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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
66 of 69 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
5 stars for this GREAT album...0 stars for copy control,
By
This review is from: Aladdin Sane-30th Anniversary (Audio CD)
David Bowie's Aladdin sane is a 70's masterpiece and I've loved it since I bought with my allowance it at age 7, in 1973.The album is riddled with great songs, including all out classics: The song ALADDIN SANE has remained nothing but amazing to me for 30 years now; beautiful, bizarre, engaging, fragile, excellent! Also includes a wildly imaginitive "insane" piano solo by one of the best...Mike Garson One more thing...the track LADY GRINNING SOUL is one of the more underrated tracks of Bowie's career. Few songs in the world of rock emote as much raw passion, extravagance and beauty. Also, lead guitarist Mick Ronson couldn't be better than he is on this album. The guitar is pushed up in the mix and drives it's way right into your soul Bowie himself is totally on top of his game here. The ultimate rock star in full throttle. One thing that makes Bowie GREAT is his willingness to be completely original and different from the norm, without concern for the danger of such action. His lyrics are otherworldly and fantastic. Highly intelligent and very witty. One of the great songwriters (storytellers) of our time, as well as an amazing performer, with a penchant for the "larger than life" Aladdin Sane really is a perfect rock album and one of the very best from 1973. I've actually been a Bowie fan since age 6 (found my older sister's Ziggy Lp and that was that). My childhood was greatly enhanced by such magnificent music, imagery and exciting mystery that the 70's provided so well. Bowie was the Ultimate Rock star and I wouldn't trade that time of my life for anything. Totally inspiring and magical ....gave me something special to aspire to ... become a better musician than I would've otherwise The packaging of this 3oth anniversary edition is beautiful and gives respect to a great album. The bonus disc includes tracks that most Bowie die hards already have, but in nice remastered fashion...*The SAX version of John, I'm Only Dancing and the very rare acoustic version of Drive In Saturday are the highlights of the bonus disc. Booklet is excellent and the hardcover "book" style of the outside packaging makes this release seem all the more special and respected Now to address this ridiculous and disappointing COPY CONTROLLED version of this great album (please note that US versions are not copy controlled...just beware if you're ordering from Canada...all their versions ARE Copy Controlled): I, like Mr Comegy, was unlucky enough to end up with a COPY CONTROLLED version. I purchased the Cd through a Canadian on line merchant (MyMusic) who were not professional or aware enough to signify on the site, that they would be sending a customer this defective, copy controlled version Just as Mr Comegy writes, THIS COPY CONTROLLED version (on most Cd players) skips repeatedly about 10 seconds into each song, before returning to the music. EVERY song...ten secoinds in. Very annoying and this CD is GOING BACK! The good news is.. There are NON- Copy Controlled versions I would guess that a much higher quantity of those versions are stocked in your local stores, or here at Amazon (US versions not copy controlled...just beware of canadian versions..easy to see...red print on back signifies COPY CONTROL) This technology stinks and should not be incorporated into the CDs we buy anyway. We work hard for our money and if we want to make a collection Cd from our albums (like we have for decades), we should be able to. Not having the ability to record your own music, would be ABSOLUTE reason for THIS music lover, to end a lifelong affair with purchasing music ...altogether I LOVE to make my own collection tapes and Cds. All for my own personal enjoyment. Take that away and I'm finished with it all Moreover, this CD (the COPY CONTROLLED version)...is even worse than that It's one thing to not be able to record songs from....it's ANOTHER to not even have the ability to PLAY the CD without skipping, 10 seconds into every track Is that what we're spending $$$ for?? ABSOLUTE 5 stars for this excellent Bowie album and a big FAT 0 stars for whoever is in charge of this COPY CONTROL nonsense and any merchant that decides to sell it Marc (NJ, USA)
25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Alladin Mott,
By
This review is from: Aladdin Sane-30th Anniversary (Audio CD)
David Bowie had already been written off as a one-hit-wonder after he failed to follow up his hit single `Space Oddity' (1969) with any commercial success. His first full length album was just a hotch-potch of songs he had collected over the years, and certainly gave no clue as to what was to come. By 1970 David Bowie had hitched up with guitarist/arranger Mick Ronson, who was to become the perfect foil during Bowie's rise to fame. The next album, 'The Man Who Sold The World' (1971), although a good album, suffered from too many long guitar solos, repetitive themes, and lack of direction from the man himself. 'Hunky Dory' (1972) was a concerted effort of Bowie to catch up with his friends like Marc Bolan, who was riding high in the charts. Even though it was brilliant, it just failed to spark the public's imagination, or perhaps too much imagination as on the cover Bowie wore his hair long - and worse - a long dress, too. A quick re-think, a sharpening of the sound, a haircut and dye, the stage act re-shaped, the band `The Spiders From Mars' solidified into the perfect little hard rockin' outfit of the blonde haired bombshell Mick Ronson on guitar; the impossibly side burned bassist Trevor Bolder; Mick Woodmansey on drums looking like a reject from the Bay City Rollers; and avant-garde keyboard player Mike Garson. Then came the startling appearance on Top of the Pops with the new single `Starman', and David Bowie was the most famous pop star in the world. Easy when you know how. The Album `The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars' was a massive hit around the world. But could they follow it up? Could David Bowie turn himself into a proper musician and not just some pop star here today, gone tomorrow? It would of been easy for an album of Ziggy Stardust Part Two, but instead the record company demanded more products and Bowie's manager, Tony DeFies, lined-up tour after tour. They rode the crest of popularity while it was up. It was not all plain sailing though as America did not immediately roll over. In St. Louis for example only 180 tickets were sold out of a possible 11,000. Aladdin Sane was written and recorded on the road. That makes it even more of an achievement as it outstrips its predecessor in brilliance. It's a record that defines the high-glam period of the spring and summer of 1973, a period that indisputably belonged to David Bowie, The Spiders From Mars, and their millions of fans. By the day of its release, April 13th, 1973, Aladdin Sane had already chalked up advance sales of 100,000, making it the fastest selling British pop album since the heyday of the Beatles. It became Bowie's first UK number one, a position it held for five weeks. It contained two top 3 singles in 'The Jean Genie' and 'Drive In Saturday', and was also the first Bowie album to reach the US Top 20. Indeed, Aladdin Sane heralded a period of chart dominance for Bowie. During the summer of 1973, Bowie had five albums in the UK charts at the same time for a total of 19 weeks. The songs on Aladdin Sane were the work of a man on the cusp of genius. The playing of the Spiders was inspirational (try the piano solo from Mike Garson on the title track, or Mick Ronson's guitar riff on Panic in Detroit to get some kind of idea). The choice of the Rolling Stones cover 'Let's Spend The Night Together' is perfect. It is over thirty years since Aladdin Sane was unleashed on us, and he sounds as fresh and fruity today as he did then. EMI have released a 30th Anniversary edition which comes in booklet form with over 40 pages of stories and reminiscences from the players and the production team, plus a whole host of never seen before photos. But best of all, a whole second CD full of live tracks, b-sides, and storming studio versions of 'All The Young Dudes' and 'John, I'm Only Dancing'. Although David Bowie went on to be one of the longest lasting rock stars, I do not think he ever quite reached these heights again. Made up by Mott the Dog
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic, Must-Have Glam Era Bowie -- 30th Anniversary Package Is Great,
By Rich Latta (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Aladdin Sane-30th Anniversary (Audio CD)
I'm sorry to read that some people dislike the packaging of this special release and have had "copy control" problems. I have no idea why one reviewer went off about the "horrible remastering" - sounds great to me, but maybe problems are more evident on the home theater system he uses. Personally, I think this 2 CD special edition is really cool. It's exactly like a miniature book with each CD on the inside of each side of the binding. I do get really annoyed with CD packaging that does a poor job of containing the CDs, but the sleeves on this one don't bother me much - you just have to be really careful when taking them out. The rare pictures (including pictures of promo posters and rare single covers), and the informative essay and time line of events are all great.
The album itself (disk 1) is one of Bowie's best - fantastic rock 'n roll with elements of do-wop, cabaret, soul, classical and avant-garde in the mix. This is glam rock at its best - loud, raunchy, and loaded with killer riffs - but the mellower tracks are great as well. I'll refrain from carrying on endlessly about this music, but I gotta say it's worth getting alone for the addition to the band of super-talented pianist Mike Garson. In particular, his bizarre solo on the title track is a mind blower. It's hard to pick a favorite cut, but "Aladdin Sane" may be mine, thanks especially to Mr. Garson. Least favorite - "Let's Spend the Night Together," although I still like it a lot. This Rolling Stones cover is more amped up than the original and it's loaded with wild synth effects. I gotta admit that the "Our love comes from above/Let's make love" interlude towards the end is a bit cheesy, but I still think it's fun (unlike a friend of mine who thinks that part practically ruins the song - he feels the same way about the "Wham bam thank you ma'am" part from "Suffragette City" . . . Oh well, to each his own opinion - that's his hang up). Keep in mind that that kind of thing was much more shocking and explicit back in the day. The bonus disk is nice to have, but there's really nothing essential here. The "sax version" of "John, I'm Only Dancing" isn't really that rare and I personally have no use for truncated versions of "The Jean Genie" or "Time." It's nice to have a copy of "All the Young Dudes," although Bowie made a really good move by giving it to Mott the Hoople (whose re-recording of it became a hit). Bowie's version just doesn't have enough spark. It's a bit lethargic at the chorus; the saxophones don't create as much energy as the song needs. But it's still a great song and his generous gift to Mott helped relaunch their career (I personally don't care that much for Mott's music anyway, but I'll digress). The remaining songs are live versions - very good, but again, not essential. Still, it's a pleasure having them in my collection. I recommend this set for the Bowie fan, others really only need the original album.
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