In the early 90's I listen to A LOT of Bongwater (everything Shimmy Disc actually) and I always loved this song. The Double Bummer album was spun more than a few times on my trusty McIntosh with amp turned up to 11. Kramer and Magnuson nailed it in this dreamlike memory of an encounter with Ziggy and his American 2nd cousin David Byrne. Funny and weirdly true.
But it was Negativeland that made the definitive judgement in 1987 on the Escape from Noise album.
Over the course of 3 years David Bowie made some wonderful, though derivative rock n' roll albums and deserves high praise for that burst of creativity and excitement he brought to the art form. RnR is a young mans game and he rode the beast with gusto and style.
- The Man Who Sold the World (1970)
- Hunky Dory (1971)
- The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972)
- Aladdin Sane (1973)
- Pin Ups (1973)
Of these 5 records Hunky Dory is my favorite though they're all pretty good. The fifth, Pin Ups, is a compilation of covers Bowie did of his favorite (and obviously most influential) bands. If you want to hear some great Rock N' Roll then listen to the bands he covered on this record - Mid 60's Pete Townshend, Syd Barrett, Ray Davies is some of the best BritRock ever and Bowie mimicked them in the early 70's. He was a great mimic for what it's worth. To be perfectly and brutally honest - everything after this brief golden period was shit and if it had been created by some guy named Bo Davis instead of David Bowie then no one would ever know the music existed. But by that point (1974) the music was irrelevant and the persona (or personas in Bowie's case) were dominant - He was a Rock N' Roll Star and that's what mattered.
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