David Bowie ‎– Young Americans (1975)

Young Americans is the eighth studio album by English vocalist/songwriter David Bowie, released in 1975 on RCA.

“Right” – syncopated drum pattern/percussion, snaky single-string guitar figure forming Fmaj7 tonality (dropping to Em and back) against the root-note bassline… soaring Sanborn sax cuts in at :18, billowing like smoke in a dark, neon-lit alley… Bowie enter @:35 with low, breathy, seductive vocal, switching to high, airy tone on the third line… guitar sizzle amid harmonies on bridge, ad lib trade-off between Bowie and Ava Cherry…her vocals get more prominent on middle chorus (2:00) cuts to a bendy, vibrato guitar break, Bowie reasserts amid fuller band cohesion on non-stop riff, bass throbs… they harmonize more… the verse and chorus run back and forth over the same progression (no ABABC form, just AAAA ala jam funk)…. Harmonies multilayers with brisk syllables, emphasis on the world never (nevanevaneva)… what makes the song so smokey, steamy, sexy, compleiing is the maj-seventh bedrock of the main chord – the half-step drop ob the octave (E over F), the slanted-eye (seductive quality) of chords, dropping to E recurrently like a reclining chair (E is heard throughout the piece, giving continuity), embellished with low, bassy tones (dark lounge, backalley ambience) sax (smokey vibe) breathy harmonies (misty aura)… could be a gateway to Philly for rock listeners… mid-70s releases by Leon Ware and Sylvia Robinson, who conjured similar dark, smokey, seductive vibes in their work from this period…

Tracklist:
A1. “Young Americans” (5:11)
A2. “Win” (4:44)
A3. “Fascination” (5:45)
A4. “Right” (4:15)
B1. “Somebody Up There Likes Me” (6:36)
B2. “Across the Universe” (4:29)
B3. “Can You Hear Me” (5:03)
B4. “Fame” (4:16)

Session extras:
9. “Who Can I Be Now?” (4:36)
10. “It’s Gonna Be Me” (6:27)
11. “John, I’m Only Dancing (Again)” (6:57)

Credits:
David Bowie – vocals; guitar; keyboards
Carlos Alomar – guitars
Mike Garson – piano
David Sanborn – saxophone
Willie Weeks – bass guitar
Andy Newmark – drums
Larry Washington – conga
Pablo Rosario – percussion (B2, B4)
Ava Cherry – backing vocals
Robin Clark – backing vocals
Luther Vandross – backing vocals
John Lennon – vocals; guitar; backing vocals (B2, B4)
Earl Slick – guitar on “Across the Universe”
Emir Ksasan – bass guitar (B2, B4)
Dennis Davis – drums (B2, B4)
Ralph MacDonald – percussion (B2, B4)
Jean Fineberg – backing vocals (B2, B4)
Jean Millington – backing vocals (B2, B4)
Luther Vandross – vocal arrangements