David Bowie-Young Americans (1975)


 

Artist: David Bowie


Label: RCA

Format: LP

Cat: APL1-0998

Year of Release: 1975

Country and Year of Edition: US 1975 Indianapolis Pressing

Sell Price: $11.99 VG/VG 5/6/23

Discogs Last Sold: 5/11/23 NM/VG+ $46.00

Low:$4.00 VG/G+ 1/5/22

Median: $15.94

Average: $18.21

High: $46.00

Current low price: $6.99 G/F, $12.99 VG/VG

Current Number on Sale at Discogs: 103

Have/Want:  8731/1122

Where Sold:  Charleston, SC

Time It Took To Sell: 8 years

Where and When Bought: Worcester That's Entertainment $2.99 used early to mid 80's

Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: B+

Sad To See It Go: No

Young Americans is such a weird record of Bowie's peak era (the RCA years, duh).  For starters it closes with his biggest hit "Fame" with sly John Lennon co-vocals.  He's famous ya know, wink wink.  Beatles references abound in an actual cover of "Across The Universe" which I would've linked to Pin Up.  The opening title track outros with the ladies refraining "A Day In The Life."

For me, I never got beyond playing this once and filing it into a complete Bowie collection in the pre-CD era. Somehow Young Americans didn't fly out the door the way the other ones I had did at premium prices within 24 hours of his 2016 passing.   It didn't get the youthful spins of say the ChangesOneBowie comp or Ziggy.  It didn't get rediscovered by me later on like Aladdin Sane or The Man Who Sold The World or Hunky Dory or Diamond Dogs.  It was the first decidedly "pop" move in Bowie's catalogue even though he had hit albums and singles before.

So what of the rest?  A young Luther Vandross contributes a rewrite of his song "Funky Music (It's A Part of Me" on "Fascination" long before his 80's run of R&B hits.   He also arranged and did backup vocals overall.  David Sanborn plays sax throughout standing out stylistically on "Somebody Out There Likes Me."   The rest is different.  You can't call it straight R&B or straight Rock or Disco.  I don't know if you can even call it great though "Fame" is a great standalone single.

I guess it's pretty good overall.

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