The Jukebox Rebel

features in: Album Chart of 1975 ● Album Chart of the Decade: 1970s ● 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

Pop's great chameleon re-invents once more, this time he's gonna be a soul man, transporting himself and his family unit over to Philadelphia in a bid to authenticate the transformation. It was recorded at Sigma Sound, the hitmaking studio central to the Gamble and Huff Philly-Soul phenomenon. He's no mug; a hit was almost guaranteed and the album duly went Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic. Almost inevitably for me, the set veers between session sludge clunkers and decent rewards for the vision; the singles - “Young Americans” and “Fame” - come across well and there's a fine stab at “Across The Universe” (The Beatles, 1969). Bowie himself wasn't entirely convinced with the “plastic soul” and remarked on the work a year later: “It’s the squashed remains of ethnic music as it survives in the age of Muzak rock, written and sung by a white limey.” Accurate. Fair play to the man.

The Jukebox Rebel
26–Oct–2008

A1	[05:10] David Bowie - Young Americans (David Robert Jones) Pop
A2	[04:44] David Bowie - Win (David Robert Jones) Pop Ballad
A3	[05:43] David Bowie - Fascination (David Robert Jones, Luther Vandross) Disco / Funk
A4	[04:13] David Bowie - Right (David Robert Jones) Disco / Funk
B1	[06:30] David Bowie - Somebody Up There Likes Me (David Robert Jones) Cerebral Pop
B2	[04:30] David Bowie - Across The Universe (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) Soft Rock / A.O.R.
B3	[05:04] David Bowie - Can You Hear Me? (David Robert Jones) Pop Ballad
B4	[04:12] David Bowie - Fame (David Robert Jones, John Lennon, Carlos Alomar) Disco / Funk

ratings by TJR