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Glitter and Doom Live
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Let It Roll: The Best of George Harrison
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Songs Around the World
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David Bowie
On first or second listen, you might be tempted to dismiss this record as silly, campy showbiz, or in any other number of ways. Bowie himself might be tempted to dismiss these old tunes as if they were old garments he’s already worn out, but he’s entitled. I mean, he’s David Bowie, isn’t he? But these songs are so damned charming that it’s almost impossible for anyone else to dismiss them, for any reason. Maybe it’s because it sounds so unlike the David Bowie we’ve come to know. With 20/20 hindsight, the astoundingly creative theatrics of this ‘spent-too-much-time-in-Art-School’ lad now sounds like a collection of some really entertaining and professional work. Within the space of these twenty songs, he touches on cannibalism ("We Are Hungry Men"), an idiot uncle ("Uncle Arthur"), a laughing gnome, (yes it’s called "The Laughing Gnome", in which Bowie plays himself and the sped-up gnome voice), a drugged up Mod, ("London Boys"), murder ("Please Mr. Gravedigger), and a transvestite soldier ("She’s Got Medals"). C’mon, you gotta admit, that’s quite a variety. . The arrangements are, shall we say, eclectic, also, but I haven’t even mentioned his strangest (and perhaps best – certainly the funniest, anyway) character. He calls him (this is hysterical, really) "The Little Bombardier". The song is a waltz, driven by a robust tuba arrangement (!!), about an army/airforce vet who returns home and befriends children, only to be chased out of town by the authorities ("Leave them alone or we’ll get sore, we’ve had blokes like you in the station before"). As Bowie sings it, it’s pretty funny stuff. "Join the Gang" is hilarious, too, as Bowie casts an amused eye at the self-appointed ‘In’ crowd (sung to a spy-type rhythm, he sings "This club’s called The Web, it’s this months pick. Next month we shall find a place where prices ain’t so stiff…")
Veering between the silly and the profound, often within the same song, David Bowie creates varied, vivid and amusing theatrics all over this collection of songs. Throughout, he takes an amusedly twisted look at the English ‘music hall’ tradition, filtering his impressions through the eyes of an ambitiously creative teenager during ‘the summer of love’. Some of these songs could have been used twenty years ago on the Vaudeville circuit ("RubberBand", "Did You Ever Have a Dream?"). Others glimpse toward the future ("Karma Man" is a brilliant pop tune, especially considering how early it was conceived). In 1966 and 1967, David Bowie was doing some remarkably eccentric (and inspired) work. Utilizing all sorts of studio musicians, he practically ignored ‘guitar rock’, psychedelic, or any other kind of rock, for that matter. He was off in his own world, and not many people were listening yet.
The songs that I talk about in this review are available in practically dozens of ways, since they’ve been repackaged so many times. The copy I’m reviewing is a 12" vinyl double album on London (BP 628/9), with the wonderful cartoon covers, front and back, which animate the song titles. I bet that if he reflects on it, Bowie still holds a place in his heart for some of these tunes after all. I sure do.
Grade: 
 
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