Well, here we are again, look you see. Another episode (edition) of Random Bowie for your entertainment. And mine, to be frank. I've been loving using this as an excuse to listen to one album of his for a month or so in order to compose some thoughts, words and what have you.
In this episode, then, we are off to the album (record) many would assume or take as a given as being his first ever, or if you like his debut. Not so, for to dabble in the random quick facts at first, Space Oddity, which is what we shall look at (listen to) here is, according to the standard, commonly agreed way of counting his records, David Bowie's second album. A look at that shall be had here, and indeed as and when I get around to that so-called "first" one.
So yes, then, as per the above, it is Space Oddity on the stereo for this edition. Or, is it?
Quick fire random facts to address the title. It has three - not two, not four, but three. Originally it was released as David Bowie in late 1969, but re-released in 1972 as Space Oddity. Just to add to the confusion it was initially released in the USA as Man Of Words Man Of Music. As my late 80s / early 90s CD is called Space Oddity that's what I am sticking with for this post.
Let's do this one track by track, shall we? I have not done that with one of these episodes for a while, which may well explain why the readership numbers are dropping off for them. Hey ho, they entertain me to do.
But first, an overview. Yes, there is a danger of taking this album and retrospectively saying "oh well, oh wow, it was clear that he was going to become one of the most important musicians of the century" by applying what we know now which was not known then. There is some truth in this, but I shall try to be careful or otherwise mindful as I go.
Space Oddity - Possibly the titular track and undeniably his first big hit. The song that "made" him as a musician or if you will pop star, and one that he would return to in a direct (Ashes To Ashes) and indirect (Pet Shop Boys remix of Hallo Spaceboy, the Blackstar video) way over the years. Also, easily the oldest song to have been something of a staple in live sets, perhaps because he loved it, he felt he owed it or just expected that the fans expected it. Or all three.
As this would rank as one of the most well know, and consequentially most often played, of Bowie songs, I am not sure what I can say of it. Yes, I go through periods where I am tired of the song itself. It was the thought of hearing this tune again that perhaps has had me drag my feet getting to the album. But, you know (and I know you know), it's got that stature because it really is that good a song. Fortuitous, perhaps, that the NASA Moon landings were a success and this was adopted for coverage of that by many broadcasters, but one can only play the hand they are dealt.
The common understanding is that the song was influenced greatly by Bowie's (perhaps after taking something not entirely legal) viewing of Kubrick's 2001 : A Space Odyssey. Hence the song name playing with the film title. An alternate theory exists, however, which suggests that the whole song is about someone taking heroin. Plausible? Well, Bowie played with the theory, or confirmed it, with the line we know Major Tom's a junkie on Ashes To Ashes. No idea, in truth, and I suspect no one ever shall. It kind of fits, I guess, in a similar way to the claims that Love Spreads by The Stone Roses is an ode to heroin. You can take it that way if you so wish.
Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed - Perhaps the perfect song title to describe (perfectly) every arts and literature student ever, so long as they did it properly. I certainly tried.
Most tend to see (or rather hear) this as 1969 David Bowie being "inspired" or heavily influenced by Bob Dylan. True, Bowie would go on to pay homage to Dylan (kind of) on Hunky Dory. Elements of the folk like harmonica driven song do sound a touch like this is the case, and we are in an era where David was still very much trying to find his own voice. Lyrically, I don't get the Dylan comparison, but that might be me not being as aware of Dylan's lyrics as much as I could be, should someone want to correct me.
It's a peculiar song. My instinct is to suggest an early incarnation of Bowie's passion for subverting things, but this is something he would do with his image more rather than in lyrics like here. First off, it kind of starts off creepy (quite or in passing creepy in the late 60s, very creepy in the present day), with Spy, spy, pretty girl, I see you see me through your window. For some reason this line brings to mind an inaccurate remembering of another 60s film, Blow Up. Anyway, on the song goes, with the narrator shifting from being "the cream of the Great Utopian Dream" to "a phallus in pigtails" with rotting tissue and missing eyes in the space of two verses.
Not a bad song, not a great. The music is boss, mind - simplistic but catchy, and Bowie's own voice seems to break out (arguably for the first time, maybe) when he belts out variations of the song title.
Don't Sit Down - Some have this as a separate track, some have it as just added on the end of the above or before the next. In either case, 40 seconds of musicians strumming, tapping and tinkering, Bowie giggling and saying "don't sit down".
Letter To Hermione - One thing that would become exceedingly rare in Bowie's career would be him overtly and directly saying something in his songs about his personal life. As point of fact, you could well argue that after this record it happened maybe a handful of times, until of course the ultimate display of this on Blackstar and Lazarus. Even then, you'd have to have some sort of background knowledge of Bowie's personal life to say things like, for better and for worse, Kooks, Golden Years and Jump They Say were overtly personal.
This song, or as David said letter, is then to Hermione Farthingale on the occasion of their breaking up. Depending on which account you wish to believe, she was the girl who broke David Bowie's heart. Most tend to agree that this was done by her running off with another actor on the set of a film, or simply because she was not prepared to tolerate his by that stage already legendary promiscuity, but more on that (maybe) in a bit. In terms of accounts to believe, a popular rock myth or legend is that it was this break up which made Bowie decide to give up on his original acting ambitions and concentrate purely on music.
Never mind that, is the song any good? Well, it's moping, sulking, lamenting late teens / early twenties of age desolation and despair at the end of the world of someone we're enamoured with leaving us. Most, if not all, of us have perhaps been to this state of mind; maybe more than once. Divorced from background and its own right this is no classic but it is not so bad. Perhaps the purpose is best left as pure catharsis, although again more on that in a bit. Just a special mention for all you James Blunt fans, if you liked You're Beautiful or whatever it was called, here you go, here's that sentiment recorded some 30 odd years earlier.
Cygnet Committee - At somewhere over nine minutes long I suspect, and this is off the top of my head, that this is the third longest ever David Bowie song, just behind Blackstar and Station To Station, both of which cross the ten minute mark. Perhaps it is in terms of length alone that some, over the years, have gotten carried away and declared it Bowie's "first true masterpiece". No, it isn't, if such a thing existed on this record then the test of time says it is the (possible) titular track, surely. But no, it is not a bad song.
Is this worth your investment of nearly ten minutes? Ostensibly yes, of course, any David Bowie song is ultimately worth as much of your time as he felt required. But, to address the above observation, I am not at all sold on the idea of this song being a "masterpiece".
For the sake of a brief overview, the song tells the tale of a messiah-like leader and his rise and fall. Whereas some suggest this "foreshadows" (I hate that word, too often these days "foreshadowing" gets used to describe really obvious plot set ups in films) his later work, most specifically Ziggy Stardust, I have a different take. Everything about the story, to me, says that, like me, David Bowie really liked Tommy by The Who. Unlike me, Bowie had the talent and ability to churn out "something along the lines of the conclusion of Tommy", telling a semi-similar story in a shorter space of time than a double album rock opera.
There is much of merit here. Musically there are suggestions of the sound to be found on Man Who Sold The World and indeed both Ziggy and Aladdin. Lyrically there are some wonderfully worded parts. In terms of delivery, this is a first instance of Bowie really finding his own singing voice. But, ultimately, the song feels either barely equal to, or perhaps even less than, the sum of the parts. Good, but I am not certain that I would call it great or a masterpiece.
Janine - No, no idea who Janine who or was to Bowie. Perhaps someone he knew, maybe just a creation for the purposes of the song.
This is really good. As in, very good. Wonderful music, playful lyrics, and very catchy. Listening to it again a few times of late before writing this has left me rather surprised that this didn't become a staple of his live sets, at least up to the 73 / 74 period. This is a "singalong", with it being tricky not to join in with the infectious chanting of the titular name (think Ruby by Kaiser Chiefs, but with an even better rest of the song), and, whilst confessing I am no musician, it sounds like fun to play. This would be true of the particularly quasi country and western feel to the guitar at the start.
Lyrically it goes, I suppose, into some dark places. The last lines, "But if you take an axe to me, you'll kill another man, nit me at all", has caused some interesting interpretations. Some have suggested that this is an early use of a fractured psyche as a narrator, perfected perhaps in Cracked Actor and maybe Station To Station, depending on how you hear that song. I think that's people doing that "retrospective" thing, and it feels as though it is robbing the song of some of its own character and invention. My impression is that Janine is a form of (creepy maybe) stalker figure, and the person she craves (David, perhaps) is simply not who she in her own mind thinks he is. Well worth a listen, either to figure out for yourself or just to enjoy.
An Occasional Dream - Remember the "more later" aspects of Letter To Hermione? Welcome to later. Yes, this is the second (and so far as I am aware final) song about this lady on the album. But not, it would seem, the final one of his career.
What we have here is more broody lamenting longing from David about this Hermione lady. He really did seem to have some rather strong feelings for her, and wished to be with her once more. Set out here would be some good (rose tinted, maybe) memories, all with a more poppy, yet fundamentally folksy, musical sound.
It's a good / average / acceptable song in its own right, but mostly hearing it again has prompted the question, exactly how long did this Hermione haunt or otherwise exert a presence in the mind of David Bowie? What other songs referenced her? I can recall at some stage Hermione, in a rare interview, indicated that she believed she was the "girl with the mousy hair" from Life On Mars?, for a start. Most overtly, she was referenced to in the video for Where Are We Now?, when Bowie wore a t-shirt with Song Of Norway on it. Two songs which reference Hermione, possibly the only two songs (I cannot think of another at this stage) he did which end with the punctuation of a question mark.......
Did he really long for her over the course of those many years? Or did she simply come to mind from time to time, with the strong youthful feelings he had for her never quite going away? Maybe he went years - decades, perhaps, without ever giving her the moment of a thought. I mean, usually I don't trouble myself with the personal life of Bowie or any of my "heroes" for that matter. But this is now, for the want and wish of different wording, intriguing. Exactly how much of his music, his art, that which I love so much and has meant so much to me, was formed out of the feelings he wrestled with in respect of this lady? Perhaps, or more than likely, we shall never know. Maybe we are not supposed to.
Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud - To my knowledge the "longest surviving" song from this album, as in it was played live as late as 72, 73 on the Ziggy Stardust tours of the known universe. And with good reason, for it is a most excellent song.
Honestly there's loads going on in this song, and you are better off just listening to it (or listening to it again) rather than reading my mutterings. But, you know, that is probably true of all Bowie songs on which I write, so let me just plod along now.
The conduit used for this song is a fantasy like thing. Some suggest a reference to Buddhism, I say Bowie noted how much success (and girls) Led Zeppelin enjoyed with songs of elves, wizards and other such sh!t, and fancied some of that. If not all of it.
Basically the song tells the story of an individual being persecuted for being different, and then that individual ultimately being destroyed by a rampant effort to defend and avenge him. Those keyboard warriors who rush to "social media" to bravely and anonymously get outrageously offended on behalf of others might want to listen to this song, although I suspect they may just adopt it as an anthem.
Another of those "random facts" seems appropriate to drop in here, although it's not directly relevant to the song. One thing Bowie is frequently called, other than "genius", is either "the chameleon of rock" or "the chameleon of pop", depending on the music being discussed. He once commented on this title, saying that he never quite understood it. David, showing perhaps more wisdom than those who use the phrase, suggested that the point of a chameleon was that it changed to blend in with its surroundings, whereas David felt he always stood out as a little bit different. Oh.
God Knows I'm Good - Or, if you will, Shoplifters Of The World Unite some 25 years prior to The Smiths recording that particular song.
The song tells the story of a girl out shoplifting, taking a "tin of stewing steak" if you are wondering. A point of interest is the song just tells the incident - no reason given for the theft (desperation, desire or compulsion) and no judgement, bar the girl telling herself "God knows I'm good" to if not justify what she's doing then to keep calm as she does it.
Short, to the point, top narration and it features one of the best lines by Bowie - "so she closed her eyes to keep her conscience blind". Well, one of the best lines not to have as wide an audience as, say, all them hits what he delivered.
Memory Of A Free Festival - When people have spoken of Cygnet Committee as being Bowie's "first real masterpiece", I am wondering if they are recalling the album it was on, but having a bit of a brain melt or getting confused, with the intention being to cite Memory Of A Free Festival instead.
Another song of "epic" (north of seven minutes) length, and thoroughly justified. In fact, it would not be so bad if this one went on for even longer.
Ostensibly this song is Bowie recalling an arts festival he helped organize in London during the hedonistic summer of 1969. In truth, the song rather evokes in an attractive, vivid way all that is good about any decent music festivals. This song is really how one would like to think Glastonbury was, for instance, before it became one big corporate showpiece.
Whereas the lyrics are wonderful across, it is the end chant, "the Sun Machine is coming down and we're gonna have a party" which is pure and simple magic. Anthemic, if you like. There's also a little bit of that subversion going on here from Bowie. Whereas the vast majority of the album, if not all of it, prior to Memory Of A Free Festival dealt with isolation, individuality, being alone, despair and so forth, this is unashamedly about a sense of being part of a group, part of a movement, and belonging. It is unapologetic in doing so. Also, it's one generation under the same groove a couple of decades or so before The Stone Roses had everyone follow them to some industrial wasteland to perform their art.
Conversation Piece - A bonus track on the late 80s / early 90s CD issue. This was meant as a b-side for Space Oddity, but I think it ended up being released with The Prettiest Star. It was intended for the album proper, and fits most of the tone.
Quite a sad, sorrowful story of a student type trying to convince himself that he's content with his life of solitude, but by the end clearly and tearfully confesses that he hates being alone. The music and lyrics are affecting and touching. Too much, really. I suspect I heard this at a far too impressionable stage of my life, and for some reason in part adopted the persona of the song. Really rather wrong of me in retrospect, and how I wish someone had stopped me, but then anyone who cared probably presumed (perhaps / actually rightly) that I would remain resolute and stubborn. Hey ho.
This song clearly stuck with Bowie, too. It was one of a number he re-recorded for Toy, the ostensible and never (officially) released "follow up" to Pin Ups. Should I remember right, the re-recorded version ended up on a bonus disc with some editions of Heathen.
Memory Of A Free Festival Part 1 and Part 2 - Two more bonus tracks on the same CD. Effectively the same song from the album itself, split in two for the benefit of releasing it as a single. So far as I am aware, and to my ears, a literal split, and nothing different to it.
Phew. That's an awful lot of writing.
I am going to "miss" this album. For several years now it has been left unplayed, even before I embarked on the ambitions and demands of this Random Bowie project. My memories were a mixture of it being "a bit meh" and being haunted by the profound effect Conversation Piece had on me. How wrong I was.
No, this is no masterpiece. But this is really very good indeed. Rather than getting into all that "oh, you can see his greatness" nonsense about the record, I'd rather say it is totally, totes, absolutely worth getting and listening to for its merits in its own right. There are many songs here, going from good to great to excellent, which time have left overlooked simply due to the staggering amount of quality music he went on to create.
So yes, then, you the casual Bowie listener or whoever you are. If you don't have a copy of this album, no matter what title you prefer, it is totally worth getting, as the great music on this record is seldom featured anywhere else. As and when I finish all this Random Bowie business, this is one of the records I shall be going back to.
In terms of "seldom featured elsewhere", or whatever I said, now that I think a number of the songs do indeed feature on disc one of the Bowie At The Beeb set. Of the songs to feature, Letter To Hermione and An Occasional Dream do not. Make of that what you will.
Well, that's that for this episode or, if you like, edition. Thank you very much indeed, once again and as ever, for taking the time to read it. Or skim through it. Or just look at the pictures.
Right, until the next time, then,
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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