Ten To Hear Again: David Bowie, 1967-1974

Ten To Hear Again: David Bowie, 1967-1974

Listen To The List: David Bowie, 1967-1974 – Ten To Hear Again

If the David Bowie you know best from his first phase of 1967-1974 are songs like “Space Oddity”, “Changes”, “Suffragette City” and “Rebel Rebel”, here are ten to hear again (or for the first time):

For David Bowie the first phase of his career, the years 1967-1974, saw him struggle to find his footing and then, once he did, rise to fame as a groundbreaking trendsetter with both his music and his image.  His first three albums during this period found Bowie shift from eccentric English folkie to disillusioned psychedelic hippy to theatrical glam hard rocker and likely would have found his career ending without ever really being noticed if not for scoring a hit with “Space Oddity” which rode the fervor over the moon landing in 1969 to success.  However, after this opening run of very different albums Bowie seems to find his footing by combining all of these elements together into a visionary sound and unique image (the androgynous alien rock star character Ziggy Stardust) and manages to release a five album run that is among the most influential of all time.  So, if the David Bowie you know best from 1967-1974 are songs like “Space Oddity”, “Changes”, “Suffragette City” and “Rebel Rebel”, here are ten to hear again:

1. “Five Years” – From the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars

The opening track to David Bowie’s epic The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars “Five Years” is the perfect theatrical narrative to introduce such a grandiose and silly concept as the impending end of the world and its potential salvation by an androgynous alien rock star.  The amazing thing about “Five Years” is how well it works to both introduce the themes and tone of the album and how great it is as a stand-alone track with elements of classic rock, glam and Broadway all running through it.  “Five Years” is the perfect start to one of the most important albums in rock and roll history.

2. “Watch That Man” – From the album Aladdin Sane

“Watch That Man” is an upbeat, danceable track with a distinct R&B and gospel flair to it, even if it never really sounds very connected to actual R&B or gospel.  It definitely points the way forward toward Bowie’s later “Thin White Duke” period and his experimentation with blue-eyed soul.  “Watch That Man” though still has a strong sense of rock and roll in it as well and feels like much of the work of rock bands of the era like The Rolling Stones, who were strongly influenced by traditional rhythm and blues and gospel music and used in to influence their rock.  Bowie has done something similar on “Watch That Man”, even while still making it completely his own.

3. “Aladdin Sane” – From the album Aladdin Sane

The title track from the excellent follow up album to The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars, “Aladdin Sane” (a clever twist on the phrase: A lad insane) is an off-centered journey that borrows from jazz and lounge music to create a strangely twisted pop/rock masterpiece.  Groovy and familiar in places, but full of strange turns and unexpected detours “Aladdin Sane” sounds like the music from the house band for a futuristic jazz cabaret for the mentally ill and is all the better for it.

4. “Andy Warhol” – From the album Hunky Dory

A darkly atmospheric, acoustic rocker “Andy Warhol” foreshadows the feel and aesthetic of post-punk (still seven or eight years away) even if it doesn’t quite have the same sound.  On “Andy Warhol” Bowie draws upon his folk rock roots but twists that style into something more menacing and abrasive than traditional 1960’s folk rock usually was.

5. “Soul Love” – From the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars

Another excellent track from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars, “Soul Love” draws on a variety of musical influences, including R&B, soul, early rock and baroque pop, to create a wonderfully eclectic track.  “Soul Love” is also one of the warmer and more pop-oriented numbers on the album and thus has become a fan favorite.

6. “Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed” – From the album Space Oddity

“Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed” is the oldest track on this list.  In fact, it is the only song here to actually be released in the 1960’s and the sound and spirit of the hippy influenced 1960’s can be heard running through it.  Opening with a folky section that isn’t too far removed from the English folk of Bowie’s debut the song eventually opens up into a swampy and bluesy full-throated rocker.  “Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed” is a good song on its own but it is also an interesting listen as it sounds very different than the atmospheric folk of “Space Oddity” – the hit from this album – or any of the wide array of musical styles Bowie would later try on.  Even from a chameleon like David Bowie “Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed” is an outlier, but a fun one.

7. “The Man Who Sold The World” – From the album The Man Who Sold The World

Bowie’s third album The Man Who Sold The World left behind his folk and hippy rock affectations and allowed him to explore harder, more experimental rock.  While the album was a commercial failure at the time, in hindsight its reputation has improved, creating a glam/metal crunch not too different in places from what Led Zeppelin was doing.  “The Man Who Sold The World” is the strange and eerie title track, made much more famous years later by Nirvana’s bleak and haunting cover of it on their MTV Unplugged performance.

8. “Diamond Dogs” – From the album Diamond Dogs

A sleazy, glam strut that is reminiscent of T-Rex or Roxy Music, “Diamond Dogs” has both rock and roll bravado and a bluesy swagger.  The title track of Bowie’s last album from this era of his career, “Diamond Dogs” was one last hurrah with the spirit of Ziggy Stardust (even though the character himself had already been put to bed) before Bowie shifted gears stylistically for the rest of the 70’s.  “Diamond Dogs” is decadent fun from its opening refrain of “This aint rock and roll!  This is genocide!” to its groovy, stomping conclusion.

9. “Cracked Actor” – From the album Aladdin Sane

“Cracked Actor” is a hard rocking stomper that is one of David Bowie’s better attempts at hard rock.  Driven by a huge drumbeat and a fat bass groove “Cracked Actor” is a visceral force that was made to be played live.  Bowie’s harmonica part is also a nice little touch to give the song a classic rock feel.

10. “Rock & Roll Suicide” – From the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars

Decidedly theatrical and campy, with a heavy dose of glam and what later generations would call emo, “Rock & Roll Suicide” is the closing track to the excellent The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars.  From it’s simple folk rock start to its Broadway like climax, “Rock & Roll Suicide” is so influential that is has almost become a cliché.