Pre-Space Oddity Bowie: c/d?

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A very mixed bag, in my view. We Are Hungry Men is no doubt the worst thing he ever wrote. There Is A Happy Land is pretty cringe-making as well. But London Boys is sublime, Maid Of Bond Street is good, Let Me Sleep Beside you also good... his first album is neither classic nor dud, and yet better than a lot of the things he got up to in the eighties.

― Lady Grinning Soul, Thursday, 18 September 2003 10:00 (twenty-two years ago)

I Can't Help Thinking About Me....CLASSIC!

My girl calls my name : "Hi Dave, drop in, see you around, come back
If you're this way again"

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Thursday, 18 September 2003 10:24 (twenty-two years ago)

What about "Zell Me a Goat"?

I don't understand why the young Bowie ever thought he'd become a pop star by impersonating Anthony Newley - strange young man he must have been.

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 September 2003 10:48 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm with Dr. C: Gospel According To Tony Day, Little Bombadier, Silly Boy Blue, Come And Buy My Toys, Please. Mr Gravedigger, In The Heat Of The Morning.... classic, classic, classic, classic.

Does anyone know if the even earlier (pre-Deram) King Bees / Manish Boys / Davy Joes & The Lower Third etc. stuff is any good?

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 18 September 2003 11:06 (twenty-two years ago)

You've got a habit of leaving me by Davy Jones (& the Lower Third) is a great song. Great deliverance by Young Dave, nice guitarplay. "Baby loves that way", the flipside to "You've..." is nice but not really special. "I pity the Fool" and "Take My Tip" by the Mannish Boys are in the same vein. These 4 tracks were reissued twice (I think) on a 10". Most of this material is also available on "Early On", which I intend to buy whenever, a pretty comprehensive compilation that came out in the early 90s and should be available at a reasonable price.

― willem (willem), Thursday, 18 September 2003 11:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Here's a fun game - what's the latest DB track that sounds like it COULD be pre-"SO"? "After All"? "Be My Wife"? "Seven"? (I absolutely love the fuckin' shit out of all of those btw)

― dave q, Thursday, 18 September 2003 11:45 (twenty-two years ago)

By the way, if there are any other France-based people out there, there's a two-hour Bowie special on TV tonight (France 2, 11 pm), in which he performs several tracks from the new album.

― Lady Grinning Soul, Thursday, 18 September 2003 11:59 (twenty-two years ago)

re: fun game: "A Better Future" maybe?

― willem (willem), Thursday, 18 September 2003 12:00 (twenty-two years ago)

"Most of this material is also available on "Early On", which I intend to buy whenever, a pretty comprehensive compilation that came out in the early 90s and should be available at a reasonable price."

Thanks Willem. I bought "The Deram Anthology 1966-68" a while back (replacing an early '80's budget vinyl anthology of much of the same stuff!) but for some reason I just seem to keep prodding "Early On" suspiciously with sticks, rather than ever actually buying it.

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 18 September 2003 12:01 (twenty-two years ago)

'letter to hermione'.

― piscesboy, Thursday, 18 September 2003 12:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Here's a fun game - what's the latest DB track that sounds like it COULD be pre-"SO"? "After All"? "Be My Wife"? "Seven"? (I absolutely love the fuckin' shit out of all of those btw)

Sons of the Silent Age!

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 September 2003 13:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Is "Wide Eyed Boy from Freecloud" pre or post Space Oddity? In any event, it's fucking brilliant.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 18 September 2003 13:40 (twenty-two years ago)

JtN to thread!

― Mooro (Mooro), Thursday, 18 September 2003 15:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Alex: I'm not sure, it was the b-side to the "Space Oddity"-single in the UK... But yes, fucking brilliant it is too.

― willem (willem), Thursday, 18 September 2003 20:08 (twenty-two years ago)

We Are Hungry Men is no doubt the worst thing he ever wrote.

Are you kidding, that weird newsperson introduction he does is insanely great (because it's so, well, bad...but ENTERTAININGLY bad).

Early On is worth it, very workmanlike, very of its time, but it's still his voice and all -- "Bars of the County Jail" will befuddle you, though. And yes, the Deram Anthology is goodness -- apparently there's a version of "Waiting for the Man" in the vaults from that period which he still hasn't given the go-ahead to see released.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 19 September 2003 02:10 (twenty-two years ago)

"Love YOu till tuesday"- compilation- some stuff of his first I believe, and some singles or rares or whatever- total fuckin classic. Title song, Laughing Gnome, Chingaling etc. great fun.

― sucka (sucka), Friday, 19 September 2003 04:20 (twenty-two years ago)

The cheesy puns on Laughing Gnome still keep me entertained. Maybe it's because he sounds like he's really enjoying himself on the record.

Other Deram faves would be In The Heat of The Morning, Let Me Sleep Beside You, The Gospel According to Tony Day (brilliantly covered by Edwyn Collins recently), London Boys, When I Live My Dream.

― James Ball (James Ball), Friday, 19 September 2003 09:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Does anyone know who all the people on Gospel According to Tony Day are?

― Susan (Susan), Friday, 19 September 2003 10:35 (twenty-two years ago)

YOUR MIND BLOW IT BLOW IT!

― Tad (llamasfur), Saturday, 20 September 2003 02:46 (twenty-two years ago)

I 'ope yer break yer baton!

― Momus (Momus), Saturday, 20 September 2003 07:03 (twenty-two years ago)

The cheesy puns on Laughing Gnome still keep me entertained. Maybe it's because he sounds like he's really enjoying himself on the record.

I remember playing a medley of Bowie songs at a gig once, in order of the Dame's birthday, the songs being: The Bewlay Brothers/ Laughing Gnome/ Sound and Vision - ah, what memories!

― Dadaismus (Dada), Saturday, 20 September 2003 13:05 (twenty-two years ago)

... that should read in HONOUR of the Dame's birthday, ah course

― Dadaismus (Dada), Saturday, 20 September 2003 13:08 (twenty-two years ago)

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