Young Americans (album)
| Young Americans | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by David Bowie | ||||
| Released | 7 March 1975 | |||
| Recorded | August 1974–November 1974 at Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia; January 1975 at Electric Lady Studios, New York | |||
| Genre | Soul, funk, rock | |||
| Length | 40:32 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Producer | David Bowie, Harry Maslin and Tony Visconti | |||
| David Bowie chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Singles from Young Americans | ||||
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
| Blender | [2] |
| Robert Christgau | (C+, later B-) [3] |
| Rolling Stone | (on Collector's Edition) [4] |
| Q | [5] |
| Uncut | [6] |
Young Americans is the ninth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released in 1975 and showing off Bowie’s 1970’s “obsession” with soul music.[7] For this album, Bowie let go of the influences he had drawn from in the past, replacing them with sounds from “local dance halls”, which, at the time, were blaring with “…lush strings, sliding hi-hat whispers, and swanky R&B rhythms of Philadelphia Soul…". Bowie is quoted describing the album as “…the squashed remains of ethnic music as it survives in the age of Muzak rock, written and sung by a white limey”.[8] Because of the strong influence of “black” music on the album, Bowie used the term “plastic soul” (originally coined by an unknown black musician in the 1960s) to describe the sound of “Young Americans”.[9] Although Bowie was an English musician bringing up touchy American issues, the album was still very successful in the United States; the album itself reached the American Top Ten, with the song “Fame” hitting the number one spot the same year the album was released.[7]
Contents |
[edit] Album development
Begun on 11 August 1974, during breaks in Bowie’s Diamond Dogs tour, Young Americans was recorded by Tony Visconti primarily at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was agreed early on to record as much of the album as possible live, with the full band playing together, including Bowie’s vocals, as a single continuous take for each song. According to Visconti, the album contains “… about 85% ‘live’ David Bowie.” [10]
In order to create a more authentically soulful sound, Bowie brought in musicians from the funk and soul community, including an early-career Luther Vandross and Andy Newmark, drummer of Sly and the Family Stone. It was also Bowie’s first time working with Carlos Alomar, leading to a working relationship spanning more than 30 years. The song "Young Americans," which Bowie said was about "the predicament on two newlyweds," took two days to record.[11]
The sessions at Sigma Sound lasted through November 1974.[10] The recording had attracted the attention of local fans who began to wait outside the studio over the span of the sessions. Bowie built up a rapport with these fans, whom he came to refer to as the “Sigma Kids”. On the final day of tracking the Sigma Kids were invited into the studio to listen to rough versions of the new songs.[12]
“Across the Universe” and “Fame” were recorded at Electric Lady Studios with John Lennon. They replaced previously recorded tracks “Who can I be now” and “It’s gonna be me” on the record, though these songs were later released as bonus tracks on reissues of the album. The guitar riff for “Fame,” created by Alomar, was based on the song “Foot Stompin’” by the doo-wop band The Flares.[9]
Bowie considered several different titles for the album, including "Somebody Up There Likes Me," "One Damned Song," "The Gauster" and "Fascination." [11]
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by David Bowie except where noted.
- Side one
- "Young Americans" – 5:10
- "Win" – 4:44
- "Fascination" (Bowie, Luther Vandross) – 5:43
- "Right" – 4:13
- Side two
- "Somebody Up There Likes Me" – 6:30
- "Across the Universe" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 4:30
- "Can You Hear Me" – 5:04
- "Fame" (Bowie, Carlos Alomar, Lennon) – 4:12
[edit] CD releases
This album has been re-released on CD four times, with the first being by RCA in 1984, the second in 1991 by Rykodisc (containing three bonus tracks) on silver CD and later on AU20 Gold CD, the third in 1999 by EMI (featuring 24-bit digitally remastered sound and no bonus tracks). A fourth reissue with an accompanying DVD was released on 19 March 2007, in higher sound resolution and mixed in 5.1 surround sound, featuring "Who Can I Be Now?" and "John, I’m Only Dancing (Again)" from the 1991 Rykodisc release, an alternative version of that release's "It's Gonna Be Me" bonus track plus video footage from the Dick Cavett TV show. The Rykodisc and 5.1 surround mixes both replace "Win", "Fascination", and "Right" with alternate mixes from 1974. (the later Au20 edition restores the original mixes) Another outtake appears on the 1989 box set Sound & Vision, "After Today", released in 2003. The Rykodisc editions (original and Au20) both have incorrect production credits.
[edit] 1991 reissue bonus tracks
- "Who Can I Be Now?" – 4:35
- "It's Gonna Be Me" – 6:29
- "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)" – 6:58
1989 Sound & Vision box set
- "After Today" - 3:50
[edit] 2007 Collector's Edition bonus tracks
- "John, I’m Only Dancing (Again)"
- "Who Can I Be Now?"
- "It's Gonna Be Me" (alternate version, with strings)
- "1984" (live on The Dick Cavett Show, DVD only)
- "Young Americans" (live on The Dick Cavett Show, DVD only)
- "Dick Cavett Interviews David Bowie" (DVD only)
[edit] Personnel
[edit] Musicians
- David Bowie – vocals, guitar, piano
- Carlos Alomar – guitar
- Mike Garson – piano
- David Sanborn – sax
- Willie Weeks – bass except on "Across the Universe" and "Fame"
- Andy Newmark – drums except on "Across the Universe" and "Fame"
[edit] Additional musicians
- Larry Washington – conga
- Pablo Rosario – percussion on "Across the Universe" and "Fame"
- Ava Cherry, Robin Clark, Luther Vandross – background vocals
- John Lennon – vocals, guitar, backing vocals on "Across the Universe" and "Fame"
- Earl Slick – guitar on "Across the Universe" and "Fame"
- Emir Kassan – bass on "Across the Universe" and "Fame"
- Dennis Davis – drums on "Across the Universe" and "Fame"
- Ralph MacDonald – percussion on "Across the Universe" and "Fame"
- Jean Fineberg – backing vocals on "Across the Universe" and "Fame"
- Jean Millington – backing vocals on "Across the Universe" and "Fame"
[edit] Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | UK Albums chart | 2 |
| 1975 | Billboard Pop Albums | 9 |
| 1975 | Norwegian album chart | 13 |
| 1975 | Australian Kent Report album chart | 9 |
Single
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | "Fame" | Billboard Black Singles | 21 |
| 1975 | "Fame" | Billboard Club Play Singles | 2 |
| 1975 | "Fame" | Billboard Pop Singles | 1 |
| 1975 | "Fame" | UK single chart | 17 |
| 1975 | "Fame" | Norway's single chart | 9 |
| 1975 | "Young Americans" | UK single chart | 18 |
| 1975 | "Young Americans" | Billboard Pop Singles | 28 |
[edit] Certifications
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| RIAA – USA | Gold | 2 July 1975 |
[edit] References
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Young Americans (album) at Allmusic. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
- ^ "Young Americans – Blender". Blender. http://www.blender.com/guide/back-catalogue/53906/young-americans.html. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Young Americans". Consumer Guide Album. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=957. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
- ^ "Rolling Stone Music | Album Reviews". Rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/309871/review/15085504/young_americans. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
- ^ Gareth Grundy Q, May 2007, Issue 250.
- ^ Stephen Troussé Uncut, April 2007, Issue 119.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen. "David Bowie". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/bowie_david/artist.jhtml. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
- ^ Smith, Lauren. "David Bowie Starts Recording Young Americans at Stigma Sound". A.V. Club. http://www.avclub.com/philadelphia/articles/aug-11-1974-david-bowie-starts-recording-young-ame,60205/. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
- ^ a b "Bowie Biography". Bowie Zone. http://bowiezone.com/#/bowie-biography-3/4547994548. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
- ^ a b Griffen, Roger, ed.. "Young Americans". Bowie Golden Years. http://www.bowiegoldenyears.com/youngamericans.html. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ a b Kamp, Thomas (1985), David Bowie: The Wild-Eyed Boy 1964-1984 (1st ed.), O'Sullivan, Woodside & Co.
- ^ Buckley, David (2005). Strange Fascination: David Bowie: The Definitive Story. London: Virgin Books. pp. 190–205. ISBN 0 7535 1002 2.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
