Letter to Hermione
| David Bowie | ||||
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1969 Philips LP (UK)
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| Studio album by David Bowie | ||||
| Released | 14 November 1969 | |||
| Recorded | June–September 1969 | |||
| Studio | Trident Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Folk rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock | |||
| Length | 45:13 | |||
| Label |
Philips (UK) Mercury (US) |
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| Producer |
Tony Visconti Gus Dudgeon on "Space Oddity" |
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| David Bowie chronology | ||||
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| Singles from David Bowie | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
1972 RCA LP
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| Pitchfork Media | (6.7/10) |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
David Bowie is the second studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released under that title by Philips in the UK, and as Man of Words/Man of Music by Mercury in the US, on 14 November 1969. It was reissued in 1972 by RCA Records as Space Oddity (the title of the opening track, which had reached No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart). Space Oddity was the name used for CD releases of the album in 1984, 1990 and 1999, but it reverted to the original, eponymous title for 2009 and 2015 reissues.
Regarding its mix of folk, balladry and prog rock, NME editors Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray have said, "Some of it belonged in '67 and some of it in '72, but in 1969 it all seemed vastly incongruous. Basically, David Bowie can be viewed in retrospect as all that Bowie had been and a little of what he would become, all jumbled up and fighting for control..."
The album came about after Bowie had made the transition from a cabaret/avant-garde-inspired musician to a hippie/folk-based sound and as such the album is a major turning point from his 1967 debut.
"Don't Sit Down", an unlisted 40-second jam heard after the album's second song on the UK Philips LP, was excluded from the US Mercury release and from the 1972 RCA reissue. The piece was included once again -- and listed as an independent track -- on CD releases of the album in the 1990s. The 2009 and 2015 reissues returned the piece to its original status as a hidden track.
Released as a single in July 1969, "Space Oddity" was a largely acoustic number augmented by the eerie tones of the composer's Stylophone, a pocket electronic organ. The title and subject matter were inspired by Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and introduced the character of Major Tom. The song dates back as early as February 1969. It was written for a promotional video named "Love You till Tuesday". The video's intent was to sell Bowie to a new label as he had been dropped from Deram Records in April 1968. He was urged by his manager Kenneth Pitt to record some new material and so "Space Oddity "was born. Some commentators have also seen the song as a metaphor for heroin use, citing the opening countdown as analogous to the drug's passage down the needle prior to the euphoric 'hit', and noting Bowie's admission of a "silly flirtation with smack" in 1968. His 1980 hit "Ashes to Ashes" declared "We know Major Tom's a junkie".
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