. Won’t be revisiting.

Älskar Bowie. Det här albumet stack tyvärr inte ut speciellt mycket. Saknar hans karaktäristiska sound.

I wanted to like this album more than I did. Definitely some great Bowie songs on here and new ones I liked. But I wasn’t overly impressed with any of them truthfully. Might need another listen to appreciate more. Top Songs: Young Americans, Someone Up There Likes Me

Influential, but lackluster in context of Bowie's catalogue.

David Bowie's dive into soul and RNB. I have listened to the album before and listening to it now, I still feel the same about it, which is pretty alright but not my favorite from him. I still appreciate the instrumentations and the live feel. The background vocals are another highlight on the album. But because I find that I like his other works more, I could not feel the same way for this one. I also find that some of the tracks do blend together apart from a few. They are right that he called it "plastic soul", as it felt like it was trying hard. Though it just doesn't hit the same way compared to other soul albums. Regardless, it is better than his dance period in the 80s. (The snare from Time Will Crawl will forever make my head pound). Favorite Tracks: - Young Americans (really like how it mirrors what the US was like throughout the lyrics alongside the beat) - Fascination - Fame (I think that this is the track that captures the funk the album is trying to achieve)

Really nice plastic soul music. Unfortunately blends together after a bit but I love the general sound. Big fan of Fame and Young Americans tho

Interesting funky grooves. Found it cool that David Sanborn was the sax player on this. Wasn’t a huge fan of the vocals but overall liked the instrumentals. Listened twice.

Fame is the only standout.

Hated the Across the Universe cover. I already knew and loved Fame. I really liked Somebody up There Likes Me.

I’ve never loved this album. I love Young Americans and Fame and both Fascination and Right are good but the rest is forgettable to me and Across the Universe is not great. This album is a weird detour between his Ziggy Stardust personality and the Thin White Duke persona that lasted longer and morphed into the Berlin trilogy. Often referred to as blue-eyed soul, I’m glad he didn’t linger in this area longer. 3/5

Lost count of the number of Bowie records on this list. Young Americans is probably one of the better ones.

decent

Super!

OK. I like other Bowie albums over this one. Dig the horns.

the sax sounds amazing. pretty groovy. love the adlibs bowie has some soul in him don't love some the lyrics black choir popping off sax solo bass is holding it down David is daviding across the universe is my favorite, but I hate the fade out there's a little ziggy in here those are some pretty harmonies, oohhh and the strings. very pretty and soft song, should have been the closer. why is fame at the end overall pretty solid record, just gets a little white man making weird noise over a black choir sometimes.

Pas ma période préférée de David Bowie mais Famé clôture l’album 🤩

Good start and good end, but a bit soft in the middle.

I like the soul influences of this one, it's not like the other Bowie songs I am familiar with.

3/5 no my thing

Decent Bowie

It feels like this album didn't sufficiently showcase Bowie's incredible vocal talents. A little too much funk for me, but still fun.

quite easy to listen to, but not particularly my taste. wouldn’t add to the playlist :(

Bowie always way ahead of his time, doing cheesy 80's music in the 70's! The sax in "Somebody up there like me" or young Ameriacnas was particluarly annoying. But now and there we can hear the great purring guitar riffs or Mick Ronson and all is forgiven.

First listen of this album, and I only knew one song before. I see that some critics describe it as a commercial but original approach to Black music, which I don’t really understand. Blues among others has already been reused and transformed in every possible way. I can hear the funk influence, that’s true, but Bowie’s style is still very clear through the way the songs are built, his slightly strange imagination, the odd touches he adds here and there. It won’t be one of my favorite albums of his, but it’s still Bowie (and Lennon), and that already makes it better than at least half of the albums on this list. Overall, a very nice listening experience, I actually really enjoyed it.

Good. Not my fav Bowie but I liked it.

Favorite track(s): Young Americans, Right, Fame Heard before Previous rating: 6/10

This is the first of 37 David Bowie albums that have popped up on my list. The bookends of Young Americans and Fame are 5-star--and everything in-between was 'meh.' Across the Universe was ok, but didn't really improve on the original. Would I listen to again? Willing to give it another try to see if it changes my mind...

One or two justifiably famous songs and a lot of background noise.

i enjoyed this but probably would have enjoyed it more if i wasn't actively crashing out over an essay while listening 7/10

This one didn't really do it for me. I'm sorry Mr. Bowie, I respect your legacy but had a hard time getting into this one.

I mean, I love Bowie, but I wouldn't say this is essential!

More Bowie. 3.5/5

I’m not Bowie girl but it is fun to see the history behind albums I love. I get the hype

That cover of "Across the Universe" is wack. "Win" is good. In general, it's alright, but I don't really care for early Bowie nor have I really like his albums. Love his singles... could do with a Changes, haha.

Love this. soul, r&b, funk all into one album with some minor blues connections. It's not Bowie's best album, but I love it anyway. Goodbye Ziggy stardust..

I adore Bowie, like so much, but come on now, this is like his 7th or 8th most relevant record. Was Plastic Soul supposed to expose 70's Black Music to a wider audience, or merely to culturally appropriate and exploit for profit? With heavily coked out Bowie, I'm not so sure.

There are two fantastic songs on this album. I'm not really a fan of the rest of it. Blue eyed soul and cocaine isn't a combination that works for me. The album is further docked points for having the worst version of Across the Universe in existence.

The title track goes so hard and honestly could’ve done without much of the rest.

Correcto

Groovy tunes. I don't love what he did with across the universe. Despite being bookended with hits, I think this record lands itself in the Hall of very good. 3.4 outta 5

I love bowie but this is not my favorite Bowie. Young Americans is really good but every other song has too much echo effect, too much sax, and is 2 minutes too long.

Still prefer Ziggy Stardust but this isn't bad. A little too smooth for my tastes, but his singing is great, as always.

132/1089 This was a good album quality-wise, as i’d expect from Bowie. However, it just didn’t really grab me unlike the others i’ve listened to. Maybe i need more time between Bowie albums in this project to be able to better appreciate one like this one which is a bit more understated imo fave: Right 63/100

First Listen; 2.5 I didn't enjoy the album all that much, although it isn't terrible. Aside from a few good tracks, I found it repetitive and boring. I did enjoy the production and the instrumentation, but again, nothing really jumped out and grabbed me. Favorite Songs: Win Fame

It was ok

Sorry, DB, I don't love this one.

No my fave Bowie album - too much sax, not enough guitar But it still gave the world Young Americans, Fame & Across the Universe

Good album, not as good as the last Bowie album I listened too but still good regardless. Fame big highlight on the album, very listenable but not too many standouts otherwise.

Classic Bowie. Solid effort. Was surprised by the Beatles cover, hadn't heard that before!

It must’ve seemed like a baby switched at birth or like biting into a mouthful of turnip thinking it was potatoes or like sitting down to the newest bill murray movie only to end up sitting through “The Razors Edge” to have bought this album in 1975. Undeniably ‘Fame’ ‘Young American’ are classics and I quite liked the last track too, but this whole thing pales (see what I did there!?) compared to guitar/glam rock Bowie. I consider this a shark jump for him…

Annoyingly average because I really bloody like the other Bowie albums I’ve heard before

Enjoyed the hits and Universe (not sure it was a single) the rest was a bit ordinary I felt - was good but a bit disappointing was expecting something better

not really a fan of this david bowie but still okay

Love me some Bowie but not the strongest album

Bowie displays his ability to jump genres yet again. Not my fave album but well worth a listen. Fame still and Changes still sound fresh 50 years later.

Nokkuð góður Bowie hérna. Tvö banger lög en annað samt miðlungs.

Not Bowies best album, although I appreciate the soul approach. Fascination and Fame are absolut great tracks, otherwise the rest does not really awake any groove in me.

Not my favourite Bowie album but still some good moments

It was on my 100th listen of the title track of Young Americans that I spotted the surprisingly overt Beatles A Day in the Life interpolation. I could have done with that being the only Beatles reference on the album as the overwrought cover of Across the Universe is really unflattering for Bowie’s voice. This album vacillates between excellent and okay, with the exception being that cover. For this reason it’s a record listeners usually just pull the singles from. Having said that, it’s a testament to Bowie’s talent that this constitutes average for him.

Боуіманія продовжується. Авторський погляд на фанк та голубокий соул. Мені на деяких піснях вокальні партії здалися занадто кітчевими. Розумію, що це фішка і так задумувалось, але для мене скоріше в мінус. Fame класна закривашка та витягнула трохи враження

Тут буде вся дискографія Боуі, я впевнений.

A couple of stand our tracks, especially Fame, but the rest tends to the bland.

that cover of across the universe was...something. 3/5 7.5/10

It's okay, not sure I would go back to the album on my own

Great fun! Might need to be in another frame of mind to fully appreciate it, but some banging tunes throughout

I think I'm Bowie Burnt-Out, because I saw this album come up and I was like "ah, shit." Had to force myself to go through it. Turned out alright!

The album gradually gets better as the bowie-isms in his voice melt into the soul base. Reaching its height on fame. I wonder if this order of songs is also the order they were written in for that purpose or this is just a coincidence or I am hearing stuff that isn't there.

Starting to think Bowie might be overrated. Fame is a banger, young Americans is pretty good, most the other songs are mid to boring, then the across the universe cover is pure trash

Fun album. The ensembles are great. Didn't do too much for me personally, but it was a fun enough listen.

David Bowie may not be a natural soul singer, but 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘴 is still a fascinating detour in his career. His self-described “plastic soul” phase delivers a sleek, well-produced sound that’s more interesting than genuinely moving. The title track and 𝘍𝘢𝘮𝘦 are standouts, but his take on 𝘈𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 feels oddly misplaced — even if John Lennon himself didn’t love the Beatles original. It’s a solid experiment, just not one of Bowie’s more convincing reinventions.

Do I have depression? Do I listen to music wrong? I dunno, it's fine. It's fine.

Eh, it's fine. I'm not a big Bowie fan but I get the impression this isn't one of his best.

David Bowie has some great albums, but I don't think this is one of them. It got a lot of attention on release for the big genre swing, but in 2025 it mostly sounds like Bowie doing R&B not nearly as well as the artists who helped invent it. "Fame" is great, but I could do without most of this album.

Some nice songs

3rd Bowie in a week's span. This was my least favorite so far, but still some great songs here. Really liked the title track. 3.5/5.

Not a lot of feelings about this one. I don’t get the over-the-top love for David Bowie, but neither do I hate him. I felt like I was watching a SNL parody of a cheesy family sitcom while listening to Young Americans. Across the Universe was an instant-skip on my second listen through. Fame really the only song I enjoyed listening to.

Good music but honestly I feel he has better albums

Bowie! With back up singers and full backing band!

Good album

Not my favourite David Bowie album, still a bop. It’s understandable why Fame is the most well known track on here.

Stabil, cooles Album.

Second Bowie album on the list and think this is the latter. Seems quite a detour and a very different feel to the multicoloured, glam, experimentalist. Great groove and feel from the off. Bit of a drop off for ‘Win’ and then back to it for ‘Fascination’. A hoot Luther Vandross was an unknown backing singer on this. Interesting take on ‘Across The Universe’ - not sure I’m keen. Actually, worse than that. It’s offensive to Johnny boy. Urgh. Ermmm, I don’t think I like this album, even though it’s saved at the last by ‘Fame’. Good opener, mixed from there

Feels dated, too much saxophone

This is one of the few Bowie albums that have passed me by and that I’dnever listened to previously. I was surprised to discover how early it was released as I’ve always assumed this was an early to mid 80s album, maybe the sax on the title track corrupted my thinking! As ever, the album shows how accomplished a songwriter and musician Bowie is. I particularly adore the backing vocals on this album. As usual it’s a pretty eclectic affair, but it doesn’t reach the soaring heights of some of his other work. 3 stars feels, harsh, 4 feels overly generous. It’s one of those albums where the rating system feels too restrictive.

good album

it was nice i guess not his best though

Bowie album 4/9. Bowie!! You’re back. Oh snap, this is the one with “Fame” on it. I love that song. Sure enough, it was my favorite song on the album as well. The more of these I listen to, the harder it is to rank them against each other. Do I like this better than the Berlin Trilogy? Without a doubt. Is it better than Heroes? Debatable. Probably. Is this finally getting a 4? Hard to say. It’s mostly filler, but it’s undeniably better than the purely instrumental filler I’m used to hearing from Bowie’s other albums in my opinion. I think this may be the most consistently good Bowie album I’ve heard so far from top to bottom. His vocals are an amazing part of every song here, and there’s a fair bit of differentiation from song to song as well. It’s never boring, but as usual, nothing really just stands out and blows my mind. To quote one of the best reviews on the site, “It’s David Bowie”, so you know it’s at least going to be worth listening to. I love how Funky this one is at times, and the backing vocalists all kick ass. It’s probably my favorite of the 4 albums I’ve heard so far. Ok Bowie, 5 more albums to go. Until next time buddy.

Too much saxophone, couple of good ones notwithstanding.

Wildly different offering - all out funk.

Not Bowie's best, but maybe novel since it mixes so much saxophone with guitar? I dunno, but I'd have put 5 other Bowie albums on here before that one.

Way too many sax solos and overblown gospel choruses. Not one of his best

This album is a little all over the place. The hits are there but then there's an unnecessary cover of Across the Universe and some other forgettable tracks. But, funky Fascination might be the sleeper star.

I enjoyed this more than the previous two Bowie albums from the 2010s.

Solid album

I was surprised but how disappointing this album is overall, given that I actually quite like a lot of Bowie. Beyond Fame and Can you Hear Me it seemed a bit derivative

Bowie is one of my favorite artists. He’s a bona fide genius with an incredible catalog of diverse and fascinating music. This record, however, is not one of his better ones and I’m honestly shocked someone thinks this is essential. Young Americans is a decent track, some solid blue eyed soul. Fame is excellent. The rest is pretty tepid warmed over R&B from an artist who did not excel in that genre. Frankly, some of his worst songwriting on display here. A vanity project that never should have been on this list.

- Much more my vibe than yesterday - Love 70s music - I was interrupted many times while listening

While still not a huge Bowie fan, I like this album much more than Heroes. Also love Fame!

Музыка: 8/10 Разнообразие: 6/10 Тематика и вайб: 8/10 Цепляемость (отдельные песни зашли): 6/10 Реиграбельность (можно ли рандомно врубить на фон): 7/10 Итог: 7.0

No songs saved, but still Bowie. 3.

Not my style of music

Not my fav Bowie, but it's still Bowie. Fame is 10/10 banger tho.

- sehr schön - beatles inspired? - calming voice and style - mit dem und em self titled album bini schön i sini musig ine cho u wirde eue meh lose😊

Saxophone ft. David Bowie

Repeat listen

Eu gostei, todo o álbum parece uzar os mesmos instrumentos mas iá, é divertidinho

Bookended with classic Bowie songs. Stuff in middle was just alright, sounded reminded me of funk and just not what I expected (from what little I knew apparently)

Difficult listen for me - what did David do to ‘Across the Universe’? Laibach managed to pull it off! I love Ziggy but poor old Dave just doesn’t do it for me otherwise! Young Americans is great - don’t love Fame!

Tem algumas músicas boas, mas como álbum da para cortar algumas faixas

23/9/25 16:01

Fuck across the universe cover

This one is carried by the two (great) singles. Otherwise, rather disappointing.

88/1001 David Bowie - Young Americans Heard before? ✅ Revisit? ❓ Bowie does soul and it's absolutely fine. The only tracks that properly standout are the singles - Young Americans and Fame, but the rest are just there being decent enough, with the exception of the Across the Universe cover, which is awful. Yes, whilst this provided a gear change sonically for Bowie from his previous glam rock era, you could argue of cultural appropriation. I would have liked to have hoped this was more cultural appreciation and him trying to broaden people's musical tastes at the time.

Probably one of his weakest albums

Young Americans is not Bowie's best album, but it was still a fun listen. I enjoy the small soul influence on his typical pop, and I think the record was far from bad

Not bad but not my favorite work of his. Fame was my favorite song

It's Bowie. It's good. But not his best. Neither as experimental, or conceptual, or peak poppy as his other albums.

3.3 1x

Varmaan parasta Bowieta mitä oon kuullut. Soulia ja funkkia genreltään. Chilliä ja kesäistä. Fame oli tuttu biisinä, mutta instrumentaali oli kanssa tuttu ihan kuin sitä olis samplattu jossain toisessa biisissä. Parhaat: Fame, Win, Young Americans

Outside of the singles, I get kinda bored with this. But man are those singles great.

I mean, its aaaaaaaalllrrrriiiigght but it's far from the best Bowie has to offer, hard to tell how much drugs he was on here to think that a soul record was the answer...

Didn't grow up listening to Bowie.. Discovered his sound later life. Enjoyed the sounds on this album

Never been a big Bowie fan. I’d never heard this record. After four listens though, I think maybe it’s great. I could do without Across the Universe, the big singles are pretty played out, but mostly an otherwise surprisingly soulful record.

It was good but I enjoyed the earlier Bowie album this list suggested.

Y.A., Fame, Win and Fascination are great to good. No reason at all for this record to be here. And that's coming from a Bowie fan

pretty classic shiz

just good vibes all around. another artist that i enjoy, but never really sit and listen to. could come back to this album anytime.

Cover Art Review - 8/10 -A great photo of David Bowie - this was not my favorite look for him - almost skeleton thin with a strange affect to his personality, but iconic with the hair, cig and bracelets. Musically - in the zone. Title track is a top five Bowie song imo - so much going on in this song musically, I can't even begin. Luther Vandross, David Sanborn, Earl Slick, John Lennon, Carlos Alomar....Ridiculous lineup of musicians on this album.

This was decent. Some of the ones in the middle lost me a bit; young americans (first) and fame (last) are my faves but overall a solid pick.

This is probably the closest Bowie has ever gotten to hitting for me. I really liked the soul influence and heavy use of horns. But partway through the I’ll-advised Beatles cover on the album I realized, I just really don’t like how Bowie sings. That’s what’s turned me off all these years. Fame is a banger though, so we end up landing middle of the road with this one as a whole

his cover of across the universe left something to be desired

This album has some great saxophone but unfortunately that wasn't enough to keep me interested.

Typical Bowie. One of my favorite artists. But he made so many albums that only a few stand out as amazing albums. 2-4 huge hits. The rest just average. 3.5

69/1001 :: David Bowie - Young Americans Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ➖ Rating: 6 Fav Tracks: Fame, Right Listen before you die: No I love David Bowie and I wanted to love this album. I didn’t. Apple Music has this an essential album. I guess because it Bowie’s disco (kinda) album? Maybe I need to listen to this more but I really loved Fame and not much else. The Beatles cover was interesting but I prefer the original. Right is a cool song and the title track is fine but definitely not my favorite Bowie song. That's all I got for this right now; I wonder if I’ll buy this in the used bin one day…

Starting an album with Young Americans is risky because it’s only downhill from there. The Beatles cover Across the Universe is horrendous but the album is saved with Fame

He has done way better

Not my favorite Bowie album, fair, not great

I have a soft spot for musicians who explore new boundaries. Bowie excelled at this throughout his career. I was fun seeing him explore soul, and a little funk, on this album. Very different than his previous work and the productions that followed. Not my favorite Bowie album, but I enjoyed the listen.

This was solid and enjoyable in parts … the instrumentals are fun and it’s crazy seeing Bowie of glam rock I’ve heard in priors album in this space … I think I prefer the more experimental Bowie there as this rates out as a solid 3

This is #day388 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... how about some plastic soul from The Thin White Duke? Well, I'm not really sure. For one, it's kind of fun, but overall, I have mixed feelings about the whole affair. I'm mostly fine with the musical backdrop, though. My only highlight is "Fame," I guess. Otherwise, this record could have been swapped for The Man Who Sold The World or Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), or just dropped. This is a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day389.

Never heard this record, but it was cool to hear where Fame came from

May I say I find it a bit inauthentic? Not bad obviously. Also I have a deep hatred for the title track as I was forced to listen to it hundreds of times and it feels like it never ends

3/5

Not the best Bowie album, but a respectable entry.

More infuriatingly erratic stuff from Mr. Bowie. Certainly better than Aladdin Sane, but miles apart from “Rise and Fall….” I tried really hard to like it, and it was getting there. Ultimately, if Bowie wasn’t always signing over the music, it would be a 4. But he is, so it isn’t.

Not in his top 5 albums but still a couple of classics on there