The Man Who Sold the World was released by Bowie in 1970. It marked one of his first of many 'transitions' which saw him go from hippie/curly headed/folkie to dress clad/heavy metal guy.
When it was first released in the UK, the cover looked like this:
As 'Mericans, we don't take kindly to guys wearing dresses. At the time, we still weren't entirely accepting of men with hair over their ears in some parts of the country.
So in order to not offend the masses, the initial release on Mercury in the US featured a cartoon of a cowboy carrying a rifle in front of a mental hospital. Much more comforting for us.
The building in the background is the Cane Hill Mental Hospital in London. The same place where Bowie's brother Terry - the subject of All the Madmen - was housed.
Oh by Jingo!
No pictures of Bowie on the cover. That would prove to be too shocking.
And still odd at the time to see Bowie on anything but RCA.
After the success of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, RCA got on the reissue bandwagon. Both this album and Space Oddity (which was originally released on Mercury in the US as Man of Words, Man of Music) were reissued. This time on RCA with contemporary glitter/clam photos from 1972.
Below is how most 'Mericans know The Man Who Sold the World.
Although the liner notes say this is his second album, it's actually his third. Looks like they're not counting his 1967 debut on Deram.
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