“Young American, young American, you want the young American...”
DAVID BOWIE YOUNG AMERICANS
50th ANNIVERSARY HALF SPEED MASTERED LP
50th ANNIVERSARY PICTURE DISC LP WITH POSTER
LIMITED EDITION RELEASES
AVAILABLE 7th MARCH, 2025 ON PARLOPHONE
PRE-ORDER HERE (Link will be updated throughout the day)
#BowieYoungAmericans #YoungAmericans50
7th March 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the release of David Bowie's ninth studio album, YOUNG AMERICANS.
On the exact day of its Golden Jubilee, YOUNG AMERICANS will be issued as a limited edition 50th anniversary half-speed mastered LP and a picture disc LP pressed from the same master. The picture disc comes with a poster of the album cover.
The album saw Bowie broaden his musical horizons once more, embracing what he called 'Plastic Soul' and would give Bowie his first number one single in the U.S., ‘FAME’, co-written with John Lennon and Bowie's then guitarist, Carlos Alomar.
The album was partly influenced by the 'Philly Sound' and recorded in Philadelphia at Sigma Sound studios during a break in the DIAMOND DOGS tour with a band that featured amongst others Bowie stalwart Mike Garson on keys, along with the late Luther Vandross on vocals and David Sanborn on saxophone.
During the Tony Visconti produced sessions at Sigma Sound, Bowie immersed himself in soul music and created a new persona called The Gouster, a slang term for a hip street character. An early version of the album using this title was issued on the boxset WHO CAN I BE NOW? (1974-1976).
When the tour recommenced, Bowie radically reworked the setlist to incorporate the new material and stripped the elaborate production of the tour back to reflect a radically new musical direction. At the end of the tour in December ’74, sessions continued at The Record Plant and, while recording in New York, Bowie connected with John Lennon, where they recorded a cover of The Beatles ‘ACROSS THE UNIVERSE’ and a new collaborative composition, ‘FAME’ at Electric Lady Studios. The New York sessions were co-produced by David and Record Plant engineer Harry Maslin.
Bowie opted not to tour following YOUNG AMERICANS’ release, and within nine months, had moved on again, releasing his next album, STATION TO STATION, and reinventing himself once again in the persona of The Thin White Duke.
This new pressing of YOUNG AMERICANS was cut on a customised late Neumann VMS80 lathe with fully recapped electronics from 192kHz restored masters of the original Record Plant master tapes, with no additional processing on transfer. The half-speed was cut by John Webber at AIR Studios.
DAVID BOWIE - YOUNG AMERICANS - TRACKLISTING
SIDE ONE
Young Americans
Win
Fascination
Right
SIDE TWO
Somebody Up There Likes Me
Across The Universe
Can You Hear Me
Fame
YOUNG AMERICANS
50th ANNIVERSARY HALF SPEED MASTERED LP
50th ANNIVERSARY PICTURE DISC LP WITH POSTER
AVAILABLE 7th MARCH, 2025 ON PARLOPHONE