MAGNET’s Mitch Myers recalls the sincerest form of ’70s flattery and says imitation David Bowies still can be heroes
No doubt, the late, great David Bowie is generally considered a rock icon and a protean avatar of music, media and film. His image and influence spread far and wide in his lifetime, especially during the 1970s when he and other artists contributed to that particular era’s glam-rock movement. There have been plenty of books, album reissues, narrative films, musical theater and documentaries to help us understand it all.
But what about those forgotten foot soldiers of the glam army? The earnest victims of the trend. True believers who gave themselves over so wholeheartedly that it was impossible to come back. A funny thing happened in the ’70s, man. The record industry was booming, and its demand for new discoveries was relentless. But, new-artist releases would flop far more often than succeed, and unsold vinyl would invariably start piling up. Hence, the record-store bargain bin was born, filled with last season’s rejects and non-returnable album “cutouts” for the cheap, curious and discerning consumers on a budget.
Enter the Third-Rate Bowies, the glam-rock wannabes who eagerly followed Major Tom into battle. Their attraction was a direct identification with David Bowie. Some were eager to redefine themselves, and coming of age could also entail a coming out. If artists expressed their non-conformity by blatantly imitating someone else, so be it—the gravitational pull toward personal awakening and self-discovery was too strong to resist.
So, Bowie imitators began to pop up all over the place, and plenty of talented young Americans fell prey to the process. But let me just say right here and now that this is a total endorsement of the collective homage! While those budget-bin warriors may have been dismissed for shamelessly marketing a cultural fad, Third-Rate Bowies actually sound pretty good these days, especially if you like vintage David Bowie! For example:
David Werner “Imagination Quota” from Imagination Quota (1975)
Pittsburgh’s David Werner made three studio albums in the 1970s, each containing quality nuggets of Bowie-inspired material and plenty of glam signaling throughout. His first two LPs were on RCA Records (same as Bowie), so it isn’t surprising the label tried to sell him as the American answer to the Cracked Actor. Werner and guitarist Mark Doyle were a solid, inventive approximation of the Bowie/Mick Ronson dyad and created some classic/derivative chamber rock. The Ziggy-adjacent title track from their Imagination Quota album is just one example. They also had a minor radio hit in 1979 with brooding Bowie-esque rocker “What’s Right.” Not right enough, however, and so it was over and out.
Roderick Falconer “Play It Again” from New Nation (1976)
American poet/composer Roderick Taylor was a Stanford grad who made admirable art-rock records under the name of Roderick Falconer. Bound for the bargain bins regardless of its content, his mawkish New Nation album cover leaned into old German Weimar imagery and a military-styled logo, anticipating the whole Bowie-in-Berlin era that was coming down the pike. Echoing the offbeat vocal sounds and dramatic string arrangements employed by Bowie’s famed producer Tony Visconti, theatrical ballad “Play It Again” showcases a crooning Falconer supported by British-rock journeymen and the singing Chanter Sisters to great, Bowie-like effect. To no avail, however, and by the mid-’80s, recording artist Roderick Falconer was no more.
Jobriath “Morning Star Ship” from Jobriath (1973)
No listing of Bowie replicants could be complete without the mighty Jobriath. Born Bruce Wayne Campbell in Philadelphia, Jobriath made just two albums (1973 and 1974) that were somewhat dazzling but totally overhyped and mostly misunderstood. Be that as it may, stylistic comparisons with the Thin White Duke were all but inevitable. On Jobriath’s debut, esteemed Hendrix producer Eddie Kramer does his best effort a la Visconti, and “Morning Star Ship” shoots straight toward our Starman in the sky. (Morrissey does a cover version of this tune.) However grand Jobriath’s star ambitions may have been, he just wasn’t tough enough for the music biz, and he died of AIDS at the Chelsea Hotel in 1983.
Shudder To Think “Hot One” from Velvet Goldmine (1998)
Grant Lee Buffalo “The Whole Shebang” from Velvet Goldmine (1998)
Various Bowie-esque identities have been explored theatrically over the decades. From The Rocky Horror Picture Show to Hedwig And The Angry Inch and Velvet Goldmine, these depictions of personal/sexual transformations and gendered rites of passage all bow to the visual, musical and conceptual altar of Aladdin Sane.
One thing about Bowie acolytes—they don’t have to be vintage to sound vintage. The film Velvet Goldmine was intended as an authentic David Bowie saga until Bowie changed his mind and denied the use of his name, persona and music. Rebounding creatively, filmmaker Todd Haynes filled the soundtrack with comparable ’70s artists and smart remakes of classic glam tracks.
Haynes also commissioned some original music for Velvet Goldmine, and in a brilliant star turn, rock groups Shudder To Think and Grant Lee Buffalo each summoned their inner Bowies, transcending imitation and achieving something closer to the ultimate homage within their inspired performances.
“Hot One” by Shudder To Think checks all the Bowie boxes via its vocal flamboyance and soaring rock gestures. The band reprises its film contribution with yet another dramatic send-up entitled “Ballad Of Maxwell Demon.” Grant Lee Phillips, a singer with even more accomplished vocal flair, puts his punctuation mark on the soundtrack with “The Whole Shebang,” and you just can’t get more Bowiefied than that.
The bottom line is that these older and newer Bowie clones have produced some enduring sounds that would enhance any Bowie playlist you’re likely to create or encounter. And that’s hunky dory.
Bonus Track
At this point I’m pretty much all Bowied out. Maybe you can keep track of how many different DB references there are in this video from episode six of Flight Of The Conchords.
Flight Of The Conchords “Bowie’s In Space” from Bowie (2007)
