david bowie Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

David Bowie and Mick Jagger “Dancing in the Streets”

sfilzen — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 17:37:18 +0000

David Bowie and Mick Jagger “Dancing in the Streets” released 40 years ago today, August 27th, 1985, though it was played for the world during Live Aid on July 13th, 1985 (the two musicians had originally intended to perform it simultaneously in London and Philadelphia but the delay in sound would have made things awkward). Bowie and Jagger’s version, originally recorded by Martha and the Vandellas in 1964 when it went to #2 on the charts and then was covered about a zillion times, hit #7 in the US and went to #1 in the UK. I love their rendition and I absolutely adore the video – it is so very very 80’s and so very very silly – even though it’s considered one of the worst videos of the 80’s, if not all time by, like, everyone (except me). I find this info from Wiki hilarious so pasting here in its entirety:

The video was played twice during the Live Aid event: the first before Bowie’s set, where it was introduced via satellite by the comedian Chevy Chase, and the second time as a filler when the Who’s reunion set suffered sound problems. It has been described as “campy”,”cheesy” and “embarrassing”. Radio X’s Martin O’Gorman remarked: “It’s [Bowie and Jagger’s] playful irreverence that causes many people to cringe.” Readers of The Guardian rated it the worst music video of all time in 2014, while NME placed it at No. 12 in their list of the 50 worst music videos ever. In a 2011 episode of Family Guy, Peter Griffin refers to the video as “the gayest music video of all time”, after which it is played in its entirety. After its conclusion, Griffin states: “That happened and we all let it happen.” In the 2010s, a “silent” version of the video was uploaded to YouTube, featuring grunts and shuffles instead of the music. Bowie himself was a fan of the video, with guitarist Ben Monder saying: “He thought it was hilarious and would just have us watch the whole thing [during the Blackstar sessions].

Here are both the “real” and the “no music” versions of the video so you can decide for yourself. I think both are pure gold.

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Jherek Bischoff & Amanda Palmer “Strung Out in Heaven”

sfilzen — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 20:46:21 +0000

Jherek Bischoff & Amanda Palmer “Strung Out in Heaven” a Bowie tribute. 2016. Eight Foot Records. A tribute to Bowie today on what would have been his 77th birthday. Strung Out in Heaven is an EP of Bowie songs (Side A), all on orchestral strings conducted by composer Jherek Bischoff (who also performs double bass) and sung gorgeously by Dresden Dolls’ Amanda Palmer. The project came together and was recorded within just two weeks following Bowie’s death on January 10th, 2016 and the digital version released on February 5th 2016. The complexity of most Bowie songs lend themselves well to orchestral interpretation and Palmer’s rich voice blends perfectly with the strings. My top track on the Bowie side is “Space Oddity” which I’m guessing was super-fun to conduct, with its time-changes and sad-string vibes. The runners-up are “Ashes to Ashes” and the instrumental-only “Life on Mars?” is gorgeous: the conversion to a string quartet arrangement seems perfectly obvious. Also of note is performer John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) who sings on “Heroes.”

The vinyl release came out in November 2016 and includes a cover of Prince’s “Purple Rain,” a tribute to Prince who died in April 2016. The track begins with a whispery recreation of the intro to “Let’s Go Crazy,” backed by ambient strings, before segueing into a delicate rendition of “Purple Rain.” It’s pretty OK but the Bowie side is better.

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Mott the Hoople “All the Young Dudes”

sfilzen — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 18:30:18 +0000

Mott the Hoople “All the Young Dudes” released 50 years ago today, September 8th, 1972. Their 5th studio LP, All the Young Dudes made Mott glam rock superstars. The record was produced and arranged by David Bowie; he also sang lead vocals on “Soft Ground” and most famously wrote the title track “All the Young Dudes.” That single, released a couple of months before the album, hit #3 in the UK and made a respectable showing the US, going to #37; it’s been described as the glam rock “ultimate ’70s glittered” anthem. Other notable contributors to All the Young Dudes also include Mick Ronson, who played strings and brass plus arranged “Sea Diver” and rock photographer Mick Rock who designed the LP cover. Besides the title track, my favorite song is Mott’s cover of the Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane” – it was released as a single in the North American market and parts of Europe but not the UK. I also like “One of the Boys,” another 70’s anthemic track, which was originally the b-side to “All the Young Dudes” and then released as a single in North America.

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David Bowie “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars”

sfilzen — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 12:56:56 +0000

David Bowie “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” released 50 years ago today, June 16th, 1972. Since I’ve written about this amazing album before, I’ll quote myself here (slightly edited from the original post):

Bowie is one of my favorite artists of all-time, the influencer of diverse musicians – from Darby Crash of the Germs to Duran Duran – and he apparently was the glue that held our universe together. I’ve been obsessed with “Starman” for years, such an amazing groove and so very otherworldly Bowie. I’ve had equally intense obsessions with “Five Years” (especially after reading the Darby Crash biography Lexicon Devil in which I read that Crash pretty much modeled his rock-n-roll career and death on the song), “Suffragette City” (around 1988 while in high school I got in some trouble for writing “wham, bam thank you ma’am” on the cafeteria windows) and the title track “Ziggy Stardust.” However, the entire record is glam rock perfection and I’m sure I’ll go through “Soul Love” and “It Ain’t Easy” obsessions soon.

Ziggy Stardust was Bowie’s biggest album to that point in his career; after entering the charts at #10, it reached #5 in the UK and hit #75 in the US. Considered one of the greatest records ever, it is included in the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry. The single “Starman” (with its b-side “Suffragette City”) hit #10 in the UK and #65 in the US. The other single released from Ziggy Stardust, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide,” just went to #22 in the UK after its belated release in 1974, a move RCA made in anticipation of Bowie’s upcoming Diamond Dogs LP.

In June 2019 we made a musical pilgrimage to London and one of our must-visits was the alley where the cover of Ziggy Stardust was photographed. It looks a lot different now, of course, but I had Joe replicate it to the best of my ability. There’s also a plaque that helpfully shows pilgrims like ourselves the exact spot (honestly the alley, or more specifically 14-18 Heddon St. just off of Savile Row, wasn’t that easy to find, at least for us).

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David Bowie “Peter and the Wolf”

sfilzen — Sat, 08 Jan 2022 18:53:04 +0000

David Bowie “Peter and the Wolf” 1978. Today, January 8th, would have been David Bowie’s 75th birthday (b. 1947, d. 2016) so I’m spinning this obscure original on green vinyl, David Bowie Narrates Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. Sergei Prokofiev wrote the orchestral piece to introduce children to the instruments of an orchestra in 1936. Behind Bowie’s narration is the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy. The story is about a young Russian boy who defies his grandfather, pals around with a bunch of animals and captures a wolf who has swallowed a live duck. Each character is represented by a corresponding instrument in the orchestra: the bird by a flute, the duck by an oboe, the cat by a clarinet, the grandfather by a bassoon, the wolf by three horns, Peter by the string quartet and the shooting of the hunters by the kettle drums and bass drum. I had Peter and the Wolf on vinyl when I was a really little kid but definitely not narrated by Bowie which is too bad as that would have been amazing (this would have been earlier in the 70’s anyway, around ’74 or ’75). The version I probably had was the Disney 7″ long-playing version from 1968 narrated by John Witty which came with a 24-page illustrated read-along booklet. I absolutely loved it and likely started violin lessons not long after.

Bowie’s version went to #136 on the US album chart and was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Recording for Children category, but he lost to The Muppet Show tv soundtrack album. Bowie delivers a performance that was almost universally described at the time as “charming” (it is!) and it’s hard to believe he recorded this not long after releasing Heroes and recording and touring with Iggy Pop, both ventures hardly kid-orientated. Bowie stated that his involvement with Peter and the Wolf was meant as a Christmas present for his son, Duncan, who was 7 years old. You can listen to the entire piece here.

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David Bowie “Hunky Dory”

sfilzen — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 20:02:22 +0000

David Bowie “Hunky Dory” released 50 years ago today, December 17th, 1971. My absolute favorite Bowie album was his fourth LP. After a slow start, it eventually hit #3 in the UK in ’72 and #57 in the US in 2016 after Bowie’s death. It is regarded as one of the best records ever, hovering at or around the top 100 on many publications’ lists (Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Time, etc.). Bowie released two singles from Hunky Dory: the first in early ’72 was the iconic “Changes” (#66 US in ’72 and then #41 in ’75; #49 UK in 2016), its b-side “Andy Warhol” obviously inspired by the artist of whom Bowie was a huge fan. Bowie performed the song for Warhol; it’s reported that Warhol didn’t say anything about the song to Bowie but “absolutely hated it” which is too bad because it is an excellent hard-strumming acoustic jammer (played by Mick Ronson) that is both glam and pastoral English folk. The other single was “Life on Mars?” which has a complicated and amusing history. Bowie originally wrote the bones of the song in ’68 as an English translation for a French song but they were rejected; Paul Anka rewrote it into “My Way” which had wild success with Frank Sinatra. Irritated, Bowie tweaked it again into “Life on Mars?” to parody Sinatra – the back cover has written next to the song’s title “Inspired by Frankie” The single hit #3 in the UK in ’73. Another fun fact: Bowie originally wanted Dudley Moore (who I associate with early 80’s comedy movies, namely Arthur) to play piano for the song. That plan fell through and Rick Wakeman from Strawbs got the gig. Bowie wrote “Kooks” for his newborn son Duncan (whose birthday is just 2 months before mine so I can pretend Bowie maybe wrote it for me, too) and “Song for Bob Dylan” has the more obvious tribute – Bowie even kinda mimics Dylan’s vocal style (but is a vastly superior singer). My absolute favorite song from Hunky Dory is “Queen Bitch,” an ass-shaking glam-pop rocker inspired by Velvet Unground’s Lou Reed. My kid contributed that song to the birthday playlist that friends and family put together for me this past summer when I also turned 50. I was thrilled because he knew how much I love that song but also amused/annoyed that it’s the song he most connects to me (queen/princess…yes, bitch…?).

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David Bowie “Labyrinth”

sfilzen — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 19:24:26 +0000

David Bowie “Labyrinth” soundtrack released 35 years ago today, June 23rd, 1986. The Jim Henson-directed and George Lucas-produced film starring Bowie and Jennifer Connelly and written by Terry Jones was released on June 27th. It went to #68 in the US and to #38 in the UK. Bowie wrote five tracks for the soundtrack: “Underground” (different versions of which appear at both the beginning and end of the movie), “Magic Dance,” “Chilly Down” (though he does not sing on this track, instead it’s sung by the actors who voiced the Fireys characters, “As the World Falls Down” (and though it was planned to be released as a single – Bowie even made a full-length video for the song – it was never released) and “Within You.” Two of those songs were released as singles – “Underground,” the end-of-the-film version which went to #21 in the UK, #18 on the US Mainstream Rock chart and #22 on the US Dance chart, and “Magic Dance” which had a limited release in ‘86 (it went to #40 in New Zealand) but gained in popularity over the years, becoming one of Bowie’s most popular digital downloads (and I suspect a part of that number came from our son – it ranked #1 on his most-listened-to Spotify songs…and he listens to A LOT of Spotify). The Labyrinth soundtrack also became one of Bowie’s top downloaded albums – his 3rd highest on iTunes. The rest of the soundtrack is instrumental, tracks composed by Trevor Jones.

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David Bowie “Aladdin Sane”

sfilzen — Wed, 26 May 2021 22:00:34 +0000

David Bowie “Aladdin Sane” 1973. I’m spinning Bowie’s sixth album today, May 26th, in honor of what would have been Mick Ronson’s 75th birthday (b. Michael Ronson, 1946, d. 1993). Ronson, considered one of the greatest guitar players ever, was one of Bowie’s Spiders From Mars and plays guitar, piano and sings on Aladdin Sane. The LP went to #1 in the UK and #17 in the US. Bowie released four singles: “The Jean Genie” (#2 UK, #71 US), “Drive-In Saturday” (UK-only, #3), “Time” (I think a US-only release) and his cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Let’s Spend the Night Together” (released in the US and other countries, not the UK). Also great are the title track “Aladdin Sane” (Bowie’s “Ziggy goes to America” character) and the Bo Diddley-beat “Panic in Detroit” (supposedly influenced by Iggy Pop; Bowie mixed The Stooges’ Raw Power in ‘72 in between touring, recording, producing and starting a brutal cocaine addiction).

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David Bowie “Changesonebowie”

sfilzen — Thu, 20 May 2021 17:07:40 +0000

David Bowie “Changesonebowie” released 45 years ago today, May 20th, 1976, or possibly tomorrow, May 21st. Regardless, Changesonebowie is one of the top comps ever released; it includes singles and albums tracks Bowie recorded from ‘69-’76 and it holds a particularly dear spot in my heart as I got really into Bowie for the first time with about a million repeated listens when I was a teen. The only song to not appear on a Bowie LP is “John, I’m Only Dancing” which he released as a UK single-only in ‘72 and then again with the “sax version” in ‘73; the sax version appeared on the first Changesonebowie pressings and then was replaced with the original. And though “Suffragette City” is on The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust (1972) and was the b-side to “Starman,” Bowie released it as a single from Changesone in the summer of ‘76 to promote the comp. (“Suffragette City” was a big fave of mine and my friends in high school, mainly for the line “Wham bam thank you ma’am” because of course it was.) I love each and every song but also really love “Ziggy Stardust,” “Rebel Rebel” (Diamond Dogs, ‘74) and “Fame” (Young Americans ‘75).

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David Bowie & Morrissey “Cosmic Dancer”

sfilzen — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 21:33:54 +0000

David Bowie & Morrissey “Cosmic Dancer” 2021/1991. Parlophone Records. 7″ single, originally recorded on February 6th, 1991 in concert at the Inglewood Forum in Los Angeles. This track was available only as a bootleg up until last year when Morrissey officially released it as a digital download; the 45 rpm single just released last week on vinyl. “Cosmic Dancer” is, of course, a cover of the fabulous T. Rex song written by Marc Bolan. I love that the acoustic guitar in the performance sounds almost exactly like the intro to “Space Oddity.” Side B is Morrissey only covering The Jam’s “That’s Entertainment” re-recorded in 2020; he originally recorded “That’s Entertainment” in 1991 as the b-side to “Sing Your Life” (also on Kill Uncle). The ‘91 version of “That’s Entertainment” features Carl Smyth from Madness.

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