SPACE ODDITY was originally released as MAN OF WORDS, MAN OF MUSIC on Mercury in 1969. SPACE ODDITY is an Enhanced audio CD which contains regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Personnel: David Bowie (vocals, 12-string guitar, organ, stylophone, kalimba); Keith Christmas (acoustic guitar); Tim Renwick, Mick Wayne (guitar); Paul Buckmaster (cello); Tony Visconti (flute, recorder, bass); Benny Marshall and Friends (harmonica); Rick Wakeman (electric harpsichord, Mellotron); John Lodge, Herbie Flowers (bass); Terry Cox, John Cambridge (drums). Producers: Gus Dudgeon, Tony Visconti. Engineers: Ken Scott, Malcolm Toft, Barry Sheffield. Digitally remastered by Peter Mew & Nigel Reeve (1999, Abbey Road Studios, London, England). SPACE ODDITY was the first record on which David Bowie looked and sounded like the Bowie whom the world has come to know. One glance at the spooky, androgynous face that adorns the record was enough to signal that the Anthony Newley-influenced, light-pop singer who sang the novelty number "The Laughing Gnome" a few years earlier was a thing of the past. Leaving behind the mannered, English music hall-isms of his initial recordings, Bowie roughened up the sound, creating a ragged, eclectic mix of folk and rock tinged with electronic sounds. The record yielded his first American hit, and began the singer's soon-to-be meteoric rise to international rock icon-hood. The title track, a sci-fi mini-epic, is an enduring classic in which Bowie squeezes every bit of drama from both his dour low range and the soaring upper reaches of his voice. Even after decades of continued airplay, "Space Oddity" is surprising for its intricate arrangement, nifty guitar playing, and palpable sense of interplanetary estrangement. Other fine and lesser-known musical moments include the sublimely subdued "Letter to Hermione," and the sprawling and strange "Memory of a Free Festival."

• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Pop

As described in our Privacy Policy, we collect personal information from your interactions with us and our website, including through cookies and similar technologies. We may also share this personal information with third parties, including advertising partners. We do this in order to show you ads on other websites that are more relevant to your interests and for other reasons outlined in our privacy policy.

Sharing of personal information for targeted advertising based on your interaction on different websites may be considered "sales", "sharing", or "targeted advertising" under certain U.S. state privacy laws. Depending on where you live, you may have the right to opt out of these activities. If you would like to exercise this opt-out right, please follow the instructions below.

If you visit our website with the Global Privacy Control opt-out preference signal enabled, depending on where you are, we will treat this as a request to opt-out of activity that may be considered a “sale” or “sharing” of personal information or other uses that may be considered targeted advertising for the device and browser you used to visit our website.