David Bowie - The Man Who Sold the World (1970)
On this day—November 3, 1970—The Man Who Sold the World, the third studio album by David Bowie, was released in the US. Interestingly, the album wouldn’t be released in the UK for another five months—on April 10, 1971. With either the odd illustrated cover by Michael J. Weller of a cowboy in front of an asylum chosen for the US release or the now more recognizable blue dress UK cover, the album was not particularly well received. With Bowie moving from folk rock toward a harder edged rock sound and a darker lyrical content, the album left many cold, and the record was deemed a failure. However, the album is significant in many ways. Marking not only the first appearances of future Spiders from Mars Mick Ronson and Mick Woodmansey but also planting the seeds—both musically and theatrically—of Bowie’s greatest, most fertile years, The Man Who Sold the World is perhaps an example of an album being more important than it is good.
