01	Young Americans						05:14
	02	Win						04:48
	03	Fascination						05:51
	04	Right						04:21
	05	Somebody Up There Likes Me						06:34
	06	Across The Universe						04:32
	07	Can You Hear Me						05:08
	08	Fame						04:20
	09	Who Can I Be Now?			(Previously unreleased track recorded from 1974)			04:39
	10	It's Gonna Be Me			Previously unreleased track recorded from 1974			06:30
	11	John, I'm Only Dancing Again			(Single A-side recorded 1974)			06:59

(c) & (p) 1975, 1991 Jones Music America/MainMan Ltd.
Manufactured and Markedted by Rykodisc under exclusive license.

Young Americans
Date of Release 1975

Bowie had dropped hints during the Diamond Dogs tour that he was moving toward R&B, but the full-blown blue-eyed soul of Young Americans came as a shock. Surrounding himself with first-rate sessionmen, Bowie comes up with a set of songs that approximate the sound of Phillie-soul and disco, yet remain detached from their inspirations; even at his most passionate, Bowie sounds like a commentator, as if the entire album was a genre exercise. Nevertheless, the distance doesn't hurt the album - it gives the record its own distinctive flavor, and its plastic, robotic soul helped inform generations of synthetic British soul. What does hurt the record is a lack of strong songwriting. "Young Americans" is a masterpiece, and "Fame" had a beat funky enough that James Brown ripped it off, but only a handful of cuts ("Win," "Fascination," "Somebody Up There Likes Me") come close to matching their quality. As a result, Young Americans is more enjoyable as a stylistic adventure, than as a substantive record. [The 1991 CD has three bonus tracks, including the terrific outtake "Who Can I Be Now?"] - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

1. Young Americans (Bowie) - 5:11
2. Win - 4:44
3. Fascination (Bowie/Vandross) - 5:45
4. Right - 4:15
5. Somebody up There Likes Me - 6:30
6. Across the Universe (Lennon/McCartney) - 4:29
7. Can You Hear Me (Bowie) - 5:03
8. Fame (Alomar/Bowie/Lennon) - 4:16
9. Who Can I Be Now? [Ryko Edition Only] - 4:36
10. It's Gonna Be Me [Ryko Edition Only] - 6:27
11. John, I'm Only Dancing (Again) [Ryko Edition Only] (Bowie) - 6:57


David Bowie - Guitar, Piano, Arranger, Keyboards, Saxophone, Vocals, Producer, Mixing
John Lennon - Guitar, Vocals
Earl Slick - Guitar
Luther Vandross - Arranger, Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
Mike Garson - Piano, Keyboards
David Sanborn - Saxophone
Ava Cherry - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
Ralph MacDonald - Percussion
Robin Clark - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
Carlos Alomar - Guitar
Dennis Davis - Percussion, Drums
Jeanie Fineberg - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
Anthony Hinton - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
Emir Kassan - Bass
Harry Maslin - Producer, Engineer, Mixing
Peter Mew - Remastering
Jean Millington - Vocals (bckgr)
Dr. Toby Mountain - Digital Mastering
Andy Newmark - Drums
Warren Peace - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
Pablo Rosario - Percussion
Steve Shapiro - Photography
G. Diane Sumler - Vocals
David Thoener - Assistant Engineer
Tony Visconti - Arranger, Producer, Mixing
Larry Washington - Percussion, Conga
Willie Weeks - Bass
Jonathan Wyner - Mastering Assistant
Diane Sumler - Vocals (bckgr)
Neal Preston - Photography
Eric Stephen Jacobs - Photography
David Michael Kennedy - Photography
Nigel Reeve - Remastering
Kevin Cann - Design

1999 CD Virgin 21905
1991 CD Rykodisc RCD-10140
1975 LP RCA 10998
1991 CS Rykodisc 140
1998 CD Capitol 96436
1991 CS Rykodisc RACS-0140




Young Americans

AMG REVIEW: The title track to David Bowie's eighth studio album, in 1975, was the first song recorded for what was, even by the standards of his later maneuvering, a major stylistic change. Out went the glam and hard rock trappings of his most recent releases; in came the "plastic soul" sound which - after three years of trying - would finally break the singer in America: the chart-topping "Fame" was culled from the same LP, while a neatly edited version of "Young Americans," cut from five minutes to three, at least made the Top 30.
The breakneck lyric and a haunting sax refrain are the song's most familiar hallmarks, although the vocal break towards the end of the song, where Bowie implores, "ain't there just one damn song....," was later selected by Mojo magazine as the most impressive passage in his entire recorded oeuvre. - Dave Thompson




Fascination

AMG REVIEW: As with just about everything on Young Americans, "Fascination" was a way for David Bowie to embrace the Philadelphia soul/funk sound and have his own fun with it. And that he did - if "Fascination" in particular wouldn't necessarily have the O-Jays quaking in their shoes that they'd be out of a job, it is a dramatic and at times seriously groovy song. Bowie himself often seems to be playing a secondary role in his own composition - his vocals are either pitched low or almost half-whispered, though whether this is intentional or the results of him trying on a new singing style aren't entirely clear. Perhaps the most notable contrast is the fact that his backing singers have a more prominent part to play in the chorus than he does! As a whole it's an enjoyable listen, very much a 1975-era composition but shot through with a cool edge that one could imagine Nile Rodgers giving an ear to in the early days of Chic (if not quite so minimal!). - Ned Raggett



Somebody up There Likes Me

AMG REVIEW: One of Young Americans' better numbers, "Somebody Up There Likes Me" was in many ways a precursor to a lot of UK acts in the eighties. One can easily hear in David Bowie's performance and the band's overall performance the kind of blue-eyed soul that folks like Paul Young and Alison Moyet would later claim for themselves. For some that would mean an indictment rather than a cause for celebration, but "Somebody Up There Likes Me" really is a great number through and through. Bowie sounds more comfortable on this song than on many others on the album, his familiar tones occasionally breathy but not quite as forced. Meanwhile, there's a great call and response build up throughout the song, while the whole arrangement is a showcase for both the backing singers (notably including Luther Vandross) and the backing band, with guitarist Carlos Alomar and sax player David Sanborn in particular shining. If nothing else, Sanborn should have taken the hint to work with others in future than trying to go it solo - he works much better as a supporting musician than front and center! - Ned Raggett



Fame

AMG REVIEW: "Fame" was one of two songs slotted at the very last minute onto that year's Young Americans album - the other was a cover of the Beatles' "Across the Universe." Based upon a riff which guitarist Carlos Alomar appropriated from early-'60s R&B band the Flames' "Footstompin'," and enhanced by a passing John Lennon, "Fame" became David Bowie's first U.S. chart-topper in mid-1975, a hard-funking dance storm whose lyrics - a hostile riposte on the personal cost of success - utterly belie the upbeat tempo and feel of the song.
Live, "Fame" retains more of its viciousness, with an especially crucial rendering delivered on the 1987 Glass Spider live video, as Bowie segues from the song into a few moments of Edwin Starr's "War": "Fame! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing." Of course it isn't. - Dave Thompson