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Review
`This is a book, which can be dipped into as a fine song-by-song guide, but even more so, as an excellent cultural history.' --Mojo
"Doggett's insight and enthusiasm should send you back to the music...the book will ensure you experience something entirely new." --The Sunday Times
"His potted history of Bowie's early years is an exemplary introduction to a star in the making" --Metro
'A book of substance that compels you to listen to Bowie's best-known songs afresh and his less obvious songs anew.' --Patrick McNamee, Time Out
'A forensic examination of his most prolific period... Doggett exhaustively chases Bowie's inspirations and intentions...' --Bernadette McNulty, Telegraph
'A meticulous and engaging insight into the golden years of one of pop's true innovators.' --Mark Radcliffe
'this book tracks Bowie's ever changing masks and alter egos... [and] helps answer the question that most Bowie fans have asked at one time or another: what the hell is he on about?' --Kevin Courtney, The Irish Times
'song-by-song analysis of "the artist rather than the celebrity"' --Liz Thompson, The Independent, Music Book of the Year Choice
'part historical commentary, part fanboy's breakdown of every Bowie song from the era' --Will Hodgkinson, The Times
'Doggett skilfully maps Bowie's exponential growth from directionless hippie also-ran, through pansexual , drug-gobbling alien rock monster, to the most timeless, revered and influential of global pop icons.' --Rob Fitzpatrick, The Sunday Times
'A song-by-song analysis of the profoundly influential star at the peak of his creativity'
--David Connett, Sunday Express
"Doggett's insight and enthusiasm should send you back to the music...the book will ensure you experience something entirely new." --The Sunday Times
"His potted history of Bowie's early years is an exemplary introduction to a star in the making" --Metro
'A book of substance that compels you to listen to Bowie's best-known songs afresh and his less obvious songs anew.' --Patrick McNamee, Time Out
'A forensic examination of his most prolific period... Doggett exhaustively chases Bowie's inspirations and intentions...' --Bernadette McNulty, Telegraph
'A meticulous and engaging insight into the golden years of one of pop's true innovators.' --Mark Radcliffe
'this book tracks Bowie's ever changing masks and alter egos... [and] helps answer the question that most Bowie fans have asked at one time or another: what the hell is he on about?' --Kevin Courtney, The Irish Times
'song-by-song analysis of "the artist rather than the celebrity"' --Liz Thompson, The Independent, Music Book of the Year Choice
'part historical commentary, part fanboy's breakdown of every Bowie song from the era' --Will Hodgkinson, The Times
'Doggett skilfully maps Bowie's exponential growth from directionless hippie also-ran, through pansexual , drug-gobbling alien rock monster, to the most timeless, revered and influential of global pop icons.' --Rob Fitzpatrick, The Sunday Times
'A song-by-song analysis of the profoundly influential star at the peak of his creativity'
--David Connett, Sunday Express
Book Description
Brilliant musical critique; biographical insight and acute cultural analysis, The Man Who Sold The World is a unique study of David Bowie and the 1970s.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm not a big Beatles fan but I do own `Revolution in the head' Ian Macdonald's track by track analysis of their 60s work. This book is Doggett's effort to emulate the structure used by Macdonald in his own scrutiny of Bowie's 70s output.
It's a structure that can clearly work well with artists of depth and merit worthy of such examination (Goddard used the same method for his exemplary and exhaustive exploration of the Smiths musical history in `Songs that saved your life') so Bowie clearly meets the criteria.
Anyway, I am a big Bowie fan and I have read much on the man, certainly the significant texts. To be honest I wasn't really expecting too much from this book. Nicolas Pegg's Bowie bible `complete' having set an impossibly high bench mark for minutia information and detail. There is, however, much to recommend this book.
Firstly, it's well written (always a plus!), secondly there is good focus on 70s cultural influence and impact on Bowie's work, thirdly, and most importantly for me, there are some new, interesting and plausible perspectives on the songs. Doggett proposing that `Queen Bitch' may have been about Marc Bolan for example (one of many such jewels!).
So yes, a book I can highly recommend to the Bowie reader which is sadly let down by the poor quality paper on which it is printed (you know the sort that turns yellow after 6 months). These things matter to me. If you are less pedantic about page quality then add the additional star!
It's a structure that can clearly work well with artists of depth and merit worthy of such examination (Goddard used the same method for his exemplary and exhaustive exploration of the Smiths musical history in `Songs that saved your life') so Bowie clearly meets the criteria.
Anyway, I am a big Bowie fan and I have read much on the man, certainly the significant texts. To be honest I wasn't really expecting too much from this book. Nicolas Pegg's Bowie bible `complete' having set an impossibly high bench mark for minutia information and detail. There is, however, much to recommend this book.
Firstly, it's well written (always a plus!), secondly there is good focus on 70s cultural influence and impact on Bowie's work, thirdly, and most importantly for me, there are some new, interesting and plausible perspectives on the songs. Doggett proposing that `Queen Bitch' may have been about Marc Bolan for example (one of many such jewels!).
So yes, a book I can highly recommend to the Bowie reader which is sadly let down by the poor quality paper on which it is printed (you know the sort that turns yellow after 6 months). These things matter to me. If you are less pedantic about page quality then add the additional star!
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Presumably, Peter Doggett wasn't given permission to reproduce Bowie's lyrics, with the result that, rather bizarrely, a book promising an in-depth analysis of his songs doesn't reproduce a single line. Of course, those of a certain generation will have many of those lines seared into the cerebral cortex while wearing out the vinyl. Otherwise, you'll need to print out lyric sheets if you want to follow the references! What Doggett does do, however, is provide an Ian MacDonald-style run-through of chord sequences, which will please musicologists, but leave the rest of us rather nonplussed.
His research does, however, throw up some interesting nuggets - not least the influence of Bowie's half-brother, Terry, in opening up his cultural horizons, and the fear of hereditary madness that seemed to drive him to workaholism (along with other addictions). Of course, any real attempt to track down the references in Bowie's work is a bit like lepidoptery - as soon as you pin them down and stick them behind glass, they lose the very qualities you're searching for. Bowie has been accused by Nick Kent of being a plagiarist, but his genius (not using the term lightly) lay in his capacity to soak up myriad influences and re-package them into a unique vision that managed to engage the imaginations of millions while remaining inimitable. Certainly, others have taken facets of that vision and built careers on them, but they've invariably been 2-D efforts in comparison to Bowie's widescreen 3-D.
What this book does do is remind you of the dazzlingly mercurial pace of Bowie's constant invention and reinvention - it's hard to think of another artist in any field that took so many sharp turns and vertiginous leaps as Bowie in the 70s - which is particularly staggering when you consider the volume of various substances that he took along for the ride (in addition to some pretty vexed business partnerships). It's hard to believe he got through it intact (albeit pretty physically and emotionally exhausted).
Another thing the book does is encourage you to go back to the records and marvel at the scale of inventiveness. It also reminds one of just what an amazing vocalist Bowie was - from the folk rock of the earlier work, through Space Oddity, Changes, Life on Mars, Cracked Actor, Suffragette City, Wild is the Wind, Young Americans, Heroes, the list goes on and on. It's difficult to think of anyone else that could have covered such a range.
His research does, however, throw up some interesting nuggets - not least the influence of Bowie's half-brother, Terry, in opening up his cultural horizons, and the fear of hereditary madness that seemed to drive him to workaholism (along with other addictions). Of course, any real attempt to track down the references in Bowie's work is a bit like lepidoptery - as soon as you pin them down and stick them behind glass, they lose the very qualities you're searching for. Bowie has been accused by Nick Kent of being a plagiarist, but his genius (not using the term lightly) lay in his capacity to soak up myriad influences and re-package them into a unique vision that managed to engage the imaginations of millions while remaining inimitable. Certainly, others have taken facets of that vision and built careers on them, but they've invariably been 2-D efforts in comparison to Bowie's widescreen 3-D.
What this book does do is remind you of the dazzlingly mercurial pace of Bowie's constant invention and reinvention - it's hard to think of another artist in any field that took so many sharp turns and vertiginous leaps as Bowie in the 70s - which is particularly staggering when you consider the volume of various substances that he took along for the ride (in addition to some pretty vexed business partnerships). It's hard to believe he got through it intact (albeit pretty physically and emotionally exhausted).
Another thing the book does is encourage you to go back to the records and marvel at the scale of inventiveness. It also reminds one of just what an amazing vocalist Bowie was - from the folk rock of the earlier work, through Space Oddity, Changes, Life on Mars, Cracked Actor, Suffragette City, Wild is the Wind, Young Americans, Heroes, the list goes on and on. It's difficult to think of anyone else that could have covered such a range.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I am a huge fan of David Bowie - I have every album, and check on Bowienet everyday, just in case he announces something new. So you can imagine how much I was looking forward to receiving this book, and I rather guess if you are considering buying it you probably feel the same.
So it's a pity to have to report that this book isn't quite what I hoped for. It is largely a song by song review of Bowie's output in the 70s, interspersed with some magazine style boxed articles covering his life at the time which liven things up a bit. There is no lyrical analysis to speak of, but quite a bit of technical stuff about the musical structure of songs. If that is your thing you will probably enjoy this more than I did - but for me it was too technical to capture the magic of the music which was, and to some extent remains, the soundrack of my life.
So reasonably enjoyable in parts - but as a song by song, and album by album, review of Bowie's work not even close to the The Complete David Bowie by Nicholas Pegg.
So it's a pity to have to report that this book isn't quite what I hoped for. It is largely a song by song review of Bowie's output in the 70s, interspersed with some magazine style boxed articles covering his life at the time which liven things up a bit. There is no lyrical analysis to speak of, but quite a bit of technical stuff about the musical structure of songs. If that is your thing you will probably enjoy this more than I did - but for me it was too technical to capture the magic of the music which was, and to some extent remains, the soundrack of my life.
So reasonably enjoyable in parts - but as a song by song, and album by album, review of Bowie's work not even close to the The Complete David Bowie by Nicholas Pegg.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Nothing New
Having read Pete Doggett's Beatles book and heard the build-up and trumpeting in advance I had high hopes for this book
But the tome adds nothing to Nicholas Pegg's lauded... Read more
But the tome adds nothing to Nicholas Pegg's lauded... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jim Wilkinson
Hardcore fans will love it...
It's a really good book, and Pete Doggett is a fine writer - his 'You Never Give Me Your Money: The Battle For The Soul Of The Beatles' on the Beatles is my pick of the last few... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Robert Machin
Bowie's 70s through the lens of his own material
This book is custom made for people like me. I'm a decade too young to have copped David Bowie first time round (still in nappies when Ziggy played his farewell gig at Hammersmith)... Read more
Published 4 months ago by O. Buxton
Not enough revelation
Peter Doggett is a good writer, as 'You Never Give Me Your Money' shows and tackling the songs of David Bowie is a worthy task, so I was looking forward to this. Read more
Published 5 months ago by goldgreen
thought-provoking even for a mad fan
Phew! A book about Bowie that doesn't rely on pictures. The Great God Bowie and his work needed to be studied closely, and Doggett's done it. Read more
Published 5 months ago by prettieststarboy
Self-indulgent pap
Self-indulgent pulp.
More often than necessary a book of chord progressions and description of what key bowie is singing in than an insight to the songs and their... Read more
More often than necessary a book of chord progressions and description of what key bowie is singing in than an insight to the songs and their... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mr. W. White
Hearing David Bowie in a new way
Hearing David Bowie in a new way
Like one of the other reviewers, I was dubious about how much I could possibly learn from this book after reading the various editions of... Read more
Like one of the other reviewers, I was dubious about how much I could possibly learn from this book after reading the various editions of... Read more
Published 7 months ago by KLS
Mediocre Bowie book
As a long time fan of Bowie, this book does that awful thing - bore you with the musical cleverness of his songs - yawn, we already knew that - but worse, speculates where a few... Read more
Published 7 months ago by robotboy
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