The Man Who Sold The World (album) - Production and Style

Production and Style

The album was written and rehearsed at Bowie's home in Haddon Hall, Beckenham, an Edwardian mansion converted to a block of flats that was described by one visitor as having an ambience "like Dracula's living room". As Bowie was preoccupied with his new wife Angie at the time, the music was largely arranged by guitarist Mick Ronson and bassist/producer Tony Visconti. Despite his exasperation with the singer's preoccupation with married life, Visconti would later rate The Man Who Sold the World his best work with Bowie until 1980's Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps).

Much of the album had a distinct heavy metal edge that distinguishes it from Bowie's other releases, and has been compared to contemporary acts such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. The record also provided some unusual musical detours, such as the title track's use of Latin rhythms to hold the melody. The sonic heaviness of the album was matched by the subject matter, which included insanity ("All the Madmen"), gun-toting assassins and Vietnam War commentary ("Running Gun Blues"), an omniscient computer ("Saviour Machine"), and Lovecraftian Elder Gods ("The Supermen"). The song "She Shook Me Cold" was an explanation of a heterosexual encounter. The album has also been seen as reflecting the influence of such figures as Aleister Crowley, Franz Kafka and Friedrich Nietzsche.