Aladdin Sane
His first UK number one, with Mike Garson's piano at its center.
David Bowie, 1973
- Released
- 13 April 1973
- Recorded
- October 1972 to January 1973
- Studio
- Trident Studios, London, and RCA Studios, New York
- Label
- RCA
- Producer
- Ken Scott, David Bowie
- Length
- 41:32
The Jean Genie was first recorded at RCA in New York on 6 October 1972, and Drive-In Saturday was cut there in December. The sessions resumed in London in January 1973. The pianist Mike Garson's jazz background steered the album. It spent five weeks at number one in the UK and reached number 17 in the US. It has sold about 4.6 million copies. The Jean Genie reached number two in the UK and Drive-In Saturday number three.
Reviews were divided. Pitchfork's Wolk called it effectively Ziggy Stardust II. The New York Times found it the most expressive, if still uneven, album of his career, while the NME thought it oddly unsatisfying.
Track listing
- Watch That Man4:30
- Aladdin Sane (1913-1938-197?)5:15
- Drive-In Saturday4:38
- Panic in Detroit4:30
- Cracked Actor3:01
- Time5:10
- The Prettiest Star3:28
- Let's Spend the Night Together3:10
- The Jean Genie4:06
- Lady Grinning Soul3:53
Personnel
- David Bowie vocals, guitar, harmonica, saxophone, synthesizers, Mellotron
- Mick Ronson guitar, piano, backing vocals
- Trevor Bolder bass
- Mick Woodmansey drums
- Mike Garson piano
- Ken Fordham saxophone
- Brian Wilshaw saxophone, flutes
- Juanita Franklin, Linda Lewis, G.A. MacCormack backing vocals
More from David Bowie
Space Oddity (1969), Hunky Dory (1971), The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972), Diamond Dogs (1974), Young Americans (1975), Station to Station (1976), Low (1977), "Heroes" (1977), Lodger (1979), Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980), Let's Dance (1983), Heathen (2002), The Next Day (2013), Blackstar (2016)
Sources
- Aladdin Sane, Wikipedia