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David Bowie — Aladdin Sane
Album: Aladdin Sane
Avg rating:
5.8

Your rating:
Total ratings: 318









Released: 1974
Length: 5:06
Plays (last 30 days): 0
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Watching him dash away
Swinging an old bouquet
Dead roses

Saki and strings divine
Uh-uh-uh-uh, uh-uh
You'll make it

Passionate bright young things
Takes him away to war
Don't fake it

Sadden glissando strings
Uh-uh-uh-uh, uh-uh
You'll make it

Who will love Aladdin Sane?
Battle cries and champagne just in time for sunrise
Who will love Aladdin Sane?

Motor sensational
Paris or maybe hell
I'm waiting

Clutches of sad remains
Waits for Aladdin Sane
You'll make it

Who will love Aladdin Sane?
Millions weep a fountain, just in case of sunrise
Who will love Aladdin Sane?

Will love Aladdin Sane?
Will love Aladdin Sane?

Who will love Aladdin Sane?
Millions weep a fountain, just in case of sunrise
Who will love Aladdin Sane?
Will love Aladdin Sane?
Will love Aladdin Sane?

(See the lights all shining bright on Broadway)

[laughter]
Comments (56)add comment
 Chimpmeister wrote:

Spastic garbage.



You seem to hate almost all music on here. Perhaps  you should stick to listening to phone ins.
Posted 10 months ago by trevc    [ Reply ]
An average rating of 5.5 for Aladdin Sane? You have to be shitting me?!?
Posted 3 years ago by ScottishWillie    [ Reply ]
Spastic garbage.
Posted 4 years ago by Chimpmeister    [ Reply ]
Seriously?  Aladdin Sane is a 1,2,or 3?  Maybe you needed to be there...
Posted 4 years ago by meatmike    [ Reply ]
 (anonymous) wrote:
Garson is still Bowie's pianist. I used to find him grating and obvious (like Steve Naive is now) but, after all these years, he's a pleasant heaping helping of rock and roll. Catch him on Bowie's VHI Storytellers episode and you'll see him do some really beautiful heartfelt stuff. Gotta stop typing - here comes the Garson part! CRANK IT UP! How do you take acoustic piano and make it abrasive and emotive? It's harder than you think. And rock and roll isn't easy or comfortable, sometimes...
 
Steve Nieve (not Naive) is neither grating nor obvious.  In fact, and I speak as a pianist and rock musician, Nieve is one of the very best rock pianists around.  Why does acoustic piano need to be abrasive?  
Posted 4 years ago by Edweirdo    [ Reply ]
Wow, that piano just destroys an otherwise a decent song. Indulgent, masturbatory, pointless. Unlistenable.
Posted 5 years ago by bentonian    [ Reply ]
Make it stop!
Posted 17 years ago by wpmccray    [ Reply ]
The_Enemy wrote:
This was a great song when I was 14. Doesn't age well. 3
This was a great Singer when I was 14. Doesn't age well.
Posted 17 years ago by MJMJ    [ Reply ]
Sorry, to me the solo sounds like Daffy Duck piano-dueling Donald Duck in Roger Rabbit.
Posted 17 years ago by slartibart_O    [ Reply ]
not 4 th faint of heart nor anybody who cant tolerate avante garde jazz (click here) funny comments ..the thing i think is most interesting is google somehow managed to already index the radioparadise comments into their search engine
Posted 17 years ago by stratzippy    [ Reply ]
Wow, the distribution here is clearly love it or hate it; too me this is like "modern" jazz which puts me in the latter camp. Painful!
Posted 17 years ago by cmrump    [ Reply ]
I wish I could cut the piano out...the rest has/had potential.
Posted 17 years ago by shuttlecr    [ Reply ]
haljordan wrote:
Hey - it takes a true celebrity to get away with this kind of crap.
Bwahahahahahahaaaa Well, at least he took chances if we must say something nice about this one. Generally like Bowie, but this one misses.
Posted 17 years ago by iTuner    [ Reply ]
I heard sounds like the piano ovetrack once after taking some magic mushrooms... thought I was having a flashback...
Posted 17 years ago by SomeOldGuy    [ Reply ]
auburntigerrich wrote:
A whirling tornado of senselessness and insanity. No thanks. Call me when the producer gets out of rehab. Barfo.
Thus the title..."A Lad Insane"
Posted 17 years ago by boober    [ Reply ]
So I suppose you'd HATE to hear King Crimson's Cat Food (a favorite here)! With this BPM, a likely segue candidate would be Jimi's Foxy Lady. (Or the aforementioned Cat Food.)
Posted 17 years ago by jagdriver    [ Reply ]
sharkartist wrote:
I was just coming in here to specifically comment on the piano work in this song. This is hands down, my favorite Bowie song. I've always considered it genius. Who the heck was the piano player, anyone?
Thank God there's at least one person with good taste posting on this song. It's amazing how intolerant people are of any song that doesn't sound boring and generic. And yes, Mike Garson is amazing.
Posted 17 years ago by On_The_Beach    [ Reply ]
I registered just to say that I couldn't stand this song. I know some people like that kind of stuff, I don't.
Posted 17 years ago by ofb    [ Reply ]
sharkartist wrote:
I was just coming in here to specifically comment on the piano work in this song. This is hands down, my favorite Bowie song. I've always considered it genius. Who the heck was the piano player, anyone?
From Wiki: Both numbers <"Time" and "Aladdin Sane wrote:
were dominated by Mike Garson's acclaimed piano work,<5> which also featured heavily in the James Bond flavoured ballad "Lady Grinning Soul", inspired by singer Claudia Linnear.<1>
Posted 17 years ago by meydele    [ Reply ]
Mugro wrote:
The piano thing is annoying.
The combination of "The piano thing" and somebodies computer in the office going crazy making the Microsoft "Ta-da" noise over, and over, and over again makes me want to punch my monitor.
Posted 17 years ago by gabbadar    [ Reply ]
pattiecovert wrote:
the piano part is making us nuts! too much dischord for the work place.
True, I turned mine down here at my desk, BUT would an insane lad play the piano any other way!!!?
Posted 17 years ago by tnt_thomas    [ Reply ]
This was a great song when I was 14. Doesn't age well. 3
Posted 17 years ago by The_Enemy    [ Reply ]
The piano thing is annoying. It is annoying when my darling two year old does it. It is even more so when David Bowie does it. Just because you are a musical genius does not mean that you get to assault musical instruments and our ears like that!
Posted 17 years ago by Mugro    [ Reply ]
please make it stop...
Posted 17 years ago by brownbrown    [ Reply ]
Sounds like he might have made this when he was hanging with Warhol. Not always an effective inspiration. Phew!
Posted 17 years ago by Lonestar    [ Reply ]
A whirling tornado of senselessness and insanity. No thanks. Call me when the producer gets out of rehab. Barfo.
Posted 17 years ago by auburntigerrich    [ Reply ]
okay the jazzy piano is kinda cool ... bumped from sucko barfo to marginal
Posted 17 years ago by Marina1    [ Reply ]
rbigelo wrote:
Bowie's one of my all-time favorite performers, but this is not one of my favorite songs of his. Sorry.
Agreed. Yeah, Bowie's had so many incarnations. Think of this one as a transition from Ziggy to Thin White Duke (one of my favorite periods).
Posted 17 years ago by gopre    [ Reply ]
the piano part is making us nuts! too much dischord for the work place.
Posted 17 years ago by pattiecovert    [ Reply ]
a Bowie classic. avant garde jazz from the thin white duke.
Posted 17 years ago by thewiseking    [ Reply ]
Marina1 wrote:
me no like
Posted 17 years ago by lester    [ Reply ]
Great song....!
Posted 17 years ago by CCinSB    [ Reply ]
me no like
Posted 17 years ago by Marina1    [ Reply ]
Bowie's one of my all-time favorite performers, but this is not one of my favorite songs of his. Sorry.
Posted 17 years ago by rbigelo    [ Reply ]
MissAmy wrote:
No, I wouldn't give this a 1, or a "ho-hum." There is definitely some sophisticated stuff going on in this peice, there is some virtuoso keyboarding, it's definitely not boring that's for sure. But it's SOOO strange! I can do strange, but this is just utterly, confoundingly bizarre. I kind of want to listen to it over and over so that I might figure it out. Then again, maybe not.
I was just coming in here to specifically comment on the piano work in this song. This is hands down, my favorite Bowie song. I've always considered it genius. Who the heck was the piano player, anyone?
Posted 17 years ago by sharkartist    [ Reply ]
ginger wrote:
This has to be the most monotonous bass line ever.
Try playing it, then. Not as easy as monotony would dictate.
Posted 17 years ago by fretman    [ Reply ]
algrif wrote:
How about:- 1 Sucko Barfo ? It seems to be the favourite at the moment
No, I wouldn't give this a 1, or a "ho-hum." There is definitely some sophisticated stuff going on in this peice, there is some virtuoso keyboarding, it's definitely not boring that's for sure. But it's SOOO strange! I can do strange, but this is just utterly, confoundingly bizarre. I kind of want to listen to it over and over so that I might figure it out. Then again, maybe not.
Posted 17 years ago by MissAmy    [ Reply ]
when i hear this somewhat atonal piece of performance art i appreciate A Lad Insane more than ever. A true original.
Posted 17 years ago by thewiseking    [ Reply ]
OK then, I think I'll go with majority. This song is
Posted 17 years ago by renlat    [ Reply ]
that was painful
Posted 17 years ago by krg123    [ Reply ]
MissAmy wrote:
I'm not quite sure what to make of this.
How about:- 1 Sucko Barfo ? It seems to be the favourite at the moment
Posted 17 years ago by algrif    [ Reply ]
Can't say that I'm down with this version. Usually I just jump in if I like a song, but oy........seems like DB kind of took a great song and crashed it into the side of a mountain.
Posted 17 years ago by Wizzuvvoz    [ Reply ]
love Bowie, but not this one... although it is really hard to play out of key on purpose over and over, and do it again the next time you play the song. whew! makes me tired just thinking about it :oD
Posted 17 years ago by Lazaerus    [ Reply ]
That is some bad-ass keyboards.
Posted 17 years ago by DrCyKosis    [ Reply ]
This makes me hurt
Posted 17 years ago by koryreagan    [ Reply ]
This has to be the most monotonous bass line ever.
Posted 17 years ago by ginger    [ Reply ]
I'm not quite sure what to make of this.
Posted 17 years ago by MissAmy    [ Reply ]
Hard to say... Is it good or is it only one of those songs to meet a 12 songs album contract ?
Posted 17 years ago by renlat    [ Reply ]
DADDY, MAKE THE BAD MAN STOP.
Posted 17 years ago by plaid    [ Reply ]
This is one of my fav albums all time. It's great to hear it here on RP.
Posted 17 years ago by oldmanb    [ Reply ]
Very glad to hear this one. It's a fabulous album. Would be great to hear "Cracked Actor" which I don't think I've heard since my days in the Stanford Band (we played it, and listened to Bowie on "originals tapes").
Posted 17 years ago by Dave_Mack    [ Reply ]
holy crap- haven't heard this in years!! Great tune, and crazy memnories!!! thanks fer playin' it!
Posted 17 years ago by sukilau    [ Reply ]
squidish wrote:
I loooove this lad insane!
cute
Posted 17 years ago by buckskin    [ Reply ]
Really nice to hear this Bowie classic on RP! His early stuff was sooo good!
Posted 17 years ago by Shesdifferent    [ Reply ]
I loooove this lad insane!
Posted 17 years ago by squidish    [ Reply ]