Your living end
David Bowie - 'Lady Grinning Soul' (Aladdin Sane - 1973)
There is another universe where the closing of spaceman David Bowie’s 1973 album, Aladdin Sane, isn’t this haunting James Bond theme-aping piano ballad but the sax version of ‘John, I’m Only Dancing’.
In this reality, the album loses a reflective and emotional climax and instead has a more uniform selection of songs to complete it (the album’s one bum spot, the cover of The Rolling Stones’ ‘Let’s Spend The Night Together’ and ‘The Jean Genie’ are the antepenultimate and penultimate songs) and loses the dynamic range that ‘Lady Grinning Soul’ adds. In our world, it stands out as a poignant and sumptuously orchestrated ballad encapsulating Bowie's flair for merging dramatic musical elements with personal lyrics, making it a fitting finale to an album steeped in themes of fragmentation and duality, spurred by Bowie's tentative first experiences in America.
Bowie's encounter reportedly inspired the song with American soul singer Claudia Lennear, although its lyrical content doesn’t dwell on this alone. Transcending this simple origin, it weaves a complex tapestry of romantic imagery with esoteric references to card games, perfume, lace and cars from all over the world. Lennear is also rumoured to have inspired the Rolling Stones' ‘Brown Sugar’, but she isn’t the only horse in the race. In the excellent Bowie song-by-song compendium (part one) Rebel Rebel, Chris O’Leary argues that the lady in question is Amanda Lear, Bowie’s one-time lover and someone so intriguing that Wikipedia cites a span of 11 potential birth years. Lear was on the public’s radar when Aladdin Sane was released in April 1973 as she graced the front cover of Roxy Music’s For Your Pleasure, resplendent with a leashed black panther the previous month.
Even the phrase "grinning soul" might relate to Carl Jung's concept of the Anima, representing the feminine aspects of a man's personality. When someone "shadows" their Anima, they unconsciously display traits typically associated with femininity. This suggests that in the song, Bowie and the woman he is describing may share a deep connection, comfortably expressing these more sensitive, traditionally feminine parts of their personalities with each other.
Musically, ‘Lady Grinning Soul’ is characterised by its sophisticated piano arrangements, played by Mike Garson. Garson's work on this track is reminiscent of 19th-century Romantic compositions, with flourishes that evoke a "French" sound, perhaps hinting at influences from composers like Franz Liszt1. This classical infusion gives the song a mature quality that sets it apart from the more contemporary and straight-laced rock elements found elsewhere on the album.
Bowie told a newspaper in 2008.
Mike Garson’s piano opens with the most ridiculous and spot-on re-creation of a 19th Century music hall ‘exotic’ number. I can see now the ‘poses plastiques’ as if through a smoke-filled bar. Fans, castanets and lots of Spanish black lace and little else. Sexy, mmm? And for you, Madam?
This was written for a wonderful young girl whom I’ve not seen for more than 30 years. When I hear this song she’s still in her 20s, of course. A song will put you tantalisingly close to the past, so close that you can almost reach out and touch it. The sound of ghosts again.
The intricate piano lines and Bowie’s vocal performance -including a sustained wail in the outro, the highest note he ever reached on a recording2 - combine to create a closing track that is at once haunting and beautiful like an abandoned church, reclaimed by nature and surrounded by fog. The song showcases Bowie's ability to blend different musical styles seamlessly. His voice conveys a deep emotional resonance, further highlighted by the lush string arrangements accompanying the melody.
‘Lady Grinning Soul’ serves as a thematic counterpoint to the rest of Aladdin Sane, which is often dominated by more cynical and cutting observations on fame, identity, and the American landscape. This track shifts the focus inward, exploring themes of love, desire, and the temporary nature of beauty. When it does drop references to material positions and artefacts, the card game, perfume, lace and cars mentioned earlier are from Uruguay, France, Spain and (W) Germany, respectively. The song is also a departure from the chaotic energy of tracks like ‘Cracked Actor’ and ‘The Jean Genie’, offering instead a more introspective and contemplative perspective.
‘Lady Grinning Soul’ remains one of Bowie’s more underrated tracks despite being a fan favourite. It was one of the only songs from this recording session that didn’t make it into live shows, and as a result, it was never performed live. The studio version showcases his range as a musician, songwriter and singer capable of easily crossing genre boundaries. That evolution of thought and revolution of action drove him next, his following trip to America in 1974 would move from promoting Diamond Dogs to doing something very different by the end of that year.
The Run Out Grooves will be on a break next week - regular service will resume in mid-June.
As O’Leary says, leaning more toward Liberace with some of those trilled flourishes.
O’Leary, again.