Album

Young Americans

David Bowie

1975 · Rock, Funk / Soul

107 collectors on Gatefold own this

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Young Americans by David Bowie

Young Americans is a Soul & Funk album by David Bowie, originally released in 1975. On Gatefold: 208 pressings tracked, owned by 107 collectors.

About

During the American tour promoting the dystopian art rock of 1974's <i>Diamond Dogs</i>, David Bowie fell hard for the gloriously smooth sound of Philly soul. So he went right to the source to make <i>Young Americans</i>, with a backing group featuring Luther Vandross. It’s a slick, tuneful pop-R&B record given extra depth by some of Bowie's most pointed lyrics. The gospel-tinged title track and the needling funk of "Fame" (with lyrics and vocals by John Lennon) are among Bowie's most exciting, impassioned performances.

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Tracklist

Side A

  1. A1Young Americans5:10
  2. A2Win4:44
  3. A3Fascination5:43
  4. A4Right4:13

Side B

  1. B1Somebody Up There Likes Me6:30
  2. B2Across The Universe4:30
  3. B3Can You Hear Me5:04
  4. B4Fame4:12

Sound DNA

  • Soul & Funk
  • Classic Soul
  • lush
  • swaggering
  • urban

Album notes

Discogs page for these notes (opens in a new tab)

Young Americans is the ninth from 26 studio albums (1967-2016) by British rock musician David Bowie, recorded August 1974 – January 1975 and released in 1975 on the label. Bowie calls the album his own protest album.
Musically, he left the rock sound of his previous albums and recorded Young Americans within a week at in Philadelphia with the help of mostly African American soul and funk musicians and John Lennon.
The album was remastered several times over the years. The first of these was in 1991 as part of 's reissue campaign of the David Bowie catalog, including the non-album single "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)" and the outtakes "Who Can I Be Now?" and "It's Gonna Be Me" as bonus tracks. This remaster additionally includes alternate mixes of "Win", "Fascination", and "Right"; according to former Rykodisc engineer Jeff Rougvie, this was not an intentional decision on Bowie's part, but was rather the result of the label not cross-referencing the tapes with the original LP. The alternate mix of "Fascination" was also previously included on Sound+Vision because of this error. In 1997, Rykodisc reissued the album on a gold CD as part of their line; sources vary as to whether or not this release reinstated the original mixes of the affected songs.
The second remaster was as part of in 1999 by, with US distribution by. This release lacked any bonus tracks, featured the original mixes of "Win", "Fascination", and "Right", and used digital processing to remove tape hiss. Along with the other albums in the series, it was reissued by, who inherited the rights to the Bowie catalog following the dissolution of EMI in 2012.
The third and most recent remaster was in 2016 by Parlophone as part of the box set Who Can I Be Now? [1974-1976], also lacking bonus tracks and using the 1974 mixes of "Win", "Fascination", and "Right". The bonus tracks from the Rykodisc release were instead featured on The Gouster, an early version of Young Americans exclusive to the set. The remaster of Young Americans would also receive a standalone release the following year.

Credits

The people behind it.

Performers

107 collectors on Gatefold own this · 208 pressings tracked on Gatefold

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