David Bowie – David Bowie, Debut Album Reissue – ReviewDavid Bowie - David Bowie, Debut Album Reissue - Review - Your Online Magazine for Hard Rock and Heavy Metal

Label: Decca \ DERAM \ Universal Music Group

Genre: Progressive Pop

Release Date: July 26 2024

Tracklisting:

Deluxe Edition Green Vinyl 2LP with Exclusive Bonus Track – Sell Me A Coat – Remix, Mono*

Side A
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

Side B
1. Little Bombardier
2. Silly Boy Blue
3. Come And Buy My Toys
4. Join The Gang
5. She’s Got Medals
6. Maids Of Bond Street
7. Please Mr. Gravedigger

Side C
1. Rubber Band – Single Version
2. The London Boys – Mono
3. The Laughing Gnome – Single Version, Stereo Mix
4. The Gospel According To Tony Day – Single Version, Stereo Mix
5. Love You Till Tuesday – Single Version
6. Did You Ever Have A Dream – Single Version, Stereo Mix
7. When I Live My Dream – Single Version, Mono

Side D
1. Let Me Sleep Beside You
2. Karma Man – Stereo Mix
3. In The Heat Of The Morning – Stereo Mix
4. London Bye Ta-Ta
5. When I’m Five ‘Love You Till Tuesday’ Soundtrack Version, Mono
6. Ching-A-Ling – Full-Length Version, Stereo Mix
7. Sell Me A Coat* – Remix, Mono

Members:

David Bowie – vocals, guitar, arrangements
Big Jim Sullivan – guitar, banjo, sitar
John Renbourn – acoustic guitar
Derek Boyes – organ
Derek “Dek” Fearnley – bass, arrangements
John Eager – drums
Marion Constable – backing vocals
Arthur Greenslade – arrangements

The first time I heard music from David Bowie’s earliest releases, it was at a time when Radio One was the only station that mattered and the Corporation that was the BBC had yet to acknowledge that one or more of their superstar status DJs were more than a little bit ‘dodgy’. Weekend lunchtime shows with ‘Time Travels’ themes focused on specific years and when 1967 came around, I fondly recall being treated to the aural delights of one David Bowie and ‘The Laughing Gnome’. It seems strange to think now that the man singing “Ha, ha, ha, hee, hee, hee, I’m a laughing gnome and you can’t catch me” would later be the man to bring ‘Starman’, ‘Space Oddity’, ‘Ashes to Ashes’ and many, many more to the ears of a receptive global audience.

What Bowie’s debut album does show however is a desire to ‘mix things up’. In 1967, the Beatles brought Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band to the world and it changed the face of modern music. Bowie, with the sort of acute awareness that would serve him for decades to come, recognised that the days of the standard guitar pop bands were on the way out and change had to come. It would be just 2 years later in 1969 that Bowie would change the station yet again and also the way people would listen to his music with another eponymous album featuring “Space Oddity”.

For completists and the mildly curious though, ‘David Bowie’ , the 1967 version we are looking at here contains tracks that are more than worthy of assessment. From opening track ‘Uncle Arthur’ followed by ‘Sell Me A Coat’ and ‘Rubber Band’, you’d think from the titles alone that the album was simply a collection of whimsy from a fella with an affected London accent and a rather fine taste in clothing. That thought process though couldn’t be farther from the truth. What we have here is someone willing to experiment. The genre mentioned above says ‘progressive pop’ and unlike acts like Genesis who would deliver their take on progressive music with ‘From Genesis to Revelations’ with sprawling radio unfriendly songs, Bowie had an eye for commercialism and new that singles needed to be short and snappy for them to work.

Of note… and one for the Bowie lore followers, ‘Love You Till Tuesday’, which would go on to became the title of a 1969 film featuring Bowie, explains why Bowie needed to change his name from David Jones, to David Bowie. If you don’t know, buy the album, sit back, read the lyrics and enjoy!

Interestingly, whilst short and snappy, moving away from the typical sounds of the time, the songs are primarily led by orchestral brass and woodwind instruments rather than traditional guitar, drum and bass approach that you’d hear from other chart acts. Although some tracks do feature guitar, we’re a world away from the Mick Ronson sound that would come in the 1970s. The lyrics are lighthearted but veer into darker short-story narratives, covering everything from childhood innocence, to drug use and totalitarianism. If that sounds like the sort of ideologies Bowie would incorporate into later works, then this is the perfect reason to get out there and pay attention. If as well you’re willing to be uncomfortable, he touches on ‘adult – child’ relationships and how society views them, whether they be innocent or not. The more you listen, the more you get drawn into the tales on offer.

The album contains the stereo mix of the album and if you get the CD an extra 16 songs are included on disc 2 including a 4:31 version of ‘Space Oddity’ the track that would open up his 1969 album and launch his career into the stars.

This debut though is a fascinating insight into an artist everyone knows. If your favourite David Bowie album is “The Best of Bowie” then it’s time to dig a little deeper, start at the beginning and immerse yourself in a world of imagination from one of the most talented artists to have lived.

Score 8/10

Reviewed by: Adrian Hextall