Track by Track Album Review: Aladdin Sane by David Bowie

I always liked the way that Bowie hid the true title to this album in a pun on the phrase "Aladdin Sane". This is just another example of the creative talents of David Bowie, and the entire album speaks volumes about his songwriting skills and poetic knack for turning a phrase. The players all do credible jobs on this album, but the performance of Mick Ronson is the most compelling.

Aladdin Sane was recorded in London and Nashville in 1972, and released in April of 1973. Don't ask me how the country music capital of the world got involved with the recording of this album, but it did. This album presents David Bowie at the height of his "glam" phase, with only Diamond Dogs left before he began his descent into a more tame, mainstream type of music. The players and their contributions are as follows:

David Bowie, vocals, guitar, harmonica and sax
Mick Ronson, guitar, piano and vocals
Trevor Bolder, bass guitar
Mick Woodmansey, drums
Ken Fordham, sax
Mike Garson, piano
Juanita "Honey" Franklin, Linda Lewis, and G. A. MacCormack, backing vocals

Here is a list of the songs on the album, and a brief synopses of each:

1. Watch That Man--This a song about a party that someone named "Shakey" threw and Bowie describes some of the weird, perverse and surreal scenes he witnesses--"When the Reverend Alabaster danced on his knees" and "A Bennie Goodman fan painted holes in his hands". These are just two descriptions--the tune is chock-full of intense imagery created by Bowie's lyrics. The mood of the song is rock n' roll, and Mick Ronson ornaments the song with just the right amount of tasty guitar licks. The backup female singers add a cutting edge to the song.

2. Aladdin Sane--A somewhat discordant piano part opens this song, and continues through in a glissando style. The feel of this song is Oriental to me, and the song dies in the way it began, in a discordant fashion, in a literal cacaphony of sound.