Search - David Bowie :: Aladdin Sane

'He's outrageous, he screams and he bawls'

Pieter | Johannesburg | 08/15/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This weird follow-up to Ziggy Stardust isn't really a rock album, with the exception of Watch That Man, The Prettiest Star, Cracked Actor and The Jean Genie, four classic rock numbers of which the latter was a prelude to punk with its short, sharp riffs and inherent aggression. Songs like Time, Aladdin Sane and Lady Grinning Soul are like futuristic torch songs, mostly bleak views of the future with slow arrangements over lounge piano arrangements. His cover of Let's Spend The Night Together is superfast, dispassionate and throwaway, not an exceptional addition to his body of work but rather a tribute to 1960s pop like his Pin Ups album. Although there Aladdin Sane contains some great songs, overall it is not one that invites repeated listening to the average rock music fan apart from the aforementioned songs like The Jean Genie and The Prettiest Star. It's a work of interesting experimentation in both the lyrics and the music and quite valuable on that level, but perhaps too stylistically weird. That's why so few tracks from Aladdin Sane ever make it onto Bowie compilation albums."

" The Death of Ziggy Stardust "

Ricky In | KY | 01/12/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If stelliar musicianship is your thing, then look no further. It is all here. Mick Ronson & the Spiders From Mars with Mike Larson on all keyboards, make this one of Bowie's best lps. There is only ten songs on here, but this is a case of quality over quantity. Also features " Jene Genie "."