Space Oddity [ENHANCED] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED]

David Bowie

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 28, 1999)
• Original Release Date: 1972
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced, Original recording reissued
• Label: Virgin Records Us
• ASIN: B00001OH7M
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,632 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
This 1969 release features David Bowie's first hit single, "Space Oddity," and sets the tone for the spacey Ziggy Stardust to come. But other than the title track, Space Oddity isn't a glam-rock album. For that phase, one must move ahead to 1970's The Man Who Sold the World. These folk-based tracks largely present Bowie as a surrealist singer-songwriter. The uncharacteristically bitter and sarcastic "Letter to Hermione" is the most impassioned track here, presenting, as it does, the angry side of this master of cool. While still earlier recordings are noted for their Anthony Newley affectations, Space Oddity is where the Bowie myth begins to take shape. --Rob O'Connor

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The half-folk music, half glam rock album., October 9, 1999

By	Marc-David Jacobs (Claremont, California, United States of America) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Bowie's previous album "David Bowie" (1967) was his last folk music album. Bowie's next album "The Man Who Sold The World" (1971) was his first glam rock album. Right in between the two was "Space Oddity" (1969). Bowie managed to get the best of both worlds into this 10-song masterpiece. "Space Oddity," the title track, was his first commercial success (much due to the fact that it tied into the moon landing), and a nice yarn at that. Not one of his greatest, but it paved the way for songs like "Changes." "Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed" is just about as close to glam as he gets on this one, with about 3 minutes of guitar solo at the end. "(Don't Sit Down)" is the little insert which, like "Her Majesty" from The Beatles' "Abbey Road," seems almost as an afterthought. However, unlike "Her Majesty," this is quite good for all its 40 seconds. It's main flaw is that it could ONLY exist at 40 seconds. Any more, and it wouldn't be as nice. "Letter To Hermione" is his bitter plea to his recently departed (left, not dead) girlfriend Hermione Farthingale. Not much of a song, but the end ("He treats you well"/"He brings you out in style"..."And when you kiss it's something new"/"But did you ever call my name just by mistake?") is good enough to make just about any girl come back (don't you think she wishes she did, now?). "Cygnet Committee" is the grand gem of this album. 9 and a half minutes long, and great for every second of it. It weaves a talk good enough for a novel and the end brings to mind every great plea of human history, from Patrick Henry to Martin Luther King, Jr. "Janine" is a nice little steel guitar rockabilly number, which would probably go over with the Garth Brooks crowd even today. As a footnote, it's also one of those multi-decade numbers...as song from the '60s, with a sound like the '70s, in a film about the '80s, made in the '90s ("Whatever" (1998). "An Occasional Dream" is another about the failed dreams about his relationship with Hermione...much better then "Letter To Hermione." It's one that takes a while before you like it, though. "Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud" sounds like something from a Disney movie in more ways then one. But, the thing that strikes you most about it is the grand sound, which sounds like a national philharmonic orchestra. The song is great too, another nice bit about freedom. "God Knows I'm Good" is to his folk music days what "Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed" was to his glam rock days. Sounds so folky, it sounds like a leftover from the '60s. But, if you listen to the plot, it really does typify what folk music was all about...plot...social commentary. A nice simple story good enough for a short story. The title does a nice little twist at the end, good stuff. "Memory Of A Free Festival" is one of his earliest hippie songs, which were later perfected on "Hunky Dory" (1971). With an end refrain borrowed from "Hey Jude" and "Give Peace A Chance," this is the perfect song to end this album, sticking in your mind and making you want to listen to the album all over again. And, believe me, if you're a real Bowie fan, you'll want to. However, and there is a however, if this is going to be your first Bowie album, your making a big mistake. Go over and pick up "The Best Of David Bowie 1969/1974," then "The Best Of David Bowie 1974/1979." If you like those, you'll LOVE this.

Best wishes, Marc-David Jacobs ([e-mail])

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dated, but Charming, November 4, 2005

By	Thomas D. Ryan "American Hit Network" (New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Somewhere between the Summer of Love and the reign of Ziggy Stardust, a lad named David Jones was breaking away from stage-driven theatrical music and trying to define a new image for himself. In 1969, he finally hit, with a strangely naïve but engrossing song entitle "Space Oddity". The lyrics showed very little in the knowledge of space travel, but spoke volumes about the inherent loneliness of an age when such a thing was accomplished and blithely accepted by the public at large. David Bowie (as he has dubbed himself) was `on the map', so to speak. America would need to wait a few more years before Bowie would conquer our shores in the guise of Lady Stardust, but his imprint was profound enough for this late 60's timepiece to see the light of day some time in 1972.
At the time, Space Oddity (the album, not the song) seemed to suffer a bit from its lack of timeliness. The album betrayed Bowie's affinity toward Dylan, if not openly, than certainly in subtler ways. The wordplay of "Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed" and "Cygnet Committee" simply could not have existed without Dylan's influence. For fans of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, this was an anachronism of the worst kind, a songwriting foible that Bowie had yet to overcome. Seen from today's perspective, however, this album has managed to survive quite nicely. Besides the title track, songs like "Janine" and "God Knows I'm Good" hold up as pleasant, if not particularly significant pop music. Believe it or not, the album even contains a blues-based jam (the afore-mentioned "Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed") that sounds more contemporary now than it did then!
Throughout his career, Bowie has toyed with his image, thus forcing his audience to think, or at least react, to his changes. "Space Oddity" presents an opportunity for fans to hear Bowie as an `unwashed' young man, searching for his first truly successful identity. It might not appeal to everyone, but anybody who has an appreciation for Bowie's ability to morph himself into various shapes will certainly find themselves fascinated by his first attempts at becoming a rock star. B+ Tom Ryan

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Good Album., May 23, 2003

By	Madame O´Brien (Iceland) - See all my reviews

Perhaps no masterpiece but Space Oddity Bowie's second release was a pretty good album. Good combination of Folk,Psychadelic and Rock. Although called Space Oddity after the first track on the album also Bowie's first hit single the album itself is far from being Spacey or strange. David obviously was very influenced by Dylan and others and he probably showed more his influence then himself on the album ( sort of like Lenny Kravitz) and perhaps that's the reason why so many music critics have overlooked Space Oddity ( originally titled Man of Sound or music or whatever). This album is by no means a masterpiece but it is good nevertheless.