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''David Bowie'' is the second studio album by 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, in November 1969. It was rereleased in 1972 by RCA as ''Space Oddity'' (the title of the opening track, which had been released as a single in July 1969 and 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 a 2009 reissue. 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..."〔Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). ''Bowie: An Illustrated Record'': pp.28–29〕 "Don't Sit Down", an unlisted 40-second jam heard after the album's second song, was listed as an independent track on CD releases of the album in the 1990s, but the 2009 reissue returned the song to its original status as a hidden piece. ==Composition== Still one of David Bowie's best-known songs, "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. 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". "Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed" reflected a strong Bob Dylan influence,〔Nicholas Pegg (2000). Ibid: p.227〕 with its harmonica, edgy guitar sound and snarling vocal. "Letter to Hermione" was a farewell ballad to Bowie's former girlfriend, Hermione Farthingale, who was also the object of "An Occasional Dream",〔 a gentle folk tune reminiscent of the singer's 1967 debut album. "God Knows I'm Good", Bowie's observational tale of a shoplifter's plight, also recalled his earlier style.〔 "Cygnet Committee" has been called Bowie's "first true masterpiece".〔Nicholas Pegg (2000). Ibid: p.57〕 Commonly regarded as the album track most indicative of the composer's future direction, its lead character is a messianic figure "who breaks down barriers for his younger followers, but finds that he has only provided them with the means to reject and destroy him".〔 Bowie himself described it at the time as a put down of hippies who seemed ready to follow any charismatic leader.〔 Another track cited as foreshadowing themes to which Bowie would return in the 1970s, in this case the fracturing of personality, was "Janine", which featured the words "But if you took an axe to me, you'd kill another man not me at all".〔 The Buddhism-influenced "Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud" was presented in a heavily expanded form compared to the original guitar-and-cello version on the B-side of the "Space Oddity" single; the album cut featured a 50-piece orchestra. (It is also said to be Mick Ronson's debut on a Bowie record, playing uncredited guitar and handclaps midway through the song.〔) "Memory of a Free Festival" was Bowie's reminiscence of an arts festival he had organised in August 1969. Its drawn-out fade/chorus ("The Sun Machine is coming down / And we're gonna have a party") was compared to The Beatles' "Hey Jude";〔Christopher Sandford (1996, 1997). ''Loving the Alien'': p.60〕 the song has also been interpreted as a derisive comment on the counterculture it was ostensibly celebrating.〔Nicholas Pegg (2000). Op Cit: pp.141–2〕 The background vocals for the crowd finale featured Bob Harris, his wife Sue, Tony Woollcott and Marc Bolan among other people.〔Kevin Cann (2009). ''Space Oddity'' 2009 reissue liner notes.〕 In 1970 Bowie cut the tune in half for the A- and B-sides of a more rock-oriented version featuring the band that would accompany him on ''The Man Who Sold the World'' later that year: Mick Ronson, Tony Visconti and Mick Woodmansey – an embryonic form of Ziggy Stardust's Spiders From Mars. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「David Bowie (1969 album)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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