(1973) RCA Victor label reissue purchased in 1979 at The Wherehouse in the Riverside Plaza. No lyrics sheet,  bummer…  Same line up as The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust; David Bowie, Mick Ronson, T.J. Bolder, and Woody Woodmansey.  Bowie toured America and Aladdin Sane resulted with each track identifying the cities that each inspired.

SIDE ONE

1. Watch That Man  (4:25)  New York
2. Aladdin Sane (1913-1938-197?)  (5:06)  Ellinis
3. Drive-In Saturday  (4:29)  Seattle-Phoenix
4. Panic In Detroit  (4:25)  Detroit
5. Cracked Actor  (2:56)  Los Angeles

SIDE TWO

1. Time  (5:09)  New Orleans
2. The Prettiest Star  (3:26)  Gloucester Road
3. Let’s Spend The Night Together  (3:03)
4. The Jean Genie  (4:02)  Detroit and New York
5. Lady Grinning Soul  (3:46)  London

This album is all over the place.  It does not tell as succinct a story as The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy.  However there are many hits on this record.  The cover of Let’s Spend The Night Together is so different; it is a cover of the highest quality.  The piano and electronic effects amp it up to astral proportions. Woody Woodmansey’s drums are SOLID!  Panic In Detroit has a Stones feel to it, evoking images of urban decay and the growing war on drugs.  The Jean Genie is an earworm of the best kind.  The rattlesnake shakes “Smiles like a reptile” throughout the song really grind in the rump roller quality of the bass line.

I met David Bowie in 1989.  I was managing a flagship movie theatre in Los Angeles and I got a call on the business line on a Thursday evening that David Bowie wanted to come see the 8:00 PM showing of Dead Calm.  The man on the phone was not Bowie but his agent, or so he said.  There was a slight possibility that I was being duped.  You were never quite sure how folks would get the business number.  I made the arrangements and hoped like hell it was legitimate!

Right around 7:50 PM in walked David Bowie with a small group of people.  He was wearing a white button up shirt and faded jeans, and loafers.  He was not very tall.  He was SOOOOO polite and kind.  We shook hands.  I wanted to loose my mind but I kept it together.  I escorted him and his party into the theatre and then went into my office and freaked out!