David Bowie wrote this strange and schizophrenic followup to 'Ziggy Stardust' while touring America and collected clutches of sad remains into an avant-garde doo-wop glam classic. Once again, Bowie worked with producer and engineer Ken Scott at Trident Studios in London; and RCA Studios in New York and Nashville. The sessions featured David Bowie on production, arrangements, guitar, harmonica, keyboards, saxophone, and vocals; Mick Ronson on arrangements, guitar, piano, and vocals; Trevor Bolder on bass; Mick "Woody" Woodmansey on drums; with Mike Garson on piano; Ken Fordham on saxophone; Brian "Bux" Wilshaw on saxophone and flute; Linda Lewis, Juanita "Honey" Franklin, and G.A. MacCormack on backing vocals.
Bowie considers: "'Aladdin Sane', that’s me having a go at trying to redefine Ziggy, and making him what people wanted. The 'Ziggy Stardust' album told the whole story. There was nothing more to say. And I knew when I was making 'Aladdin Sane' that the bottom had just fallen out of the whole idea. That was a tough period and I felt for the first time and the only time like I was working for somebody else. Yeah, Aladdin Sane was kind of a sellout ... A person called Aladdin Sane, Aladdin is really just a track. The album was written in America. The numbers were not supposed to form a concept album, but looking back on them, there seems to be definite linkage from number to number. There's no order; they were written in different cities, and there's a general feeling on the album which at the moment I can't put my finger on. It’s a feeling I've never yet produced on an album; I think it’s the most interesting album that I've written, musically as interesting as any of the things I've written. 'Drive in Saturday' is one of the more commercial numbers. I think everybody wants another 'Jean Genie' but we're bringing out 'Drive in Saturday' as a single...I don't think Aladdin is as clearly cut and defined a character as Ziggy was. Ziggy was meant to be clearly cut and well defined with areas for interplay, whereas Aladdin is pretty ephemeral. He's also a situation as opposed to just being an individual. I think he encompasses situations as well as just being a personality."
Garson reflects on his piano contributions to the sessions: "I've had more communication in the last twenty-six years about that one solo than the eleven albums I've done on my own, the six that I've done with another group that I'm co-leader of, hundreds of pieces I've done with other people and the 3,000 pieces of music I've written to date. I don't think there's been a week in those twenty-six years that have gone by without someone, somewhere, asking me about it! ... I did tell Bowie about the avant-garde thing. When I was recording the famous ‘Aladdin Sane’ track for Bowie, it was just two chords, an A and a G chord, and the band was playing very simple English rock and roll. And Bowie said: “play a solo on this.” I had just met him, so I played a blues solo, and then he said: 'No, that’s not what I want.' And then I played a latin solo. Again, Bowie said: 'No no, that’s not what I want.' He then continued: 'You told me you play that avant-garde music. Play that!' And I said: 'Are you sure? ‘Cause you might not be working anymore!' (laughter). So I did the solo that everybody knows today, in one take. And to this day, I still receive emails about it. Every day. I always tell people that Bowie is the best producer I ever met, because he lets me do my thing."
'Aladdin Sane' hit number eighty-nine in France, twenty in Canada, seventeen in the US, eleven in Norway, seven in Australia, and became his first number one album in the UK. Bowie reveals: "Aladdin Sane was Ziggy (the character) meeting fame...a subjective Ziggy talking about America, my interpretation of what America means to me...Wanting to be up on stage performing my songs, but on the other hand not really wanting to be on those buses with all those strange people...so Aladdin Sane was split down the middle..." The iconic cover art reflected the duality with a lightning bolt across his face.
http://www.davidbowie.com/
'Aladdin Sane' was a play on "a lad insane", which Bowie says was a reflection of his brother's Terry's mental illness as well as "about young people, just before the two wars, wanting to go and screw girls and kill foreigners."
Watching him dash away
Swinging an old bouquet of dead roses
Sake and strange divine
You'll make it
Passionate bright young things
Takes him away to war
Don't fake it
Saddening glissando strings
You'll make it
Who will love Aladdin Sane?
Battle-cries and champagne
just in time for sunrise
Who will love Aladdin Sane?
Motor sensational
Paris or maybe Hell
I'm waiting
Clutches of sad remains
Waits for Aladdin Sane
You'll make it
Who will love Aladdin Sane?
Millions weep a fountain
Just in case of sunrise
Who will love Aladdin Sane?
Will love Aladdin Sane?
Will love Aladdin Sane?
Who will love Aladdin Sane?
Millions weep a fountain
Just in case of sunrise
Who will love Aladdin Sane?
Will love Aladdin Sane?
Will love Aladdin Sane?
'Drive In Saturday' hit four in Ireland and three in the UK.
'Panic In Detroit'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR1XxIvY54c
'The Jean Jeanie' was released as a single before the album was finished. It went to number seventy-one in the US, thirty-seven in Germany, seven in the Netherlands, three in Ireland, and number two in the UK.
Small Jean Genie snuck off to the city
Strung out on lazers and slash back blazers
Ate all your razorswhile pulling the waiters
Talking bout monroe and walking on snow white
New York's a go-go and everything tastes nice
Poor little greenie, woo ho
Get back home
The jean genie lives on his back
The jean genie loves chimney stacks
Hes outrageous, he screams and he bawls
Jean genie let yourself go!
Sits like a man but he smiles like a reptile
She love him, she love him but just for a short while
She'll scratch in the sand, wont let go his hand
He says he's a beautician and sells you nutrition
And keeps all your dead hair for making up underwear
Poor little greenie, woh ho
The jean genie lives on his back
The jean genie loves chimney stacks
Hes outrageous, he screams and he bawls
Jean genie let yourself go oh
He's so simple minded he can't drive his module
He bites on the neon and sleeps in the capsule
Loves to be loved, loves to be loved
Woh ho
Woh ho
Aho jean genie lives on his back
The jean genie loves chimney stacks
And he's outrageous, he screams and he bawls
The jean genie let yourself go! go
Go
Jean genie lives on his back
Jean genie loves chimney stacks
And he's outrageous, he screams and he bawls
Jean genie let yourself go woh ho go
Go go
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEmGQYCuc6M
'Aladdin Sane'
full album:
All tracks written by David Bowie, except where noted.
Side one
1. "Watch That Man" 4:30
2. "Aladdin Sane (1913-1938-197?)" 5:06
3. "Drive-In Saturday" 4:33
4. "Panic in Detroit" 4:25
5. "Cracked Actor" 3:01
Side two
6. "Time" 5:15
7. "The Prettiest Star" 3:31
8. "Let's Spend the Night Together" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) 3:10
9. "The Jean Genie" 4:07
10. "Lady Grinning Soul" 3:54
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