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David Bowie Young Americans Release Date: 1975 Running Time: 58:13 Label: Toshiba EMI David Bowie had dropped hints during the Diamond Dogs tour that he was moving toward R&B, but the full-blown blue-eyed soul of Young Americans came as a shock. Surrounding himself with first-rate sessionmen, Bowie comes up with a set of songs that approximate the sound of Philly soul and disco, yet remain detached from their inspirations; even at his most passionate, Bowie sounds like a commentator, as if the entire album was a genre exercise. Nevertheless, the distance doesn't hurt the album -- it gives the record its own distinctive flavor, and its plastic, robotic soul helped inform generations of synthetic British soul. What does hurt the record is a lack of strong songwriting. "Young Americans" is a masterpiece, and "Fame" has a beat funky enough that James Brown ripped it off, but only a handful of cuts ("Win," "Fascination," "Somebody up There Likes Me") comes close to matching their quality. As a result, Young Americans is more enjoyable as a stylistic adventure than as a substantive record. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide Tracks: Title Composer Time 1 Young Americans Bowie 5:11 2 Win Bowie 4:44 3 Fascination Bowie, Vandross 5:45 4 Right Bowie 4:15 5 Somebody Up There Likes Me Bowie 6:30 6 Across the Universe Lennon, McCartney 4:29 7 Can You Hear Me Bowie 5:03 8 Fame Bowie, Lennon, Alomar 4:16 Releases: Year Type Label 2007 CD Toshiba EMI 1999 CD Virgin 2002 LP Simply Vinyl 2009 LP VCT 2008 CD Toshiba EMI

Member Of: Arnold Corns Hype Davie Jones & the King Bees The Manish Boys Tin Machine More >> Similar Artists: Brian Eno Kevin Ayers Queen Lou Reed Iggy Pop More >>

Influenced By: Syd Barrett The Beatles Bob Dylan The Kinks The Spinners More >> Followers: Joan Jett Pet Shop Boys The Psychedelic Furs Queen The Runaways More >>

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