In my opinion this is David Bowie's most underrated album. A clear leap in class from his early recordings it contains moments of great beauty, sadness and intensity.

Although the title track is perhaps over familiar these days it's still an effective track - the central message of a space traveller choosing to abandon earth is actually pretty powerful and gets lost in the gentle melody of the song. And that's just it - these aren't the gentle harmless folk songs that they are so often described as. "Cygnet Committee" is right up there with not only Bowie's best work but the best work of any artist ever. A lyrical masterpiece and powerful story - it is no exageration to say that it out Dylan's Dylan! Similarly "The Wild Eyed boy from Freecloud" draws you in to the narritive and "In memory of a free festival" is a beautifully nostalgic and touching look back on the end of an era. "Letter to Hermione" is a rare beast - a song where Bowie bares his soul and it is all the more poignant and effective for it. If you don't believe me then it is worth comparing it to the rather listless "Janine" - possibly the only weak song on the album.

Having been a fan of his music since I was eight years old (Starman on Top Of The Pops in 1972!) I have now decided the time is right to do a little review of all his albums on Amazon. As a naive and impressionable child, I had no concept of the chronology of Bowie's work, and didnt actually hear this album until the summer of '77, by which time he was light years beyond it, and about to release 'Heroes' Fooled by the RCA reissue sleeve (with a Ziggy era photo on the cover) and not having read the countless Bowie biographies I have read since, it was easy to assume that this album was recorded by the superstar Bowie, not the 1969 Bowie who had been trying for years for a hit single without success, and whose first album had bombed. Of course the title track here was a hit, but tended to be written off as a Novelty Hit - besides, as any other 1970s kid knows, the song Space Oddity is far more 'Summer of 75' (when it was reissued and gave Bowie his first Number 1 hit) than 'Summer Of 69' The album built around it was not even called 'Space Oddity' at first, merely 'David Bowie', errmm, as was his first album. It was renamed Space Oddity by RCA when they acquired the rights and reissued it in the wake of Bowie's success.

Reviews on Amazon are basically a chance to give your own personal view, so here goes..... the 12 year old Me absolutely adored this album. Songs written in sadness at the demise of Bowie's love affair with Hermione Farthingale (Letter To Hermione, An Occasional Dream) are beautiful, achy and dreamlike - they were the very soundtrack to my own first ever crush I had on a girl at school at the time! There is great storybook narrative and some superb string arrangements on 'Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud'. The epic 'Cygent Committee' blew me away at the time, but now is a bit of a guilty pleasure (although I still love the 'I WANT TO LIVVVV-AAAH' at the climax!) as is the Hey Jude like chant at the end of the somewhat twee but still enjoyable 'Memory Of A Free Festival'. There is a genuinely sad tale of a poor old lady being reduced to shop lifting and being pinched for nicking a tin of 'stewing steak' (excellent, Bowie, excellent) probably from Wavy Line or Super VG, called 'God Know's I'm Good' and the brilliant 'Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed' which prompted me (again back in 1977) to wander into he kitchen and ask my Mum what a 'phallus in pigtails' was!

By no means Bowie's best album, but still pretty wonderful nevertheless, this album is probably best described by a lyric from 'Free Festival' ie it is 'rugged and naive' Buy this, play it a few times, and then find yourself singing 'The Sun Machine Is Coming Down and We're Gonna Have A Party, Uh Huh Huh' the next time you feel particularly positive about life!

A wonderful piece of work - with Bowie still finding his way and producing some superb folky, hippie, Dylanesque (is that a word) masterpieces. Some great acoustic work, too. Letter to Hermione is concerned with David being ditched by Hermione Farthingale and is a gorgeous track. Cygnet committee is like nothing else you will ever hear and contains the chilling line, 'screw up your brother or he'll get you in the end.' Bowie screams out the words in such anguish. An occasional dream is peaceful, dreamy stuff, and God knows I'm Good an ingenious little song about an old lady caught shoplifting, again with some great guitar. Aside of the famous title track, there is another mini epic in The Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud where a doomed prisoner reflects on life the night before the gallows, and calls to the sky to save him. The climax of the album, though, come at the end, where it should be. Memory of a Free Festival is awesome, awesome. I would have it played at my funeral. If Bowie's lyrics are doubted, consider:
'We scanned the skies with rainbow eyes and saw machines of every shape and size,
We talked with tall Venusians passing through,
And Peter tried to climb aboard but the captain shook his head
And away they soared,
Climbing through the ivory vibrant cloud,
Someone passed some bliss (dope) among the crowd,
And we walked back to the road ..... unchained ...'

The song then plays out in a similar way to Hey Jude with 'the sun machine is coming down and we're goanna have a party.'

Buy this album and listen to it without distraction to really appreciate the true depth and genius of this man's work. And better was to come.

If you're wanting 'Ziggy' or 'Thin White Duke' don't go here. If you want Bowie at his early creative freeflow, then "Space Oddity" is a great pit-stop. The title track (different from the original more acoustic Phillips version) is sublime and orchestra-rich. This version here was subsequently re-released in 1975 and became Bowie's first and most worthy Number 1 single in the UK. The balance between farewell to the 60s and hello 70s and beyond is most evident with "Letter To Hermonie" and "Memory of a Free Festival." The only missing item from the RCA pressing is the sleeve cover which RCA decided was best showing a still of Bowie from the "Space Oddity" video and the title shown on the cover in 'Apollo' styled lettering. The cover now is a mix of the photoshoot used for the 'Phillips' pressings (when the LP was titled "Man of Words, Man of Music"). This CD not only benefits from being remastered at 24-bit, the whole concept works and is a pillar amongst the great 1969 to 1971 albums, recorded by Bowie; Moody Blues; Joni Mitchell; and Cat Stevens - to name but a few. Unfortunately missing from this CD pressing is "Velvet Goldmine" which was recorded during the same sessions but is still available on compilations and as an extra track on the 1975 "Space Oddity" maxi-single release. "Velvet Goldmine" was not included on the original Phillips or RCA pressings, but did surface as a bonus track on the early 90s CD release. Nevertheless, this is Bowie in all his early images and lyrical flows. Brilliant time capsule, brilliant CD.

A fine album, if somewhat unfocussed, 'Space Oddity' seems like David Bowie finding a true songwriting voice. He'd hinted at it with earlier tracks such as 'Can't help Thinking About Me' and 'London Boys', and 'Anthony Newley-isms' of his Deram album are not without charm, but 'Space Oddity' has much more fully-realised songs, with strong production values and excellent musicianship. It's not all great, but he's definitely getting there. 'Space Oddity' is still a classic - have you ever noticed that it doesn't have a chorus? Other tracks, like 'Memory of a Free Festival' have a naive charm that is of its time, but still sounds fresh. 'Wide Eyed Boy From Freecloud', that Bowie still featured in his 'Aladinn Sane' concert tour, is likewise a moving moment or two. A good album that has born up well, forty years down the line.