Even though it contained no hits, The Man Who Sold the World, for most intents and purposes, was the beginning of David Bowie's classic period.
Working with guitarist Mick Ronson and producer Tony Visconti for the second time Bowie developed a tight, twisted heavy guitar rock that appears simple on the surface but sounds more gnarled upon each listen.
The mix is off-center, with the fuzz-bass dominating the compressed, razor-thin guitars and Bowie's strangled, affected voice.
The sound of The Man Who Sold the World is odd, but the music itself is bizarre, with Bowie's weird, paranoid futuristic tales melded to Ronson's riffing and the band's relentless attack.
Musically, there isn't much innovation on The Man Who Sold the World -- it is almost all hard blues-rock or psychedelic folk-rock -- but there's an unsettling edge to the band's performance, which makes the record one of Bowie's best albums.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Width of a CircleDavid Bowie | David Bowie | Play | 08:08 | 18 MB | 56 MB |
| 2 | All the MadmenDavid Bowie | David Bowie | Play | 05:40 | 13 MB | 38 MB |
| 3 | Black Country RockDavid Bowie | David Bowie | Play | 03:36 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 4 | After AllDavid Bowie | David Bowie | Play | 03:55 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 5 | Running Gun BluesDavid Bowie | David Bowie | Play | 03:15 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 6 | Saviour MachineDavid Bowie | David Bowie | Play | 04:28 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 7 | She Shook Me ColdDavid Bowie | David Bowie | Play | 04:16 | 9 MB | 30 MB |
| 8 | The Man Who Sold the WorldDavid Bowie | David Bowie | Play | 03:59 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 9 | The SupermenDavid Bowie | David Bowie | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 41 mins | 93 MB | |||||
| 41 mins | 276 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jo Blair | Project Producer |
| 2 | David Bowie | Composer, Guitar, Harmonica, Primary Artist, Stylophone, Vocals |
| 3 | Gerald Chevin | Engineer |
| 4 | Aisha Cohen | Associate Project Coordinator |
| 5 | Keef | Design, Photography |
| 6 | Ralph Mace | Moog Synthesizer |
| 7 | Keith McMillan | Inside Photo |
| 8 | Scott Minshall | Design |
| 9 | Eddy Offord | Engineer |
| 10 | Nigel Reeve | Project Producer |
| 11 | Mick Ronson | Engineer, Guest Artist, Guitar, Moog Synthesizer, Vocals |
| 12 | Ken Scott | Engineer |
| 13 | Ray Staff | Mastering, Transfers |
| 14 | Tony Visconti | Bass (Electric), Engineer, Guitar, Piano, Producer, Remixing |
| 15 | Michael J. Weller | Artwork |
| 16 | Mick "Woody" Woodmansey | Drums |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |