David Bowie Diamond Dogs Gatefold LP - VG+ - RCA Victor CPL1-0576 

The record is in VG+ condition.  There are hairline scratches, a number of fingerprints, and smudges, none of which affect the sound in terms of pops, clicks, or skips.  The cover is in VG+ condition.  There is edge wear, most pronounced at the bottom of the spine.  There is very little ring wear on the back cover.  Any other imperfections are minor and can be seen in the photos.  The inner sleeve is plain white.  

The record has been graded both through play and visually (under a bright, 100 watt bulb, and at multiple angles).

I use the Goldmine Grading System which I include below.

I have a significant collection of LPs from many genres which I will be auctioning off over the next few months. Please check back often if you like what’s being listed. 

I will ship the record in a shipping box specifically designed for records between two sheets of corrugate.

 

Shipping discounts offered if ship out more than one LP at the same time.  

Discounts apply to shipments within the U.S. only.

LP 2 and 3 $1.50 extra for each

LP 4 and up $1 extra for each

Satisfaction guaranteed or full refund.

 

Goldmine Grading System

MINT (M)
Absolutely perfect in every way.

 

NEAR MINT (NM)
A NM record looks like it just came from a retail store and was opened for the first time.  In other words, it’s nearly perfect.

NM records are shiny, with no visible defects. Writing, stickers or other markings do not appear on the label, nor do any “spindle marks” from someone trying to blindly put the record on the turntable. Major factory defects are absent; a record and label obviously pressed off center is not Near Mint. If played, it will do so with no surface noise.

NM covers are free of creases, ring wear and seam splits of any kind.

 

VERY GOOD PLUS (VG+) or EXCELLENT (E)
A VG+ record is, except for a couple minor things, Near Mint.  If a record leans towards the higher end of the VG+ grade, it will be called Excellent (E).

VG+ records may show some slight signs of wear, including light scuffs or very light scratches that do not affect the listening experience. Slight warps that do not affect the sound might be present. Minor signs of handling might appear, too, such as telltale marks around the center hole, but repeated playing has not misshapen the hole.

VG+ covers have only minor wear. A VG+ cover might have some very minor seam wear or a split (less than one inch long) at the bottom, the most vulnerable location.  There may be some very light ring wear or discoloration, but it should be barely noticeable.  Also, a VG+ cover may have some defacing, such as a cut-out marking.

 

Very Good (VG)
Many of the imperfections found on a VG+ record are more obvious on a VG record.

VG records lack most of the original gloss found on factory-fresh records. Groove wear is evident on sight, as are light scratches deep enough to feel with a fingernail. When played, a VG record has surface noise, and some scratches may be audible, especially in soft passages and during a song’s intro and ending. But the noise will not overpower the music otherwise.

Minor writing, tape or a sticker can be found on the label.

VG covers have many signs of human handling. Ring wear in the middle or along the edges of the cover is obvious, though not overwhelming. Some more creases might be visible. Seam splitting will be more obvious; it may appear on all three sides, though it won’t be obvious upon looking.  Someone might have written on it or stamped a price tag on it, too.

 

Good (G), Good Plus (G+) or Very Good Minus (VG–)
The record still plays through without skipping, but it has significant surface noise and groove wear, and the label is worn, with significant ring wear, heavy writing, or obvious damage caused by someone trying to remove tape or stickers.

A Good to VG– cover has ring wear to the point of distraction, has seam splits obvious on sight and may have even heavier writing than on a VG cover.

Diamond Dogs From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses, see . Diamond Dogs by Released24 May 1974RecordedJanuary 1974 – February 1974Studio and , London; Ludolph Studios, Nederhorst den BergLength38:25David Bowie chronology
(1973)Diamond Dogs
(1974)
(1974) from Diamond Dogs ""
Released: 15 February 1974 ""
Released: 14 June 1974 ""
Released: July 1974

Diamond Dogs is a , and the eighth  by , originally released in 1974 on . Thematically, it was a marriage of the novel  by  and Bowie's own -tinged vision of a post-apocalyptic world. Bowie had wanted to make a theatrical production of Orwell's book and began writing material after completing sessions for his 1973 album , but the author’s estate denied the rights. The songs wound up on the second half of Diamond Dogs instead where, as the titles indicated, the Nineteen Eighty-Four theme was prominent.

Contents   [] 

Production and style[]

Though the album was recorded and released after the 'retirement' of  in mid-1973, and featured its own lead character in Halloween Jack ("a real cool cat" who lives in the decaying "Hunger City"), Ziggy was seen to be still very much alive in Diamond Dogs, as evident from Bowie's haircut on the cover and the glam-trash style of the first single "". As was the case with some songs on , the influence of  was also evident, particularly in the chugging . Elsewhere, however, Bowie had moved on from his earlier work with the epic song suite, ""/"Candidate"/"Sweet Thing (Reprise)", whilst "" and the -inspired wah-wah guitar style of "" provided a foretaste of Bowie's next, '', phase. The original vinyl album ended with a juddering refrain Bruh/bruh/bruh/bruh/bruh, the first syllable of "(Big) Brother", repeats incessantly. "Sweet Thing" was Bowie's first try at '  of writing, which Bowie would continue to use for the next 25 years.

Although Diamond Dogs was the first Bowie album since 1969 to not feature any of the 'Spiders from Mars', the backing band made famous by Ziggy Stardust, many of the arrangements were already worked out and played on tour with  prior to the studio recordings, including "1984" and "Rebel Rebel". In the studio, however,  played bass with drums being shared between  and . In a move that surprised some commentators, Bowie himself took on the lead guitar role previously held by , producing what  critics  and  described as a "scratchy, raucous, semi-amateurish sound that gave the album much of its characteristic flavour". Diamond Dogs was also a milestone in Bowie's career as it reunited him with , who provided string arrangements and helped mix the album at his own studio in London. Visconti would go on to co-produce much of Bowie's work for the rest of the decade.

Packaging[]

The  features Bowie as a striking half-man, half-dog  painted by Belgian artist . It was controversial as the full painting clearly showed the hybrid's genitalia. Very few copies of this original cover made their way into circulation at the time of the album's release.[] According to the record-collector publication  price guides, these albums have been among the most expensive record collectibles of all time, as high as thousands of US dollars for a single copy.[] The genitalia were  out for the 1974 LP's  sleeve, although the original artwork (and another rejected cover featuring Bowie in a  holding onto a ravenous dog, an image captured by Terry O'Neill) was included in subsequent / re-issues.

Release and aftermath[] Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingC+4/59.0/10(unfavourable) Bowie performing during, 1974.

The record was Bowie's glam swansong; according to author David Buckley, "In the sort of move which would come to define his career, Bowie jumped the glam-rock ship just in time, before it drifted into a blank parody of itself". At the time of its release Bowie described Diamond Dogs as "a very political album. My protest ... more me than anything I've done previously".  magazine compared the album to (1970), while Rock and  both described it as his "most impressive work ... since Ziggy Stardust". It made No. 1 in the UK charts and No. 5 in the US (where the song "Rebel Rebel" proved popular), Bowie's highest stateside placing to that date. In Canada, it was able to repeat its British chart-topping success, hitting No. 1 on the  national albums chart in July 1974 and holding it for two weeks.

Diamond Dogs' raw guitar style and visions of urban chaos, scavenging children and nihilistic lovers ("We'll buy some drugs and watch old bands / And jump in the river holding hands") have been credited with anticipating the revolution that would take place in the following years. Bowie himself has described the Diamond Dogs, introduced in the title song, as: "all little Johnny Rottens and Sid Viciouses really. And, in my mind, there was no means of transport, so they were all rolling around on these roller-skates with huge wheels on them, and they squeaked because they hadn't been oiled properly. So there were these gangs of squeaking, roller-skating, vicious hoods, with Bowie knives and furs on, and they were all skinny because they hadn't eaten enough, and they all had funny-coloured hair. In a way it was a precursor to the punk thing."

Bowie played all of the album's songs except "We Are the Dead" on his 1974  (recorded and released as ). "Rebel Rebel" has featured on almost every Bowie tour since, "Diamond Dogs" was performed for the 1976 , 1995–96  and 2003-04  tours, and "Big Brother/Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family" was resurrected for the 1987 .

Track listing[]

All songs written by , except where noted.

Side one[] No.TitleWriter(s)Length1.""   1:052.""   5:563.""   3:394."Candidate"   2:405."Sweet Thing (Reprise)"   2:316.""   4:30 Side two[] No.TitleWriter(s)Length1.""  Bowie,  (for the music)4:002."We Are the Dead"   4:583.""   3:274.""   3:215."Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family"   2:00 Compact disc releases[]

Diamond Dogs was first released on CD by RCA in 1985 with censored cover art. The German (for the European market) and Japanese (for the US market) masters were sourced from different tapes and are not identical for each region.

1990 Rykodisc/EMI[]

Dr. Toby Mountain at Northeastern Digital, , remastered Diamond Dogs from the original master tapes for  in 1990 with two bonus tracks and the original, uncensored, artwork. "Future Legend" stops at 1:01 and "Diamond Dogs" has 6:04 in this version.

Bonus tracks (1990 Rykodisc/EMI)  (Recorded 1973, previously unreleased) – 2:53 "" (Demo version, very different musically and lyrically, recorded 1974, previously unreleased) – 5:09 1999 EMI/Virgin[]

The album was remastered by  at , and released without bonus material.

2004 EMI/Virgin[]

The third in a series of 30th Anniversary 2CD Editions, this release included a remastered version of the first disc. The second disc contains eight tracks, some of which had been previously released on CD as bonus tracks of the 1990-92 Rykodisc/EMI reissues.

Bonus CD (2004 EMI/Virgin)[]

All songs written by , except where noted.

 (Recorded 1973) – 5:29 "Rebel Rebel" (From "Rebel Rebel" US single , 1974) – 3:00  (Also known as "You Didn't Hear It from Me", Recorded 1973) – 2:53 "" () (Recorded 1973) – 3:25 "" (Demo version, very different musically and lyrically, recorded 1974, previously unreleased) – 5:09 "Diamond Dogs" ( Best of Bowie edit, 1980) – 4:41 "" ( , 2001) – 2:58 "Rebel Rebel" (2003 mix) (From  Bonus Disc) – 3:09 Personnel[]  - vocals, guitars, , , , producer,   - guitar on "Rock 'n' Roll with Me"  - keyboards  - bass guitar  - drums  - drums  - guitar on "1984"  - , mixing engineer  - , mixing engineer Charts[] Weekly charts[] Chart (1974)Position314Italian Albums Chart15811Swedish 31540 Year-end charts[] Chart (1974)Position2015French Albums Chart11Italian Albums Chart526 Certifications[] RegionUnited Kingdom ()GoldUnited States ()Gold