Panic in Detroit
| "Panic in Detroit" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by David Bowie from the album Aladdin Sane | ||||
| Released | April 13, 1973 | |||
| Recorded |
Trident Studios, London 9 December 1972 - 24 January 1973 | |||
| Genre | Glam rock, hard rock | |||
| Length | 4:25 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Writer | David Bowie | |||
| Producer | Ken Scott, David Bowie | |||
| Aladdin Sane track listing | ||||
| ||||
"Panic in Detroit" is a song written by David Bowie for the album Aladdin Sane in 1973. Bowie based it on friend Iggy Pop's descriptions of revolutionaries he had known as a youth in Michigan.[1] It is also interpreted as being written about the 1967 Detroit riots.[2] Rolling Stone magazine called the track "a paranoid descendant of the Motor City's earlier masterpiece, Martha and the Vandellas' "Nowhere to Run"".[3]
Musically "Panic in Detroit" has been described as a "Salsa variation on the Bo Diddley beat",[4] and features prominent conga drums and female backing vocals. The lyrics namecheck Che Guevara and are also said to contain references to John Sinclair of the White Panther Party.[4]
Bowie played the song live on tour in 1973, 1974, 1976, 1990, 1997, and 2003-4.
In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine printed its list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Mick Ronson was ranked at #64, and "Panic in Detroit" as his "essential recording".[5]
Live versions
A live version recorded on July 14, 1974 was released as the B-side of the single "Knock on Wood" in 1974. The same version was also released as the B-side of the US-only single "Rock 'n' Roll with Me" in 1974, on the compilation album Rare in 1983, and finally on the re-issued David Live in 2005.
Other releases
- It was released as the B-side of the Japan release of the single "Time" in April 1973.
- It was released as picture discs in both the RCA Life Time picture disc set and the Fashion Picture Disc Set.
- It also appeared in the Sound and Vision box set (1989).
- A new version recorded in 1979 was issued as a bonus track on the Rykodisc CD release of Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) in 1992. Said version was recorded for the Kenny Everett Show, but was not transmitted during the 30 January 1979 UK Broadcast.[6] The same recording appeared on the bonus disc of the Heathen Limited Edition double CD, labelled an "outtake from a 1979 recording".[7]
Cover versions
- Christian Death - The Rage of Angels (1994), Death in Detroit EP (1995), Goth Oddity - A Tribute to David Bowie (1999), and Starman: Rare and Exclusive Versions of 18 Classic David Bowie Songs, CD premium from the March 2003 issue of Uncut magazine
- Shadow Project - In Tuned Out Live 93 (1994)
- The Aries Parallel - Diamond Gods: Interpretations of Bowie (2001)
- The Joe Harvard Band - Hero: The Main Man Records Tribute to David Bowie (2007)
Notes
- ↑ Nicholas Pegg (2000). The Complete David Bowie: p.160
- ↑ AllMusic.com - Panic In Detroit
- ↑ Ben Gerson (19 July 1973). "Aladdin Sane". Rolling Stone (Rolling Stone).
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). Bowie: An Illustrated Record: p.54
- ↑ Rolling Stone (September 2003). "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Rolling Stone (Rolling Stone) (931).
- ↑ IMDb - The Kenny Everett Video Show "Didn't Quite Make It in Time for Xmas Show"
- ↑ "Panic in Detroit" at the Illustrated db Discography
External links
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