David Bowie - 'Aladdin Sane' What am I missing?

I "get" half the album. The rest of the songs just sound mediocre compared to other Bowie recordings IMO.

 

It is my least favorite album of his, from the period 1969-1974.

 

I think we are in the minority, judging from the posts so far!

 

I consider myself a pretty big Bowie fan, but have never cared much at all for the Ziggy, Aladdin, Diamond Dogs run.

 

I wasn't old enough to be a Bowie fan back in 1972-74, so I experienced all the 70s stuff as "oldies". I mean, I knew a little Bowie material pre-1983 but not well, so I wouldn't have had first-hand experience with how the albums came across when first released.

While I wish I could've seen Bowie in the 70s and enjoyed the music when it was new, viewing the material from a distance does have some advantages - ie, I could look at the albums a bit more objectively since I didn't get wrapped up in emotions when they first were released.

That said, even with my "emotional distance", it still took me a while to love "Diamond Dogs". It was probably a good 10+ years after I first heard it that I decided it was a great album...

 

Yes, I think the first time I thought Diamond Dogs the album was brilliant was only last summer!

Like Oatsdad, I only heard the album many many years after its initial release... excited to finally study it decades later... then, only to feel disappointed to listen to the album as a whole and think what's the fuss about. As with many true believers, I still listened to it once in a while... but I put it on last year and the whole thing "clicked"... no rhyme or reason. It might have never clicked with me, nothing wrong with that... but what a wonderful feeling when it does. One reason to keep exploring, even with "old sounds."

 

Diamond Dogs has now become my favorite Bowie album. Perhaps it's because I didn't give it much play when it first came out. I can't stop listening to the thing now. I just keep buying up vinyl versions looking for the perfect mastering and pressing.

 

AS is my favorite of this era, and I find I play it roughly 10 times more often than Ziggy.

That said, I think they are both totally BRILLIANT. I don't think the OP is missing anything, because Bowie's career kind of defies you to like ALL of his albums anyway. It just doesn't hit you like the others, and that's fine. I mean, I will never like Never Let Me Down, ever, but I still consider myself a huge Bowie fan...

 

I consider Aladdin Sane nearly equal to Ziggy. Love the piano, and the rockers are meatier than those on Ziggy. Ziggy has the edge in songs, but Aladdin sounds better.

 

The version of Watch That Man on the David Live album might change your mind. It rocks and the song sounds like what it is...a sexy party that you wish you were at.

D.D.

 

I find the comments about Diamond Dogs versus Aladdin Sane interesting (e.g. that Aladdin sounds rushed, etc.). Diamond Dogs itself was a bit of a hodge podge. Bowie had wanted to make a musical based on George Orwell's 1984 but his widow wouldn't allow it. What you wind up with then is sort of part abandoned 1984 project (1984, Big Brother, etc.) and part material cobbled together in the demise of the Spiders and a pre-cursor to his neo-soul leanings ("Rock And Roll With Me"). I like parts of the album myself, but not all of it. As with Station To Station, I actually prefer the live versions of some of these songs to their studio counterparts. The L.A. '74 bootleg (under the title of "A Portrait In Flesh" and others) is a must in my opinion. I also feel like by the time Bowie went on tour with this material, he had added Earl Slick, who added some much needed "pizazz" guitar wise to these songs. He (IMO) takes "Sweet Thing" to another level live that just isn't there on the studio version (and I love that song).

 

I don't see any posts citing Aladdin Sane's being rushed as a comparison to Diamond Dogs.

 

I'm not going to read through this thread. I don't feel like it's worth my time to try to "defend" Aladdin Sane. I will simply say that it's my favorite of all Bowie's albums. It is "Ziggy, Part II" of course, but as a kick-ass rock and roll album it far surpasses Ziggy. Ziggy, while an interesting concept album with some great songs, suffers a lot from being sanded glossy smooth by its production. It's very soft sounding and homogenized. Aladdin is so very punchy - the band just kicks butt like nobody's business. Just about every song ranks among my Bowie favorites. Every song registers as a highlight save for two that I find slightly lesser: "Cracked Actor" (I think the lyrics are too crass and obvious) and "Jean Genie" (a lazy composition, IMO, and not a great band performance compared to the others on the album.)

Finally, this album functions as a testament to Mick Ronson's guitar prowess. It captures his live sound and attitude better than any of his 0ther studio collaborations with Bowie.

 

My favourite Bowie album. Oh, and you are missing 'Time'. Mick Ronson's guitar solo in this song is worth the price of admission alone.

 

I didn't mean Aladdin Sane was rushed as a comparison to Diamond Dogs. What I meant (and obviously didn't do a good job of explaining) is that the fact that AS sounds "rushed" has been presented a flaw (particularly in comparing it to ZS). All I was trying to say is that DD is flawed in it's own way in that it is not a fully realized album in terms of a concept. It's made up of tracks left over from an abandoned project cobbled together with songs written while Bowie was very much in transition. While Bowie may have been attempting to follow up on the Ziggy wave with AS, he wasn't really sure where he as going when he made DD either. His band had fallen apart and his original idea for an LP had to be abandoned when he didn't get the rights. The fact that he performed in his "Ziggy" persona when he recorded the 1980 Floor Show TV special many months after disbanding the Spiders I think also is indicative of the fact that he wasn't sure where he was going creatively. By the time he performed "Foot Stompin" on Dick Cavett and started to embrace soul music, he knew where he wanted to go (at least temporarily) as an artist and Young Americans was the result.

 

it's funny, Bowie probably had, if anything, less time to make Ziggy than the others, but he wasn't the same kind of star yet, with all the demands and distractions that means, so that album doesn't feel rushed. (Though the narrative is not quite coherent, as with most rock concept albums.)

 

Mick Ronson was amazing - so understated but able to wring emotion from his guitar. He was also a good piano player and underrated arranger, versatile. I would have liked to see him work with Bowie in the Berlin phase.

 

Diamond Dogs is best served with UK orange RCA labels and a gatefold sleeve.

 

took me 3 purchases to find aladdin sane with good soundquality.
orange label usa...meh....black rca 80's press usa...a little better.
a uk orange label....finally! a good sounding version.

 

Ronno would have made Tin Machine work.

 

It's my favorite album of his whole catalog, but I don't know that you're missing anything if you like half the songs. Tastes vary. I think Watch That Man and Cracked actor are great. I get nothing from Prettiest Star and find the Stones cover to be mostly a bore. But I love every second of the other 8 tracks.

 

i could have written this myself. that is exactly the way it happened for me.

 

having only the '99, i looked on amazon for the 40th ann. edition and its out of stock and doesnt have a single review. what is the consensus on the 40th?

 

Back in the day (Grade 9!) the title track alone woke me up to the fact that Bowie is a musician who pushes the boundaries.

The Aladdin Sane track is probably my favourite Bowie song ever. Mike Garson's piano solo is a tour de force.

Cracked Actor, Panic In Detroit and Lady Grinning Soul are the other standouts.

Hope David releases a reissue of this of the same quality as the recent Ziggy Stardust LP.

 

I haven't heard the live versions but it sounds great, and will try to listen and compare. Regarding DD, I think Bowie
did a pretty good job musically (considering he plays guitar, saxes, moog and mellotron). I love the funky guitar on 1984.