David Bowie - Alabama Song/Space Oddity (RCA 1980)
Bowie's RCA contract was coming to an end. My hunch is that he owed one more single and released this to satisfy the obligation.
Sort of an odd choice at the time. The A Side was Brecht/Weill song from Three Penny Opera. It's familiar to most rock and roll fans as Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar) as covered by The Doors on their debut album.
The B-Side was a remake of his signature song - Space Oddity. Not too different from the original version, but it does have a sparser sound with echo-ey drums on the 3's.
And that's not all. What appears to be a standard picture sleeve from the outside actually folds out into a mini poster
And here we see the full effect of Bowie adopting DEVO fashion. Jumpsuit, logo, belt, etc. Bowie was no stranger to DEVO. Iggy Pop and Bowie were introduced to the band early on via a demo tape. They became fans and lobbied for their signing at Warner Brothers. Bowie was set to produce their first album, but bowed out because of timing and other commitments. Eno took over and we were given their classic debut.
Here's the 'normal' single that's underneath the wraparound sleeve.
We're all DEVO!
No comments:
Post a Comment