Emily tries but misunderstands
Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts
16/12/73 : Pin Ups - David Bowie
I've seen nine Bowie albums across the various exercises I've undertaken so I forget which ones I've actually written about and thought I'd already done this one - but no! I've generally found his earlier albums to be fine (if not exactly clarifying quite how he became quite so popular) so I was looking forward to this one.
What I wasn't expecting was an album of cover versions - I suspect some kind of "keeping the label happy" action was responsible. To be fair, I wouldn't have known they were all cover versions until I read up on the album - I only recognised three of them because they're mostly slightly successful mid 60s tracks, which isn't exactly my forté (if I actually have a forté). None of the tracks are horrible, but the whole thing feels a bit pointless - it's like an album of very average Bowie Live Lounge efforts. I struggle to believe too many people think this is peak Bowie...
We're at #3 in the charts this week on its eighth week of a 21 week run - having spent its first FIVE weeks at #1. What?!? It's also managed another 18 weeks across another six runs, with it last being seen in 2019 - and I'd have to say I'm pretty surprised by all of that. The rest of the top five are Elton John, Roxy Music, David Cassidy and Donny Osmond and for a change we have a new entry in the top ten - just, with Yes appearing at #10. And yes, Linda is once again the highest woman in the charts at #9 - but (ignoring compilations and soundtracks), wonders will never cease, we've got another woman in the top fifty, with Diana Ross popping in at #49. That's FOUR now!!!
Wikipedia has a surprisingly large amount (214 milliPeppers) for a covers album - most of which is spent explaining why Bowie recorded it (it was a combination of "keeping the label happy" and contract negotiation shenanigans). It also tells me that it's Twiggy on the cover with him - I suspect I knew that at some point but I'd completely forgotten it (and she's got a fascinating Wikipedia entry - she's done a lot more than I knew and she's Dame Twiggy now). The critics didn't like the album at the time (with hindsight, I particularly liked "I can foresee nothing but artistic frustration for Bowie in the next few years") but some view it more kindly now - I'm not convinced it's "the best covers album ever" but, then again, I'm not sure what is (the internet wasn't massively helpful, but Tori Amos's Strange Little Girls is certainly an interesting suggestion). It did phenomenally well though but it does feels like whatever Bowie did at the time would have been successful - when this debuted at #1 he had SIX albums in the charts.
"Customers also listened to" Mick Ronson, Mott The Hoople and Steve Harley - a mix very much of the time. It's generally always interesting listening to a Bowie album, even if I don't really understand what's going on - here I pretty much knew what was going on and I just didn't see the point.
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