The Man Who Sold the World is the third studio album by the English musician David Bowie, originally released through Mercury Records in the United States on 4 November 1970 and in the United Kingdom on 10 April 1971. Produced by Tony Visconti and r…
The Man Who Sold the World is the third studio album by the English musician David Bowie, originally released through Mercury Records in the United States on 4 November 1970 and in the United Kingdom on 10 April 1971. Produced by Tony Visconti and recorded in London from April to May 1970, the album features the first appearances on a Bowie record of future Spiders from Mars members Mick Ronson and Mick Woodmansey.
Following the largely acoustic and folk rock sound of David Bowie (1969), The Man Who Sold the World marked a shift toward hard rock, with elements of blues rock. The lyrics are darker than his previous releases, exploring themes of insanity, religion, technology and war. None of its songs were released as singles; some tracks appeared as B-sides between 1970 and 1973. Originally titled Metrobolist, a play on the film Metropolis (1927), the title was changed at the last minute by Mercury without Bowie's consultation.
The album was released with different cover artwork in the US and the UK. For the US release, the artwork was a cartoon-like drawing by Michael J. Weller of a cowboy in front of an asylum. The UK cover by Keith MacMillan features Bowie wearing a Michael Fish-designed blue dress. A 1972 reissue by RCA Records featured a black-and-white picture of Bowie's then-current character Ziggy Stardust; reissues since 1990 have revived the original UK artwork.
Tracklist:
0:00 - The Width of a Circle
8:05 - All the Madmen
13:43 - Black Country Rock
17:20 - After All
21:15 - Running Gun Blues
24:33 - Saviour Machine
29:00 - She Shook Me Cold
33:15 - The Man Who Sold the World
37:13 - The Supermen
Personnel
Adapted from The Man Who Sold the World liner notes and biographer Chris O'Leary:
David Bowie – lead vocals, backing vocals, 12-string acoustic guitar, Stylophone
Mick Ronson – lead and rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals, recorder, piano
Tony Visconti – bass, backing vocals, recorder
Mick Woodmansey – drums, timpani, percussion
Ralph Mace – Moog synthesiser
