David Bowie [1967] [Picture Disc LP]

by David Bowie

Overview

David Bowie's first ever LP -- the 1967 set that introduced the world to the likes of "Rubber Band" and "There Is a Happy Land" -- is an intriguing collection, as much in its own right as for the light it sheds on Bowie's future career. Nobody hearing "She's Got Medals," for instance, can fail to marvel at the sheer prescience displayed by a song about gender-bending. Even within Bowie's subsequent world of alligators, starmen, and astronettes, however, there are no parallels for the likes of "Please Mr. Gravedigger," with its storm-swept lament for a murdered little girl, or "Uncle Arthur," the archetypal mommy's boy, whose one stab at snapping the apron strings shatters when he realizes his new love cannot cook. There's also a frightening glimpse into future Bowie universes, served up by "We Are Hungry Men," a tale of a world in which food is so scarce that the people have resorted to cannibalism. Not all of the songs are such sharp observations of human frailties and failings, while the distinctly family-entertainment style arrangements make it clear that, whatever audience Bowie was aiming for, rock fans were not included among them. But songs like "Love You Till Tuesday" and "Maid of Bond Street" have a catchy irresistibility to them all the same, and though this material has been repackaged with such mind-numbing frequency as to seem all but irrelevant today, David Bowie still remains a remarkable piece of work. And it sounds less like anything else he's ever done than any subsequent record in his catalog. ~ Dave Thompson

Product Details

Release Date:	12/10/2021
Label:	Polydor
UPC:	0602435173238
Rank:	62608

Tracks

1. Uncle Arthur
2. Sell Me A Coat
3. Rubber Band
4. Love You Till Tuesday
5. There Is A Happy Land
6. We Are Hungry Men
7. When I Live My Dream
8. Little Bombardier
9. Silly Boy Blue
10. Come And Buy My Toys
11. Join The Gang
12. She's Got Medals
13. Maid Of Bond Street
14. Please Mr. Gravedigger

Album Credits

Performance Credits

David Bowie   Primary Artist,Vocals
Ivor Raymonde   Conductor,Musical Director
The Tony Visconti Orchestra   Featured Artist
Arthur Greenslade & His Orchestra   Featured Artist

Technical Credits

Bernie Andrews   Producer
Bill Price   Engineer
Ivor Raymonde   Arranger
Tony Visconti   Arranger,Producer
Jonathan Weston   Remix Producer
Pete Ritzema   Engineer
Peter Mew   Mixing
Dave Tate   Engineer
Mike Vernon   Producer
David Bowie   Arranger,Composer,Producer
Alan Harris   Engineer
Arthur Greenslade   Arranger
Gus Dudgeon   Engineer
Julie Thompson   Assistant Coordinator
Kenneth Pitt   Liner Notes
Anthony Hawkins   Remastering
Tris Penna   Mixing
Malcolm Toft   Engineer
John Tracy   Liner Notes,Coordination
Gerald Fearnley   Photography
Traci Werbel   Project Coordinator
Derek "Dek" Fearnley   Arranger,Producer
Art Greenslade   Arranger