A concept single whose concept pretty much traded on being the aural equivalent of one of the longest, most tedious films ever set to celluloid. Space Oddity – Space Odyssey – do you get it? Granted the song is shorter than the film, but runs a close second to The Ra Band’s “Clouds Across The Moon” for the most woeful science fiction song ever. Science Fiction is in itself a genre riddled with cliche much like rock so when the two come together you get a synergy of badness that nearly always engenders a one hit wonder. Pity that was not the case with ver Oddity.
Bowie, having been in the game already for five years with no success (Mannish Boys anyone?) threw all but the kitchen sink into this one. Cod countdowns, acoustic guitar and silly voices which must have been the inspiration for kids TV space programs like Button Moon (they even used a tin can for their rocket). But Bowie did get to the heart of the loneliness of being an astronaut – something that your average punter in 1969 could connect with. Notwithstanding the fact that all the Apollo missions at the time always sent up three people at a time. Oh, didn’t I mention that it coincided nicely with men landing on the moon? What a coincidence eh, imagine the chances of that happening, a song about space at the same time as the moon missions and a major science fiction film.Frankly the fact that it only made it to number five should be proof enough of its lack of quality.
Yes Planet Earth is predominantly blue, but not completely. No, there is something you could do, you could have not bothered making the song and gone and worked down the chipper where your bisexuality would have gone down nicely with some Haddock. Space Oddity – A melting pot of futurism and folksie whimsy in the troubadouric tradition or the late sixties version of Star Trekkin’? You choose (I’ll give you a hint – it’s the second one).