Perhaps one of the most distinctive aspects of David Bowie’s music career was his willingness to morph styles. An artistic chameleon, Bowie went from Pop Rock (as heard with his self-titled 1967 debut) to Folk Rock (as heard on such albums as 1970’s The Man Who Sold the World) to Glam Rock (as boldly heard on his mega breakthrough with 1972’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and 1973’s Aladdin Sane).
Each was unique for David Bowie at the time, and his Glam Rock period slowly tapered off with the release of Diamond Dogs in May 1974. An album that mixed styles, you had big Glam Rock singles like “Rebel Rebel,” but also some compelling Soul elements pop up on others, such as “Sweet Thing.” Proving to be a taste of what was to come, just six months after recording Diamond Dogs in Europe, Bowie came out to the United States to record the songs that would become his ninth studio album, Young Americans.
Fittingly titled, the album found Bowie working between August 1974 and January 1975 in recording studios in Philadelphia and New York City. Perhaps by picking up the vibe of the cities Bowie was in at the time and working with long-time Producer Tony Visconti, they created an album quite different from anything else prior.
Extremely colorful, the album mixed R&B, Soul, and Funk instrumentation and became something Bowie even candidly called Plastic Soul (a description used for soulful music that lacks the authenticity of the cultures it derived from). Nonetheless, even with a moniker that some might call negative, there was a great deal of passion put in by the select collaborators on Young Americans. The album included talented musicians such as guitarist Carlos Alomar, Keyboardist Mike Garson, and the vocals of Ava Cherry, Robin Clark, and then-unknown Luther Vandross, who sang backup.
All quite interesting factors that played into Young Americans’ sonic quality and overall feeling, the album was led by the popular single “Young Americans” and the Number One hit “Fame.” Still, there was indeed so much more inside of it all. For example, “Win” is a simply mesmerizing Psychedelic Soul cut, while “Fascination” (co-written by Bowie and Vandross) is a delightful Funk piece. This is while others, such as “Right” and an unmistakable cover of The Beatles’ “Across the Universe” also stick out. Speaking of which, another fascinating wrinkle in the story behind Young Americans is that not only did John Lennon himself lead his guitar playing and voice to “Across the Universe,” but also aided in the writing and recording of “Fame.”
Despite negative reviews, Young American was still a top-selling album in 1975. Furthermore, with all those involved behind the scenes, it is arguably one of the most curious David Bowie albums ever recorded. Reissued numerous times over the years, including as a remastered edition as part of the 2016 box set Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976), Now there is an exciting half-speed master vinyl edition in 2025. A limited edition pressing, it arrived through Rhino Records on March 7, 2025, fitting considering it was fifty years to the day of the original release.
A great way to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Young Americans, the importance of a half-speed mastered LP is to clarify aspects of the higher frequency otherwise lost. This means you get a more dynamic sound that is astounding to listen to. In fact, even the less refined ear can hear the difference, and that is especially the case with Young Americans. Sounding magical, this limited edition LP was cut on a customized late Neumann VMS80 lathe with fully recapped electronics from 192kHz restored masters of the original Record Plant master tapes, with no additional processing on transfer.
With these technical aspects in mind, fans can get it either as the Half-Speed Master black LP or as a picture disc LP (a standard speed press with a poster included) for the fifth anniversary. Worth every penny at its very responsible price, considering the markup on vinyl these days, Cryptic Rock gives this 50th Anniversary Half-Speed Master of David Bowie’s Young American 5 out of 5 stars.
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