Anyone here heard his first album? I've heard a single from the era, but I've heard the album is awful

i don't care for it myself.

If i was only allowed to keep one of my Bowie albums it would probably be Aladdin Sane, although it's a really hard choice to make. I was a Bowie fan before Sonic Youth existed.

I don't suppose the Platinum Collection counts? :)

is that the album where he's a mod?

Station to Station with Low at a very close second. His work from TMWSTW to Scary Monsters is nearly untouchable.

I read that like three times before my brain stopped saying "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles".

Diamond Dogs. . .

It's the transition album between his early 70's glam rock stuff and his late 70's experimental stuff.

Diamond Dogs and Rebel Rebel are great rock songs
Sweet Thing-Candidate-Reprise is one of my favorite medleys
We Are the Dead is one of my favorite Bowie songs all time
and the other songs on the album are pretty good too

I wouldn't count Lodger to be among the shit ones btw. Look Back in Anger, DJ, et cetera.

lodger is awesome

have you seen footage of the diamond dogs tour? incredible.

3x agreed.

Hunky Dory gets the vote (if only for containing 'Pretty Things', 'Quicksand' and 'Bewley Brothers'... probably my 3 favorite songs by him).

'Queen Bitch', 'Life on Mars' and the rest of 'em aren't too shabby either.

have any of you heard the "bowie at the beeb" album? it's a collection of his BBC sessions and it's fucking ace if you ask me, it's got waiting for the man on it.

As I said in the first post, that's among the others I would have listed if allowed more poll options. It's still a bit half-assed though.

And at least no-one's voted for Young Americans - his one 70's album I really can't stand.

I hated Young Americans too, but the title song played when me and my girlfriend were sitting at a New Zealand bar on my birthday. It'll probably become very nostalgiac at some point.

i like young americans

but he murdered "across the universe"

The album is pretty much a collection of singles. I don't think it's awful at all though.

He hadn't found himself as an artist yet (he wasn't even going by David Bowie when he released it, but Davy Jones, which he had to change to differentiate himself from the Monkees singer), but the root of who he would become was pretty evident in hindsight. The show-tuney sound that comes through on "The Wild-eyed Boy from Free Cloud" on Space Oddity was also pretty prevalent on a lot of those singles as were all the influences he layed out in the open later with the covers on Pinups. For a whimsical record from an artist of immense potential, it's really quite good. "Silly Boy Blue", "Join the Gang", and "Come and Buy My Toys" are really decent songs, and for all the novelty "The Laughing Gnome" is a pretty fun Syd Barrett rip off. "Please Mr. Gravedigger" is actually quite brilliant, and a must play for Halloween radio shows and mix tapes.

I think it's a much stronger record than many I've heard called genius by such and such indie rock songwriter who's just trying to do pretty much the same thing.

His early Vocalion & Parlophone singles were released as Davy Jones, but everything from '66 onwards (including the first LP) carried the Bowie name: http://www.teenagewildlife.com/Albums/DB/Title.html

Judging by what I've heard, most of the 60's stuff is pretty disposable, but there's a couple of stray gems in there...

Heroes. I think the rock-half is better than Low's and the ambient-half is better. I've never understood why it isn't as popular.

I find his early stuff (until Diamond Dogs) either too familiar or a bit tepid production-wise. Outside is good too.

Yes, the album was called "David Bowie", but many of the songs on it were single under his old name first.

If you think the '60s material is disposable based upon what you "heard" you are really missing out, as the songs on Space Oddity were all '60s songs and there is some true brilliance on there besides the hit title track ("Cygnet Committee", "Memory of a Free Festival", "Wild-eyed Boy from Freecloud"). Coupled with the fact that over half of the first record is at least notably good, I'd say he was well on his way to doing major work in the '60s though he still had the mod meets hippy-folk image and all. In a way there is something very alluring to this less calculated more innocent side of him.

The only singles released under the Davy Jones name were Liza Jane/Louie Louie Go Home, I Pity The Fool/Take My Tip, You've Got A Habit Of Leaving/Baby Loves That Way & Can't Help Thinking About Me/And I Say To Myself. None of these are on the debut album.


When I said "heard" I meant listened to, not heard about second hand. As I said, there's a couple of gems but most of it doesn't do a lot for me.

I'm the lone Scary Monsters thus far. Many great songs. Low is 2nd for me bc while side one is fantastic, side two is eh..