Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Bowie, David
Label: Philips Records
Released: 1969
Running time: 45:13
Rating: 3.5/5
Bowie’s self-titled second solo album, reissued in 1972 for the international market under the better-known name »Space Oddity«, is without a doubt one of the most important records of his incredibly rich musical career. It catapulted him from a provincial London, almost street-level artist into the ranks of the most promising British acts of the late sixties, even if a few more years still separated him from superstardom and bigger commercial success. Thanks to the legendary title track, which was inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s film ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ and played on British TV stations during the first human Moon landing, David scored his first commercial hit, even beyond the borders of the United Kingdom.
In less than a year since his historically interesting but, compared to what came later, naively simple debut, David thoroughly overhauled his musical and visual image too, and under the influence of the musical trends of the day he waded into progressive rock and folk waters, with a not-insignificant dash of psychedelia. The key to this sonic shift was his collaboration with the then little-known keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who later reached legendary status as a member of Yes, and (even more importantly) with bassist/producer Tony Visconti. The latter, as producer and occasional musician, worked on some of the best achievements of David’s career, and Visconti stayed loyal to Bowie as a producer right through his final creative years. Bowie caused no small amount of confusion among audiences and critics of the time with the album’s title: at first it was named the same as his debut, while in the US it came out as »Man of Words/Man of Music«. Only later, in the seventies, when Bowie was already a global star, did it come out as »Space Oddity«, and that’s what most people call it to this day.
The title evergreen, inspired by the 1969 Moon landing, is a clear example of Bowie flirting with space rock, even though at its core it’s a prog/psychedelic rock tune with lush orchestral arrangements and Wakeman’s Mellotron swells. Bowie masterfully fused the main acoustic guitar melody with his unique voice and lyrics about a fictional British astronaut, Major Tom, who ends up forever cut off from ground control on Earth and is lost for good in the depths of space aboard his spacecraft. With this unforgettable evergreen, Bowie wanted to satirize the British space program, which hadn’t achieved any noticeable success when it came to conquering the Moon.
The lyrics supposedly also hide an allusion to the use of psychedelic, hallucinogenic substances, while Tom’s space trip is more or less a metaphor for being ‘stoned’ and socially alienated. Bowie’s fascination with science fiction, uncharted space and aliens was far from over, which he’d go on to prove many more times with songs like »Life On Mars?«, »Moonage Daydream«, »Starman«, »Loving the Alien«, »Halo Spaceboy« and »Dancing Out in Space«, to name just a few. And he returned to Major Tom once more in 1980 on the classic »Ashes to Ashes«.
The rest of the songs on the album weren’t as interesting as the opening hit, since they didn’t reach its artistic depth, but you can’t say of any of them that it lacked a certain specific artistic value, which became pretty standard practice for Bowie throughout his career. »Letter To Hermione«, which Bowie dedicated to his ex-girlfriend, is a fine example of a tasteful folk ballad with a love-themed lyric that radiates Bowie’s extraordinary romanticism. Also deserving a special mention is the prog-folk experiment »Cygnus Committe«, which at almost ten minutes is one of the longest songs in Bowie’s career. Here Bowie once again touches in the lyrics on one of his favorite (dystopian) themes: the self-proclaimed ‘superman’ or ‘messiah’, with his rise and fall, which he’d go on to take to truly epic and glamorous extremes later in his career. »An Occasional Dream« is a fun demonstration of folk-rock wit on flute with plenty of vocal improvisation, while most of the harmonies are built on acoustic guitar. The whole album was markedly acoustic-leaning, with minimal electric guitar touches played by Tim Reinwick, which changed radically in the very next year of Bowie’s career.
Among the more interesting compositions are also the orchestral »Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud« and the closing folk-psychedelic-rock swansong »Memory of a Free Festival«, which was David’s somewhat cynical tribute to one of the hippie music festivals he’d attended as a performer. The lyrics, in which you can’t miss the sarcasm and disappointment with the increasingly notorious hippie scene of the day, are paired with a pleasant, ethereal melody. The later single version is considerably punchier and more interesting, with the lead guitar played by a special guest, the future glam rock icon Marc Bolan (T. Rex), with whom Bowie had a kind of friendly rivalry at the time. That version of »Memory of a Free Festival« already featured two members of Bowie’s future (and most famous) backing band, The Spiders From Mars: guitarist Mick Ronson, who played rhythm guitar, and drummer Mick ‘Woody’ Woodmansey.
With »Space Oddity« (the album and the title track), Bowie, bursting at the seams with innovative musical ideas, proved that he was someone to be reckoned with in the years ahead. Roughly half of the songs on the album were still firmly rooted in the sixties, while the rest already hinted at a much more ambitious direction to come. David, meanwhile, was already reaching for the next step in his constant sonic evolution. Before long he started looking for a serious band with which he could develop a much harder sound built on electric guitar, while waving goodbye to the acoustic-psychedelic direction that dominated »Space Oddity«. Once he started building a new lineup around Visconti, guitar master Ronson and drummer Woodmansey, the first cornerstone was laid for Bowie’s classic backing band and for the later art rock/glam rock innovations and big successes.
This review is dedicated to the memory of David Bowie (1947-2016).
Lineup
David Bowie – vocals, 12-string guitar, acoustic guitar, stylophone, organ, kalimba
Rick Wakeman – Mellotron, harpsichord, keyboards
Terry Cox – drums
Tim Renwick- electric guitar
Keith Christmas – acoustic guitar
Mick Wayne – guitar
Tony Visconti – bass guitar, flute, recorder
Herbie Flowers – bass guitar
Benny Marshall and friends – harmonica
Paul Buckmaster – cello
Production
Tony Visconti
Track list
1. Space Oddity (5:15)
2. Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed (6:55)
3. (Don’t Sit Down) (0:39)
4. Letter to Hermione (2:28)
5. Cygnet Committee (9:33)
6. Janine (3:18)
7. An Occasional Dream (2:51)
8. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (4:45)
9. God Knows I’m Good (3:13)
10. Memory of a Free Festival (7:05)
