David Bowie - Space Oddity: 40th Anniversary Edition

Major Tom’s moderately interesting makeover

He’d tried Mod and dabbled in exaggerated Anthony Newley Cockney-isms but, for his third bite of the cherry, Bowie took on the mantle of psychedelic folkie. Space Oddity may be regarded as the singer’s first “proper” album, though its mish-mash of styles and strummy experiments suggest he was still trying to settle on an identity. An Occasional Dream and Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud flirt with the obtuse mysticism of the times, while God Knows I’m Good is a peculiar urban ballad about a shoplifter that can’t make up its mind whether it’s Nick Drake or Alan Bennett. Only the title track and Memory Of A Free Festival really hint at the Bowie to come.

The bonus disc holds few surprises. The demo of Space Oddity finds the song pretty much fully formed, while the Italian language version of the track, re-titled Ragazzo Solo Ragazzo Sola (Lonely Boy, Lonely Girl), was on the 1982 compilation Bowie Rare. Elsewhere, it’s just Free Festival split into two parts for single release, alternate mixes and radio sessions already available on the Bowie At The Beeb collection. Nice for fans to have them all in one place, but there are no fresh insights into the man’s modus operandi.

3 stars 3 stars 3 stars

EMI | tbc

Reviewed by Terry Staunton
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