Customer Reviews

Aladdin Sane-30th Anniversary

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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:
WATCH THAT MAN, PANIC IN DETROIT, CRACKED ACTOR, TIME, DRIVE-IN SATURDAY, THE JEAN GENIE and the AWESOME title track!

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)

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
Cut by Ella Crew

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.

I excitedly purchased my copy of the 30th anniversary Aladdin Sane and quickly found myself very impressed with the remastering and almost enjoying the album. Almost because 10 seconds into every song the CD skipped (on both CDs), certainly not an acceptable thing for a new CD to do. All other things being equal, I was left to assume that the new copy protection method trumpeted on the back of the case was the culprit. I of course felt it necessary to return the CD and am hoping that this pressing error is corrected so that I can rebuy the disc. You are now warned. So let me give a solid four stars to the album, but the flaw forces me to rate the CD as one star.

Bowie's star was rising so fast that it was hard to believe this album came less than a year after "Ziggy Stardust" and was followed almost immediately by Bowie's first of many announcements that he was retiring. But with the Spiders band firing on all cylinders, Bowie was writing songs so quickly that he had recorded "The Jean Genie" in one night, was playing it in concert the next day and saw it hit the charts in England by the end of the month.

It was that kind of enthusiasm that informed "Aladdin Sane." While it may not have the knock out sensationalism that snuck up on unsuspecting listeners the way "Ziggy Stardust" did, it is still an amazing document of an artist in his element. The glam rock is still the predominant element, but pianos suddenly move forward and the music became as theatrical as the stage persona. "Time" has always reminded me more of Brecht and Weill than Marc Bolan. "Cracked Actor" also just oozes a sleazy Hollywood sentiment that mere rock couldn't. Bowie was aspiring to be "art" here and hit the mark pretty often.

But it never meant he was passing on rock and roll. "Watch That Man" states that firmly, and "Panic In Detroit" is brilliant. The Spider's run through of "Let's Spend The Night Together" captures the directness of The Stones but getting Bowie's distinct handprint. "Lady Grinning Soul," the disc's closer, is one of the most intriguing numbers Bowie's ever written. As a whole, "Aladdin Sane" maintains its status as a great Bowie album.

The remaster and bonus cuts are OK, but don't add much to the Ryko Version, and the liner notes are fun. The plusses to the bonus disc are the superior sax version of "John I'm Only Dancing," the single of "Jean Genie" as well as the live versions of "Changes" and "Drive In Saturday." ("All the Young Dudes" actually pales next to Mott's.) If we keep getting this kind of quality from the Bowie reissues, I anxiously await more!

This anniversary edition of one of Bowie's greatest albums contains an amazing bonus disc and a great booklet. However, I have a HUGE gripe and that is the packaging. The discs are jammed in to sleeves in the front and back of the package. They are stuffed in so tight that I had to use scissors to get them out. When I did, they were scuffed already from when the manufacturers shoved them in. Why put such effort into producing such a beautiful package and insert the CDs in such a careless way. I've found this sort of packaging before and it's really annoying. I personally like my CDs unscratched. Other than that the sound is awesome and the bonus tracks are fantastic.

"Aladdin Sane" is one of my three favorite Bowie albums, the others being "Ziggy" and "Scary Monsters." Along with "Ziggy," it marked the absolute zenith of Bowie's glam period. There isn't even a REMOTELY mediocre tune on it. The track list reads like a greatest-hits package, containing all-time classics like "Panic in Detroit," "Watch That Man," "The Jean Genie," and "Drive-In Saturday," to name but four.

With "Aladdin," Bowie's songwrting was at an incredibly high level, and Mick Ronson and Co. contributed some of the best support they ever gave (and that's saying a lot!).

The 30th Anniversary edition was a nice idea and generally well executed. The sound quality is excellent. It's the best I've ever heard the album sound, be it on CD or LP. Like most of the Virgin reissues, it's a little forward sounding, but that little "bump" really gives the music a nice sense of presence and drive.

I own the copy-controlled version, but I had no problems with skipping or burning the discs.

I love the booklet and informative liner notes, but the cardboard "sleeves" that contain the CDs are absolutely horrendous. When I pulled the discs out (no mean feat, given they were stuck in there pretty good), they were horribly scratched. Why oh WHY do record companies do this? I can't recall the number of times discs have been scratched because of the same annoying packaging. American companies could learn a good leasson from the Japanese, who make extensive use of rice-paper sleeves, which do an incredibly good job of protecting the CDs. Because the discs were so marred, I felt compelled to burn them onto some clean CD-Rs. My burning hardware is pretty good, and now they sound even better!

Anyway, the verdict is this: One of the best albums in a career chock full of great ones, first-class sonics, nice booklet and liner notes, and absolutely reprehensible CD containment. For the latter, I feel compelled to deduct a star, but everything else about the package is top-notch and deserves 5 stars.

And some nice extras on the 30th Anniversary Edition as well. I wouldn't consider any of it that essential, but the live version of Drive-In Saturday is a highlight.

But back to the original album. I've never been a fan of "Watch that Man", it's too conventional and sounds like your typical '70s rock band, very little of Bowie's 'unique' additions are present here.

But the reason every Bowie fanatic (like myself) must buy this album is chiefly because of 4 tracks: Panic in Detroit, Time, The Prettiest Star, and Lady Grinning Soul. Jean Genie is also a great one, but I've heard it so many times it's lost much of its impact.

"Cracked Actor" has a simple (but catchy) progression with great blending of harmonica and distorted guitar (read 'raunchy'). "The Prettiest Star" is ridiculously catchy. Mick Ronson's lead guitar is almost anthemic and practically makes the song work. "Drive-In Saturday" is an above-average tune, with some nice chords and well-written lyrics.

The title track has a great chorus and some purely blissful piano playing by Mike Garson.

"Let's Spend the Night Together" is a guilty pleasure. Why so many people despise it, I don't know. It's pure fun without sounding contrived or overly conventional. It sounds like Bowie doing Bowie, not Bowie doing Jagger (so to speak). "Lady Grinning Soul" is an excellent way to end the album. A kind of cabaret feel to this one and some fantastic vocal work from Bowie. Overall, there's very little of what I would consider filler (Watch that Man I would include in that category, though many would disagree with me). A great album by a great artist.

After the huge success of "Ziggy Stardust", David Bowie pushed his glam rock image to the limit with "Aladdin Sane". This richly illustrated booklet contains all the detailed liner notes a fan could wish for, including band members and recording dates. Lots of color photos represent the era well. The first CD is a great remastering of the original album, with every cut a classic. Standouts are the pulsating "Jean Genie", the lyrically nasty "Cracked Actor" and the amazing "Panic In Detroit" - a concert highlight with wonderful percussion and backup vocals. Many of these songs are obvious precursors to his blue-eyed soul.

The second CD contains some grand surprises, including the studio version of "All The Young Dudes", a concert staple sing-along favorite, and the sax version of, "John, I'm Only Dancing", which is a nice alternative. However. the single edit of "Jean Genie" seems an unnecessary filler. The rest of the songs are all live and this adds another dimension to each one. Lacking the studio enhancements, Bowie performs these with a simple eloquent delivery, causing the listener to appreciate his lyrics and live voice. The sound quality is fairly mediocre considering it has been remastered, but I look at these as more historical than high fidelity recordings. All one really has to do is listen to the classic, "Life On Mars" to appreciate Bowie's lyrics and voice. He is an original every time he steps on stage.

Unfortunately, like the "Ziggy Stardust" 30th Anniversary set, this is also a cardboard booklet, prone to disintegrate over time. It's a shame, as the information and the recordings are classics. Perhaps in the future, Bowie will hard case these Anniversary sets.

I am one of Bowie's biggest fans, own his entire catalogue and know a thing or two about "sound and vision" (no pun intended). When I discovered they made a 30th Annivesary Remaster of one of my favorite Bowie Albums I was thrilled. Unfortunatly, they didn't put any effort into actually "remastering" it. I won't talk about the album, it's a classic and a must for Bowie fans or even if your just starting out as a Bowie fan. Listening to this remaster was like listening to a recording made in a tin garbage pail. It sounds awful. The sound is not at all disturbuted properly to any speaker (I own a home theatre system). It sounds like a badly mono dub put to disc. Everything comes from the center speaker and there is nothing about it that remotely rocks. This has to be the worst remastered record I have ever experienced. If you are a Bowie fan, I reccomend this album as ALADDIN SANE but not as a 30th Anniversary release. Try to seek out a used Ryko copy, the only thing valuable about this recording is the packaging. I'm sorry David but you really need some work on quality control.