Bowie – Pin Ups (Remastered on 180g Vinyl)

Released on 19 October 1973 Pin Ups is the seventh studio album by David Bowie. Devised as a 'stop-gap' album to appease his record label, it is a covers album, featuring songs by British bands from the 1960s that were influential to Bowie as a teenager, including the Pretty Things, the Who, the Yardbirds and Pink Floyd. The tracks mostly stay true to their original counterparts, albeit performed in glam rock and proto-punk styles.

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Bowie – Pin Ups (Remastered on 180g Vinyl)

The album was recorded from July to August 1973 at the Château d’Hérouville in Hérouville, France following the completion of the Ziggy Stardust Tour. It was co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott, marking the final collaboration between the two. Two members of Bowie's backing band the Spiders from Mars contributed, guitarist Mick Ronson and bassist Trevor Bolder, while Mick Woodmansey was replaced by Aynsley Dunbar on drums. Following a surprise announcement at the end of the tour that the Spiders were breaking up, tensions were high during the sessions, which was reflected in the tracks. The album cover, featuring Bowie and 1960s supermodel Twiggy, was taken in Paris midway through the sessions and originally intended for Vogue magazine.

Pin Ups' release came only six months after Aladdin Sane and coincided with Bryan Ferry's covers album These Foolish Things. Preceded by a cover of the McCoys' song Sorrow as the lead single, Pin Ups was a commercial success, peaking at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart, bringing the total number of Bowie albums concurrently on the UK chart to six. However, it received mainly negative reviews from music critics, with many criticising the songs as generally inferior to the originals.

Retrospectively, Pin Ups has continued to receive mixed reactions. Some have described it as uneven, while others believe it had a good premise, but suffered from poor execution. Bowie’s biographers have noted it as an experiment in nostalgia. Nevertheless, some publications have regarded it as one of the best covers albums.

Track Listing:

Side One

1. Rosalyn
2. Here Comes the Night
3. I Wish You Would
4. See Emily Play
5. Everything’s Alright
6. I Can’t Explain

Side Two

1. Friday on My Mind
2. Sorrow
3. Don’t Bring Me Down
4. Shapes of Things
5. Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
6. Where Have All the Good Times Gone