Well, we've all got to start somewhere. Normally I find that debut albums are a wonderful thing. It catches the artist before fame an expectation take over. You find them in their raw state, so to speak, and it's nearly always thoroughly enjoyable. This may be the exception to the rule. David Bowie did not arrive in a blaze of glory.
It is really difficult to know what to make of this album, considering Bowie's later catalog. It doesn't seem to fit in anywhere. Nowhere can you discern what the man would become. But, we shouldn't judge it because of what he produced later on. We should just look at it as an album of its time. I think this album suffers because it's not sure what it wants to be. Maybe Bowie didn't know what he wanted to be yet.
Bowie's manager at the time, Ken Pitt, was pushing for him to be a more mainstream cabaret entertaining as opposed to a rock 'n' roll star, and this is clearly reflected in the songwriting. However, possibly the only indication that Bowie was not suited to this model is some of the lyrical content. The track 'We are Hungry Men' alludes to abortion and cannibalism which certainly aren't the subject matter of a cabaret singer.
You can hear the Syd Barrett influences on this album, but it doesn't have the same charm and whimsy of Barrett. It comes off wanting. The album starts well enough with 'Uncle Arthur', 'Sell Me a Coat', and 'Rubber Band', but then settles into a dirge of nonsense that, quite frankly, I find hard to listen to.
High point: Rubber Band - and I'm being generous.
Low Point: Join the Gang - it ends with fart sounds, don't ask me why.
Legion Rating: 3.92/10
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