Customer Reviews

Pin-Ups (Mlps)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The reviews I read here call this an album of covers, which it is. But to call it that, merely that, misses the point.
Bowie has always been one to do something different, even if it is exactly the opposite of what was expected of him - something U2 has borrowed from. This album is indeed a tribute to the music that influenced Bowie during the British Invasion during the 60's, as the original LP liner notes explained. You hear The Who, The Kinks, Pink Floyd, Them... But no Beatles or Dave Clark 5. Bowie makes a very personal statement hear, not only by defying expectations of his audience as perhaps the most original songwriter of his generation, but by taking his favorite songs by the bands that influenced him and putting his stamp on them with the then-Bowie style that those bands had influenced.
When I was 16 in 1983 I would travel to Crow's Nest Records in Crest Hill, IL (long before "Crow's Nest Digital") to search their massive supply of records and other fandom paraphernalia, particularly the many U2 imports. You could get anything there - from Boomtown Rats to Soft Cell to Hüsker Dü. A staff member there noticed my selections and asked if I like Punk. "Yes." "Do you own 'Pinups'?" "What's that?" (Fearing that he was talking about some kind of bad magazine.)
He explained that Bowie's Pinups was the first Punk record, because it bridged the gap between the 60's bands like The Who and The Kinks and the Punk bands that they influenced, from Iggy to Bowie to Talking Heads to the Pistols. I don't know if I agree that it was definitely the first Punk album, anymore than I agree that Elvis' "That's Alright" was the first Rock 'n' Roll Record, but like "That's Alright", Pinups was a monumental record in my musicology. It turned me on to Bowie and then to each of the bands that Bowie saluted with Pinups, and a whole new world opened up to me beyond the Beatles and a connection was made that before bands like the Ramones and before Bowie was singing "Let's Dance" there was a music with an intense authenticity, fertile with sound that would inevitably plant itself in the hearts of musicians for generations.
Most point to Ziggy or Aladdin Sane. But this and The Man Who Sold The World have always been my favorite Bowie records. Ziggy, Sane and Diamond Dogs are right there as well, and now, with Outside and Heathen, Bowie rocks again.
Another note: This concept certainly influenced the Annie Lennox album, Medusa.

If the opening one-two punch of Rosalyn/Here Comes the Night doesn't catch you, nothing will. Bowie seemless re-invents these mid 60's swinging London songs and turns this into a true Ziggy Stardust album. At the same time he shows true respect for the songs. Listening to this disc makes you realize what a great band the Spiders were...and one of his coolest covers, too.

In 1973 David Bowie came out with an album of Covers called Pin Ups. The cover had himself and the model Twiggy dressed like Fembots from an episode of The Bionic Woman or some post Logan's Run version of clones. Anyway... most people don't remember this Bowie outing, sandwiched in between Aladin Sane and Diamond Dogs. Mostly tunes by The Who, Pretty Things and Syd's Pink Floyd, there are some cool stuff here. Rosalyn, I Can't Explain, Where Have All The Good Times Gone, Shapes Of Things & Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere. Overall a very enjoyable listen. The original Ryko re-issue had two extra tracks: Springsteen's Growin' Up & Port Of Amsterdam. Definitely worth it to find that edition.

Dig it!

This tour of sixties London was recorded just after Aladdin Sane in 1973. On Aladdin Sane Bowie did a Stones cover "Let's Spend the Night Together" which sounded pretty good but some of these covers are even better treatments of classic mod songs. Bowie kind of vamps it up on some of them but that was Bowie c. '73. I've actually heard his "I Can't Explain" on the radio and seen people scratch their head and smile at the same time as they slowly get used to the idea. (He also does the Who's "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere"). Another great one is Bowie doing Springsteens "Growin Up", which wasn't on the original Pin Ups but is on my cassette version of the album. Kinks, Pretty Things, Yardbyrds, Them even psychedelic Syd Barret's "See Emily Play". It's a great collection. Really one of the better discs from Bowies rockin period which didn't last long. This is no substitute for owning Ziggy but it's at least as good as Aladdin Sane and better than 74's disaster Diamond Dogs. After that Bowie no longer rock n rolled anymore, so if you already like 72-74 vintage Bowie you will find this an attractive addition to your collection. And don't forget that before Ziggy ever landed Bowie released a heavy piece of cold hearted metal Man Who Sold The World. A little tip for all you rock and rollers.

In 1974, I would have rated this three stars. It seemed like just a decent filler album coming on the heels of the now-classic "Stardust" and "Sane" album. Now I see, once again, Bowie and the Spiders were just ahead of it all, for "Pinups" has aged quite well decades later. Here Ziggy and the Spiders from Mars do blazing glam versions of their favorite 60's Yardbirds, Who, Pretty Things, and Floyd-etc. hits. This Virgin 24 bit mastering is a big improvent over the early 90's Ryko versions, flushing out drums and bass, but there's no extra tracks.. No Bowie collection is complete without "Pinups". Get it.

I had to write this review to correct misinformation posted by the reviewer from Auburn, AL. The songs covered on this album are, by no stretch of the imagination, '50s bebop songs.' What Bowie had in mind when recording this album was a tribute to the mid-60s British music scene, and the songs covered here include works by The Who, The Kinks, The Yardbirds, Them, and Pink Floyd, as well as a handful of other since forgotten bands.

Though, as a rule, I am not a great fan of cover versions, Bowie here does a good job of putting his particular stamp on the songs while retaining the feel of the originals. His version of 'Here Comes the Night' and 'Sorrow' are very well done, and he even pulls off a pretty Floyd-ian take on 'See Emily Play.' But the best track is his slowed-down and muscular version of The Who's 'I Can't Explain.'

Though perhaps a bit "un-Bowie" in that it lacks the art-rock originality and energy of other Bowie albums of the 1970s, Pinups is a solid album nonetheless.

Pin-Ups was dismissed as a toss-off when it was released and soon forgotten, but I loved it then and it's still one of my Bowie favorites. First, not surprisingly, Bowie displayed superb taste in his selection of 60s Brit rock--every one of these songs is an enduring classic in its own right. Then he and Mick Ronson buffed them up with that high-gloss yet stripped-down sound that made "Ziggy" such a revelation at a time when rock was getting awfully heavy and sludgy. The result is an LP that sounds fresh and timeless long after I never needed to hear great swatches of "Alladin Sane," "Diamond Dogs" and so on ever again. (What is it about art rock and prog-rock that makes them age so poorly? Is it because so much of it is overripe to begin with? I was adoring early Genesis at around the same time Pin-Ups came out, and I can't bear to listen to it now. The older I get, the more I just wanna hear three chords and a good hook in 2:30.) Harking back to the 60s in a way that prefigured (just barely) the punk 70s, Pin-Ups is a neglected early Bowie LP that really deserves rediscovery.

I remember listening to this album back in the 1970s on 8 track. The sound quality was horrible, and the tunes were all COVERS. Forgettable.
Flash forward nearly 30 years. I took a chance and bought Bowie's "Pin Ups" on CD. I haven't been the same.

This album is fantastic. I cannot stop listening to it. It's that good. Do yourself a HUGE favor and pick this one up. It really really rocks.
I cannot BELIEVE that no one has mentioned the incredible drumming of Aynlsey Dunbar on this album...Incredible. Put this one on at your next party, or throw it in with a stack of CDs and press the 'mix' option. have FUN!

This is a great album. Bowie decided to cover some of his favorites tunes. I still can remember the day I arrived home with the vinyl version, back in the early 70's and the impression I got when I played it the fist time. It was raw rock 'n roll played 20 years in the future! Today, more than 30 later, it still sounds great and revolucionary! Is one of the best records of the era and one of Bowie classics!

An oldie but goodie. He's paying homage to the songs that helped (subliminally) him find his path musically. If you're going to cover another band's music, you best try to 're-invent' the song or else it's just a bad bar band version. In all, he did a great job between song selection to production.
Let's not forget that around the time he recorded PinUps and Diamond Dogs, he was a chemical mess. Coke began run his life. And we're not talking a soft drink here.
There had been plans for years to release 'Pin Ups II' from which has been reported that he had over 60 songs in the can. Some Stooges stuff and more Velvet Underground stuff among others.
That is the album I'm waiting for.