FEATURE:
The Icon Is Born
IN THIS PHOTO: David Bowie as Aladdin Sane (eyes open, 1973)/PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Duffy/the Duffy Archive
Why Aladdin Sane Is David Bowie’s Most Important Album
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THIS is one of those pieces that is not provoked by…
IN THIS PHOTO: David Bowie/Aladdin Sane (Contact Sheet, 1973)/PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Duffy/the Duffy Archive
an anniversary or something timely - but I have been thinking a lot about David Bowie and his extraordinary impact on music. I often muse about modern music and wonder if, at any time, we will witness a rare creature such as Bowie. He seemed to arrive from another planet; one where there were no rules and boundaries; a fearless and always-surprising entity who, over the course of his career, changed music and inspired scores. He remains that rarest of musicians: a unique and untouchable figure. When he died (in 2016); I was sad but thought to myself: there will never be anyone like him in anyone’s lifetime. Maybe that is a rash and all-sweeping statement but think about music now and the ‘characters’ we have now. Who is there that shifts music on and evolves so much? Who do we have that can beguile with their image, music and personality? I think we will have stars and icons but nothing on the same plain as David Bowie. I often, too, wonder how many artists you can look at any break their career into stages. There was that incredible ‘Berlin period’ where we saw Low (1977), “Heroes” (1977) and Lodger (1979). There was the wonderful one-two of Diamond Dogs (1974) and Young Americans (1975) where Bowie shifted his sonic and visual focus: going from post-apocalyptic and Glam-inspired (Diamond Dogs) to an American-influenced, Soul-tinged album in Young Americans.
IMAGE CREDIT: Getty Images
Maybe the late-1980s/early-1990s was not the most successful and consistent period for Bowie but his ‘recent’ works – 2002-2016 – showed the master had not lost any of his magic and brilliance. I am not sure whether you can call that period ‘A Rose Revival’ or something else but, look at certain bits of his career and there are definite phases and themes. Many quibble as to which David Bowie album is the greatest. Maybe Low, Hunky Dory; Station to Station and “Heroes” will be wrestling for that top spot but I’d like to introduce a fifth guest to the table: Aladdin Sane. Talk about David Bowie ‘The Icon’ and the image that stares at one from Aladdin Sane’s cover is a spacey, mysterious and beautiful figure. In many ways it is the reincarnation and evolution of Ziggy Stardust. I pose the question at the top of this article – as to whether Aladdin Sane is Bowie’s most important work – as it seemed to be that zenith of that early phase. Bowie would go onto record wonderful albums and enjoy a consistent run of hits – 1974-1977 saw five albums released and there was barely a missed step in the pack – and there was a time when nobody could compete with him. It wasn’t until 1970 that David Bowie started to get into the public consciousness.
IMAGE CREDIT: Getty Images
The Man Who Sold the World (1970) is regarded as the start of Bowie’s ‘classic period’ and when he started to hit his stride. That album contains incredible material and some debate when Glam/Glam-Rock was truly born. Many say it was when Marc Bolan/T. Rex appeared on Top of the Pops performing Ride a White Swan in December of 1970 whilst wearing glitter. There is a school of thought that suggests David Bowie heralded the birth of Glam. Certainty, he was a pivotal force and The Man Who Sold the World helped popularise and expose this new and wonderful style of music. The 1960s brought fashion changes and style changes but nothing quite like Glam. With Marc Bolan daubed in glitter and projecting this almost mystical figure on the stage; David Bowie was growing into this true and original beast who, like Bolan, walked on the more imaginative and sexual side of the road. The Man Who Sold the World hinted at what Bowie would become and truly caught the critical imagination – his first couple of efforts were quite well received but few raved about him. The wheels were truly turning and 1971’s Hunky Dory sort of came out of nowhere! It is a vast array of themes and styles fused together. There are the contrasts of sexuality and class; Bowie sweeping between kitsch and refined and this amazing confidence running throughout.
IMAGE CREDIT: Getty Images
Many consider Hunky Dory David Bowie’s most important work because it helped open his music to the world at large. Bowie, on the album’s cover, saw Marlene Dietrich’s influence come through – it was captured by Terry Pastor and designed by George Underwood. It is not his most challenging musical palette but, in lyric terms, it confirmed what would come and who Bowie would be. Changes investigated artistic transformation and evolution – something personal and important to Bowie – and musical heroes (The Velvet Underground and Bob Dylan were given tribute on the record) to legendary Life on Mars. His most solid and eclectic collection (up until that point); songs such as Changes, Life on Mars and Kooks are considered staples and fan favourites. Bowie himself considered Hunky Dory one of his most important. He was afforded an actual audience and people were directly responding to music and communicating that. A lot of Hunky Dory’s acclaim did not arrive until 1972 when The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars arrived. Bowie had been experimenting with characters and personas up until that point but here was the man creating his own world; a new figure that he could embody and speak through. The concept, loose as it was, was this fictional, androgynous bisexual Rock star who was a messenger for extraterrestrial beings.
IMAGE CREDIT: Getty Images
Bowie said the album was (about a) story that didn’t really take place; fragments he randomly dropped together and, as such, you could listen to in any mood and would not be led by a strict concept. Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, essentially, could be the last band on Earth. The ill-fated hero, Ziggy Stardust, comes to Earth and wins the minds and hearts of teens; scares their parents and becomes this revered figure. He, by the closing of the album, falls victim to his own fame and, whilst not on the planet, is kept in the hearts and souls of his disciples. The reason why I need to make a distinction between ‘best’ and ‘most important’ albums is because many would say The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is David Bowie’s best album – I argue Aladdin Sane must be considered as his most important. A lot of critics, when the album came out, were impressed but not really completely on board. They could recognise the quality of the work and the inventiveness throughout but nothing like it has ever come before. Even during a time when Glam was around and you had these wild and extroverted performers like Marc Bolan; music was acclimatising to this new wave and there was something alien about David Bowie and this new persona.
Certainly; in terms of creative and personal leaps, it took a lot of people by shock. Consider the rather ordinary and relatable figure that we saw on the cover of David Bowie (1967) and, in a way, you get a very typical and normal human – looking a bit like Scott Walker, in fact! Maybe there was a feeling this new sound and look was pretentious but Bowie executed it perfectly and with huge confidence. I feel The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is considered an enduring masterpiece is because of the acclaim it has accrued after its release. A lot of people responded to the record years down the tracks and, perhaps, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was light years ahead of its time. Bowie was taking a big leap and risk – although he would never think so – and it is testament to his natural abilities and instincts The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars resonated and is viewed as this classic record. I feel Aladdin Sane is his most important work is because it was the first time in his career Bowie was coming from a position of creative and personal strength.
Hunky Dory proved successful and popular but it was the aftermath of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars that provided the most willing springboard. His sixth studio album came with this expectation and waiting eyes. Bowie could not very well do another Ziggy-type album and continue the concept he explored before. He could not return to a more traditional and homely look or explore the styles/ideas he did in the first few years of his career. Lesser artists could have panicked and made a mistake; released an album too quickly or taken too long to produce anything. David Bowie, at the time, was a star and was being accepted as this originator and unique personality. Some critics at the time (1973) felt Aladdin Sane lacked the intimacy of Hunky Dory and was less intense than The Man Who Sold the World. This was an understandable vantage considering how little material Bowie had put out until that point. Look back at his entire career now and you can see that he was always moving and changing courses. Aladdin Sane is essential and influential because of what could have been. Instead of producing a copy of his previous moves or going off the rails; Aladdin Sane is an essential, urgent and instantly memorable album that captures you the moment you hear it.
IMAGE CREDIT: Robert Bateman
That sense of image and character was still in play. Maybe the character of Aladdin Sane was less ostentatious than Ziggy Stardust but the cover alone has accrued interest and speculation. Shot by Brian Duffy, it is this enduring and iconic image that seemed to take Bowie and his work to another level. Seeds had been planted during the previous album regarding image and the idea of David Bowie as this otherworldly figure and true chameleon but, to me, Aladdin Sane was when it was truly cemented. In this article; Chris Duffy - the son of Brian Duffy – talks about the impact of Aladdin Sane and that cover image:
“Still, he’s well aware of the cultural impact the sessions they conducted together continue to have. “Duffy’s pictures of David are so iconic,” Chris says. “Eventually we have all got to pass on, but I would guess that David’s legacy will be the Aladdin Sanepicture. It has become a cultural icon. Several years ago I started calling it the Mona Lisa of Pop. I think it is quite befitting – there isn’t really an image that is as ubiquitous. It’s been on used fridge magnets, caps, calendars, t-shirts, lighters, beer mats and it is quite extraordinary, you know? You can go somewhere like a market in Goa and you will find people selling rip off Aladdin Sane T-shirts”.
The importance of Aladdin Sane cannot be underestimated. It was the first release from an artist who had transformed from this promising and exciting figure to someone who was a true star.
The flirtation with image and personas continued and showed The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was no fluke and, in fact, there was a lot more of this to come from David Bowie. Aladdin Sane was the moment David Bowie killed off Ziggy Stardust. It was the transformation from the somewhat playful and charming figure to something darker and more disturbed. Beforehand, you could hear a lot of British influenced on Bowie but Aladdin Sane was the master embracing America and what it held – from seedy and salacious elements to new sounds his audience had not heard. Bowie could have played it safe or kept on the same course people were familiar with but Aladdin Sane as this first real leap and shift. Bowie would bring in America music and culture on albums like Young Americans and Station to Station – in many ways, Aladdin Sane was this awakening and portal into a new nation; taking his music in another direction and influencing what he would become. In 2016; Rolling Stone ran a piece that investigated the death of Ziggy and the birth of this much more intense and intimidating figure:
“A sinister influence, to be sure. Aladdin Sane is a harder, nastier, gaudier album than Ziggy Stardust, written on the road and immersed in the decadence and sleaze of American culture. Each song on the LP is listed with the place that supposedly inspired it: “Watch That Man” in New York, “Drive-In Saturday” in Seattle and Phoenix, “Cracked Actor” in L.A., “Lady Grinning Soul” back in London. But everywhere he goes, he sees cheap sex and cheaper drugs. Now that he’d hustled his way into the American limelight, he wasn’t sure he liked it...
Bowie wrote the songs amid the frenzy of touring, with the working title Love Aladdin Vein. (In that same crazed year, he produced Lou Reed’s Transformer and mixed the Stooges’ Raw Power.) The music expanded as avant-jazz pianist Mike Garson joined the Spiders From Mars. (A Scientologist, Garson spent the tour trying to convert the boys in the band, adding to the general chaos.) Ronson goes for his filthiest and flashiest guitar heroics in “Panic in Detroit,” “The Jean Genie” and “Watch That Man” – the hardest rock of Bowie’s life – while Garson’s piano carries drama-queen ballads like “Lady Grinning Soul”.
Aladdin Sane was released in April 1973, three months before he famously killed off Ziggy Stardust onstage in London. As far as the rock & roll big time was concerned, Bowie had just arrived. But with Aladdin Sane, he was already restless to move on to parts unknown”.
That last paragraph – relating to a huge leap and this icon arriving – marks Aladdin Sane as a vital and hugely important work. You cannot look at an album like Aladdin Sane purely in the context of the time or a particular phase. You have to acknowledge the sound, the look; the other records of the time and where Bowie would head. 1973 was a fantastic year for music and, in many ways; Aladdin Sane seemed to incorporate a lot of elements from the best of the year. Consider the trip and imagery of The Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd) or the extravagance of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Elton John); the potency and explosion of Raw Power (The Stooges) or the variety and richness of Mott (Mott the Hoople).
IMAGE CREDIT: Getty Images
David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane stood out in a busy and eclectic year for music and propelled his music to new realms. Clash looked back on the album and how it inspired and changed the music landscape:
“The album also sacrificed the linear narrative of ‘Spiders’ in favour of a more experimental sound which saw Bowie, empowered by the production skills of Ken Scott, embrace commercially successful reinvention for the first time. ‘Watch That Man’ aggressively broke with the polish of ‘Spiders’ in favour of a Stones influenced blend of raw blues, which saw the vocal lost in a sleazy wall of sound.
Equally diverse, the title track was one of several to incorporate the piano playing of avant-garde jazz pianist Mick Garson who weaved his jazz playing into a two-minute piano solo that elevated Bowie above his peers. The sense of the otherworld is recaptured on a sleeve depicting Bowie gazing vacantly from an expanse of white nothingness while a lightning bolt slashes his face in two to conjure the schizophrenic symbolism of some faraway planet”.
‘Aladdin Sane’ had entered the UK charts at No.1 to propel Bowie from outsider to legend. However, after 18 months of touring, a cancerous exhaustion was rotting the band from the core, and following a lacklustre performance at Earls Court, Bowie seized the opportunity to amputate the festering wound while burning Ziggy in to the conscience of rock iconography. In the final moments of an arousing performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in July 1973 the falling star made his most provocative statement yet. Set against the backdrop of ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide’, the dramatic announcement of "that will be the last show we ever do" reverberated around a silent hall to send shockwaves of disbelief through an atmosphere thick with distilled emotion”.
Bowie is synonymous with reinvention and this was the first time we had seen this happen. Many saw a lot of Aladdin Sane points as to what he would achieve with Diamond Dogs – a grittier sound and one that is a bit post-apocalyptic in terms of themes and tones – and, as such, its impact and importance cannot be undermined:
“‘Aladdin Sane’ bridged the gap between ‘Ziggy Stardust’ and ‘Diamond Dogs’. With advanced orders of over 100,000 the album finally clarified Bowie’s position as an established rock ‘n’ roll star. In maintaining his fan base while diverting to more experimental territory Bowie was confident he could hold a crowd and set the trend. Crucially this period saw the beginning of Bowie as pop auteur. Brimming with self-belief after having the audacity to kill off Ziggy, he went on to reinvent himself time and time again, becoming a key innovator and changing the face of the musical and cultural landscape throughout the seventies”.
Ultimate Classic Rock looked at the influence of Aladdin Sane and how it helped predict where Bowie would go and what would define his music:
“But Bowie also dug deeper into the avant-garde and jazz shadings that would fuel some of his later records (see the title track). In addition to the music's legacy, the album's cover art became one of Bowie's most iconic images. The lightning bolt that splits his face in half was partly inspired by the way Bowie felt he was being pulled in different directions during this hectic time in his life, and a perfect visual complement to the album's title pun. More than all of this, Aladdin Sane clinched Bowie's standing in the big leagues”.
I think about Bowie and, in addition to sonic shifts and these distinct ‘periods’ (geographical and genre); you cannot escape the fashion and iconic looks Bowie adopted until his death in 2016. In many ways, Aladdin Sane is one of the most enduring and inspiring albums because of that iconic lightning bolt on the cover. The Telegraph (their fashion director Lisa Armstrong penned it) wrote a piece regarding the impact and popularity of that lightning bolt look:
“Aladdin Sane was everywhere in 1973, so ubiquitous, he had even infiltrated my school - Dorchester Grammar, a rural establishment hitherto impervious to fashion and, so it seemed to me, anything colourful. Like a West Country kabuki tribe, the girls in the fifth and sixth form marched arm-in-arm (forbidden) down the corridors with their spiky orange hair-cuts (not forbidden, but only because the rules had yet to catch up), alabaster faces and tweezered-to-the-brink-of-extinction eyebrows in tribute to their hero, terrifying my fellow first years and me.
And the list of beneficiaries of Bowie inspiration goes on. The New Romantics, New Order, Madonna, Kate Bush, Kate Moss, Gaga, Florence, Jean Paul Gaultier, Balmain and many more, have openly paid homage to his influence on their style and careers.
Without doubt however, it’s Bowie’s androgyny that has had the most lasting footprint. Unlike other agents of glam rock, Bowie’s gender fluidity managed to shock because it wasn’t mere posturing. While the members of Slade and Sweet went out of their way to demonstrate their machismo, Bowie, with breath-taking insouciance, flouted his bisexuality”.
Maybe there are finer and more complete works than Aladdin Sane – one thinks of “Heroes” and Low – but there are none, in my estimation, that as important (in Bowie’s career) than the 1973-released gem. Such was the importance and popularity of Aladdin Sane; it would be a little while before Bowie created another masterful album. 1973’s Pin Ups is not considered an essential Bowie release whilst Diamond Dogs (1974) is brilliant but flawed (and his first album not to feature any of the Spiders from Mars). Many people focus on the look and iconography of Aladdin Sane and overlook the rich bouquet of music on there. Drive-In Saturday and Cracked Actor are tremendous cuts from the first side whilst The Jean Genie and Lady Grinning Soul end the album spectacularly. Critical reaction from the U.S. was stronger than it was in the U.K. and it meant his popularity there grew enormously – which, in turn, inspired his future direction and popularity. The fact Aladdin Sane is forty-five and still gathering huge acclaim and investigation shows how important and impactful it was – and how it signalled the rise and birth of an artist like no other! You can argue as to which Bowie album is the king but, if you think about importance and the transformation from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars; Aladdin Sane has to be in your thoughts and its relevance acknowledged. Not only does the imagery and look of the album endure and influence but the rawer and harder-hitting sounds of Bowie not only inspired the man himself but generations of artists. We always here that thing about icons and the new breed: they do not make them like this anymore! In some cases that is a bit of an over-exaggeration but, in the instance of David Bowie and the wonder of Aladdin Sane; I feel that statement is…
IN THIS PHOTO: David Bowie, Aladdin Sane (album cover, 1973)/PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Duffy/the Duffy Archive
VERY apt indeed.