Aladdin Sane 2013

David Bowie is one of those well-known artists that most people already have formed an opinion about, and if you are here reading reviews of his albums on Amazon I am thinking you are probably at the very least a casual admirer of his music. I am not the biggest Bowie fan by a long shot. I don’t even like some of his hits from the late seventies on (my opinion and taste, which in no way invalidates your own); I do however like his Ziggy Stardust period and the music that bookends it. Therefore, this review of one of my favorite albums of Mr. Bowie’s will be sticking to the quality of the 2015 180-gram vinyl re-issue. Specifically, this is for those that are considering buying this 1973 album for their collections. The music itself earns the five stars above but I’ll leave the detailed descriptions to others.Many recordings have a “happy spot” where the level needs to be in the right range before the mix comes alive; generally, this occurs when the volume on your stereo begins to approach the level at which the track was mixed (or sometimes mastered) at. Ziggy Goes to America (Aladdin Sane) is particularly such a recording and the volume level that breathes life into it is fairly high. Too quiet and the mix is flat and lifeless, too loud and it sounds brash and harsh. There is a lot going on in many of these tracks and this pressing does an excellent job of sorting it all out. On the guitar driven tracks Mick Ronson’s guitar tone is nicely fat and chunky, and well separated when multitracked. Bowie is in fine voice throughout and portrayed with aplomb. The frequency extremes are somewhat truncated (this is an old trick when mixing – by narrowing the frequency ranges of individual instruments it is easier to clearly place instruments with overlapping frequencies in the soundscape) this is particularly noticeable on these mixes with the kick drum and cymbals; but the bass guitar has a pleasant round tone. This is not the place to look for subterranean bass nor extended highs. This pressing/remaster excels at clarity and tone (at least the tones that Mick Ronson and Ken Scott wanted to focus on while mixing) more so than imaging. This is perhaps because it is digitally mastered vs. the original analog master (or maybe that’s just the way this album is supposed to sound). Very nice quality in terms of the pressing/manufacturing, quiet vinyl, well centered spindle hole, and very flat. I don’t think it differs enough from the original early pressings to warrant a repurchase unless your copy is worn out or if you have one of the recycled vinyl re-issues from the late 70s/early 80s that suck. If you don’t already have a copy of this album this is a decent version to get especially given the quality/price (when I bought it at least) ratio. I would search out an older good pressing (preferably an English, German, Japanese, or first American pressing edition) if I were willing to pay a premium price.Packaging: Well done job of recreating the original gatefold presentation with all of the original artwork and lyrics, it even includes the folding black and white fan club insert (no longer valid). High quality printing and card stock and a plastic lined paper inner sleeve that appears to be static resistant. I felt no need to follow my usual practice of using an aftermarket inner sleeve, I did put it in a ClearBags outer sleeve to make the iconic cover pop visually and protect the whole thing.

I bought this on vinyl on Amazon, and was quite surprised. Surprised in a good way, which is rare now days. It actually surpasses many of my audiophile pressings many in the $49.00 or more range. At least this copy does. Hope you also get a good one, odds are you will. I also bought Dark Side of the Moon on vinyl at the same exact time and vendor for more than twice the price of this Bowie. It had a bad warp on the edge. The Bowie album though is nice and flat without even the slightest warp. It also has extremely quiet vinyl. As for the music, this is one of Bowie's best, and not as over played as some of his other releases. Not sure if it is all analog or not, but the fidelity is there so don't worry. I would prefer an all analog chain for all vinyl releases. Vinyl really doesn't need any 1's and 0's, but if it has to be that way and not compressing it to death in mastering then I'm still in. Of note on the Bowie album is the excellent piano playing, which is truly amazing as well as the production and writing all first notch. This album is easily a 10 out of 10. Don't let the ultra low price fool you. Buy this now. As for Dark Side of the Moon although it sounded good I just couldn't get over that warp. I guess I will exchange it, and give it another try since it's obviously a great classic. I'll keep you posted.

And some nice extras on the 30th Anniversary Edition as well. I wouldn't consider any of it that essential, but the live version of Drive-In Saturday is a highlight.But back to the original album. I've never been a fan of "Watch that Man", it's too conventional and sounds like your typical '70s rock band, very little of Bowie's 'unique' additions are present here.But the reason every Bowie fanatic (like myself) must buy this album is chiefly because of 4 tracks: Panic in Detroit, Time, The Prettiest Star, and Lady Grinning Soul. Jean Genie is also a great one, but I've heard it so many times it's lost much of its impact."Cracked Actor" has a simple (but catchy) progression with great blending of harmonica and distorted guitar (read 'raunchy'). "The Prettiest Star" is ridiculously catchy. Mick Ronson's lead guitar is almost anthemic and practically makes the song work. "Drive-In Saturday" is an above-average tune, with some nice chords and well-written lyrics.The title track has a great chorus and some purely blissful piano playing by Mike Garson."Let's Spend the Night Together" is a guilty pleasure. Why so many people despise it, I don't know. It's pure fun without sounding contrived or overly conventional. It sounds like Bowie doing Bowie, not Bowie doing Jagger (so to speak). "Lady Grinning Soul" is an excellent way to end the album. A kind of cabaret feel to this one and some fantastic vocal work from Bowie. Overall, there's very little of what I would consider filler (Watch that Man I would include in that category, though many would disagree with me). A great album by a great artist.

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