Space Oddity (album)

Well -known session musicians such as Herbie Flowers , Tim Renwick , Terry Cox , Rick Wakeman , as well as cellist Paul Buckmaster , multi-instrumentalist and producer Tony Visconti , bassist John Lodge ( ^{~ 1]} , participated in the work on Space Oddity ^{[~ 1]} .

Even before starting work on the recording of the album, the song “ Space Oddity ” was chosen as the lead single based on an earlier demo. Tony Visconti considered this a kind of "novelty" ( novelty record ), and transferred the powers of producer Gus Dudgeon . Thus, Visconti produced all the songs on the album that were on its 1972 reissue, except for the very track in honor of which the album got its name. Tim Renwick, John 'Honk' Lodge, Mick Wayne, and John Cambridge - Junior's Eyes musicians participated in the album's sessions and briefly performed with Bowie in sessions for the BBC Radio in October 1969.

Production

Still considered one of Bowie’s most famous songs, “Space Oddity” was largely an acoustic number, complemented by the gloomy tones of a stylophone - a pocket electronic organ . The title and theme were inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey , and Bowie introduced the character Major Major in this song. Some critics saw the subtext in the song as a metaphor for heroin use, citing the opening of a countdown similar to the transition of a drug from a needle injection to a “hit” of euphoria and noting Bowie’s recognition of “silly flirtation with smack” in 1968. His 1980 hit Ashes to Ashes announced: “We know Major Tom's a junkie.”

"Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed" reflects the strong influence of Bob Dylan with his harmonica , sharp guitar sound and growling vocals. “Letter to Hermione” was a farewell ballad dedicated to Bowie’s former friend, Hermione Farthingale, who was also the subject of “An Occasional Dream,” a delicate folk song that recalls the singer’s debut album . “God Knows I'm Good,” Bowie’s tale of a shoplifter’s plight was also reminiscent of his earlier style. The Cygnet Committee has been called "Bowie's first genuine masterpiece." It is generally believed that this composition of the album most determines the future direction of the composer; its protagonist is a messianic figure, "who breaks down the barriers for his young followers, but understands that he only provided them with the means to reject and destroy him." Bowie himself described her while discreet from the hippies who seemed ready to follow any charismatic leader. Another composition is cited as an omen of a theme that Bowie would return to in the 1970s, in this case a split personality, this is the song “Janine”, in which there were words: “But if you brought an ax over me, you will kill another person, not me ”( “ But if you took an ax to me, you'd kill another man not me at all ” ).

Written under the influence of Buddhism, “Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud” was presented in a more expanded version compared to the original guitar and cello version on side “B” of the single “Space Oddity”; the album version of the song included an orchestra of fifty instruments, and was also notable for Mick Ronson's debut on Bowie's recordings, he played the guitar, but was not listed in the list of musicians on the album's booklet. “Memory of a Free Festival” is Bowie’s recollection of the Arts Festival, which he organized in August 1969. Her protracted disappearing chorus (“ The Sun Machine is coming down / And we are going to have a party”, the English “The Sun Machine is coming down / And we're gonna have a party” ), was compared with the Beatles “ Hey Jude ”; the song was also interpreted as an ironic commentary on the counterculture, which it supposedly celebrated. In 1970, Bowie lowered the tone of the melody in half on a- and b-sides, making it more rock-oriented, with a group of musicians who will help him on the album “ The Man Who Sold the World ”: Mick Ronson , Tony Visconti and Mick Woodmancy - The embryonic form of Ziggy Stardust ’s band “ The Spiders from Mars ”.

Although the title track became a hit and reached 5th place in the UK charts in early 1969, the rest of the material was not much like her and the album in its first edition was a commercial failure, despite good reviews. However, a re-release in November 1972, released as a result of Bowie’s breakthrough, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and showing modern photos of Ziggy Stardust on the cover, reached 17th place in the UK charts and 16th in USA.

Album cover

The cover of the original British Space Oddity British album featured a portrait of Bowie on a green background with blue and violet spots, by Victor Vasarely . The same portrait was used on the American edition of the album by the label Mercury Records Man of Words / Man of Music , but on a solid blue background. When the album was re-released as Space Oddity in 1972 by RCA Records, the cover featured a portrait of Bowie from the Ziggy Stardust period. In 1999, the original British cover was restored on the EMI CD , although a new name was added under the portrait to avoid further confusion. In 2009, the 40th Anniversary edition also used the original British cover, but returned to the original green hue, and the name David Bowie .

Music Style

The editors of New Musical Express Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray , noting that the album combines elements of folk, ballad and prog-rock , noted: “In some part of the material was viewed 67 years , in some - 72 years , but in 1969 it all seemed very strange. In principle, the first album in retrospect is seen as everything that Bowie was before and what he will become in the future; but <these motives> are mixed here and compete with each other ... ".

Artist Andrew Kolb created a children's book based on the song Space Oddity. “Have you ever had this - do you listen to a song, and immediately you see certain images? Bowie's classic song is just such a case for me. Each line of text there is a vivid picture, ”said Kolb ^[1] .

All songs are written by David Bowie.

1. Space Oddity - 5:15
2. Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed - 6:55
3. “(Don't Sit Down)” * - 0:39
4. Letter to Hermione 2:28
5. The Cygnet Committee - 9:33
6. Janine 3:18
7. "An Occasional Dream" - 2:51
8. “Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud” - 4:45
9. “God Knows I'm Good” - 3:13
10. “Memory of a Free Festival” - 7:05

• “(Don't Sit Down)” was removed from the 1972 album when it was released as “Space Oddity.”
• In the original full-length version, the first side contains tracks 1-5, the second side - 6-10.

CD Edition

Space Oddity was first released on CD by RCA Records in 1984. Like the 1972 edition, the song “Don't Sit Down” was missing from the album. German (for the European market) and Japanese (for the US market) publications are obtained from various tapes and are not identical for each region.

In 1990, the album was re-released by Rykodisc / EMI with an extended list of songs, including the song “Don't Sit Down” and “Conversation Piece”, and two re-recorded parts of the song “Memory of a Free Festival”, which was released as a single in 1970.

Bonus Tracks (Rykodisc 1990)

1. “Conversation Piece” (1970 B-side of “The Prettiest Star”) - 3:05
2. “Memory of a Free Festival Part 1” (1970 single version A-side) - 3:59
3. “Memory of a Free Festival Part 2” (1970 single version B-side) - 3:31

The album was reissued again in 1999 by the EMI label with the restored song “Don’t Sit Down” (all the tracks went through 24-bit digital sound remastering , but without bonus tracks). The Japanese mini-album follows the cover of the original Philips Records album.

Bonus Disc (EMI 2009)

1. Space Oddity (demo) - 5:10
2. An Occasional Dream (demo) - 2:49
3. “Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud” (single B-side with spoken intro) - 4:56
4. Brian Matthew interviews David / “Let Me Sleep Beside You” (BBC Radio session DLT Show) - 4:45
5. “Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed” (BBC Radio session DLT Show) - 3:54
6. “Janine” (BBC Radio session: DLT Show) - 3:02
7. London Bye Ta-Ta (stereo version) - 3:12
8. Prettiest Star (stereo version) - 3:12
9. “Conversation Piece” (stereo version) - 3:06
10. “Memory Of A Free Festival (Part 1)” (single A-side) - 4:01
11. “Memory Of A Free Festival (Part 2)” (single B-side) - 3:30
12. “Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud” (alternate album mix) - 4:45
13. “Memory Of A Free Festival” (alternate album mix) - 9:22
14. London Bye Ta-Ta (alternate stereo mix) - 2:34
15. “Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola” (full length stereo version) - 5:14

• David Bowie - vocals , twelve-string guitar , stylophone
• Rick Wakeman - Mellotron , Harpsichord , Keyboards
• Terry Cox - Percussion
• Tim Renwick - Electric Guitar
• Keith Christmas - acoustic guitar
• Mick Wayne - Guitar
• Tony Visconti - bass , flute , audio engineer
• Herbie Flowers - Bass
• Benny Marshall and Friends - Harmonica
• Paul Buckmeister - Cello

Album

Single

Comments

Sources

• Space Oddity (all editions) on Discogs