Pin Ups (album)
| Pin Ups | ||||
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| Studio album by David Bowie | ||||
| Released | 19 October 1973 | |||
| Recorded | July 1973, Château d'Hérouville, Hérouville, France | |||
| Genre | Rock, glam rock | |||
| Length | 33:42 | |||
| Label | RCA Records Rykodisc/EMI Reissue 13 July 1990 EMI/Virgin Reissue 28 September 1999 |
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| Producer | Ken Scott, David Bowie | |||
| David Bowie chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Pin Ups | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau | (B-)[2] |
| Rolling Stone | (not rated) [3] |
Pin Ups is the seventh album by David Bowie, containing cover versions of songs, released by RCA Records in 1973 (see 1973 in music). It was his last studio album with the bulk of 'The Spiders From Mars', his backing band throughout his Ziggy Stardust phase; Mick Woodmansey was replaced on drums by Aynsley Dunbar.
Pin Ups entered the UK chart on 3 November 1973 (coincidentally the same day as Bryan Ferry's covers album These Foolish Things) and stayed there for 21 weeks, peaking at #1. It re-entered the chart on 30 April 1983, this time for 15 weeks, peaking at #57. In July 1990 it again entered the chart, for one week, at #52.
A version of The Velvet Underground's "White Light/White Heat" was recorded during the sessions. It was never released; Bowie donated the backing track to Mick Ronson for his 1975 album Play Don't Worry.
The woman on the cover with Bowie is 1960s supermodel Twiggy in a photograph taken by her then-manager Justin de Villeneuve.
Contents |
[edit] Concept
Pin Ups was the first of two "1960's nostalgia" albums that Bowie had planned to release. The second, which was planned to be called "Bowie-ing Out," would have contained Bowie covering his favorite American artists, but was never recorded.[4]
In the album booklet, Bowie himself describes Pin Ups as:
"These songs are among my favourites from the '64–67' period of London. / Most of the groups were playing the Ricky-Tick (was it a 'y' or an 'i'?) -Scene club circuit (Marquee, eel pie island la-la). / Some are still with us. / Pretty Things, Them, Yardbirds, Syd's Pink Floyd, Mojos, Who, Easybeats, Merseys, The Kinks. / Love-on ya!"
[edit] Track listing
| Side one | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Rosalyn" (Originally recorded by The Pretty Things) | Jimmy Duncan, Bill Farley | 2:27 | ||||||
| 2. | "Here Comes the Night" (Notably recorded by Them) | Bert Berns | 3:09 | ||||||
| 3. | "I Wish You Would" (Notably recorded by The Yardbirds) | Billy Boy Arnold | 2:40 | ||||||
| 4. | "See Emily Play" (Originally recorded by Pink Floyd) | Syd Barrett | 4:03 | ||||||
| 5. | "Everything's Alright" (Originally recorded by The Mojos) | Nicky Crouch, John Konrad, Simon Stavely, Stuart James, Keith Karlson | 2:26 | ||||||
| 6. | "I Can't Explain" (Originally recorded by The Who) | Pete Townshend | 2:07 | ||||||
| Side two | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 7. | "Friday on My Mind" (Originally recorded by The Easybeats) | George Young, Harry Vanda | 3:18 | ||||||
| 8. | "Sorrow" (Notably recorded by The Merseys) | Feldman, Goldstein, Gottehrer | 2:48 | ||||||
| 9. | "Don't Bring Me Down" (Originally recorded by The Pretty Things) | Johnnie Dee | 2:01 | ||||||
| 10. | "Shapes of Things" (Originally recorded by The Yardbirds) | Paul Samwell-Smith, Jim McCarty, Keith Relf | 2:47 | ||||||
| 11. | "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" (Originally recorded by The Who) | Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey | 3:04 | ||||||
| 12. | "Where Have All the Good Times Gone" (Originally recorded by The Kinks) | Ray Davies | 2:35 | ||||||
| Bonus Tracks (1990 Rykodisc/EMI) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Growin' Up" (Previously unreleased; from the early Diamond Dogs sessions. Originally recorded by Bruce Springsteen) | Bruce Springsteen | 3:26 | ||||||
| 2. | "Amsterdam" (Originally recorded in French by Jacques Brel, English translation by Mort Shuman) | Jacques Brel, Mort Shuman | 3:19 | ||||||
[edit] Personnel
- David Bowie – vocals, guitar, tenor and alto saxophone, harmonica, arrangements, backing vocals, Moog synthesizer[5]
- Mick Ronson – guitar, piano, vocals, arrangements[5]
- Trevor Bolder – bass
- Aynsley Dunbar – drums
[edit] Additional personnel
- Mike Garson – piano, organ, harpsichord, electric piano[5]
- Ken Fordham – baritone saxophone
- G.A. MacCormack – backing vocals
- Ron Wood – guitar on "Growin' Up"
[edit] Production personnel
- David Bowie – producer
- Ken Scott – producer
- Dr. Toby Mountain – mastering engineer (1990)
- Jonathan Wyner – mastering assistant (1990)
- Peter Mew – mastering engineer (1999)
- Nigel Reeve – mastering engineer (1999)
[edit] Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Peak Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | UK Album Charts | 1[6] |
| 1973 | Billboard Pop Albums | 23[7] |
| 1973 | Norwegian album Charts | 8 |
| 1973 | Australian Kent Report album Charts | 4 |
Single
| Year | Single | Chart | Peak Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | "Sorrow" | UK Singles Chart | 3[6] |
[edit] Certifications
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| BPI – UK | Gold | 1 November 1973[8] |
[edit] References
- ^ Eder, Bruce. "allmusic ((( Pin Ups > Review )))". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r2484. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "David Bowie". Creem. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=david+bowie. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
- ^ Shaw, Greg (19 July 1973). "Pin Ups". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/davidbowie/albums/album/177265/rid/6212094. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
- ^ Kamp, Thomas (1985), David Bowie: The Wild-Eyed Boy 1964-1984 (1st ed.), O'Sullivan, Woodside & Co.
- ^ a b c "allmusic ((( Pin Ups > Credits )))". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r2484. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
- ^ a b "UK Top 40 Hit Database". http://www.everyhit.com. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
- ^ "allmusic ((( Pin Ups > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r2484. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
- ^ "BPI Certified Awards". http://www.bpi.co.uk/. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
[edit] External links
- Pinups at The Ziggy Stardust Companion
- Pinups at Discogs (list of releases)
- Pinup Nights, an indie club night in Glasgow, Scotland named after the album
| Preceded by Hello! by Status Quo |
UK number-one album 3 November – 1 December 1973 |
Succeeded by Stranded by Roxy Music |
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