David Bowie - David Bowie (Space Oddity) (Remastered, 180 Gram) (LP)

Limited 180 gram vinyl LP pressing. David Bowie is the second studio album by David Bowie, released under that title by Philips in the UK, and as Man of Words/Man of Music by Mercury in the US, in November 1969. It was re-released in 1972 by RCA as Space Oddity (the title of the opening track, which had been released as a single in July 1969 and reached No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart). The album came about after Bowie had made the transition from a cabaret/avant-garde-inspired musician to a hippie/folk-based sound and as such the album is a major turning point from his 1967 debut.

SPACE ODDITY was the first record on which David Bowie looked and sounded like the Bowie whom the world has come to know. One glance at the spooky, androgynous face that adorns the record was enough to signal that the Anthony Newley-influenced, light-pop singer who sang the novelty number "The Laughing Gnome" a few years earlier was a thing of the past. Leaving behind the mannered, English music hall-isms of his initial recordings, Bowie roughened up the sound, creating a ragged, eclectic mix of folk and rock tinged with electronic sounds. The record yielded his first American hit, and began the singer's soon-to-be meteoric rise to international rock icon-hood.

The title track, a sci-fi mini-epic, is an enduring classic in which Bowie squeezes every bit of drama from both his dour low range and the soaring upper reaches of his voice. Even after decades of continued airplay, "Space Oddity" is surprising for its intricate arrangement, nifty guitar playing, and palpable sense of interplanetary estrangement. Other fine and lesser-known musical moments include the sublimely subdued "Letter to Hermione," and the sprawling and strange "Memory of a Free Festival."

SPACE ODDITY was originally released as MAN OF WORDS, MAN OF MUSIC on Mercury in 1969.

Personnel: David Bowie (vocals, 12-string guitar, organ, stylophone, kalimba); Keith Christmas (acoustic guitar); Tim Renwick, Mick Wayne (guitar); Paul Buckmaster (cello); Tony Visconti (flute, recorder, bass); Benny Marshall and Friends (harmonica); Rick Wakeman (electric harpsichord, Mellotron); John Lodge, Herbie Flowers (bass); Terry Cox, John Cambridge (drums).
Producers: Gus Dudgeon, Tony Visconti.
Engineers: Ken Scott, Malcolm Toft, Barry Sheffield.
Digitally remastered by Peter Mew & Nigel Reeve (1999, Abbey Road Studios, London, England).

• Format: Vinyl
• Released: 02/26/2016
• Genre: Pop / Rock
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