A hidden one.This one was missed on the Young Americans listening party last Sunday on Twitter.Since we all just listened to the first cut of the album.This is the Bowie I adore so much more than his hits,which are amazing but he had 26? 27 studio albums and wonders to dig up. Thank for this!
Nice to see you react to some quite obscure songs from Bowie, in opposition to others reactors who focus on the most popular tracks. Nevertheless, If that's intentional, i'd suggest more "bowiesque" hidden gems like "Stay", "The motel", "The voyeur of utter destruction", "7 years in Tibet", "Red sails", "Joe the Lion", "I took a trip on a Gemini spacecraft", among so many others (I'm sure every Bowie fan got his/her own list)...
@@chrismeadows4216 You're right, and that's a pity, actually : I really love Bowie's 90s albums, and Earthling is reallly overlooked, imo. But the same can be said about Outside (which is a real masterpiece) and The Buddha of Suburbia, criminally underrated...
I think the reason these obscure songs get picked is because people like us noticed the trend of reacting to purely singles. David always said he was never a singles artist, and it's a shame not to check out the rest of his work. Most of iSelect, the album of his personal favorites, was non-singles and it feels right to encourage more depth. These songs are beautiful and unconventional.
@@chrismeadows4216 This, and the fact, in my opinion, that "common knowledge" has decided that Bowie's "golden years" (no pun intended of course ;) ) were the 70's. And the cliché remains in most minds : Bowie is a 70's artist, so whatever he did afterwards can be left aside, the important stuff to react to is from "Space oddity" to "Ashes to ashes" (with the semi-inclusion of "Blackstar", but mainly because it's the last album). Of course, it's a rather narrow way of seeing things, but I can understand : there's so much to Bowie's music that it would take a long while for someone to seriously dive into it (and time is not extensive : I suppose a UA-cam reactor has also many other artists to react to...).
This song is pretty special because it was actually removed from an album by David Bowie himself before release, but not because it wasn't great. In 1974, David was working on an album called The Gouster. It was his transition from glam rock and punk rock to soul and r&b, and the song was intended to be a main part of the album's flavor. Those recording sessions took place in Philadephia. David went to visit his friend John Lennon in New York. Yes, THAT John Lennon. He asked him if he'd like to collaborate, and John said yes, leading them to record two songs together in New York: Fame and a cover of The Beatles' Across the Universe. David, being under the heavy influence of cocaine, decided that rather than just have all the songs on the album, 3 he had already marked for release would be removed. Tony Visconti, the producer who worked on the songs with David, was incredulous. David and John had recorded the 2 new songs with Harry Maslin, and Tony knew nothing of it until the album was too far along to do anything. None of the 3 removed tracks were released until 1990, as bonus tracks for a re-release of the 1975 album that The Gouster became; Young Americans. Fame ended up becoming David's first US #1 song and one of his most iconic songs, but with it came a problem; nothing else on the album sounded like it and Bowie's fans who had followed him up until that point had turned on him and considered the album to be his worst yet, while soul fans loved him for his adventurous step into representing their world and their community. Across the Universe is usually maligned because of the enormous pressure any song would be under if it was a cover of The Beatles. People feel Bowie oversang on it and it will never compare to the original, although the person who wrote it was there playing the rhythm guitar and also singing and preferred it. To this day, very few Bowie fans consider Young Americans a favorite album because they don't understand it. Only the title track usually gets respect. Had the Lennon songs not been on the album, it would have been more consistent. Had all of the songs been on the original album, it would rank higher for most. Who Can I Be Now? is a large what if. You're right that the song is about finding purpose in your life and sorting through the expectations placed upon you, but it really does go deeper than that. Previously, David had spent 3 years in a row creating concept characters so he wouldn't have to write from his own perspective about himself. He was afraid to be vulnerable and intimate with his personal emotions and his addiction made it harder for him to keep a grasp on reality. He was living off of only red peppers and milk, and going days in a row without sleeping for a long period of time. He kept his urine in his refrigerator so it wouldn't be stolen by Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin, who he thought would place a hex on him. People put the expectation on him that he should continue being variations of Ziggy Stardust for the rest of his life; that he can't be David Jones or even David Bowie to be worthwhile to his fans. The stress and drug dependency were causing him to deteriorate and lose his grip on reality. He created a star, he played a role, and he suffered an identity crisis so he could be himself. He knew Ziggy Stardust was a creation of his own mind and something that chained him down and stopped him from being himself. Young Americans was his first album since 1971 where there was no character, no concept, and no theme to the album that he had to hold himself to. He wanted to just be David Bowie and decided to just be David Bowie, but wasn't sure at that point who he was. It was the hardest period of his entire life and he was lost in self-discovery, making mistakes. It doesn't seem like he was ready to admit it, so this song was lost for 15 years and he relapsed into a character on the next album Station to Station; The Thin White Duke. Then he moved to Berlin to quit his addiction and really discover David Bowie. This song is arguably one of the most personal he ever wrote, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. The box set for his entire soul era ended up being named after it, which is where the art in the video came from. That excellent saxophonist is David Sanborn. The pianist is Mike Garson (who was also on Lady Grinning Soul). One of the backing vocalists is soul legend Luther Vandross. Carlos Alomar (who also played on Teenage Wildlife) and Earl Slick on guitars. It was a fantastic lineup. I hope anyone reading finds my comment informative. This was another awesome reaction! Keep up the great work!
I must tell you I love your video sessions. It's interesting to see someone's impressions of an icon I grew up with. You're in for a treat if you not only listen to DB's discography, but listen to interviews. He was somethin' else. I never really paid much attention to him until the Pandemic; then the more I watched and listened, the more I grew to admire him, especially in his older age, when he was even better. Thanks so much and keep up your good work
This song was new to me. Googling, I see its a leftover from the Young Americans sessions. So its most likely Dave Sanborn on sax (although Bowie played the sax himself on a few tracks in earlier albums). Definitely check out "Young Americans" title track for some great Dave Sanborn saxophone work. You also mentioned how you enjoyed the piano playing in a recent vid. If you want to hear arguably THE craziest piano solo ever, definitely check out "Aladdin Sane". Mike Garson at his best. BTW, Its great to see someone your age (..I'm old) reacting to an artist's more obscure album tracks and getting a real feel for the artist more than just the same old hit songs everybody else does. Keep it up!
A small piece of trivia: Most of the Young Americans album was recorded live in one take, so the "UP in heaven every angel" voice crack was a pure improvisation.
@@XercesandAlexander You're welcome! David's band and his backing vocalists had been recorded with him. It's the first time during which Tony Visconti'd recorded an album using live takes performed by an ensemble rather than recording everyone separately. What we hear on Young Americans had been matched during live performances.
You might want try some of his more avant-garde songs, Aladdin Sane, voyeur of utter destruction, the heart’s filthy Lesson, Beauty and the beast, so many great Bowie discoveries ahead for you!
I love the young Americans period. Not my fav period of Bowie, but it just sounds iso damn good. You should try Win. Perfect sax. What a genius he was....
One of the most beautiful songs he ever recorded, and wonderfully produced. I wonder why he ditched it in favour of the cover of Across the Universe. Maybe it felt too personal? After all Bowie always put aside the songs that were too close to him, like Lady Grinning Soul (never performed live) and Bewlay Brothers (a few times 30 years later).
This is, as others have noted, a B-side from a single and didn't make the *Young Americans* vinyl LP when it dropped ---and it's an absolute monster, which only accurately hints at the quality of the rest of the album ("Right," "Somebody Up There Likes Me," "Win," "Can You Hear Me?" and the more broadly known "Fame" and the title track)...
This is from the Young Americans sessions....it didn't make the cut for the album due to space. I love David Sanborn and the song is great, but there are so many other songs on that album that are better......"Win" "Right" "Fascination" and the sleeper track on the album "Somebody Up There Likes Me"...fantastic sax by Sanborn. It is interesting that some people "channel in" on the throw away tracks - Who Can I Be Now was only added when they re-released the album. Of course it is better than most artists songs, but i dont think it is fantastic.
The song actually wasn't cut due to space. The album, 'The Gouster', was finished, and this song was on it, but David saw the opportunity to work with John Lennon and immediately binned 3 songs to put Across the Universe and Fame on it as it was renamed Young Americans for release. Tony Visconti was livid after the time he spent on producing these songs while David kept him doing cocaine for weeks. If Fame didn't go #1, he probably wouldn't have worked with David again.
really enjoying your reviews of Bowie and the rest as well New favorite??...Please give YES a listen...Roundabout is always a good track to start with....(ps. don't fret over the artsy lyrics...hehe) Steely Dan ...Asia album will knock your production socks off.... Kate Bush - Hounds of Love album Return to Forever - "Romantic Warrior"
The sax player for this record was a (young) David Sanborn (and background singers included the earliest Luther Vandross) - I love Bowie’s voice, but as he admits he was consuming a lot of coke, rough on the voice, he sounds like he’s really reaching in the choruses
Not one of my favorite tracks, but the worst of Bowie (which this isn't - agree with your comment on the way Bowie employed sax) compares favorably with the best of today's pop music.
A hidden one.This one was missed on the Young Americans listening party last Sunday on Twitter.Since we all just listened to the first cut of the album.This is the Bowie I adore so much more than his hits,which are amazing but he had 26? 27 studio albums and wonders to dig up. Thank for this!
Nice to see you react to some quite obscure songs from Bowie, in opposition to others reactors who focus on the most popular tracks. Nevertheless, If that's intentional, i'd suggest more "bowiesque" hidden gems like "Stay", "The motel", "The voyeur of utter destruction", "7 years in Tibet", "Red sails", "Joe the Lion", "I took a trip on a Gemini spacecraft", among so many others (I'm sure every Bowie fan got his/her own list)...
Earthling songs almost never get requested, so it's great to see Seven Years in Tibet.
@@chrismeadows4216 You're right, and that's a pity, actually : I really love Bowie's 90s albums, and Earthling is reallly overlooked, imo. But the same can be said about Outside (which is a real masterpiece) and The Buddha of Suburbia, criminally underrated...
Stay is one of my favorites. Plus I love his dancing on the Dinah Shore show.
I think the reason these obscure songs get picked is because people like us noticed the trend of reacting to purely singles. David always said he was never a singles artist, and it's a shame not to check out the rest of his work. Most of iSelect, the album of his personal favorites, was non-singles and it feels right to encourage more depth. These songs are beautiful and unconventional.
@@chrismeadows4216 This, and the fact, in my opinion, that "common knowledge" has decided that Bowie's "golden years" (no pun intended of course ;) ) were the 70's. And the cliché remains in most minds : Bowie is a 70's artist, so whatever he did afterwards can be left aside, the important stuff to react to is from "Space oddity" to "Ashes to ashes" (with the semi-inclusion of "Blackstar", but mainly because it's the last album). Of course, it's a rather narrow way of seeing things, but I can understand : there's so much to Bowie's music that it would take a long while for someone to seriously dive into it (and time is not extensive : I suppose a UA-cam reactor has also many other artists to react to...).
React to "Young Americans" by David Bowie. And you'll need a bigger Closet, because you will start Dancing! Cheers from the Past!
Station to Station would be cool to see you review
This song is pretty special because it was actually removed from an album by David Bowie himself before release, but not because it wasn't great. In 1974, David was working on an album called The Gouster. It was his transition from glam rock and punk rock to soul and r&b, and the song was intended to be a main part of the album's flavor. Those recording sessions took place in Philadephia. David went to visit his friend John Lennon in New York. Yes, THAT John Lennon. He asked him if he'd like to collaborate, and John said yes, leading them to record two songs together in New York: Fame and a cover of The Beatles' Across the Universe. David, being under the heavy influence of cocaine, decided that rather than just have all the songs on the album, 3 he had already marked for release would be removed. Tony Visconti, the producer who worked on the songs with David, was incredulous. David and John had recorded the 2 new songs with Harry Maslin, and Tony knew nothing of it until the album was too far along to do anything. None of the 3 removed tracks were released until 1990, as bonus tracks for a re-release of the 1975 album that The Gouster became; Young Americans. Fame ended up becoming David's first US #1 song and one of his most iconic songs, but with it came a problem; nothing else on the album sounded like it and Bowie's fans who had followed him up until that point had turned on him and considered the album to be his worst yet, while soul fans loved him for his adventurous step into representing their world and their community. Across the Universe is usually maligned because of the enormous pressure any song would be under if it was a cover of The Beatles. People feel Bowie oversang on it and it will never compare to the original, although the person who wrote it was there playing the rhythm guitar and also singing and preferred it. To this day, very few Bowie fans consider Young Americans a favorite album because they don't understand it. Only the title track usually gets respect. Had the Lennon songs not been on the album, it would have been more consistent. Had all of the songs been on the original album, it would rank higher for most. Who Can I Be Now? is a large what if.
You're right that the song is about finding purpose in your life and sorting through the expectations placed upon you, but it really does go deeper than that. Previously, David had spent 3 years in a row creating concept characters so he wouldn't have to write from his own perspective about himself. He was afraid to be vulnerable and intimate with his personal emotions and his addiction made it harder for him to keep a grasp on reality. He was living off of only red peppers and milk, and going days in a row without sleeping for a long period of time. He kept his urine in his refrigerator so it wouldn't be stolen by Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin, who he thought would place a hex on him. People put the expectation on him that he should continue being variations of Ziggy Stardust for the rest of his life; that he can't be David Jones or even David Bowie to be worthwhile to his fans. The stress and drug dependency were causing him to deteriorate and lose his grip on reality. He created a star, he played a role, and he suffered an identity crisis so he could be himself. He knew Ziggy Stardust was a creation of his own mind and something that chained him down and stopped him from being himself. Young Americans was his first album since 1971 where there was no character, no concept, and no theme to the album that he had to hold himself to. He wanted to just be David Bowie and decided to just be David Bowie, but wasn't sure at that point who he was. It was the hardest period of his entire life and he was lost in self-discovery, making mistakes. It doesn't seem like he was ready to admit it, so this song was lost for 15 years and he relapsed into a character on the next album Station to Station; The Thin White Duke. Then he moved to Berlin to quit his addiction and really discover David Bowie.
This song is arguably one of the most personal he ever wrote, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. The box set for his entire soul era ended up being named after it, which is where the art in the video came from. That excellent saxophonist is David Sanborn. The pianist is Mike Garson (who was also on Lady Grinning Soul). One of the backing vocalists is soul legend Luther Vandross. Carlos Alomar (who also played on Teenage Wildlife) and Earl Slick on guitars. It was a fantastic lineup.
I hope anyone reading finds my comment informative. This was another awesome reaction! Keep up the great work!
It's great you are willing to look at less obvious Bowie songs. Can I suggest We are the Dead from Diamond Dogs a forgotten gem.
I so love you are getting deeper into Bowie! So deserves the love!
Adore this song!!!
I must tell you I love your video sessions. It's interesting to see someone's impressions of an icon I grew up with. You're in for a treat if you not only listen to DB's discography, but listen to interviews. He was somethin' else. I never really paid much attention to him until the Pandemic; then the more I watched and listened, the more I grew to admire him, especially in his older age, when he was even better. Thanks so much and keep up your good work
I really like that you react to some really deep cuts. !
This song was new to me. Googling, I see its a leftover from the Young Americans sessions. So its most likely Dave Sanborn on sax (although Bowie played the sax himself on a few tracks in earlier albums). Definitely check out "Young Americans" title track for some great Dave Sanborn saxophone work. You also mentioned how you enjoyed the piano playing in a recent vid. If you want to hear arguably THE craziest piano solo ever, definitely check out "Aladdin Sane". Mike Garson at his best.
BTW, Its great to see someone your age (..I'm old) reacting to an artist's more obscure album tracks and getting a real feel for the artist more than just the same old hit songs everybody else does. Keep it up!
A small piece of trivia:
Most of the Young Americans album was recorded live in one take, so the "UP in heaven every angel" voice crack was a pure improvisation.
I had no idea the vocals were done in one take, thanks for the new info!
@@XercesandAlexander You're welcome!
David's band and his backing vocalists had been recorded with him. It's the first time during which Tony Visconti'd recorded an album using live takes performed by an ensemble rather than recording everyone separately. What we hear on Young Americans had been matched during live performances.
You might want try some of his more avant-garde songs, Aladdin Sane, voyeur of utter destruction, the heart’s filthy Lesson, Beauty and the beast, so many great Bowie discoveries ahead for you!
This is a super under rated song
Please watch the whole Ziggy Stardust at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1973. Always nice to see this man Live.
you should take a listen to "It's Gonna to be me" it was also an outtake from Young American
I love the young Americans period. Not my fav period of Bowie, but it just sounds iso damn good. You should try Win. Perfect sax. What a genius he was....
great reactions! David Bowie's Fantastic Voyage and Led Zeppelin's Ten Years Gone would be great to watch!
One of the most beautiful songs he ever recorded, and wonderfully produced. I wonder why he ditched it in favour of the cover of Across the Universe. Maybe it felt too personal? After all Bowie always put aside the songs that were too close to him, like Lady Grinning Soul (never performed live) and Bewlay Brothers (a few times 30 years later).
This is, as others have noted, a B-side from a single and didn't make the *Young Americans* vinyl LP when it dropped ---and it's an absolute monster, which only accurately hints at the quality of the rest of the album ("Right," "Somebody Up There Likes Me," "Win," "Can You Hear Me?" and the more broadly known "Fame" and the title track)...
It wasn't a b-side actually - it didn't get released at all until the Ryko edition of Yoing Americans.
Fine
And it's spelled Y-o-u-n-g
This is from the Young Americans sessions....it didn't make the cut for the album due to space. I love David Sanborn and the song is great, but there are so many other songs on that album that are better......"Win" "Right" "Fascination" and the sleeper track on the album "Somebody Up There Likes Me"...fantastic sax by Sanborn.
It is interesting that some people "channel in" on the throw away tracks - Who Can I Be Now was only added when they re-released the album. Of course it is better than most artists songs, but i dont think it is fantastic.
The song actually wasn't cut due to space. The album, 'The Gouster', was finished, and this song was on it, but David saw the opportunity to work with John Lennon and immediately binned 3 songs to put Across the Universe and Fame on it as it was renamed Young Americans for release. Tony Visconti was livid after the time he spent on producing these songs while David kept him doing cocaine for weeks. If Fame didn't go #1, he probably wouldn't have worked with David again.
really enjoying your reviews of Bowie and the rest as well
New favorite??...Please give YES a listen...Roundabout is always a good track to start with....(ps. don't fret over the artsy lyrics...hehe)
Steely Dan ...Asia album will knock your production socks off....
Kate Bush - Hounds of Love album
Return to Forever - "Romantic Warrior"
For vocal heaven, try 'Wild is the Wind'. :)
The Motel is another great track
Lazarus, Blackstar, Where Are We Now, Hallo Spaceboy, Jump (they say)
I was going to offer you a recommendation but it turns out you did all your reviews 3 years ago. :)
Have you heard Time, yet?
Gotta review bowie songs like
Blackstar
Lazarus
Dollar days
New killer star
The stars are out tonight
The next day
Thursdays child
Do somebody up there likes me from the same era
With all the great songs in Bowie's catalogue I'm not sure how this one came up...
The sax player for this record was a (young) David Sanborn (and background singers included the earliest Luther Vandross) -
I love Bowie’s voice, but as he admits he was consuming a lot of coke, rough on the voice, he sounds like he’s really reaching in the choruses
Not one of my favorite tracks, but the worst of Bowie (which this isn't - agree with your comment on the way Bowie employed sax) compares favorably with the best of today's pop music.
What happened with this channel????
I wonder that too
A good song.....but virtually every song on Young Americans is better.
Another abandoned channel.