DAVID BOWIE - SPACE ODDITY @ 55

Released on November 14th, 1969, David Bowie's sophomore solo LP, sometimes known by its eponymous title - sometimes known as "Space Oddity", turns 55 years old today. It's the album that gave the world its first proper glimpse of the superstar that would emerge over the next few years.

David Bowie had made his debut on LP in 1967 with an album that was also released with an eponymous title. That album was focused on mostly British music hall inspired pop songs, offering up a kinda of "song & dance" version of Bowie that really had little to do with the kind of artist he'd eventually become. The album sold poorly, which is why it took two years to muster up enough interest to release a second album. This time around, he was going for a kind of psychedelic tinged folk rock that seemed to be far more indicative of what he was truly capable.

The centrepiece of the album was the Space Oddity single, which was rush-released on July 11th of that year, in order to leverage the Apollo 11 moon landing. The song was inspired by Stanley Kubrick's 2001, A Space Odyssey. It received critical praise and was used by the BBC as background music during its coverage of the event. It initially sold poorly but soon reached number five in the UK, becoming Bowie's first and only chart hit until three years later, when Starman hit the top ten in 1972. Though Tony Visconti produced the album, he actually passed on producing the Space Oddity single, claiming at the time it was too much of a "novelty song". Instead, production for that song was handled by engineer, Gus Dudgeon.

Despite the success of the Space Oddity single, the album still failed to make much of an impression, even with Bowie making appearances on Top of the Pops and other shows to promote it. Bowie's label simply didn't put anything behind the album's promotion, so it effectively tanked on the charts. It wasn't until RCA reissued the album in 1972 that it finally charted, reaching #17 and hanging on to the listings for 42 weeks. In terms of the critics, the response was mixed and has remained so throughout the album's lifespan. While it has moments and support from some quarters, it is often seen as unfocused, even by Bowie himself. He was simply still lacking the confidence to take charge of his vision, and that showed in the final product. Ultimately, it stands as the first real indication of the artist to come, showing glimpses of the style and flair that would soon propel him to the stratosphere as one of the most revered respected rock musicians of all time.