Quicksand (David Bowie song)

Song infobox
Name = Quicksand


Artist = David Bowie
Album = Hunky Dory
Released = December 17 1971
Rykodisc Reissue January 30 1990
track_no = 6
Recorded = Trident Studios, London April 1971
Genre = Rock
Length = 5:03
Label = RCA
Writer = David Bowie
Producer = Ken Scott, David Bowie
prev = "Kooks"
prev_no = 5
next = "Fill Your Heart"
next_no = 7

"Quicksand" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 for the album "Hunky Dory". "NME" editors Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray have described it as "Bowie in his darkest and most metaphysical mood",Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). "Bowie: An Illustrated Record": p.41] while a contemporary review in "Rolling Stone" remarked on its "superb singing" and "beautiful guitar motif".cite journal | last = John Mendelsohn | title = Hunky Dory| journal = Rolling Stone | date = January 6, 1972 | publisher = Rolling Stone | url = http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/davidbowie/albums/album/237402/review/6067648/hunky_dory ]

This ballad features multi-tracked acoustic guitars and a string arrangement by Mick Ronson. Producer Ken Scott, having recently engineered George Harrison's album "All Things Must Pass", attempted to create a similarly powerful acoustic sound with this track. [David Buckley (1999). "Strange Fascination - David Bowie: The Definitive Story": p.115]

Lyrically the song, like much of Bowie's work at this time, was influenced by Buddhism, occultism, and Friedrich Nietzsche's concept of the Overman. It refers to the magical society Golden Dawn and name-checks one of its most famous members, Aleister Crowley, as well as Heinrich Himmler, Winston Churchill and Greta Garbo. [David Sheppard (2007). "Wishful Beginnings", "MOJO 60 Years of Bowie": p.24]

Other releases

* It was released as the B-side of the single "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" in April 1974.
* RCA included the song in the picture disc set "Life Time".
* A demo version of the song was released as a bonus track on the Rykodisc release of "Hunky Dory" in 1990.

Cover versions

* Dinosaur Jr. – single (1991) (Dinosaur Jr.'s version makes several changes to the lyrics)
* Seu Jorge - a Portuguese version for the film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
* Seal - live recording (MTV) Fact|date=December 2007
* Robert Smith - live recording (with David Bowie) (1997)
* End of Fashion - part of Australian radio station Triple J's "Like a Version" series (2005)
* Abbeyvein - ".2 Contamination: A Tribute to David Bowie" (2006)

Notes

References

Pegg, Nicholas, "The Complete David Bowie", Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2000, ISBN 1-903111-14-5