MB Bowie Classics: "Aladdin Sane"

Trollheart · 05-18-2018, 06:08 AM

You know what to do...

~~Cuthbert~~ · 05-18-2018, 08:45 AM

Another 5.

Trollheart · 05-18-2018, 05:47 PM

I'm not quite sure, but this may even be better than Ziggy. It's certainly as good. Not one single bad track. Not one. Nada. And some amazing material here - "Drive in Saturday Night", "Lady Grinning Soul", "Panic in Detroit", title track, "Jean Genie" of course - a solid 5 without any question. Bowie hit his peak, in so far as I can see, with Hunky and just keeps going here, with no real slowdown till maybe Tonight or Never Let Me Down (I don't count Pin-Ups, as it's an album of covers).

One small niggle though (NO I said NIGGLE!) - given how much ultra-high quality material is here, I'm a little irked that he saw fit to stuff in a cover of the Stones' classic. I mean, he does it well, of course, but we could have had another original song. Not filler, not quite, but, well.... anyway it's only a very tiny complaint. Super solid album, deserves its rep.

~~Cuthbert~~ · 05-18-2018, 06:31 PM

Should have put the sax version of John I'm Only Dancing on it.

Psy-Fi · 05-20-2018, 06:44 AM

Another great album and like Ziggy Stardust, the addition of a cover song is the only thing that would keep me from giving this a 10/10 on a 1-10 scale. Definitely qualifies as a "classic," though. Every bit as good as his previous album but with a bit more musical variety.
As with Ziggy Stardust, I'll give it a 5 on this poll.

~~MicShazam~~ · 05-21-2018, 05:20 AM

I thought for a moment this might be my firt 5/5, but listening to this album several times proved that wrong. It's a good album and it's got some standout tracks, but too many of the songs are these straight forward rock'n'rollers that don't really do all that much for me.

The title track is the real standout track here and the album is fun enough to listen to. "Lady Grinning Soul" is another standout track.

I'm in a real pinch here: Do I rate it a 4 and risk overrating it for when we finally come to some more interesting moments in Bowie's musical development, or do I rate it 3 and risk barely giving any Bowie albums a decent score? I think I will choose to cross my fingers and hope that things get a lot better when we're out of his "classic rock" phase. The Man Who Sold the World is the only album yet that I can really see myself coming back to outside of just a favorite song or two. I might actaully want to listen to that one in full again.

3/5 as a whole I guess. The title track is a 5/5.

_Previous ratings:__________________
David Bowie: 1/5
Space Oddity: 2/5
The Man Who Sold The World 4/5
Hunky Dory 3/5
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust 3/5
Aladdin Sane 3/5
PinUps
Diamond Dogs
Young Americans
Station to Station
Low
Heroes
Lodger
Scary Monsters
Let's Dance
Tonight
Never Let Me Down
Black Tie White Noise
1. Outside
Earthling
Hours
Heathen
Reality
The Next Day
Blackstar

Trollheart · 05-21-2018, 06:22 AM

There is no hope for you. Ziggy, Aladdin, Hunky ... all not impressed with? Suppose you'll hate Heroes and Low and Diamond Dogs too. Sigh.

~~MicShazam~~ · 05-21-2018, 06:34 AM

I'll be impressed when it starts being impressive.

Lisnaholic · 05-21-2018, 08:26 AM

This was the last Bowie album I bought, and I agree with MicShazam - too many straight forward rock 'n' roll tracks. That's the problem with the Stones cover too. Why did DB choose such a basic, hackneyed, repetitive song ? After all, much has been made of Bowie's eclectisism, which makes choosing a Stones Number One hit from a few years previous all the more disappointing.

Drive in Saturday and Panic in Detroit were my favourites, plus the title track and Lady Grinning Soul. The last is excellent, and I loved the line about "cool canasta", but the whole song is too much of an uncomfortable mood shift imo. Instead of Let's Spend The Night Together with its good old rocker emphasis, he should've chosen a more nuanced song that could've served as a bridge from one mood to the other.

For the rest, I feel that Bowie is trying too hard for effect, but not trying hard enough to come up with interesting songs.

~~Cuthbert~~ · 05-21-2018, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

There is no hope for you. Ziggy, Aladdin, Hunky ... all not impressed with? Suppose you'll hate Heroes and Low and Diamond Dogs too. Sigh.

He will like Scary Monsters.

I know this for a fact.

View Poll Results: All the Young (and Older) Dudes, Vote!
5	6	60.00%
4	2	20.00%
3	1	10.00%
2	0	0%
1	1	10.00%
Voters: 10. You may not vote on this poll

05-18-2018, 06:08 AM	#1 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,992	MB Bowie Classics: "Aladdin Sane" You know what to do... __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

05-18-2018, 05:47 PM	#3 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,992	I'm not quite sure, but this may even be better than Ziggy. It's certainly as good. Not one single bad track. Not one. Nada. And some amazing material here - "Drive in Saturday Night", "Lady Grinning Soul", "Panic in Detroit", title track, "Jean Genie" of course - a solid 5 without any question. Bowie hit his peak, in so far as I can see, with Hunky and just keeps going here, with no real slowdown till maybe Tonight or Never Let Me Down (I don't count Pin-Ups, as it's an album of covers). One small niggle though (NO I said NIGGLE!) - given how much ultra-high quality material is here, I'm a little irked that he saw fit to stuff in a cover of the Stones' classic. I mean, he does it well, of course, but we could have had another original song. Not filler, not quite, but, well.... anyway it's only a very tiny complaint. Super solid album, deserves its rep. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

05-21-2018, 06:22 AM	#7 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,992	There is no hope for you. Ziggy, Aladdin, Hunky ... all not impressed with? Suppose you'll hate Heroes and Low and Diamond Dogs too. Sigh. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

05-21-2018, 08:26 AM	#9 (permalink)
Lisnaholic ...here to hear... Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: He lives on Love Street Posts: 4,444	This was the last Bowie album I bought, and I agree with MicShazam - too many straight forward rock 'n' roll tracks. That's the problem with the Stones cover too. Why did DB choose such a basic, hackneyed, repetitive song ? After all, much has been made of Bowie's eclectisism, which makes choosing a Stones Number One hit from a few years previous all the more disappointing. Drive in Saturday and Panic in Detroit were my favourites, plus the title track and Lady Grinning Soul. The last is excellent, and I loved the line about "cool canasta", but the whole song is too much of an uncomfortable mood shift imo. Instead of Let's Spend The Night Together with its good old rocker emphasis, he should've chosen a more nuanced song that could've served as a bridge from one mood to the other. For the rest, I feel that Bowie is trying too hard for effect, but not trying hard enough to come up with interesting songs. __________________ "Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953 Last edited by Lisnaholic; 05-21-2018 at 08:37 AM.

05-18-2018, 08:45 AM	#2 (permalink)
~~Cuthbert~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Black Country Posts: 8,827	Another 5.

05-18-2018, 06:31 PM	#4 (permalink)
~~Cuthbert~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Black Country Posts: 8,827	Should have put the sax version of John I'm Only Dancing on it.

05-21-2018, 05:20 AM	#6 (permalink)
~~MicShazam~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Aalborg Posts: 7,634	I thought for a moment this might be my firt 5/5, but listening to this album several times proved that wrong. It's a good album and it's got some standout tracks, but too many of the songs are these straight forward rock'n'rollers that don't really do all that much for me. The title track is the real standout track here and the album is fun enough to listen to. "Lady Grinning Soul" is another standout track. I'm in a real pinch here: Do I rate it a 4 and risk overrating it for when we finally come to some more interesting moments in Bowie's musical development, or do I rate it 3 and risk barely giving any Bowie albums a decent score? I think I will choose to cross my fingers and hope that things get a lot better when we're out of his "classic rock" phase. The Man Who Sold the World is the only album yet that I can really see myself coming back to outside of just a favorite song or two. I might actaully want to listen to that one in full again. 3/5 as a whole I guess. The title track is a 5/5. _Previous ratings:__________________ David Bowie: 1/5 Space Oddity: 2/5 The Man Who Sold The World 4/5 Hunky Dory 3/5 The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust 3/5 Aladdin Sane 3/5 PinUps Diamond Dogs Young Americans Station to Station Low Heroes Lodger Scary Monsters Let's Dance Tonight Never Let Me Down Black Tie White Noise 1. Outside Earthling Hours Heathen Reality The Next Day Blackstar

05-21-2018, 06:34 AM	#8 (permalink)
~~MicShazam~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Aalborg Posts: 7,634	I'll be impressed when it starts being impressive.