Customer Reviews

The Best Of David Bowie 1969-1974

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This was the first Bowie CD I ever bought, and I consider myself lucky. The songs on this CD give a very good representation of the best of Bowie's early musical work, from his first hit with "Space Oddity" through the glamorous Ziggy Stardust persona to the haunting, post-apocalyptic dystopia of the Diamond Dogs album. Granted, it does focus more on the "Ziggy era" songs than anything else, and a few tracks (namely the alternate versions of "John, I'm Only Dancing" and "Let's Spend The Night Together," along with "Velvet Goldmine") could have been replaced with other, better ones, but there isn't a bad song on this album. Many have said that this album doesn't come close to capturing all the Bowie "classics" from 1969-74. But to do that would mean bundling half of the Hunky Dory album and most of the Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane albums in with this collection. What this track list DOES manage to do, however, is feature a list of works which, through non-chronological order, show what an incredibly diverse collection of music Bowie managed to produce in just 6 years, from the hard-hitting classic rock sound of "The Jean Genie," to the tragic, pompous glam rock of "Ziggy Stardust" and "Rock'n'Roll Suicide" to the softly gliding piano tones of "Aladdin Sane," which is in my opinion the best song on the album.

This excellent compilation draws from the albums The Man Who Sold The World, Space Oddity, Hunky Dory, Pin-Ups, Aladdinsane, Diamond Dogs and his opus magnum Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars. It thus provides some of his best work with producer Tony Visconti plus a wide variety of different musical styles. There's the wistful pop of Space Oddity and Starman, the pre-punk aggro of Jean Genie (supposedly written about Iggy Pop), the anthemic rock of Rebel Rebel, the 60s pop of Sorrow and Oh You Pretty Things (This was a hit for Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits in 1971). There's also the heavy rock of Man Who Sold The World (a hit for Lulu in the late 1960s) and All The Young Dudes (a hit for Mott The Hoople in 1973), the bleak ballad Drive-In Saturday, his fast and aloof interpretation of Let's Spend The Night Together and the phenomenal and breathtaking Life On Mars with its gripping arrangement and poetic lyrics. Other favorites of mine include the catchy Prettiest Star and Changes with its interesting wordplay, plus the magnificent Diamond Dogs with its howling hound sounds. The choice of tracks is highly intelligent and although these things are always subjective, I do for once agree with the selection of the compilers. Of course, Bowie had a novelty hit in 1973, The Laughing Gnome, but it would have been out of place on this album so I won't complain of the omission, and it was recorded long before 1969. Bowie's early work has stood the test of time very well. These are all strong, melodic songs that still evoke vivid images and emotions. This album well and truly deserves its five stars.

If the music industry, like evolution, is about survival of the fittest, natural selection, and adaption to one's environment: then Bowie surely is the Master of Metamorphosis. However, many agree that he was at his best in the beginning, and here is great compilation of Bowie's work from the early years.

Bowie is not an artist who one would immediately fall in love with - however after a bit of listening his songs become more likeable. This album is a great introduction to the Ziggy Stardust years right until he turns into the Glam Rock era in the mid 70's.

Some noteworthy tracks on this album include: Space Oddity, Starman, Ziggy Stardust, Changes (the track that defines the artist himself) and The Man who Sold the World (later covered by Nirvana) to mention a few. However there is a feeling that not all of his BEST tracks of the period were included. However even if some of these tracks are not his "best", this is still a brilliant album.

This is a good introduction to his early years, unfortunately as Bowie has changed so much over the years, a complete compilation of 30+ years of work would perhaps lack continuity.

This is a timeless collection. A must for people interested/fascinated by Bowie or the music of this period.

This is not a bad introduction at all for people who want to dip their toes into the music of David Bowie's early period. Be warned, though; this disc tends to draw on the 'Ziggy Stardust' and 'Aladdinsane' albums more than 'Diamond Dogs' and 'Hunky Dory' (it's a shame that Amazon doesn't stock the latter album, or other key Bowie releases like 'Heroes' and 'Station to Station' - these are available elsewhere on the Net, though). So you would miss out on some excellent material from these albums. If you're inspired by this taster, I would recommend getting 'Diamond Dogs', followed by 'Aladdinsane', and then (maybe - not as essential, IMHO) 'Ziggy Stardust'. But if you can, do track down 'Hunky Dory' - it's kooky, camp and thought-provoking all at once. Bowie dismissed it as 'lightweight' but you'll end up falling in love with it. And how could any early Bowie compilation be complete without 'The Laughing Gnome', a true work of art that inspired countless death metal bands?

Any single-disc compilation of David Bowie's best songs seems doomed to fail. His career is so long and varied that something is bound to be left out or un(der)represented. 1990's Changesbowie did a good job of covering the hits from "Space Oddity" to "Blue Jean", and 2002's Best of Bowie added "Under Pressure" and tacked on a few non-essential items to bring it up to date (1997, in that case). Both of these collections made for entertaining listens, but incomplete pictures. Bowie the pop star, in both cases, was emphasized over Bowie the artist.

Fortunately, EMI recognized in 1997 that these two sides of David Bowie were not mutually exclusive, and decided to issue the pertinent songs alongside one another on two separate discs covering the first decade of his career. Although two discs may be less buyer friendly, it is really the only way to do justice to an artist like Bowie, as he has a plethora of hits, album cuts, and B-sides that rank among his best songs. And it was wise to separately issue two individual CDs, as the material from each "era" adheres to different sets of artistic criteria. The individual discs help keeps the songs separate in the listener's mind, and thus have a clearer perspective of what Bowie was shooting for as his career progressed.

The Best of David Bowie 1969/1974 is a piñata of tracks from the first half-dozen years of his recording career. It contains all of his most enduring radio classics from the early days: "The Jean Genie", "Space Oddity", "Ziggy Stardust", "Rebel Rebel", "Suffragette City", and "Changes". These are great songs, of course, but there are fourteen other songs on the disc, most of which are of at least equal quality. Some have become well-known through the years in spite of not being radio favorites, such as "Starman" and the ghostly "The Man Who Sold the World", which had recently - at the time of this compilation's release - been a highlight of Nirvana's MTV Unplugged performance. There is also a generous helping of album tracks, among which are two more from Hunky Dory ("Oh! You Pretty Things" and "Life On Mars?"), one from Ziggy Stardust ("Rock & Roll Suicide"), four more from Aladdin Sane, and a live version of the title track from Diamond Dogs.

And the gems don't end there. The remarkable glam-rock B-sides "John, I'm Only Dancing" and "Velvet Goldmine" are here, as is his version of his own "All the Young Dudes". Finally, there is the superb interpretation of the one-hit wonder "Sorrow", from his underrated Pin-Ups CD. (This definitely beats out his cover of "Let's Spend the Night Together" in terms of being worthy of inclusion on a best-of.) Overall, there are no glaring omissions whatsoever from this collection, maybe just some fans' personal faves. 1969/1974 does a perfect job of demonstrating what a versatile, prolific, and entertaining performer Bowie was from almost day one. And with the time frame that it covers, it reminds one that he achieved all of this in a mere 6 years.

Yes, it's missing a lot of great songs, but I think it does an excellent job of picking up the very best from this time period.

No regrets in buying this one, trust me. Especially if you're looking for a good intro to Bowie at his best.

This is more for the casual Bowie fan who wants everything or at least the best of Bowie from this period. This is what I was after at least - all the classics from "The Man Who Sold The World", "Ziggy Stradust", "Jean Genie", "Diamond Dogs"
As far as I am concerned a great little package in on nice neat cd without having to spend a fortune.

This greatest hits collection from david bowie stands is a great collection of his early material such as ziggy stardust and velvet goldmine. It really is quite amazing to see how much David Bowie has done in his career. This CD really gives you a picture of what his earliest years were like.

David Bowie set the pace for an entire generation of music, his innovative and always changing styles have had the power to enchant the listener... he didn't just give us music he gave us something to believe in. Whether it be the trademark Space oddity or the drum n' bass I'm Afriad of Americans, Bowie's music is something timeless, that will always be a part of the music world. Purchase this item you won't regret it!

This one contains many classic Bowie tunes, and I don't see why any Bowie fan could hate it. If you like Bowie, and are not sure which cd of his to get...this is the one......well...unless if you find Hunky Dory rotting away at some used cd store.