With 1970's 'The Man Who Sold the World', David Bowie set aside his pop and singer-songwriter aspirations and headed in a harder-rocking direction. Producer Tony Visconti provided a thick, dense setting with guitarist Mick Ronson playing the role of guitar hero to Bowie's megalomaniac frontman; think Keith Richards and Mick Jagger sprinkled with fairy dust. The new approach flowered on 'Hunky Dory', but the outline for the master plan is here. The title track, 'The Width of a Circle,' and 'All the Madmen' are essential Bowie, as he slips from cryptic to straightforward, celebratory wordplay.
