A deliberate departure from the glam rock of his earlier albums, Young Americans marked David Bowie's full embrace of soul and R&B, what he called "Plastic Soul,” recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia and the Record Plant in New York City. Sessions came to life under fast and loose circumstances, lasting only two weeks and recorded live with minimal overdubs, featuring a band that included guitarist Carlos Alomar, saxophonist David Sanborn, and a then-unknown backing vocalist named Luther Vandross.
A deliberate departure from the glam rock of his earlier albums, Young Americans marked Bowie's full embrace of soul and R&B, what he called "Plastic Soul,” recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia and the Record Plant in New York City. Sessions came to life under fast and loose circumstances, lasting only two weeks and recorded live with minimal overdubs, featuring a band that included guitarist Carlos Alomar, saxophonist David Sanborn, and a then-unknown backing vocalist named Luther Vandross.
Toward the end of recording, Bowie met up with John Lennon, sparking a collaboration that produced the No. 1 single "Fame,” Bowie's first chart-topper in the United States. Jay-Z, Public Enemy, and James Brown all later sampled the record.
This 50th anniversary picture disc was cut on a customized late Neumann VMS80 lathe with fully recapped electronics, transferred from 192kHz restored masters of the original Record Plant tapes with no additional processing. Half-speed mastered by John Webber at AIR Studios, the technique used to capture maximum groove detail and dynamic range from the source material.
What Alliance Authentic Preservation Means: This is not a standard retail copy. Every copy in this catalog was moved directly from the pressing source into preservation: uncirculated, unhandled, and documented before it ever reached the open market. Each preserved copy includes an embedded NFC chip. Tap it with any smartphone to access your Certified Copy: verified authenticity, documented condition, and a full provenance chain from pressing source to you.
Limited to 10 individually numbered copies.
