Customer Reviews

Man Who Sold the World (Mlps)

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

From the cover, which shows a longhaired Bowie in a full-length dress, reclining on a chaise longue, it is clear that this is no ordinary record. "The Man Who Sold The World" is often cited as being Bowie's "heavy metal" album. It definitely marks a significant departure from the folk influenced sound of his previous album, and without question stands as his first great piece of work. Overall the sound is raw and rather under-produced. Mick Ronson's dazzling guitar work, combined with the eerie sound of a moog synthesiser, and Bowie's pronounced Cockney accent creates an atmosphere that is distinctly, and suitably macabre.

The album begins with "Width Of A Circle", a grotesque and disturbing psycho-neurotic fantasy. This eight-minute opener, with its religious and sexual imagery is as phantasmagoric as the works of Hieronymus Bosch or William Blake. Bowie's half brother Terry suffered mental illness and spent most of his life in psychiatric institutions. In "All The Madmen" Bowie provides a rather wry and sinister commentary on mental illness, a theme he would often return to in his career. "After All" with its quasi-music hall "Oh by jingo" refrain was intended to address a generation jaded hippies. 'I've borrowed your time and I'm sorry I called' sings Bowie. "Saviour Machine", a dark, prophetic tale of society's over-dependence on technology, tells of a machine that is bored with the utopia it has helped to create. In a Dostoyevskian act of disassociation, the narrator of "The Man Who Sold The World" meets his doppelganger on the stairs, where he announces "Oh no, not me/I never lost control". "The Supermen" with its overt reference to Neitzsche is almost Wagnerian in feel. On this track Bowie's strained vocals erupt over the ominous beating of drums and monastic chants to chilling effect.

With its surreal, stream of consciousness lyrics and wailing guitars, "The Man Who Sold The World" is an unnerving album that flows in places like a grotesque, existential nightmare. But in the end its pain and anguish is only human, all too human.

In November 1970, David Bowie released his 3rd studio album and the promise that showed on the previous year's release was brought to fullfillment on 'The Man Who Sold the World'. Tales of madness, the occult, science fiction, maniac Vietnam vets and a race of superhumans fill this bizarre masterpiece of sonic indulgence. Some have commented on this record being David's heavy metal piece and in some parts the guitars are very heavy for 1970 (excepting of course Zep, Purple and the Sabs), but in many ways it is typical early Bowie record, especially lyrically. The Spiders from Mars make their debut here (with producer Tony Visconti handling the bass chores). Mick Ronson was the actual session leader on these recordings as newlywed Bowie was "preoccupied". Maybe that was the reason for the overabundance of heavy rock but much of Bowie's later work would be heavy as well. Favorites include the epic "Width of a Circle", an alltime favorite of mine which incorporates many of Bowie's early influences including legendary occultist Aleister Crowley. "All the Madmen" which explores the nature of insanity and touches on David's own troubled psyche while sympathizing with the plight of his half brother Terry. "Savoir Machine" and "Circle" explore the nature of false leadership and gods ("You can't stake your lives..."). "Running Gun Blues" explores the psychosis of war and its impact on soldiers who can't shut it down while back home. Both "After All" and "The Supermen" explore the ideas of Nietzsche and possibly Lovecraft describing a race aliens who resemble humans but are superior. Many of these will continue in future albums, especially 'Ziggy'. The most famous song on an album of non-hits is undoubtably the title track and it is a brilliant piece of work which stands up to the best of Bowie. A young man in a fragile state of mind? A blissfully ignorant hippie youth? A genius flaunting what was exceptable in rock music? Probably a little of all three which would show its first full bloom on this strange, troubling but brilliant record.

I've heard this album was Bowie's attempt at heavy metal. I'm not sure I agree, but the album is definitely one of his heaviest efforts. This is Bowie's second studio album, & it is strikingly different from his folk-oriented "Space Oddity". Bowie excellently employs legendary glam-rock guitarist Mick Ronson for a blusier, heavier, more distrotion-driven guitar sound.

"The Man Who Sold the World" (TMWSTW) couldn't have opened with a better piece than "The Width of a Circle". It's a long, segmented song with a variety of tempo changes and it also moves the listener through a plethora of moods. "All the Madmen" is a song about, well, madmen. The eerie wooden whistles add a nice touch of lunacy to the song. "Running Gun Blues" is an all-out rocker about a war vet who comes home & embarks on a shooting spree not unlike the DC sniper incident. "She Shook Me Cold" is a dark, bluesy ditty with obvious lyrics describing a sexual encounter. My favorite song on the album is the conclusion, "The Supermen". It's a lofty, echoing piece about an apparent race of superhumans that existed before time...It reminds me of short stories from H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. The timpani and octave-leaping moans in the background give the song a weird, other-worldly feel.

The album cover for TMWSTW is characteristically Bowie, with him sporting a tight fitting, Victorian-era silk dress. He is holding playing cards while reclining on a sofa. It's a feminine image giving off a sense of subtle danger.

A drawback to TMWSTW is the sometimes muddy production of the album, thanks to Tony Visconti (maybe he's a bass player first, then a producer...). There are also a few songs like "After All" & "Saviour Machine" that I consider rather weak & forgettable.

Overall, if you want a change from Bowie's (*powder-puff*) 80's & 90's material, this is an album to invest in.

This is the album where Bowie first hit his stride. After a forgettable and debut and the well-intentioned but lackluster(except for the title track) "Space Oddity" album, Bowie roared back with "The Man Who Sold The World".

After the folky, mod-ish wankery employed on his first two albums, Bowie hit hard with what is easily his heaviest and most challenging album. This album is pretty much straightfoward heavy metal by the standards of 1971, at times sounding more like Black Sabbath than the man who belted out "Space Oddity" two years prior. In fact, considering the small market for metal at the time, this album could very well have served as a strong influence for a number of bands who would define the genre more percisely during the coming years. The guitars are heavy (Mick Ronson destroys on this album)while Bowie sticks mostly to acoustic guitar for ambience (although they are so quiet at times, the album probably would have not suffered without them). The drums are killer, and the bass (played by the album's producer, Tony Visconti) is competent. In fact, the backing band is rumored to be responsible for composing most of the music on this album, leaving the lyrics to Bowie.

The greatness of this album lies in its individual songs, however. "Width of a Circle" is a standout, as is "All the Madmen", "Saviour Machine", "She Shook Me Cold", and pretty much every other song on the album. The title track was famously covered by Nirvana on their "Unplugged" set years ago...they did the song more than justice, but I still perfer the original found here. The lyrics are awesome, and set the precedent for what would be covered by Bowie's later Ziggy Stardust and Thin White Duke personas, with lots of references to Nietchze, Crowely, and supermen.

Keyboards and synthesizers add positively sinister tones to a number of tracks, employed to greatest effect on "She Shook Me Cold" and "Saviour Machine". Surpirisingly, synths and keys are featured very prominitely on this album, a heavy metal album from 1971! (Bowies was several years ahead of his time, here).

A classic album, and the first taste of how awesome Bowie had the potentiol to be. He would spend the rest of the decade cranking out genious albums at an astounding, inhuman pace.

Bowie would never be this heavy again until 'Tin Machine" in '89 (which sucked, incidentally). So, if you want to hear Bowie rocking out at the peak of his abilities, this is pretty much the only place to get it.

When I first listened to this album I was amused, mystifyed and thoroughly intrigued - I had never heard anything like it before. I still haven't. It's a very weird little album in many respects, but I find it strangely addicting.

David's singing reminds me of how a cat might sound if it could sing (a cat with a nice voice, mind you). Not quite human. He uses lots of funky little vocal tricks that are a blast to hear. The songs are often humourous, but sort of dark - like Edward Gorey on nitrous oxide. Several of the songs are truly fantastic! Not a perfect album, but definitely appealing!

The booklet includes complete lyrics and lots of photos and promos from the cover session and the time period, which makes for fun viewing as you listen. The cover itself is great fun, of course (and has the delightful ability to weird people out).

I'm very fond of this album and I think most people, at the very least, would not regret the purchase. So try it out!

unlike bowie's more recognized work, 'the man who sold the world,' is a truly shocking piece of work. the songs fit together so well, in a way that i have never heard on any other album by any other artist. for those who only know the title songs from the nirvana cover (believe me, it's brilliant too), there is just so much more on this album than that single song.

the album opens with, 'width of a circle,' an angry and uncompromising (and very long!) track which layers on the guitars to the skies. this is the first album where bowie worked with legendary guitarist mick ronson, and his presence is most felt on this song. 'all the madmen,' is a disturbing trip into the realms of insanity. i've heard it's a semi-autobiographical piece, but craziness has never sounded so beautiful.

the next few songs have a fairly led zeppelin-esque sound to them, particularly the great, 'black country rock,' which is a hell of a lot of fun. 'after all,' is a depressing (but rather profound) dirge, and 'running gun blues,' although it has rather un-pc lyrics (like i care), rounds out the trio perfectly.
the next two songs are a bit forgettable, 'saviour machine,' and she shook me cold,' although the former has a great bass line. and after that, we have the marvellous title track and, 'the supermen,' one of the best songs on the album.

so this album never really lets up, and should be listened through all the way for a truly nightmarish experience.

What did I expect from this CD, supposedly David's "heavy metal" album? Not much, really. I had heard the title track before and liked it, but I had expected it to be a diamond in the rough. Boy, was I wrong. From the first few minutes of "The Width Of A Circle," I knew I would like it. "The Width Of A Circle" is a wonderfully sickening (and I really DO mean this in a good way) little 8-minute ditty which has been given me images that have been stuck in my head for days. And then comes the best of the best: "All The Madmen." From the opening "Day after day..." all the way to the refrain of "Zane, Zane, Zane, Ouvre Le Chien" at the end, this is the best Bowie song EVER! All of you that might argue with "Ziggy Stardust" or "Changes" or whatever you may have, listen to this, and your minds will be changed. Why is it the best Bowie song ever? Just listen to it, you'll discover why. On to "Black Country Rock," a pseudo mantra with a great riff in the background. Not much for lyrics, but good listening nonetheless. "After All" is a depressing little number, sounding not much unlike a funeral procession. Mercifully, it was put in the middle, so the album suffers little. "Running Gun Blues" would make nice background music for "Full Metal Jacket" if Stanley Kubrick had listened to David Bowie instead of air traffic controllers at Heathrow. One of those "kill 'em all" numbers, popularized nowadays in rap songs. He really was influential, wasn't he? It's a good listen, but a bit buried by the rest. "Saviour Machine" could have been a "Twilight Zone" episode. It's more of a tale then a song, but it's good either way. "She Shook Me Cold" is probably the reason this is known as his "heavy metal" album. Mick Ronson puts himself through the ringer on this one. Dave's tale of some kind of sadomasochistic encounter, one that ought to make guitarist bow down and worship Mick Ronson as a messiah (a "leper messiah, if you will). "The Man Who Sold The World" is a nice song, which has been covered to great success twice. The first was by few-hit wonder Lulu ("To Sir With Love," "The Man With The Golden Gun"--the songs, not the movies), and it became her biggest British hit. The second was by rock-legend Kurt Cobain, who performed it live on "MTV's Unplugged" and on the last Nirvana album. Aside from the covers, though, the song is great, with the music staying in your head for days. And finally, "The Supermen." With a guitar riff borrowed from none other then a 17-year old JIMMY PAGE (who David met in one of his early pre-fame bands, the Mannish Boys), this one'll be remembered for it's music more then it's lyrics. And it's final outro provides a great coda for the album (which lacked on the 1990 Ryko version, where it was followed by "Bombers," a bonus track). This album was, for some reason, left out of most reviewers minds. In a recent listing of Bowie's Top 12, it wasn't even close. But trust me on this one, his other albums may be FAMOUS, this this one is a CLASSIC.

This is a must own for anyone interested in David Bowie's work. David Bowie trailblazed many uncharted areas, taking risks with a great passion and creativity. This album has incredible bass lines working perfectly with Bowie's voice and instrumentation. The lyrics and melodies make you want to give up song writing, never mind the great guitar lines. I am a huge David Bowie fan, so I'll I can say is how fricking awesome he is. If you are interested in people in music that defined sounds that you hear repeated today, then you should definitely check this out. This album is well rounded considering that it gets heavy at parts and at the same time has quiet well thought out parts intertwining all together. Good luck not losing your socks over this album.

David Bowie made at least 7 masterpiece albums in his career, but nothing sounds quite like "The Man Who Sold the World". It's dark, it's crunchy, it's wild, and oddly whimsical. His vocals are untamed. Mick Ronson's guitar sounds like hot sex. The rhythms are being held together by a string. But it's all great.

This album definitely doesn't get as much attention as "Ziggy Stardust" or "Aladdin Sane", and it's hard to see why. Every track is fantastic. In my opinion, this is one of the greatest rock albums ever made. If you love Bowie, or are just into rock in general, give it a listen!

Mick Ronson's guitar, The most under-rated guitarist ever. Bowie's best work was, in my and many peoples opinion, were the years he had Ronson as his guitarist. This cd along with honky dory, Ziggy, Pin-ups and Aladdin Sane were his best. After that, no more Ronson and nothing was ever as good. Bowie still had a lot of great stuff but something was always missing.