The Man Who Sold the World Froze My Brain

Overall Album Score: 7.0 out of 10

I never wanted to make it a secret that, even though I'm a huuuuuuge David Bowie fan, I've never cared at all for this album. There's just very little here for me to latch onto.

Just look at the way I scored the tracks. There aren't any 9s in here at all. There's only one song in here that actually redeems this album, and that is (of course) the title track. And what a wonderful little tune that is! (No, you crazy gen-Xer, Kurt Cobain didn't write that song!)

Even though that's unquestionably the signature tune of this album, it's extremely out of place with the rest of the album. This is such a confused album that I'm left largely wondering what Bowie was trying to do here. Some songs have a certain proto-metal edge to them with a lot of heavy guitar (notably on the overlong but decent "The Width of a Circle" and the misfired "She Shook Me Cold") while others aren't that simple. "All the Madmen" is a very misguided attempt at Medieval rock (think: a much weaker version of The Move's "Message From the Country") while "The Supermen" and "Savior Machine" are both frightfully odd attempts at art rock except with a hard edge.

Bowie, who has excelled at more lighthearted attempts at art-rock and pop-rock in both his past and his future, is totally out of his element here. Furthermore, this music was very sloppily put together, which is a surprise, because his music is usually quite compelling. Even if some of his songs don't have a great melody, his presentation and arrangements sometimes make up for it. There's a little bit of that here, but not much.

I really don't like this album, and apart from that excellent title track, I wouldn't miss this if it just phazed out of existance.

Overall Rating: 7.0 out of 10 (This is the sloppiest album of Bowie's career, and it's one that can basically be ignored ... except for the title track.)

Song Average: 7.5 (There are a few decent moments in here, but there aren't too many ... except for "The Man Who Sold the World," which is such a great track that it's almost weird.)

Album Tilt: 6.5 (This album is highly uneven and difficult to sit through.)

Artist Tilt: 7.0 (This is still basically art-rock, albeit failed, but I'm always willing to give Bowie credit for trying something new. That's why this guy had such a fascinating career, after all!)

Track Reviews

The Width of a Circle 8/10

This is lengthy 8-minute song in which Bowie tries on something that's vaguely reminiscent of heavy metal on for size. Bowie has way too much of a pop mentality to be convincing as a heavy metal star, anyway! But here it is. It's not a very good fit. Thanks to Bowie's new guitarist, Mick Ronson, this song does manage to rock out somewhat convincingly. Unfortunately, I don't think Ronson is such a fantastic innovator on the guitar that ... well ... he's reputed to be. His electric guitar solos, while energetic, aren't to interesting. Bowie should've pulled the plug on this song after four minutes. He could have done this song much more succinctly, and it would've been better for it.

All the Madmen 7/10

Fortunately, this Medieval song has a somewhat decent melody, but ... really, for Bowie, this is kind of weak. This one starts out very softly and then it significantly hardens its edge. This song really isn't extremely compelling to me, so ............... I like the flutes in this song, though. Flutes might be a very fruity instrument, but they're good. Good. Good.

Black Country Rock 7.5/10

Hey! This songs kind of sounds glam! Check out the guitar crunches, and the glam-sounding chorus. I think the story with this song is that Bowie was writing a tribute to Marc Bolan (head of T. Rex) with this song. He even tries Bolan's voice wobble, but ... he doesn't really succeed. Bowie trying this is more of a curiosity than anything. Anyway, I might have wished for a slightly more hooky melody. ... Bowie really threw this album together quickly! Why can't I enjoy this song like I enjoy other Bowie songs? MAN!!!!!

After All 8/10

This might have been a great song if Bowie would've, I don't know, SPENT MORE TIME ON THIS ALBUM. This is a slower piece that's meant to have an engaging atmosphere and ... it basically works. The melody's pretty good as well, which helps matters. I do enjoy the atmoshpere and I think the arrangements, in general, are nicely done. There's some crazy chants of "oh by jingo" that sound like they were sung by the Muppets ... if you were ever wondering why Bowie starred in Labyrinth.

Running Gun Blues 6.5/10

DAMN YOU, BOWIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This song is only interesting in the sense that he gives an incredibly sloppy and goofy vocal performance here that is basically to the level that he would perform covers in Pin-Ups a few albums down the road. This song seems to want to rock hard, but it only half succeeds at it. Bowie really seems out of his element here, I'm sad to say. Normally, he fits in pretty well with what he's doing!

Saviour Machine 7.5/10

This really isn't such a fascinating song, but there are a few lines of interesting melody and, at least, the instrumentals here rank among the album's best. In fact, I think it might have been better of Bowie just didn't sing on this song and just let the instrumentals play.

She Shook Me Cold 6/10

Dear David Bowie of 1971,

While it's nice that you're trying out different styles and there was no reason that Led Zeppelin esque heavy metal couldn't have been one of these, this doesn't fit. Your voice is way too wimpy, for a start, and ... this song we're speaking of isn't compelling whatsoever. I mean, Ronson knows how to play a guitar lick or two, but what he's playing isn't extremely interesting. Just like I was glad whilst reviewing Space Oddity that Bowie didn't go down the prog-rock route, I'm even *more* glad he didn't go down the heavy metal route. Theater-rock is much more up the guy's alley.

The Man Who Sold the World 10/10

Yeah, this song sounds like it doesn't belong at all in this album. It's such a great song, and it's so buried in this album that I think David Bowie was just playing a trick on all of us. As far as the melody goes, this song is HEAD OVER HEELS better than anything that appeared before this album, and it's sure as hell better than the song that appears after this. Even though I listen to David Bowie albums more than what is probably healthy for me, this is the only song from The Man Who Sold the World that I *ever* listen to. Why? Because this is a freaking good song, and Bowie sounds much more comfortable doing this type of happy pop ditty. Bowie gets full marks with this song. He *doesn't* get full marks for anything else in this godforsaken album!

The Supermen 7/10

Oh, dear. I don't like this song much at all. I heard Bowie do this song live once, and I was like ... WHY? Even though this is hardly the worst song of the album, it's just not that good. The melody is only mildly compelling and the instrumentation, featuring some thundering drums, isn't very good. ... This is another song that was dreadfully misfired. Come on, Bowie, get your freaking act together!

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