Skip to main content

Young Americans - David Bowie

 


Year Released: 1975

Label: RCA

Year Bought: 2002

Sometimes I don't think its appreciated just how prolific David Bowie was in the '70s.

'Young Americans', released in 1975, was his seventh studio album of the decade, and came just three years after 'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'.  Apart from 'Pin-Ups', it was all fantastic. I can only think of the Beatles as a comparison for quantity and quality.

'Young Americans' is the album that showed Ziggy truly was dead. Previous album 'Diamond Dogs' still had one foot in the glam camp, but this record is so far from that genre it sounds like it's been made by a completely different musician.

Dubbed "plastic soul" by Bowie himself, 'Young Americans' was recorded as he was pushing on with his red peppers, milk and cocaine diet. The Thin White Duke persona would be crystallised on the next album, 'Station to Station', but the transition was pretty much complete on this record.

The title track kicks off the record and it's an absolute classic. Sleazy lyrics – "It took him minutes, took her nowhere" - merged with a soul vibe and a brilliant end section which makes full use of his backing vocalists.

The backing vocalists on the record, including a pre-fame Luther Vandross, really add a whole new dimension to the music, giving it an authenticity it would otherwise have lacked.

The whole album has a real energy to it. Most of it was recorded live, and the musicianship feels so pure. The album marks his first work with long-time collaborator Earl Slick. There's also Carlos Alomar on there and just to add some more magic, John Lennon pops up on two tracks. 

Sometimes you get the impression Bowie is just in awe of the people he's working with, and happy to let them get on with it.

"Fascination" is a brilliant track that starts off funky and then builds up into a hot, sweaty chorus. Bowie's nasal glam vocal has gone from this album, and his delivery, particularly on 'Right', was incredibly influential on the wave of blue-eyed soul '80s singers. 

'Can You Hear Me' is a beautiful love song. One of the most genuine and direct he wrote in the '70s.

"Once we were lovers, can they understand? Closer than others I was your, I was your man."

The swelling strings, the way the saxophone holds off until half way through the song, the build up at the end of the chorus and then the stop. All brilliant. It's got a sense of restrain until the end when Bowie really lets rip and then it ends with just the backing vocals. Genius. 

The album ends with 'Fame', one of two Lennon collaborations on the record. It gave Bowie his first US number 1 - although only reached 17 in the UK - and while it's a great track, it feels a bit hollow. 

The only major flaw on the album is 'Across the Universe'. Recorded with Lennon, who of course wrote the thing, it's just a coked-up version with Bowie hamming all over it. You can almost hear the grinding jaw in his delivery. Including his fantastic version of Bruce Springsteen's 'It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City' - recorded during the same session - would have been a much more interesting choice.

Nevertheless, a great album. He really was a genius. 

9/10

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eye To The Telescope – KT Tunstall

Year Released: 2004 Label: Relentless Year Bought: No Idea I'm not sure why I have this record. I have no record of buying it. I've never listened to it. But then I do own two Dido albums so it's not exactly out of character of me to have it. I've always thought KT Tunstall was a pretty cool person. She's clearly talented. But this album, I just can't really connect with it. There's some good tunes on here. 'Black Horse and the Cherry Tree' is great, as is 'Suddenly I See'. 'Another Place To Fall' hints at some darker tones, and 'Under The Weather' builds nicely. But overall it's just all a bit safe. I vaguely remember reading an interview with Tunstall a few years after this came out in which she said the original mix was a lot more rough and bluesy, but the label wanted it more polished. You can definitely hear how this album could have been scuffed up. 'Stopping The Love' is a good example of that. It's a mi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Coming Up – Suede

  Year Released: 1996 Label: Nude Year Bought: 2011 I know lots of people love this album, and it has got some great songs on it, but I just can't love it. It's too trebly, too thin, too cold. It kicks off with 'Trash', which is an absolutely brilliant tune with fantastic lyrics. Brett is at his absolute best here, with talk of "nowhere towns" and "cellophane sounds", and being the "litter on the breeze". I love it. But, alas we go from one of Suede's best songs to one of their worst. 'Filmstar' feels incredibly lazy. The riff is nothing, and as for the lyrics:  Filmstar propping up the bar driving in a car it looks so easy Filmstar propping up the bar driving in a car tonight These are Noel Gallagher-on-an-incredibly-bad-day lyrics.  I hate the riff, I hate the chorus, I hate the lyrics. I hate how shiny it is. It's lazy ... which is the title of the next song. This tune sees the first use on the album of the "here the...
Post a Comment
Read more

NME Awards 2004 - Various Artists

  Released: 2004 Label: NME When I bought: 2004 In ye olde days before streaming, and even YouTube, it wasn't possible to hear within a matter of moments pretty much every song ever released. Therefore, compilations like this by the NME actually had a degree of value. Take 'Paperbag Writer' by Radiohead, a b-side from 'There There', the lead single from 2003's Hail to the Thief. I bought the album but not the single, so I'd never heard this tune. It's a brilliant track, with its electronic shuffle beat and muffled vocals making it sound like a left over from Kid A, or the starting point for Thom Yorke's debut solo album which would be released the following year. Likewise, 'See You Soon' by Coldplay. A true delight from a 1999 EP, with delicate guitar playing, scarce production, and honest vocal delivery. It's a reminder that once upon a time Chris Martin et al were able to operate with that oft-neglected trait: restraint. As a snapshot o...
Post a Comment
Read more