Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1884 in Digital Music Album
• Published on: 2000-07-18
• Released on: 2000-07-18
• Running time: 0 seconds

Customer Reviews

More like a water-treading album...
... has said the "man" himself about A Lad Insane, the second glam album from rock cameo David Bowie, and while some will qualify it as his best glam-era offering, I would tend to agree with Bowie. David Bowie was a complex and versatil artist, doing the same thing twice never really seized him. While he still enjoyed surfing on the glory of his persona Ziggy Stardust, some part of him had already said everything it had to say about rock n roll, and it shows on the album. While EVERY song here is a good song all in all, we can feel that they were written quickly, on the road. That makes the album sound rushed and somewhat redondant. But anyway, at the time Bowie couldn't get something bad from his pen, so he threw us plenty of little classics for our ziggy-angry ears.

I'll say it again. Every song is cool. The road inspired him great rockers like Watch that man, The Jean Genie, Cracked Actor, Panic In Detroit and the rolling stones cover Let Spend The Night Together wich are all not quiet revolutionary, but 100% effective. The real revolutions on this album are the hypnotic closer Lady Grinning Soul where he sings like the queen of the dragqueens (maybe the most mannered and sweet male vocals ever), the piano on Alladin Sane and the creepy majesty of Time

Overall, I would sure recommend this album, but my point of vue is that on Ziggy Stardust, the man was more into it.

Glamorous and exciting !
I purchased the 30th Anniversary Double-Disc version in Hanover, Mass. in 2007. I picked up a used version for $10 or $11. It was worth it for that price, for sure. I got a little bit nostalgic last year and I also purchased some Lou Reed, Frank Zappa and Jackson Browne and Grateful Dead. I like all of these artists and their recordings, too. Aladdin Sane sounds very good next to Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, too. Bowie has a sense of humor and that means a lot as I get older.

A sleazy, decadent classic
Bowie really loved the Rolling Stones, huh? Take that how you see fit. But seriously folks, you wanna know whose influence I hear all over this record? The Rolling Stones'! They're all over Diamond Dogs, too, which is why I consider this and the next album to be a subset of Bowie's glam phase - the Stones phase. Seriously, the guitar riffs, the horns, the backup vocals, the sleazy lyrics... that's all Stones! I mean, the Exile on Main Street influence on the memorable rockers "Watch That Man", "Cracked Actor" (with a harmonica, too!), and the Bo Diddley-influenced "Panic in Detroit" are about as obvious as it gets. You wouldn't believe this, but the massive retro doo-wop hit "Drive in Saturday" makes me think Stones, for two reasons: Guitar tone, and sax solo. He even covers a Stones it, "Let's Spend the Night Together", done in a space-rock version that actually does make it sound perverse and decadent. Total overhaul of the nonthreatening (other than the lyrics - for the time, anyway) piano-pop original! Well, there's not much Stones influence on the punning title track, with a mock-lounge opening section that quickly devolves into free-jazz piano and sax solos, but that song rules! Go on, just try getting the chorus out of your head! "Time" isn't Stonesy either, but it does have a fantastic semi-cabaret piano part, as well as an intense, biting vocal. I kinda get tired of the coda after a while, though. Now, I do not enjoy "The Prettiest Start" at all. That's one instance of me agreeing with the common criticism of glam-rock being pure stylistic camp. "Lady Grinning Soul" suffers the same fate. But I gotta admit, this is one of Bowie's most consistent and enjoyable albums. I don't see why this is seen as such a big letdown after Ziggy Stardust - to me, it's just as good as that album, and in some places better. It certainly has more jump out of your seat rock `n' roll energy. The big radio hits were "The Jean Genie", an unforgettable blues swagger that takes some cues from Mick Jagger; "Drive-in Saturday", with one of the weirdest themes ever to be found on a Top 5 hit (in this case, a society watching porn to learn how to reproduce); and "Panic in Detroit".