DAVID BOWIE - ALADDIN SANE @ 50

 

Celebrating its golden jubilee with half a century on the shelves, it’s David Bowie’s sixth studio album and second during his initial commercial breakthrough as "Ziggy Stardust", Aladdin Sane. After taking the charts by storm with his previous record, it would exceed that success, commercially, though perhaps not quite artistically.

Aladdin Sane was written and recorded during breaks between grueling touring schedules as Bowie and RCA sought to maximize his exposure following the success of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Aladdin Sane, the title being a play on the phrase “a lad insane”, continued the narrative of the previous record, introducing the titular character as a means to explore the personality fragmentation symbolized by the lightning bolt across Bowie’s face. Thematically, the record deals with a lot of the ups and downs of life on the road, fame and how those dichotomies can split a personality. This was the first album Bowie wrote from a position of stardom, so the view from the mount of fame plays a significant role in the concepts explored.

Because production for the LP was squeezed into snatched free time between touring legs, this didn’t leave Bowie a lot of time to develop ideas or stockpile songs from which to cherry pick later. This meant that, overall, the quality of the material on the album maybe wasn’t quite as consistent as the previous few records, though there are clearly essential songs which managed to find a home in its grooves. The title track and Jean Genie are the obvious standouts. Musically, being on the road and performing live put an emphasis on a harder rock sound, though a bit of British music hall camp can also be found lurking about the edges. The Rolling Stones were a significant influence at this period as is evidenced by Bowie's cover of Let’s Spend the Night Together.

Recording for the album took place mainly between December 1972 and January 1973, and was split between Trident Studios in London and RCA’s NYC facility. The Spiders From Mars band, comprising Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey, contributed heavily to the album’s creation, though after a run of three albums with Bowie, this would be the last to feature this lineup. Though the album focuses on a heavier rock sound, it also starts to bring in some more experimental leanings, and many consider this the beginning of that trajectory, a disposition which would lead him into stranger and darker realms throughout the remainder of the decade until his crowing achievement in that vein with Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) in 1980.

For the cover of the LP, Bowie is seen in what has become his most iconic form, in fully Ziggy glory, lightning flash blazing across his face. It is perhaps the most recognizable image of Bowie ever created. It was shot in January 1973 by Brian Duffy in his north London studio. Duffy would later photograph the sleeves for Lodger (1979) and Scary Monsters. In an effort to ensure RCA promoted the album extensively, Bowie’s manager was determined to make the cover as costly as possible. He insisted on an unprecedented seven-color system, rather than the usual four. The resulting image was the most expensive cover art ever made at the time. The make-up designer for the shoot was Pierre Laroche, who remained Bowie's make-up artist for the remainder of the 1973 tour and the Pin Ups cover shoot. Laroche copied the lightning bolt from a National Panasonic rice-cooker that happened to be in the studio. The make-up was completed with a "deathly purple wash", which together with Bowie's closed eyes, evoke a "death mask".

After its release, it quickly became Bowie’s biggest selling record to date, but critics picked up on the uneven songwriting in comparison to the previous records, though they still praised it overall. It certainly deserves its legacy as being considered an essential entry in Bowie’s catalogue, capturing the artist at a peak in his creative and performing abilities. In some regards, perhaps it’s Bowie merely riding the wave of his success for a time, but history has clearly shown that he was just taking a bit of a breather before his next artistic ascent.