The Man Who Sold the World

David Bowie - The Man Who Sold the World
Critic Score
Based on 5 reviews
1970 Ratings: #61 / 161
User Score
1970 Rank: #161
Liked by 161 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

90
AllMusic

Musically, there isn't much innovation on The Man Who Sold the World -- it is almost all hard blues-rock or psychedelic folk-rock -- but there's an unsettling edge to the band's performance, which makes the record one of Bowie's best albums.

85
Pitchfork

The Man Who Sold the World is the dark horse of the Bowie catalog.

80
SPIN
After some bad '60s folk, the former David Jones met guitar flamethrower Mick Ronson and became "Bowie" on this art-rock coming-out party.
70
Rolling Stone

He began to rock on The Man Who Sold the World, more bluesily than he ever would again.

Fjuan
95

💗Omg is that the nirvana song???? 🤯💗

KIDWITHGUNs
80

☆☆☆☆

"I refuse to be thought of as mediocre. If I am mediocre, I'll get out of the business."

- David Bowie, 1971

Despite the faint hope and assurance of receiving spoils from his hot single "Space Oddity", Bowie was still trapped in a state of misery.

Understandably so, wouldn't you feel the same way after you realise how poorly your absolute best efforts have performed? Wouldn't you also overthink everything and contemplate whether you're even headed down the ... read more

BartDaGoat
94

[David Bowie's discography ranking 3/27]
Bro wants to be "JEFFERY". FREE SEX!!!!!
After success of his hit single and 2nd album, Bowie decided to make a band to express his artistry. From his bandmates most important is Visconti who also produced this and few of his records in future. Also Ronson on guitar and Woodmansey on drums are on his few next project. This project is for Bowie first step into rock. And it is good one. "The Man Who Sold the World" is mix of his ... read more

MattBlack
73

I've never liked this album as much as other Bowie fans.

I just don't think the Hard Rock style suits Bowie. "The Width of a Circle" is an awesome opener, and the title track is obviously iconic, but the rest comes across as forgettable.

Weirdly, my two other favourites on the album tend to be other people's least favourites - "She Shook Me Cold" is the only time I think Bowie nailed the rougher tone, and "The Supermen" is a bombastic and thoroughly entertaining ... read more

Radiobot
74

DAVID BOWIE #3: The Man Who Sold The World

The Man Who Sold the World is David Bowie’s third full length LP. Once again Bowie explores new territories on this album, focusing less on the folk rock he had been pursuing, instead creating songs with a much harder rock-oriented sound. This is largely because of the inclusion of Mick Ronson, the legendary guitarist who would go on to be one of the spiders from mars. Other collaborators include the return of Tony Visconti, and Mick Woodmansey ... read more

11Vikings
74

Within the first minute of the opener Width of a Circle's runtime, anyone can easily understand that The Man Who Sold the World will mark a massive shift in sound from David Bowie. The cutesy psychedelia on Space Oddity and the happy-go-lucky "charm" on his debut are long gone, driven into the dirt by bluesy guitars and eerie, haunted vocals. Despite songs like After All providing small exceptions with its sparing acoustic backing, even this track displays a mood vastly different from ... read more

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Added on: June 5, 2013