| The Man Who Sold the World | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:MWSTWUS2.jpg) Original 1970 American release | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 4 November 1970 | |||
| Recorded | 17 April – 22 May 1970 | |||
| Studio | Trident and Advision (London) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 40:29 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Producer | Tony Visconti | |||
| David Bowie chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:TheManWhoSoldtheWorld.jpg) 1971 British release | ||||
The Man Who Sold the World is the third studio album by the English musician David Bowie, originally released through Mercury Records in the United States on 4 November 1970 and in the United Kingdom on 10 April 1971. Produced by Tony Visconti and recorded in London from April to May 1970, the album features the first appearances on a Bowie record of future Spiders from Mars members Mick Ronson and Mick Woodmansey.
Following the largely acoustic and folk rock sound of David Bowie (1969), The Man Who Sold the World marked a shift toward hard rock, with elements of blues rock. The lyrics are darker than his previous releases, exploring themes of insanity, religion, technology and war. None of its songs were released as singles; some tracks appeared as B-sides between 1970 and 1973. Originally titled Metrobolist, a play on the film Metropolis (1927), the title was changed at the last minute by Mercury without Bowie's consultation.
The album was released with different cover artwork in the US and the UK. For the US release, the artwork was a cartoon-like drawing by Michael J. Weller of a cowboy in front of an asylum. The UK cover by Keith MacMillan features Bowie wearing a Michael Fish-designed blue dress. A 1972 reissue by RCA Records featured a black-and-white picture of Bowie's then-current character Ziggy Stardust; reissues since 1990 have revived the original UK artwork.
The Man Who Sold the World was originally better received by music critics in the US than in the UK. Nevertheless, it was a commercial failure in both countries; the 1972 reissue managed to chart in both the US and the UK. Retrospectively, the album has been praised by critics for the band's performance and the unsettling nature of its music and lyrics, being considered by many to be the start of Bowie's "classic period". It has since been reissued multiple times and was remixed in 2020, under its original title Metrobolist, for its 50th anniversary.