David Bowie – Aladdin Sane (1973)

Aladdin Sane is a serious competitor for the title of the greatest Bowie album. I can't really decide between this and Hunky Dory. Aladdin Sane was released after the massively successive Ziggy Stardust. The sound on this album is really what glam rock is all about. Big guitar sounds, artsy piano, funky bass and soulful rhythms. The lightning face album cover is one of the most recognisable album covers of all times. I bought this album relatively late considering how long I had listened to Bowie. I guess that is quite fortunate, since this album I have on vinyl. Earlier on, I had bought many of the albums on jewel case CDs and they really don't have the same feel to them. It's great to own Aladdin Sane on vinyl, because as an artefact, it's truly a classic. Also, the album includes some of my all time favourite Bowie songs.



I was really into Bowie in my late teenage years. At the time I would've probably named him as my favourite musician. Then I started listening to more modern indie rock and I wasn't really listening to his music that much anymore. Another chance for his music came here in London when Bowie died. His death was a massive event in London where people gathered to streets and to bars to appreciate his career and music. His music was suddenly just everywhere. At the night after his death, me and my wife were listening through his music videos and that was the moment when I realised just how amazing his career had been. Before I had mainly listened to his 70's records, but now I realise that bowie is amazing just because he could renew himself over and over again with new styles and new music and all of his different styles were carried out really outstandingly.

Especially the last couple of albums have become really important to me within the last year and a half. Having released two such good albums right before his death really made it even more sad that he had died at such a young age. He could've still made so many good albums.

Right, I have so much to say about Bowie that I have to move on to talk about Aladdin Sane as an album specifically and talk about my history with Bowie a bit more with other albums. My favourite songs on the album are Drive-In Saturday, The Prettiest Star and Lady Grinning Soul. These songs have quite amazing melodies and the mood is just amazing. There are some other hit songs on this album as well such as Let's Spend a Night Together and The Jean Genie. Those songs work brilliantly on a dance floor but they're not quite as meaningful for me personally. I also have to mention the title track Aladdin Sane. This song has some insane piano sequences. Then again, so does Lady Grinning Soul. Aladdin Sane also has some saxophone parts played by Bowie. Many people don't realise how great a saxophone player Bowie really was.

David Bowie was one of those artists that had amazing music videos even in the time when not many bands made music videos. I'll link the mostly live performance oriented video of The Jean Genie. This gives some indication of how great the shows were back in the day. It also shows the amazing performance outfits of the band and the crazy sideburns that the bass player was wearing at the time. The hair that Bowie has on the album cover really became a hit at the time and many people wanted a same kind of hairdo even if it was very strange for that time.

David Bowie is one of the greatest musicians who ever lived and I'm feeling some kind of strange fascination by the fact that I'm living in Brixton now, where Bowie was born and spent his first years of childhood at. Bowie's music has had such a big influence on my life and Aladdin Sane is one of the albums I've listened to the most.

Listen to the album on Spotify.